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Pat Rainey (April 27, 1925 – April 13, 1998)
Pat Rainey, show-girl, singer, actress in the 1940s and 50s, started her career(s) in 1947 with appearances at the "Zanibar Night Club" and in 1949, released her first recorded hit, "Gotta Love You 'til I Die" which was considered, by "Billboard", "the hottest song of 1949". From there, she launched a career in acting, featuring in shows from Casablanca to Algiers and in "short, black films" including London's "Into Thin Air".
In 1952, she was confronted with legal issues, charged with prostitution and use of illegal drugs, by a police officer who had contacted her "for a date". She was found guilty of prostitution and was given a "suspended sentence" by Special Sessions Judge Edward J. Breslin, on condition that she return to Boston (her home-town) in her father's custody.
Three months later, she was already making a sensational come-back at the exclusive "Storyville Club" in Boston, and by 1954, her manager, Jay Clifford, predicted that her fame would equal the great Eartha Kitt.
In 1955, she'd become acquainted with the then king of Egypt, "Farouk", whom she met whilst working in Rome (Italy) at the "Kit Kat Club" there. Farouk expressed "romantic interests" in her, but when asked about the relationship, she replied that she was just going to "see how things go". They "didn't go" and she returned to her career. How-ever, there were also rumours that she was also being pursued by the famous boxer Joe Lewis as well.
In 1961 she removed not only from her career but from society in general, with no fanfare and nothing said about her for the next 20 years..
In 1981 a local newspaper reported that she had become a "Social Worker". After she'd left the stage, she had become care-giver to her aging father and to others in her community and when her last "client" died, she "felt lost". So, in her 50s, she'd found her "true passion and took a position with a local United Way chapter in Worcester, Massachusetts where it's reported, she helped the organisation and their budget, triple in a few short years.
(Pat Rainey was very much part of the family at Mr. G's. There was no pretense, and, as a matter of fact, meeting her, one would have simply taken her for another "guest of the evening or season". She had a warm, caring personality, "loving" for all, with a smile that could thaw the coldest heart and a voice that softened the hardest soul. She thought nothing of leaving the dance floor to refresh drinks for the crowd and at "last call", would clear tables. After closing, she'd grab a broom or mop and make quick work of setting the place in order for the night.
In October 1973, it was Pat Rainey who first took notice of me when I walked into Mr. G's following a violent altercation at home. I hadn't noticed, but my eye was blackened, my lower lip still slightly bleeding. She came directly to me and with eyes wide asked "What happened? What happened to you?"
Thinking I might look a little "dishevelled" since I'd gotten dressed and left the house in haste, I told her of the circumstances as calmly as possible, hoping to dismiss it all, but she grabbed me, gave me the warmest hug and took me into the "formal dining room" at the opposite end of the "Main House" where, in the empty room, she sat me down. "Stay right here, I'll be right back." she said, and hurried out.
Moments later she returned with a glass of scotch (on the rocks... which I drank at the time), put it on the table beside me and in a heart-felt voice of compassion told me "That's on the house. You're safe now and you have a room here for as long as you need. You're NOT going back there tonight. I've talked to George and he said you're staying here. Now, come with me."
She brought me up to a room on the floor where there rooms for the staff and opening the door said "There's fresh towels. You get yourself cleaned up and come back down-stairs. OK? This is your home tonight. It's going to be alright."
The particulars of that night are posted else-where on this web-site, suffice to say, for ALL of these years since, I had NO idea who "Pat Rainey" was. To me, she was a loving, caring, compassionate member of the Family that was "Mr. G's". I'd always remembered her that way and only in August of 2025, with the assistance of the internet, did I discover her career, fame, fortune, misfortune AND how fitting to learn that she was such a magnificent angel to others, care-giver to so many others. - As I observe my own 70th birthday, this year, I think of this revelation as one of the most magnificent gifts I have ever received... the timing is serendipitous and an absolute elation. To think: I was embraced by THE Pat Rainey! And over all the years since, every time I hear the song "Love Train", I think of Pat, on the dance floor, at the age of 49, dancing, smiling and singing. How strange to think: our encounter took place in the year 1973... Pat died at the age of 73. But it's a comfort to know that the energy, the spirit that was "Pat Rainey" is now all around, part of a universe, and in a romantic sort of way, I hope she and George are back together... in another "Mr. G's"... some-where... out there.
It was said to me, some years after G's was gone: "If it hadn't been for Mr. G's, you wouldn't be here today." Well, truth is, if it hadn't been for Pat Rainey going to George, and the both of them being so human, compassionate, caring and loving...)
Image: Pat Rainey at 58 holding a picture of herself. Berkshire Eagle, Dec 31, 1988, p. 18.
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