1. Pearl "Polly" Adler was an American madam and author, best known for her work A House Is Not a Home, which was adapted into a film of the same name.
20 Facts About Polly Adler
1. 2.
When Polly Adler was thirteen, her parents sent her with a cousin to the United States to avoid the gathering wave of pogroms.
3.
Polly Adler worked as a seamstress and at clothing factories, and attended school sporadically.
4.
Polly Adler found a doctor who charged $150 for abortions.
5.
One evening, Polly Adler was arrested and charged with procuring, but the case was dismissed for lack of evidence.
6.
Polly Adler made a point of befriending the police, slipping a $100 bill into a cop's palm whenever she shook his hand.
7.
Polly Adler was a shrewd businesswoman with a mind for marketing.
8.
Polly Adler determined that gaining publicity would be to her advantage, and she cultivated newspaper coverage by dressing flamboyantly, making grand appearances at nightclubs, and drawing attention to her beautiful employees.
9.
Polly Adler paid large bribes to city and law enforcement officials to keep her business open.
10.
Polly Adler's brothels were distinguished by drink from the best bootleggers, food from her own private cooks, good hygiene, and well-selected, mostly working-class girls.
11.
Polly Adler refused to give up the names of any mobsters when apprehended by the police.
12.
Polly Adler attended high school and earned an associate degree at Los Angeles City College.
13.
Polly Adler's notoriety led her to be included in Cleveland Amory's 1959 Celebrity Register.
14.
Polly Adler pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined $500.
15.
Polly Adler served her sentence in May and June 1935, scrubbing the jail floors, and was released after 24 days.
16.
In 1943, Polly Adler was imprisoned at the Bellevue Hospital, while under her seventeenth charge for prostitution.
17.
Polly Adler was portrayed by the actress Gisele Rousseau in the 1994 film Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle.
18.
Polly Adler died of cancer in Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, California.
19.
Polly Adler was survived by her mother and her six brothers.
20.
Polly Adler is buried in the Maimonides section of Mt.