CHAPTER THREE

Florida–New York

1951–1953

With his solo Javanese dance act, performed in costumes he designed and made himself, Jimmy met a sleazy would-be agent named Maurice Left, who wanted to promote him. It quickly became clear that low-end gigs were not good for his career.

Soon afterward, he met Louis and Rosalie, an acrobatic duo. Rosalie wanted Jimmy to join their act and invited him to New York, promising he could stay with them until he found a place of his own. To attract audiences, Jimmy created the exotic stage name Erbotto Sumaj—his name spelled backward. Selling tickets was important when New York rent had to be paid.

Outside the theater, he increasingly introduced himself as Jim, a name he felt sounded more mature than Jimmy. Eventually, Rosalie and Louis broke up, bringing their New York act to an end.

Without steady work, Jim spent time at a local rehearsal space searching for new opportunities. There he met another performer and dancer, Subramuniya (born Robert Hanson in Oakland, California). Subramuniya had traveled to India twice to study Eastern religions and psychology. His goal was to establish an ashram and raise funds and donations to support it. When not performing, he served as a guru and spiritual advisor to wealthy women seeking guidance. The two became friends, and Jim was eager to learn more about Eastern spirituality.

With his Javanese and East Indian-inspired performances, Jim was hired to join the cast of dancers for the Broadway production of The King and I in 1951. By then, he was eighteen years old. During his time on Broadway, he realized that his height of 5’8” would limit his chances of being cast for principal dance roles. For Jim, this signaled the need to pursue a new career direction beyond dance.

When one of his scheduled breaks arrived, Jim accepted Subramuniya’s invitation to travel to India to learn more about spirituality, yoga, and meditation. During this period, he absorbed many practices that remained with him throughout his life. Jim stayed in many ashrams with Subramuniya and appreciated the teachings, but had difficulties with the gurus being true to their teaching. However, Jim gained clarity about his next career move during this time.

At twenty, Jim returned to New York to work with his Uncle Joe, who owned a uniform factory that supplied hotels. In the back of the factory was a workshop where high-end custom suits were made for individual clients, and Jim learned patternmaking from old-world master tailors.