A now-unremarkable spot at 6510 Decarie (NW corner Plamondon) hosted one of the city's most legendary strip joints between 1975 and 1996.
Alfie Segal's bar was officially called the Le Strip but was only ever called Alfie's and was officially renamed to Alfie's in November 1982. .
The Cadillac-driving Segal didn't shy away from attention and once described himself to a reporter as a “nightclub operator, entrepreneur and actor” and even made a failed bid city council bid in 1982.
Alfie was not a quiet man, and would often greet people with: “Hey howya fuckin' doin'!?”
His bar had walls adorned with vinyl records from the 50s, unpretentious dancers who were not always gorgeous and the songs were often famously short.
The music was from the 50s and 60s and was played quietly on an inadequate sound system. When a song ended it, one could easily overhear conversations from other tables.
Alfie was so well-known that a female fiend of mine, then a teenager called up as a prank to to ask for an audition. "Sure doll, just come up and bring your funky disco tapes.” Her comic imitation of his cackling intonation and corny phrase became her go-to funny yarn for years.
Dancers deemed to be the wildest were the most fondly remembered by patrons: Jamie aka Tara, sisters Charmaine and Kelly, Latina sisters Carolina and Cassandra, a dancer in an American flag or Budweiser bikini, loudmouth Bobbie with slicked back hair, Afro-Canadian Amber, a bodybuilder stripper, Greek Voula, Jane, aged 40 and the frequently-inebriated Brandy.
They would give $5 dances to songs such as Stupid Cupid, Age of Aquarius, In the Ghetto and these Boots were Made for Walking.
Staffers included Warren the dwarf doorman, Brian, who enjoyed getting to know the dancers and his brother Earl who moved to Ottawa and married a dancer, as well a janitor frequently dressed in red that looked like the wrestler Sailor White.
Customers' fond memories include a night when the place improvised in silence and darkness during a power outage. Another claimed that the urinals were a useful place to have intercourse with dancers, although officially such things were shunned and nobody else in this decade-old nostalgic discussion seemed to recall such shenanigans.
In late 1982 city officials attempted to shut the place down because police noted that Normand, Roland and Maurice Dubois of the famous St. Henri crime family were spotted there.
Maurice Dubois once walked out with a wad of $1,500 cash hidden in a rag in 1981, so they were either the secret owners or were collecting some sort of extortion. And about 10 other known criminals were said to hang out there, according to police.
Segal was pretty honest but cryptic when asked to explain. “I'm caught in a bind between you and them. There is not much I can do about it.”
The bar lost the ruling and for a time Alfie was "down and out," according to one description.
"He would go to the Brown Derby (restaurant) to try and put deals together and he hardly had any money for a cup of coffee. He wqs so broke he had to go down into his basement and cash in $30 worth of Coke bottles. Then he wen tto the Derby, picked up everyone's cheque," said friend Peter Madden.
Journalist Michael Farber, in a 1984 Gazette city column, described a small place with about 10 strippers, overseen by "Crazy Alfie," then aged 41, wearing a white tux with black piping, one of what he claimed was 40 tuxedos that he owned. Segal owned a Thunderbird, worshiped Elvis and grow up on Drolet Street. He had a stutter and left school at age 13 to work selling used cars and removing snow.
Alfie's reopened in the spring of 1984 and its staffers included fully-clothed waitress Dina Totaro, 26, who called Segal "a great boss. I work as a secretary during the day and he lets me start at nine so I can get a couple of hours sleep. He knows how much this job means to me. He knows I'm trying to pay off my braces," she told Farber. .
Segal played a small role as a gangster in the movie Joshua Then and Now. Documentary filmmaker Peter Madden was said to have assembled footage on the club, which may or may not be available at his Concordia fonds.
Alfie's closed forever after the building was set afire and destroyed by arsonists on December 9, 1996. Propane canisters and a can of gasoline were found nearby, so there was never any doubt of the cause of the blaze.
Neither Segal nor building owner Normand Tousignant said they had a clue of who might've targeted the property, which also housed a pawn shop on the ground floor and a pool hall on the third floor.
Alfie attempted to open another club called Gentleman's Choice on St. Catherine near Drummond from about 2000-2010, employing his two sons and many of the same dancers.
Last we saw Segal is still alive and living near Jean Talon and Victoria. Coolopolis met with him but he failed to communicate anything of value.
Alfie Segal's bar was officially called the Le Strip but was only ever called Alfie's and was officially renamed to Alfie's in November 1982. .
The Cadillac-driving Segal didn't shy away from attention and once described himself to a reporter as a “nightclub operator, entrepreneur and actor” and even made a failed bid city council bid in 1982.
Alfie was not a quiet man, and would often greet people with: “Hey howya fuckin' doin'!?”
His bar had walls adorned with vinyl records from the 50s, unpretentious dancers who were not always gorgeous and the songs were often famously short.
The music was from the 50s and 60s and was played quietly on an inadequate sound system. When a song ended it, one could easily overhear conversations from other tables.
Alfie was so well-known that a female fiend of mine, then a teenager called up as a prank to to ask for an audition. "Sure doll, just come up and bring your funky disco tapes.” Her comic imitation of his cackling intonation and corny phrase became her go-to funny yarn for years.
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| Segal in 1984 |
Staffers included Warren the dwarf doorman, Brian, who enjoyed getting to know the dancers and his brother Earl who moved to Ottawa and married a dancer, as well a janitor frequently dressed in red that looked like the wrestler Sailor White.
Customers' fond memories include a night when the place improvised in silence and darkness during a power outage. Another claimed that the urinals were a useful place to have intercourse with dancers, although officially such things were shunned and nobody else in this decade-old nostalgic discussion seemed to recall such shenanigans.
