Seymour Weiss (September 13, 1896 – September 17, 1969) was a prominent
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...
, who was a close confidant of the legendary Huey Pierce Long, Jr. Weiss, the most loyal of the Longites, bore the same last name as the apparent Long assassin,
Carl Weiss
Carl Austin Weiss Sr. (December 6, 1906 – September 8, 1935) was an American physician from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who assassinated U.S. Senator Huey Long at the Louisiana State Capitol on September 8, 1935.
Career
Weiss was born in B ...
,
M.D.
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...
Avoyelles Parish
Avoyelles (french: Paroisse des Avoyelles) is a parish located in central eastern Louisiana on the
Red River where it effectively becomes the Atchafalaya River and meets the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 census, the population was 42,07 ...
and died in the capital city of
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of countie ...
. His parents were Samuel Weiss, originally from
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
and a merchant, and the former Gisella Elias, of
Berlin, Germany
Berlin is the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, as measured by population within city limits having gained this stat ...
. Seymour had three brothers: Bernard, Milton, and Julius. On January 10, 1954, Bernard and Milton died in a private
airplane
An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spe ...
crash, along with
Thomas Elmer Braniff
Thomas Elmer Braniff (December 6, 1883 – January 10, 1954) was an original co-founder of Braniff International Airways, along with his brother Paul Revere Braniff. Known as Tom Braniff, he was also a noted insurance pioneer in Oklahoma. In 1928 h ...
, the owner of the airline, and a number of other civic leaders from
Shreveport
Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...
, Louisiana, and
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. The men had been on a private hunting trip to
South Texas
South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 4.96 ...
and
South Louisiana
The Port of South Louisiana (french: Port de la Louisiane du Sud) extends 54 miles (87 km) along the Mississippi River between New Orleans, Louisiana and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, centering approximately at LaPlace, Louisiana, which serves as t ...
; the plane crashed in a freak ice storm. Weiss' last brother, Julius, died later the same year on August 30, 1954, of personal health issues. Seymour was educated in public schools in Bunkie and
Abbeville
Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France.
It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital o ...
in
Vermilion Parish
Vermilion Parish (french: Paroisse de Vermillion) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, created in 1844. The parish seat is Abbeville. Vermilion Parish is part of the Lafayette metropolitan statistical area, and located in souther ...
. For a time he was a
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
clerk in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...
in
Rapides Parish
Rapides Parish () (french: Paroisse des Rapides) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 131,613. The parish seat is Alexandria, which developed along the Red River of the South. ''Rapides' ...
and the largest city in
Central Louisiana
Central Louisiana (Cenla), also known as the Crossroads, is a region of the U.S. state of Louisiana.
The largest communities in the region as of the 2010 Census were Alexandria (47,893), Natchitoches (18,323) and Pineville (14,555).
Centr ...
. He moved to New Orleans in 1916 to clerk in a shoe store. After the United States' entry into
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, Weiss attended officers' training at Camp Gordon, Georgia, but the conflict ended before Weiss finished his training. Thereafter, he returned to New Orleans to resume work as a shoe clerk.
Seymour was married twice: on April 19, 1925, to Notie "Fay" Turner, and then on June 12, 1963, to Elva Mae Lavie Kimball, whom he predeceased. He died in Baton Rouge and is interred at the family plot at
Metairie Cemetery
Metairie Cemetery is a cemetery in southeastern Louisiana. The name has caused some people to mistakenly presume that the cemetery is located in Metairie, Louisiana, but it is located within the New Orleans city limits, on Metairie Road (and f ...
in New Orleans. (Plot: Sec. 34, Lot 19).
The Roosevelt Hotel
In 1923, Weiss became the manager of a
barber
A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...
shop at the Grunewald Hotel in New Orleans. In 1924, he became the assistant hotel manager, and in 1928, he was promoted to hotel manager. First built in 1893, and known as the "Grunewald" (for its original owner, Louis Grunewald), the Grunewald opened what has been called the first
nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
, a basement room decorated with fake
stalactite
A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via
''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble an ...
s called "The Cave", where one could watch dancing chorus girls and listen to
Dixieland jazz
Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ...
that would easily drown out the soothing indoor waterfalls. In 1923, a consortium of local investors purchased the hotel and renamed it "The Roosevelt" in honor of President
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
, who had died four years earlier.
