Nicely-Nicely Johnson


Nicely-Nicely Johnson is the gambler who sings Rocking the Boat in G&D. In The Big Street 1942, Eugene Pallette plays a character named Nicely-Nicely Johnson. It's hard to imagine that two writers could come with such a weird name.

Does anyone know anything about that?

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I assume you're just being a wisenheimer here, but G&D and Big Street are both Damon Runyon adaptations, of course.

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The character seems to have been called that because when asked how he is, he always says "Nicely, nicely".

I was in a local theater production of it, and the guy who played Nicely-Nicely had a fabulous voice and knew how to sell a song, he totally stole the show with "Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat". The song totally falls flat in the movie, I've always suspected that Brando and/or Sinatra didn't want anyone too good, they wouldn't have any supporting player showing them up.

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Runyon's original character named Jones not.Johnson.

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