Louis Chalif Down and Out

My name is Louis Chalif. My grandfather was Louis H. Chalif, I am Louis J. Chalif. Basically, we share the same name for which I am very proud.

My grand dad was a dancer, born in Odessa. He came to the USA with his family in 1905 and began teaching dance, classical and various other forms, but with an emphasis on ballet. The Chalif School of Dance became very successful in New York. Eventually, Louis H. designed and built a building on East 57th St. in Manhattan, directly across from Carnegie Hall. It was used for the school activities and also housed the family with living quarters on the upper floors.

In the 1930's, due to the depression, Louis H. was forced to sell the building. Various entities have owned it since that time, but the building survived, mostly intact as originally designed. In the 1990's, the building was made an official New York City landmark, meaning among other things that it cannot be demolished or changed significantly. There is a large brass plaque on the exterior front entrance: "The Louis H. Chalif Building" along with some other details and dates.

As you may imagine, I am very proud of that. It is like having my name on the front of that building.

I have worked in the arts as well, mostly as a musician and song writer. Using the stage name Jamie Sheriff I have released several albums, one of which was on Polydor Records in the 1980's. Unfortunately, the record did not produce any hits, and I was denied a second album, though at the time I signed, they all but guaranteed me at lest two albums.

I worked as a session keyboard player. I composed music for films and advertisements. I have also worked as a restaurant server, and most recently, as a ride share driver. Despite all my efforts, I am still basically broke and about to be evicted from my apartment.

I need money badly and am prevailing on anyone who may sympathize with my plight to come to my aid.

Please help if you can. Thank you for reading this.