LOS ANGELES
HISTORY - GREAT RESTAURATEURS
| The great restaurateurs of Los Angeles - the
makers of the feast for just about every momentous
celebration in the Golden Age of Los Angeles. I
think it is fitting to acknowledge the men and
women of history who founded the fabulous restaurants
featured in this site
(sometime misspelled restauranteurs).
These are the typical "larger than life"
people that make life interesting.
Please send me suggestions of who should be added to
the list (especially if you have some personal
knowledge of their history). Suggestions on famous
restaurant employees and bar tenders are also
welcome.
Manuel "Manny" Aguirre
Musso and Frank Grill
Scandia Restaurant
Nikodell's Restaurant
El Poche Cafe
Statler Hotel
Mardi Gras Restaurant (in the Park Wilshire
Hotel)
Dublin Food and Fun


click on pictures to expand them |
Bartender to the stars and an indispensible
part of the "living history" of the Musso
and Frank Grill.
Manny Aguirre
was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador in 1934.
After attending school in his home country
he immigrated to the U.S. in 1953.
There he started a rich and varied period of
"training" in many of Los Angeles's greatest
historic restaurants. Starting out as
a bus boy in places like the "El Poche" Cafe
in San Gabriel and moving on to the famous
Statler Hotel at 7th , Wilshire Boulevard
and Figueroa. He moved on to other
restaurants such as the Mardi Gras
Restaurant (in the Park Wilshire Hotel, 2424
Wilshire Blvd.), Dublin Food and Fun, and then
one of Los Angeles' true greats, Nikodell's
Restaurant, on Melrose Ave. near the
Paramount Movie studio. Moving from one
classic place to another, he was hired by
none less than Kenneth Hansen (see below) to
work at the elegant Scandia Restaurant on
Sunset Boulevard from 1978 to 1988 as head
bartender.
One of Manny's fondest memories was when he
was asked by Pepe Ruiz to help out on the
last night of the original Chasen's
Restaurant. In 1989, he started his
illustrious career at Musso and Frank Grill
(Musso's or Musso and Frank's).
During his long stint at Nikodell's, he
became well known to the casts of
"Mission Impossible", "Happy Days",
and Laverne and Shirley. He proudly
remembers serving ginger ale to a young Ron
Howard.
Of course, as with any great Hollywood
bartenders, Manny has served beverages to a
slew of movie stars, directors and other
famous clientele - Harrison Ford, Nicholas
Cage, Drew Barrymore, Francis Coppola, Keith
Richards, Merv Griffin and Mickey Rooney, to
name a few. Manny has received countless
awards and accolades for making the best
Martini's and Cosmos in America. In
one of life's great ironies (sorry James
Bond) Manny explains that the art of making
a Martini is to stir and not shake it.
Manny was specifically named "Bartender of
the Year" for 2005-2006 by the prestigious
"Southern California Restaurant Writers".
Some of Manny Aguirre's fondest memories -
upon seeing Drew Barrymore staring into the
bar's mirror, he quipped "Honey, that mirror
is a liar!" He also recalls the time
he served a cup of coffee to a very polite
"James Dean" at the Statler Hotel, during
the filming of Giant.
While I could go on and on about Manny
Aguirre's Hollywood experiences, perhaps the
greatest attribute of this unassuming and
humble man is his rock solid integrity and
dedication to the art of cocktails.
Don't ask him to make a "dirty" Martini -
please! Manny is a quiet reminder of a
time and generation whose word was good as
gold, who was trustworthy to a fault, who
always remembers your name, and who can
always be counted on to "lend an ear" when
you need some advice or wisdom in this
chaotic modern world we live in. Stop
by at Musso and Frank's (Tuesday to Saturday
from 3:00PM to about 8:00PM) and tell him
"Jonathon" sent you. You will
instantly be transported to the Golden Age
of American culture and Hollywood history.
