Frank O'Dwyer suffered a stroke in his late sixties. He was a millionaire. His brother, former mayor of New York, William O'Dwyer came to visit him at the UCLA Hospital. The two brothers came from Ireland as very young men. The only work they could get was driving streetcars, taxi cars or being policemen. Signs on factories read, HELP WANTED, IRISH NEED NOT APPLY. William went to night school, studied on his own and became a lawyer and finally the Mayor of New York City. Frank O'Dwyer drove a streetcar in New York, and both brothers had a lot of Irish friends there.
Frank was married to a lovely woman who stayed by his bedside at the hospital during the day as he rested after his stroke. When I came on duty as his private nurse in the afternoons, his house guest was with him. His close friend Ella Logan spent the evenings with us at the hospital trying to cheer Mr. O'Dwyer. She invited her movie friends to visit him including Jimmy Durante, Red Skelton. Once the Tin Man and the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz came to cheer him.
Ella Logan came from Ireland like Mr. O'Dwyer and had known him when they were young in New York. She became an entertainer on Broadway and in movies. FINNIAN'S RAINBOW was written especially for her, and she was the star of the Broadway production. When Mr. O'Dwyer slept, Ella Logan talked to me. Her Irish and Jewish dialects were perfect for her funny and entertaining stories. Her normal everyday language was spoken with Irish brogue. She entertained us from three to eleven every night for about three weeks. She had left show business to marry and live in Texas, but after several years and a divorce, she returned to California. Now her ambition was to get back in show business. Years later I saw her perform in New York on the Johnny Carson Tonight Show.
Frank O'Dwyer told me about his brother. "During his years as mayor of New York, Bill was a real nice guy, and he did a lot of favors. He was honest himself, but some of his buddies were not always honest . That's how Bill got himself into hot water with the people of New York. He helped too many of his friends get out of trouble with the law by fixing traffic citations or any other citations they happened to get. Eventually he had to leave town. He moved to Mexico City to stay out of jail himself. My brother was very well liked by everyone who knew him. He's the type of man who will give you the shirt off his back."
Frank O'Dwyer told me about himself. "When I came to El Centro, California, the government allowed me to borrow money from the banks to develop a lettuce farm. Every year I borrow money to run the farm. We never get out of debt. Every year I have to borrow millions from the bank just to keep my farm going. But we always go first class. When guests eat at my home, they are served only the hearts from the lettuce. Everyone treats me like a millionaire because I spend plenty of money. I own the best land and grow the best crops. My house is beautiful, and I drive a new expensive car. I always have a big bar bill at the local night clubs and bars. When I walk in, the drinks are on me. I know a man in Imperial County who thinks he is a big shot because he has a lot of money. He buys everybody in the bars a drink just like I do. But he's not such a big shot when you consider how he earns his money. He comes to our farms with his trucks and loads up the pieces of lettuce we discard at the packing yard. He gathers unwanted vegetables from all over the county and feeds it to pigs. He gets his money from selling the pigs. If you ask me, I'd say he is just a garbage collector."