Eye on Miami Exclusive: The Raging Bull Jake LaMotta had a heart. Guest Blog by Linda

This is an exclusive, written by my friend for Eye on Miami.

I was 22 years old when I started working as a waitress in a topless nightclub called The Mardi Gras in New York's Times Square. They served steaks to their upscale clientele. The establishment was more Vegas than Times Square in the 70's. The dancers were all gorgeous and were not allowed to talk with the customers.

The bouncer was a man named Jake and many of the men who came in would shake his hand. I didn't know he was Jake LaMotta, the famous boxer. I was innocent when it came to the world of nightclubs. He once pointed to a stunning dancer and said "do you know that she's Betty Davis's daughter"? I asked "does her mother know she works here"? She wasn't. After that, he teased me a lot. He introduced me to a good looking man and told me he just graduated from college. I asked "What school?" What Jake meant was, he just got out of prison, that was the euphemism  then for being released. I was so naive, the teasing persisted but Jake took me under his wing and protected me.

Jake, never hit on me or disrespected me in any way. Being "green" I didn't think anything of it. After working in other clubs with other bouncers, I realized he was one of the exceptions. A gentleman.

The Jake I knew looked like this.

When I read Jake LaMotta died, it brought back all the memories of my time working with him and I cried, fondly remembering our funny little friendship.

RIP Jake LaMotta! My condolences to his family and friends. - Linda