Madam is the biog­ra­phy of Pol­ly Adler (1900−1962), the most infa­mous and influ­en­tial madam in Jazz Age New York. Her 1953 mem­oir, A House is Not A Home, sold 2 mil­lion books and became a 1963 movie star­ring Shel­ley Win­ters. More than a biog­ra­phy, this is a col­or­ful and unusu­al his­to­ry of Jew­ish life told through the per­spec­tive of a ​“good Jew­ish girl” from a Russ­ian shtetl who immi­grat­ed to Brook­lyn, and rose to become ​“the Female Al Capone” and one of the most renowned Jew­ish-Amer­i­can women in the 20th cen­tu­ry. Her broth­els were under­world salons that catered to every­one from the Van­der­bilts and the Rock­fellers to Wal­ter Winchell, Frank Sina­tra, Desi Arnaz, the Algo­nquin Round­table, Dutch Schultz and Mey­er Lan­sky, and, it was rumored, Franklin D. Roo­sevelt.

This event is part of our 2022-23 Cultural Arts Speaker Series and will be held in person at our Sam Field Center in Little Neck. To see our full lineup of speakers, click here.

Cost is $8 members, $10 non-members. To register, click here. If you have not already made an account, you must do so first here.

For more information, please contact Sivan Ben-Aderet at sbenaderet@commonpointqueens.org.

58-20 Little Neck Parkway Map
718-225-6750