In 1931, Weiss was named president of the New Orleans Roosevelt Corp. From 1931–1965, he was the principal owner and managing director of the Roosevelt. The Cave was closed in favor of a larger venue a floor above called "The Blue Room" which became a nationally prominent music venue. Weiss sold the Roosevelt in 1965. It became the Fairmont Hotel until closing following Hurricane Katrina. In August 2007, Dimension Development Company, Inc, a Natchitoches, Louisiana-based hotel development and management company purchased the property, and restored the building with a scheduled opening date of June 25, 2009. Dimension Development Company Inc, entered into an agreement with
Hilton Worldwide
Hilton Worldwide (legally Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.) is an American multinational hospitality company that manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and resorts. Founded by Conrad Hilton in May 1919, the corporation is now led b ...
to brand the hotel under Hilton's premier
Waldorf Astoria
The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schu ...
collection. The hotel has been rechristened The Roosevelt Hotel by
Waldorf Astoria
The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schu ...
. A grand opening was held in 2009. Businessman Sam Friedman of Natchitoches was heavily involved in the reopening. He is the son of the late
Louisiana State Senator
The Louisiana State Senate (french: Sénat de Louisiane) is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All senators serve four-year terms and are assigned to multiple committees.
Composition
The Louisiana State Senate is compos ...
Sylvan Friedman.
Although Weiss had no children, he was an uncle to Seymour Weiss, II, and S J. Weiss. His wife and sister-in-law died in a car accident, leaving behind two widowers, and two motherless children, one thirteen and one three. The father, his brother, took the thirteen-year-old, S.J., and the grandparents and Seymour took Seymour, II. Seymour, his parents, and "Little Seymour" lived in the hotel. Little Seymour married Sally McNulty and fathered Richard, David, and John Weiss.
Loyal to Huey Long
Weiss became a political booster of Huey Long, whom he met during the 1928 gubernatorial campaign. Weiss acted as Long's chief of protocol and resolved an unwitting comical dispute that developed when the governor received a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
delegation at
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "F ...
in 1930 in a pair of
pajama
Pajamas (American English, US) or pyjamas (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth) (), sometimes colloquially shortened to PJs, jammies, jam-jams, or in South Asia night suits, are several related types of clothing worn as night ...
s, a red and blue robe, and blue bedroom slippers.
Long made Weiss's Roosevelt Hotel his New Orleans headquarters. It was said that Weiss made sure Long never got lost in the hallways of the large facility. Weiss was the closest of friends and a regular golfing partner with Long. He was easily considered an "insider at Long's right hand." Weiss was present at the bedside of Long when he died from internal infection contracted during the attempt to remove the bullets in the assassination attempt.
Weiss became treasurer of both the Louisiana
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
Association and Long's secret political fund. During the Great Depression, Weiss had control of federal relief funds in Louisiana. He was vice-president of the Win or Lose Corporation, a controversial oil company whose structure was devised by Huey Long. On Long's death, Weiss chaired the Huey P. Long Memorial Commission and remained active in the Long machine until scandals swept through the organization.
Imprisonment for tax evasion
In 1934, Weiss was indicted by a federal grand jury in New Orleans on
tax evasion
Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the tax ...
charges. He paid back taxes after the charges were dropped. He was indicted again on tax evasion and
mail fraud
Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activit ...
charges growing out of the "Louisiana Scandals" of the late 1930s. He was convicted and imprisoned for sixteen months between 1940 and 1942, before he was
paroled
Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
and ordered to pay back taxes. In 1947, he was given a full and unconditional pardon by Democratic
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
Harry Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Frankli ...
.''The Journal of Politics'', Vol. 10, No. 2 (May, 1948), pp. 385–409, ''Southern Governors,'' by Cortez A.M. Ewing
Weiss as civic leader
Weiss was a member of the New Orleans Zoning Board and commissioner of the
municipal
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
fire and police departments between 1932 and 1936. He was also president of the board of commissioners of the
Port of New Orleans
The Port of New Orleans is an embarkation port for cruise passengers. It is also Louisiana’s only international container port.