And if you make some crack about how he's
been working at Musso from "ancient times",
he'll tell you "yes, and you were the first
person I served a drink to!" |
|
Adolph “Eddie” Brandstatter The Embassy
Club
The Montmartre Cafe
Sardi's Restaurant
Lindy's Restaurant The Sunset Inn
The Picadilly (Hollywood)
The building that held the Embassy Club as
it stands today.

Interior of the Montmartre courtesy of
Bronwen B. |
Eddie Brandstatter, one of Hollywood's
greatest early restaurateurs was a native of
France and trained in the great cafes of
London, Paris and New York. His first
restaurant was probably the Sunset Inn in
Santa Monica, jointly owned with Mike Lyman,
another great restaurateur. Eddie
Brandstatter later built the famous and
fabulous Montmartre Cafe (originally called
the Sixty Club) at a cost of 150,000 dollars
with an Italian Renaissance design on
Hollywood Blvd. (designed by Meyer and
Holler - my favorite architects). The
building still stands, almost unchanged
today. He also operated the Embassy Club
next door to the Montmartre Cafe. Eddie Brandstatter later made a go at a Hollywood
Sardi’s at 6313 Hollywood Blvd. designed by
architects A.C. Balch and the great R.W.
Schindler in the art deco style. And a posh
spot it was. He led a checkered life. At
one point he was charged with grand theft in
a dispute with the well-known Hollywood real
estate developer C.E.Toberman concerning taking
a “nude statute” and other valuables from the
Montmartre Cafe (after it had already
been sold in a bankruptcy auction), and Brandstatter
was convicted. He was given two years
probation after returning the property.
In 1934, he was again convicted for
illegally selling "stimulants" at Sardi’s.
Sardi’s Restaurant was destroyed in a fire
11-2-1936 (later a place named "Zardi's" was
built on the same site. It is this building
that stands today). Eddie Brandstatter's
troubled existence ended when he died on
January 20, 1940 by suicide (carbon monoxide
poisoning in his car) at age 54. He was
found dead by his wife Helen at their home
garage in Sherman Oaks. He had a Jewish
funeral at Forest Lawn. Hedda Hoppa lauded
him as a man who had befriended the stars in
their lean years. A sad figure who should be
remembered for his many positive contributions to
early Hollywood. |
|
Juan "Ramon" Castaneda The HMS
Bounty Restaurant and bar
|
Juan Castaneda (known to everyone as
"Ramon") is a great example of the American
dream in action. With Ramon starting out at the HMS
Bounty as a teenager in the lowest level
jobs, Gordon Fields, one of the original
co-owners of the HMS Bounty paid for English
lessons for Ramon. Ramon so endeared himself
to Mr. Field's family through his dedication
that he was able to buy the controlling
interest in the HMS Bounty, by mortgaging
his home. Born in Mazatlan, Mexico, Ramon
remembers fondly that when the power went
out one Christmas, he kept the HMS Bounty
open for dinner by lighting candles and
cooking off the fire of the grill. Ramon has
zealously kept the HMS Bounty running
exactly in the fashion of Gordon Fields.
The HMS Bounty started out as the "Gay Room"
(before today's connotation of the word)
since H. Gaylord Wilshire's nickname was Gay
and the restaurant is located in the Gaylord
Apartments (named after Mr. Wilshire). It
then became Jane Assell's Gaylord Dining
Room for several years in the early 1950's. The
Bounty was owned for a time by Ben Dimsdale
(see below) while it was called the Secret
Harbor (and gained its nautical interior).
When it became the HMS Bounty in 1962 it was
owned by Gordon Fields and Richard O'Neill
(who is still an investor there today).
