In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

JAZZ
During the final press conference that Jack Dempsey holds at his training
camp in Atlantic City, N.]., on Wednesday, September 22, twenty-four
hours before his title fight with Gene Tunney [see Boxing], the heavyweight
champion of the world is eager to show that he has the tastes of
a gentleman of leisure:
Dempsey was dressed in a gray suit, double-breasted coat, and whitebottomed
trousers and wore a blue bow tie. While the interview was in
progress, a moving van backed to the curbstone and two men entered
the house to remove the articles which were not part of the furnished
home the champion rented, for Dempsey is through with his West
Atlantic City abode. The first thing the workmen tackled was a radio
cabinet on which some Victoria records were lying. "Those records
don't go out boys," the champion exclaimed as the moving men started
to pick them up. "Put them on the table there for the time being."
Dempsey explained that he was still as keen as ever for the jazz records,
with now and then a waltz tune. "They're a great relief at times." (New
York Times, September 23)
Of course, Dempsey's enthusiasm for jazz is part of a well-calculated
media image. On the one hand, his image must fit the reputation of the
"Manassa Mauler" as the incarnation of elementary physical strength.
On the other, it strives to present the champion as an alternative to
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