The Shadow's best known alter ego is Lamont Cranston, a "wealthy young man-about-town." In the pulps, Cranston is a separate character, a rich playboy who travels the world while The Shadow uses his identity and resources in New York ("The Shadow Laughs," 1931). The Shadow's disguise as Cranston works well because the two men resemble each other ("Dictator of Crime", 1941). In their first meeting, The Shadow threatens Cranston, saying that unless the playboy agrees to allow the aviator to use his identity when he is abroad, then Allard will simply take over the man's identity entirely, having already made arrangements to begin the process, including switching signatures on various documents. Although alarmed at first, the real Lamont Cranston agrees, deciding that sharing his resources and identity is better than losing both entirely. The two men sometimes meet afterward in order to impersonate each other ("Crime over Miami", 1940). As Cranston, The Shadow often attends the Cobalt Club, an exclusive restaurant and lounge catering to the wealthy, and associates with New York City Police Commissioner Ralph Weston.