The HMS Bounty has quite an historic
location, once being across the street from
the Ambassador Hotel, it was right next to
the Original "hat" Brown Derby. The next
block down was the famous Mona Lisa
Restaurant (affiliated with the Musso and
Frank Grill) and right around the corner on
Kenmore was the Haig Jazz night club (of
Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan fame) and
further down was the Bull 'n Bush (owned by
the original owners of the HMS Bounty). It
was also only a few blocks from Ben
Dimsdale's Windsor Restaurant and one block
from the Chapman Park Hotel. What an
incredible few blocks that once was!!! |
Ruben Castro
La Dolce Vita Restaurant
Frascati's Restaurant
La Rue Restaurant
Nicky Blair's Restaurant
Estephanino's Restaurant

click to expand |
One of Beverly Hills greatest living Maitre
D's - Ruben Castro was born in Guanajuato,
Leon, Mexico in 1949. After finishing
school in Mexico, he immigrated to the U.S.
in 1966 and almost immediately entered the
world of elegant Beverly Hills restaurants.
As the quintessential story of the American
Dream, Ruben's road to success started with
him being a "bus boy" at Frascati's
Restaurant in Beverly Hills. He
had the wisdom to accept an unpaid job as a
bartender at Frascati's for six months in
order to learn crucial aspects of his "oficio"
(while working as a bus boy at night there
to support himself). After Frascati's
burnt down in 1969, he worked briefly at
Estephanino's and then on to one of Los
Angeles's great classic restaurants "La Rue"
on the Sunset Strip (one of Groucho Marx's
favorite places) for a year. He also
worked at Nicky Blair's for a while
(coincidently with a relative of mine -
Frank Preciado - an Hispanic chef during a
time when that was rare). Ruben
also worked at the "Saloon" in Beverly
Hills. Humorously, Ruben worked only one
week in the Beverly Hills Brown Derby, when
he was fired for accidently damaging a case
of wine.
Finally, he arrived at what would be his
life's "tour de force" - the La
Dolce Vita restaurant in Beverly Hills.
There, twenty five years ago, he began as a
waiter, then Captain, and then Maitre D'
(that's what he still calls himself -
although the reality is that he is a general
manager who looks over every detail of the
restaurant from the wine, almost down to
each leaf of lettuce in the fashion of
Alexander Perino). The original owners
of "La Dolce Vita" were Jimmy Ullo (who
started out at the classic "Villa Capri"
restaurant with Patsy D'Amore) and George
Smith. George Raft was also fronted as
an owner, although his role is not quite
clear (Raft gave his last car, a 1974
Cadillac Coupe d'Ville to Ruben). As
the oral history of this place goes - it
appears Frank Sinatra loaned Jimmy Ullo the
money to start the place up. Frank
Sinatra and his gang of Rat Pack friends
remained THE principal clientele for the La
Dolce Vita up until his death. Jimmy
Ullo and George Smith had previously owned
the "Casa de Oro" located where Carmine's
Restaurant is located today.
Current owner of La Dolce Vita, Alessandro
Uzielli, of no less than the Ford family
(grandson of Henry Ford II to be precise) is
as affable and unpretentious an owner of a
Beverly Hills restaurant as one would hope
to meet. He is also someone with a
sublime taste in music, as evidenced by the
ambiance music heard at La Dolce Vita (sure
wish you could buy that CD!). Mr.
Uzielli has wisely kept Ruben on in his role
as "the soul" of La Dolce Vita.
Ruben Castro's greatest desire in running La
Dolce Vita is "to make each person feel
important:." Ruben has some of the
best Hollywood anecdotes I have ever heard.
He recounts the time George Raft in a
playful mood, poked Ruben in a rather
inappropriate place, causing Ruben, while
working as a waiter, to throw a bowl of
fettuccini in the air. He also recounts the
time Gregory Peck came in with Frank Sinatra
and the Rat Pack. Peck accidently
stained his tie. When he asked Ruben
if he could help him with the stain - Ruben
promptly produced a scissors and cut half
the tie off. A perturbed Gregory Peck
cooled down when Sinatra and friends broke
into uproarious laughter. I'll let you ask
Ruben about the Frank Sinatra and
Rolls Royce incident - it's too good for me
to let the "cat out of the bag" here.
