Lou Stillman

Louis Ingber (1888–1969), better known as Lou Stillman, was an American boxing-gym owner and manager best known for running Stillman's Gym in New York City, considered one of the most influential in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century. His fame transcended beyond New York and into boxing circles virtually everywhere else.

Early life Louis Ingber was born on 15 Sep 1888 in Manhattan, New York. Before entering boxing, he has been described in some later accounts as having worked as a police officer or private detective, although this detail is inconsistently sourced. In 1921, businessman Alpheus Geer hired him to manage the Marshall Stillman Movement gym in New York City, despite Stillman's lack of knowledge of boxing at the time.

Since Ingber managed the place everyone referred to him as Mr. Stillman, which led him to change his last name and subsequetially the gym was renames Stillman's Gym in the late 1920s.

The gym was also known for its rough atmosphere and austere conditions. Stillman's has been described as crowded, smoky, generally unsanitary and deliberately old-fashioned. Some boxing writers portrayed Stillman as believing that harsh conditions toughened fighters.

Stillman's initially attracted a group of Jewish boxers. According to Encyclopaedia Judaica, these included several high-quality fighters such as lightweight champion Benny Leonard who was one of the leading fighters associated with this move. Stillman's became closely linked with New York's Jewish boxing culture as well as with the broader world of professional boxing.

Boxers associated with Stillman's Gym included Benny Leonard, Jack Dempsey, Georges Carpentier, Primo Carnera, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, and others.

Stillman carried a gun around his waist when he was at the gym. He had two guards watching the doors, to make sure everyone paid the 25 cents price to get in and watch the boxers practice. He had a sign that read: "Anyone caught stealing will be barred for life". When French dancer Jeanne Lamar showed up at Stillman's to train in 1922, Stillman told her that there were "no facilities for girls" in his gym, but she stood around and used the gym to get in shape anyway.

One who refused to train there was Gene Tunney, because he complained about the place's sanitation, saying that he would never train there unless the windows were opened. Typical of him, Stillman refused to open the windows.

Retirement and death Stillman retired in 1959 after selling the building, and he joined his daughter in California. He liked painting, and became proficient painter in oils as he spent the last few years of his life at a nursing home in Santa Barbara. He died on August 19, 1969.

In popular culture Stillman's Gym was featured in several motion pictures, including the Rocky Graziano biographical film Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) and It's Always Fair Weather (1955), which has a musical number set in the gym, "Baby You Knock Me Out," featuring Cyd Charisse.