Oscar Levant Plays the Mikado

Oscar Levant, a pianist, composer, actor, author and quiz-show panelist known for his quick wit, performed at the Mikado Inn in Harmon-on-the-Hudson during 1922 when he was just 16 years old. In his 1965 memoir The Memoirs of an Amnesiac, Levant recalled this formative experience.

He "played the piano in a Japanese roadhouse" while sharing living quarters with approximately 20-30 Japanese waiters in the cellar. The establishment featured a three-piece orchestra on weekends and piano-violin combinations during weekdays.

The proprietor, nicknamed "Admiral Moto," was a jovial Japanese man overshadowed by his imposing Irish wife described as "tall, dictatorial and quite respectable." The kitchen was managed by a 20-year-old Italian chef from nearby Croton, trained in Japanese sukiyaki preparation. A rival establishment, the Nikko Inn, operated nearby, creating intense local competition.