Numerous friends and colleagues came to Cherry’s on August 9 to help celebrate bartender Johny, or Johnny, Pool’s “50 years consecutively behind bars here,” as he put it, on Fire Island, “35 years at the Ice Palace and 15 years here at Cherry’s,” in a show emceed by Charity, with DJ Stacy in the DJ booth.
Among those paying ‘homage’ were Charity (“Big, Blonde, and Beautiful,” from “Hairspray,” and “Up the Lazy River”), Robin Byrd, Richard Bell, singer Sonny Shores, Homecoming Queen 2014 Whore D’Oeuvre, Bella (“I’m a middle-aged woman (Hot flash!)”), singer Porsche (“My sweet joy, always remember me” and “the gayest song,” “Over the Rainbow”), and Demi-Tasse (“Nobody does it like me”).
Coming to the stage, Johny offered, “I would like to thank everyone who supported me,” starting with Cherry’s owners Jacqué Piazza and Donna Bianco. He continued, “I’ve had the opportunity to do exactly what I wanted to do all my life … I’ve surrounded myself with the most beautiful people in the most beautiful place in the world and I love you all!”
Then Johny and Celeste sang “Mack the Knife,” from “The Threepenny Opera,” and Johny concluded with one of his signature songs, “What a Wonderful World,” sung as Louis Armstrong.