Died 7 October 1932 | ||
Józef Ładowski (Josek Ładowski, Gruby Josek, Fat Yosl, Yosek) (b. C. 1900, d. Oct. 7, 1932 in Warsaw) - Polish restaurateur, the hero of the ballad Bal u starego Joska.
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Biography
In the 1920s and early 1930s he was the owner of a small restaurant on the Rynkowa Street (formerly known as Gnojna) 7 in the Jewish district of Warsaw. His tavern was a beloved place for Warsaws rich and poor. Colonel Wieniawa-Długoszowski (at one moment president of Poland), marshal Piłsudski's personal adjutant, was frequent visitor and many others from Warsaw's high society.
Personal life
He married Maria (Miriam) Lipowicz , who had a bakery in Stopnica. He lived with his family at the Rynkowa (Market) Street 7 and had four children: Alicja Ładowska (Davis) (born 15 June 1925), Mieczysław, Ryszard and Franciszka. Josek Ładowski's brother Aaron (Arne) Ładowski arrived in Toronto in Canada in 1906 from Kielce and established the United Bakers Dairy Restaurant there in 1912 which still exists today (2016).
Death
When he died on October 7, 1932, at 11 pm, Warsaw's ABC newspaper reported that Gruby Josek was respected among Warsaw's underground and that he was a judge in many disputes. He is buried in the Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw.
In popular culture
The tavern was known as U Grubego Joska ("At Fat Joe's"). It was so notorius that a song was written in 1934 Bal u starego Joska - it remains to be one of the most popular Polish underground ballads often sung in the specific dialect of Warsaw's Praga district.
His grandson Ron Davis Ron Davis recorded jazz versions of Bal u starego Joska on his 2010 album My Mother's Father's Song.