'Josie' O'Kane, a fixture at Palumbo's, dies at 80

JOSIE O'KANE didn't take any guff from the customers who made Palumbo's in South Philadelphia a gathering place for generations of celebrities, politicians and other notables.

She was a waitress in Palumbo's Nostalgia Room for 25 years before it was destroyed by fire in 1994.

"She would drop a plate in front of Al Martino and say, 'Eat this,' " said her son, Bryan.

"She was tough and feisty. She would put people in their place, no matter how famous they were, and everybody loved her for it."

Josephine Rosa Gotti O'Kane, known to one and all as Josie, a Chicago native who worked at other Philly restaurants before Palumbo's and was an accomplished Latin/Salsa ballroom dancer and teacher, died Thursday of lung cancer.

She was 80 and lived in South Philadelphia.

"Working at Palumbo's was not like a job to her," said her son, a teacher in Syracuse who once worked at Palumbo's as a busboy.

"She would sometimes work double shifts and six-seven days a week, but she really enjoyed it."

Besides Martino, she waited on other Philly celebrities like singers James Darren and Frankie Avalon and comedian Pat Cooper.

She was so popular that many of the customers asked for the little waitress (she was barely 5 feet tall) with the saucy lip. Among them was Frank Rizzo, police commissioner and mayor, who dined there nearly every evening.

Rich Kotite and his staff would show up for a meal when he coached the Eagles in the early '90s.

"Anyone performing in the city would go to Palumbo's," her son said. "I know Frank Sinatra was there a few times, but she never mentioned waiting on him."

Others who frequented Palumbo's in the good old days included Jimmy Durante, Louis Prima, Louis Armstrong and the Clooney sisters.

Palumbo's, which dated its history back to an 1884 boardinghouse, also included a banquet hall and the Click Club as well as the Nostalgia Room. The fire that destroyed it was determined to be arson.

Josie was born and raised in Chicago, but traveled extensively.

She could be found dancing to the Latin rhythms in San Francisco, where she also taught at the Arthur Murray Studios, and in New York City, where she also taught.

After arriving in Philadelphia, she waitressed at the old Holiday Inn Fife and Drum Room in Center City as well as DiNardo's Crab House.

At the Holiday Inn, she waited on such sports figures as Phillies stars Steve Carlton and Tim McCarver.

"She treated celebrities, as well as common everyday customers as if they were family and she was loved dearly for it," her son said. "Her friendliness, compassion and generosity knew no bounds."

Josie had such fond memories of Palumbo's that she decorated the walls of her home with some of the old black-and-white photos that had once hung in the famous saloon.

Besides her son, she is survived by a daughter, Michele "Shelly" O'Kane and four grandchildren.

Services: Funeral Mass 11 a.m. tomorrow at Church of the Holy Spirit, 1845 Hartranft St. Friends may call at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Mount Carmel Cemetery, Chicago.