In late 1982 city officials attempted to shut the place down because police noted that Normand, Roland and Maurice Dubois of the famous St. Henri crime family were spotted there.
Maurice Dubois once walked out with a wad of $1,500 cash hidden in a rag in 1981, so they were either the secret owners or were collecting some sort of extortion. And about 10 other known criminals were said to hang out there, according to police.
Segal was pretty honest but cryptic when asked to explain. “I'm caught in a bind between you and them. There is not much I can do about it.”
The bar lost the ruling and for a time Alfie was "down and out," according to one description.
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| 1984 ad |
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| 1979 ad |
Alfie's reopened in the spring of 1984 and its staffers included fully-clothed waitress Dina Totaro, 26, who called Segal "a great boss. I work as a secretary during the day and he lets me start at nine so I can get a couple of hours sleep. He knows how much this job means to me. He knows I'm trying to pay off my braces," she told Farber. .
Segal played a small role as a gangster in the movie Joshua Then and Now. Documentary filmmaker Peter Madden was said to have assembled footage on the club, which may or may not be available at his Concordia fonds.
Alfie's closed forever after the building was set afire and destroyed by arsonists on December 9, 1996. Propane canisters and a can of gasoline were found nearby, so there was never any doubt of the cause of the blaze.
Neither Segal nor building owner Normand Tousignant said they had a clue of who might've targeted the property, which also housed a pawn shop on the ground floor and a pool hall on the third floor.
Alfie attempted to open another club called Gentleman's Choice on St. Catherine near Drummond from about 2000-2010, employing his two sons and many of the same dancers.
Last we saw Segal is still alive and living near Jean Talon and Victoria. Coolopolis met with him but he failed to communicate anything of value.
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| 1989 newspaper ad |
As I recall, Alfie's was at the corner of Plamondon and Decarie (not Kenmore) above the old Garland Tavern.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct. He was above the Tavern. I remember when he was broke. He lived around the corner of me and I worrked in the strip mall up on Darlington and Van Horne and he was one of my customers. He use to come see me and borrow money to be able to go to the Brown Derby for coffee with his pals. When he reopened he came and got me to work with him in the club. I remember having to take his car and run around to different clubs downtown to pick up beer for him so he could stay open because he didn`t have the money to keep the place filled until the next order date.
DeleteGreat place to hang out
DeleteYes, I think I remember it was located on the Southwest corner of Decarie and Plamondon. These is a small empty lot there now.
DeleteI recall one day on Queen Mary , a Cadillac parks & out pours the family. Two little mini-me's , about 7 years old , dressed in 3 piece suits complete with the huge medallions , the wife in leather boots above her knees, looking like she should be working the Lower Main. It was , to say the least , cartoonish.
ReplyDelete@JM I concur.
ReplyDeleteWhat ever became of the Dubois brothers?
ReplyDeleteI met and got to know Alfie in the early 90's when he was a member at the Sporting Club, an expensive gym and spa. He would walk around with a red leather jacket with 2 dancing girls and his name written on the back. He had an incredibly foul mouth and loved to give a slap on the asses of the snootiest members. With the staff he was sweet, generous and respectful. Vulgar, yes, but very funny.
ReplyDeleteWarren the midget doorman used to be a member of le sporting club too. I remember watching Alfie climb outa the cold pool-mikvah all nekkid like. He'd then come in the hot box and bellow "Hey howya fuckin' doin?" to Premiere Bourassa an' me.
DeleteMy sister used to dance there in the late 80s under "Jesse" and was dating the greek bouncer named Peter. Alfie used to park his ultra-clean, black C3 corvette in front and leave the interior courtesy lights on purpose.
ReplyDeleteI also agree on the corrected location.
Matthew
I remember a guy all bloody at the bottomof the stairs.Thrown down is my guess.
ReplyDeleteThere was a few guys that was thrown down the steps at the one just up the street from Alfies.
DeleteA woman I was dating worked there as a bartender under the fake name Kathy just before the place got torched. She invited me to come see her at work once and insisted I get a private dance from one of the dancers and she would pay. I pretended I didn't want to but she insisted. So I picked a sexy slim dancer who told me her family background was Russian...can't remember her name. While she was dancing for me, she said if I was her boyfriend and was getting a private dance from another girl, she would cut my balls off! I protested this was not my idea. Then "Kathy", my friend, gave me shit for picking this particular dancer because, get this, she was not artistic enough in her dancing and was apparently known to give handjobs to clients, which, unfortunately, I missed out on. It was a funny evening to say the least. I always meant to go back to see that Russian dancer when Kathy wasnt around but the place burned down before I could get back there. Good times!
ReplyDeleteThere was one girl in there that worked for long time that use to go under the tables and give BJ`s. I remember working there and we use to watch her coming up from under the tables
DeleteSeems to me that gangsterism and tackiness seems to be a la mode!!! The lowest of low's have success in montreal. This world is really upside down!
ReplyDeleteIts true the Dubois hang out there.Frank Ryan use to stop by and bring supper for my beautiful redheaded friend.Many high profile lawyers too.The cops were always trying to bust the place even going as far as making up things.They would raid the place all the time.
ReplyDeleteI picked up a dancer there once and we had sex in the car. Good times
ReplyDeleteA stripper named Celine said Alfie insulted her so he told her here let me buy you a cognac! but she noticed he had spit in the glass!! true story!!!!
ReplyDeleteI worked there, in the 80's as a waiter. It brings back great memories. I was a young man and mostly worked there to look at the girls:). The cops used to come over and check our ID pretty often. It was like a family business.
ReplyDelete