Julius Wilford "Nicky" Arnstein (born Arndstein; July 1, 1879October 2, 1965) was an American professional

gambler Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elem ...

and con artist. He was known primarily as Julius Arnold, but among his aliases were "Jules Arndtsteyn", "Nick Arnold," "Nicholas Arnold", "Wallace Ames", "John Adams", and "J. Willard Adair". He was best known as the second husband of entertainer

Fanny Brice Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedienne, illustrated song model, singer, and theater and film actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. ...

Life and career

Arnstein was born Julius Arndstein in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

.Jules Arndtsteyn, born Berlin, Germany, July 1, 1879, in ''U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942'' His father, Moses Arndstein, was a German Jew from Berlin who fought in the Franco-Prussian War. His mother, born Thekla van Shaw, was Dutch. The couple raised their children in the Episcopal Church. First settling in New Jersey, the couple had two other children besides middle-child Nicky; son Louis (born 1877), and daughter Gesina (born 1883).US Census 1900 – New York City, District 593, Page 30 "Nicky" was short for nickel plate, a

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...

bestowed in the 1890s when, as a boy, Arnstein rode a gleaming nickel-plated bicycle in the then-popular bike racing craze. However, he spent more time throwing races than winning them. He graduated to

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...

on transatlantic liners and in European casinos, and eventually fell in with

Arnold Rothstein Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 – November 4, 1928), nicknamed "The Brain", was an American racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and gambler in New York City. Rothstein was widely reputed to have organized corruption in professional athletic ...

, a

loan shark A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law. Description Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...

, bookmaker,

fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length. ...

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for ...

swindler, real estate speculator, and labor racketeer, who was best known for fixing the 1919 World Series. In 1915, Arnstein was convicted of swindling, and the following year he entered

Sing Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility, formerly Ossining Correctional Facility, is a maximum-security prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York. It is about north of ...

to serve out his term.

visited him every week while he was there, and in 1918 Arnstein's wife Carrie sued her for alienation of his affection. She subsequently divorced him, leaving him free to marry Brice in October of that year. Arnstein and Brice had two children, daughter Frances Arnstein Stark (1919-1992) and son William Arnstein (1921-2008), a graphic artist later known professionally as

William Brice William Arnstein, professionally William Brice (April 23, 1921 – March 3, 2008) was an American artist known for his large-scale abstract paintings. Biography Born to actress Fanny Brice and her second husband, professional gambler Juliu ...

. On May 16, 1924, having been convicted of conspiracy to carry stolen securities into the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...

, Arnstein entered

Leavenworth prison The United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth (USP Leavenworth) is a medium security U.S. penitentiary with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp in northeast Kansas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the Unite ...

, where he remained for three years. Brice divorced him on September 17, 1927, soon after his release. Arnstein remained out of trouble for the rest of his life. He lived long enough to see himself immortalized in the 1964 Broadway musical '' Funny Girl'', in which he was portrayed by Sydney Chaplin. In the musical, Arnstein is found guilty of embezzlement, has never been married to anyone but Fanny, and serves only one prison sentence – after being married for several years.

Omar Sharif Omar Sharif ( ar, عمر الشريف ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub , 10 April 193210 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the ...

assumed the role in the

1968 film The year 1968 in film involved some significant events, with the release of Stanley Kubrick's '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', as well as two highly successful musical films, '' Funny Girl'' and ''Oliver!'', the former earning Barbra Streisand the Ac ...

and its 1975 sequel, '' Funny Lady''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnstein, Nicky 1879 births 1965 deaths American confidence tricksters American gamblers American people convicted of fraud American people of German-Jewish descent American people of Dutch descent American Episcopalians German emigrants to the United States People from Berlin

Life and career

References

Further reading

External links