Perhaps if you arrive at La Dolce Vita
around 5:00PM before it get's packed, you
can coax Ruben to tell you a little more
about his history (be cognizant that he gets
real busy, real early on). While many
Maitre D's can recount encounters with
Hollywood stars, what makes Ruben unique is
that rare combination of elegance and charm
that one might associate with a Beverly
Hills Maitre D' yet combined with the
complete sincerity and down to earth
honesty that comes with being an immigrant
who worked his way from the bottom to the
top (an aspect of American society that is
rapidly disappearing). There's no
affected persona here, and he's not one to
put up with unlimited bad behavior, no
matter how rich or famous the customer.
You enter the "La Dolce Vita" and it lives
up to it's name - a Fellini-like
surrealistic experience where you can
briefly leave all of your troubles behind
and be transported to a calmer, joyful world
- a thousand miles away from the frenetic
world outside where Wilshire and Santa
Monica Boulevard cross. |
|
Robert H. Cobb aka Bob Cobb
The Brown Derby Restaurant at 3427 Wilshire
The Brown Derby Restaurant at 3347 Wilshire
The Brown Derby Restaurant at 9537 Wilshire
The Brown Derby Restaurant at 4500 Los Feliz
The Brown Derby (Hi Hat) Restaurant at 3927
Wilshire
The Brown Derby Restaurant, 1628 N. Vine St.
The Nikabob Restaurant, 875 S. Western at
9th |
Robert "Bob" Cobb, the man we all know and
love for inventing the Cobb salad and
keeping the Brown Derby restaurants alive
for decades. Cobb, of Irish ancestry, came from a
Western
background with his father being a sheriff
and hotel manager in Hardin, Montana. His
father ran a hotel, a train depot, and a
number of bars. His mother would hold a
cowboy hoedown on a regular basis. His
parents were the proprietors of the only
bathtub in the area and would rent it out
for 25 cents a bath.
Robert Cobb’s first occupation in California was at
the “White Spot Café” located where the
Miracle Mile would later be built. Another
early restaurant he was involved with was
the Nikabob. Robert
Cobb was introduced to the great Herbert Somborn at the Alexandria Hotel (where
Somborn also met his future wife Gloria
Swanson). Robert Cobb established the Brown
Derby with Herbert Somborn, Wilson Mizener
and Jack Warner (a silent partner) Bob
Cobb was also the founder of the Hollywood
Stars minor league baseball team in 1938.
He was first wed to Gail Patrick, an
actress, for four years and was divorced in
1940. He then married Sally Wright in 1945
and had a daughter named Peggy Walsh. Sally
Wright's book, co-authored by Mark Willems, on the Brown Derby Restaurant
is certainly the definitive one. There is also
an older "The Brown Derby Cookbook" by
Leonard Louis Levinson. Bob Cobb started at
the Brown Derby sort of as a Jack of all
trades, cooking, tending the register,
buying supplies, and whatever else was
needed - even scrubbing dishes. Bob Cobb died
in March of 1970 at age 71. His
contribution to Los Angeles history and Los
Angeles
pop culture in general was enormous. |
|
Pasquale "Patsy" D'Amore
Filomena D'Amore
Casa D'Amore
Patsy D'Amores Italian Food
The Villa Capri
Quo Vadis Patsy's Pizza |
Considered "the father of the Italian
Restaurant" in Los Angeles. An Italian
native, he first arrived in the U.S. in
1923.
D'Amore started in the restaurant business
in New York in the 1920's and introduced
the first Pizza to Los Angeles in his Casa D'Amore
restaurant in Hollywood in 1939 with his
brother Franklin. In 1949 the brothers
split up and Patsy opened Patsy D'Amores
Italian Food (now called Patsy D'amores
Pizza) in the Farmer's Market. Franklin
D'Amore was also involved in producing a
number of stage productions and acting. Patsy also ran the famous Villa
Capri in Hollywood on N. McCadden Place, a
favorite hangout for James
Dean, and co-owned for a while by Frank
Sinatra. James Dean would often eat in
the Kitchen and is rumored to have eaten at
the Villa Capri the night before he died.