The port generates $100 million in revenue annually through its four lines of business – cargo (46%), rail (31%) ...
from 1933–1938.
He was active in the
American Hotel Association
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
and was president of the Louisiana Hotel-Motel and the New Orleans Hotel associations. He won statewide awards for hotel management in 1952 and 1957. He was a director of the New Orleans chapter of the
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desig ...
, the
Chamber of Commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ...
, and the
International Trade Mart
The International Trade Mart was a New Orleans-based organization promoting international trade and the Port of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The organization was founded in 1946, and merged with International House in 1968, when it was r ...
. In 1968, Weiss chaired the committee for the 250th anniversary of the founding of New Orleans.
"Seymour Weiss" appears in these books
* at least 25 references in ''Huey Long Invades New Orleans: The Siege of a City'', 1934–36 by Garry Boulard (Author)
* at least 25 references in ''Huey Long'' (Vintage) by
T. Harry Williams
Thomas Harry Williams (May 19, 1909 — July 8, 1979) was an American academic and author. For the majority of his academic career between the 1930s to 1970s, Williams taught history at Louisiana State University. While at LSU, Williams was a Boyd ...
(Author)
* at least 25 references in ''Louisiana Hayride'' by
Harnett Kane Harnett may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People Given name
* Harnett Kane (1910–1984), American author
Surname
* Cornelius Harnett (1723–1781), American statesman
* Curt Harnett (born 1965), Canadian racing cyclist
* Cynthia Harnett (1893–1981), E ...
(Author)
* 4 references in ''Deep Politics And The Death of JFK'' by Peter Dale Scott (Author)
* 4 references in ''The Wizards of Armageddon'' (Stanford Nuclear Age Series) by Fred M. Kaplan (Author)
* 4 references in ''Those Swinging Years: The Autobiography of Charlie Barnet'' by Charlie Barnet (Author), Stanley Dance (Author)
* 3 references in ''The Wonderful Era of the Great Dance Bands'' (A Da Capo Paperback) by Leo Walker
* 3 references in ''Gerald L. K. Smith: Minister of Hate'' by Glen Jeansonne
* 2 references in ''Myself Among Others'' by George Wein (Author)
A listing of collected artifacts from the estate of Seymour Weiss, donated by his second wife, Elva Weiss, can be found in the
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
Collection of "The Seymour Weiss Papers" Inventoried & Compiled by Sunny Stein, the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, the Special Collections, Hill Memorial Library, and the Louisiana State University Libraries at Baton Rouge, Louisiana in the Fall of 1999. A listing of contents may be viewed at:
https://web.archive.org/web/20060902085923/http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/findaid/s4165.html
Article By Ronnie Virgets concerning Huey Long's relationship with Seymour Weiss & the Roosevelt Hotel.
Article discussing the history of the Roosevelt Hotel's famed "Blue Room," and it house band – "Leon Kelner and his Orchestra."
An archived article from ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
'' in partnership with CNN titled, "For Tarpon," and posted Monday, May 10, 1937, is a discussion of a visit by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
, and references Seymour Weiss as a "Longster" for his close relationship with Huey Long. The article notes the
Bonnet Carre Spillway
A Bonnet is a variety of headgear, hat or cap
Specific types of headgear referred to as "bonnets" may include
Scottish
*Blue bonnet, a distinctive woollen cap worn by men in Scotland from the 15th-18th centuries And its derivations:
** Feat ...
, built by the U.S. government to protect against
flooding
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caus ...
.
An archived article from ''Time'' in partnership with CNN titled, "One Down," Posted Monday, September 25, 1939, discusses when a scandal broke its levees in Louisiana in the summer of 1939. Governor and Senator Huey Long was dead, and his heirs: ex-Governor Richard Leche, Richard Webster Leche, New Orleans Mayor Robert Sidney Maestri, and New Orleans hotelman Seymour Weiss, were facing government charges, including mail fraud.
A commercial representation of today's Fairmount Hotel – it history under Weiss and conveniences today.
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...