The Tonight Show was presented live on one
occasion from the Villa Capri. He opened the "Quo Vadis" in
September of 1961.
Patsy almost got in trouble when Frank
Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio wanted him to
accompany them on a mission to see who
Marilyn Monroe was with at a hotel room in
town. Frank and Joltin' Joe accidentally
broke into the wrong room, and a law suit
ensued with Patsy being called as a witness.
Nothing serious became of the matter.
Sadly, the site of the Villa Capri
was recently demolished. Patsy's
daughter Filomena D'Amore
keeps up the tradition at Patsy D'Amores'
Pizza in the Farmers Market, where the
recipe for Los Angeles' first pizza is
still used in the original antique brick
oven. Stop by the Farmer's Market and ask
Filomena about her dad. She's one of
the nicest people you'll ever meet. |
|
Ben Dimsdale The Windsor
Secret Harbor Highland House The
Dales Ocotillo Lodge Wilshire Terrace |
Ben Dimsdale (he or his parents must have
changed their name at some point) was born
in Sioux City, Iowa in 1909. His parents were
Russians from Minsk (which is where Louis B.
Mayer was born and incidentally, Dave Chasen
was born in Odessa, Russia). Ben Dimsdale
started out in his father’s butcher shop at
age nine. In Iowa he worked as a humble
cook and dish washer in the Eppley Hotel.
The Eppley belonged to a corporation that
ran the Alexandria Hotel in Los Angeles,
perhaps prompting his move to Los Angeles. It
appears that in 1926 or 1927, Ben Dimsdale
first came to Hollywood. He started his
career selling newspapers and then as a
bellhop at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. In
1930, he married his (first?) wife Hazel and had two
children. It appears he was later married to
a woman named Veronica (sure wish the
Dimsdale family would contact me to expand
on this write up! - he's one of my most
admired restaurateurs) His first restaurant was on
Highland Ave. called the Highland House,
which lasted from 1940 to 1946. Ben Dimsdale
ran the Windsor Restaurant (for a time with
his cousins) from approximately 1949 or 1950 until 1990
(I have heard numerous dates for the
establishment of the Windsor such as 1941,
1942, 1945, 1949 and 1950 - 1949-50 seems
the most likely). Dimsdale
was involved in two more restaurants with
his cousins Harold and Seymour Dimsdale - The
Secret Harbor (opened in the 1950’s and is
now the HMS Bounty Restaurant) and Dale's
(opened in 1953 in the Chapman Park Hotel)President Nixon was a guest at the Windsor
(and he also liked Chasen's). An expansion
of the Windsor was done by no one less than
Armet & Davis (who practically invented the
California Coffee shop) in 1961. Until the
day it closed, the maitre d' at the Windsor
wore white gloves and a tuxedo (long lost
elegance in our culture I guess!). Some of
the well known dishes there were Chicken
Kiev, Veal Oscar and Steak Diane.
At one point there were 5 Dimsdale
family restaurants – the Windsor, the Secret
Harbor, “the Dales”, Ocotillo Lodge in Palm
Springs, and Wilshire Terrace in Westwood.
In 1973 Ben Dimsdale renovated the Windsor
Apartment Hotel at a cost of $650,000 under
the supervision once again of Lou Armet and
Eldon Davis. The Windsor appears in the
movie "Chinatown", possibly as a stand in
for the Brown Derby Restaurant. The
Windsor closed in November of 1991 – at last word Ben Dimsdale was age 90 in 1999 and having
problems with apartments he owned. While Ben
Dimsdale may not be as well known as Herbert
Somborn and Robert Cobb, Los Angeles
certainly owes him a lot for the great
restaurant heritage he provided the city.
His contribution lives on at "The Prince", a
Korean restaurant that has taken over the
Windsor, but thankfully has left the
interior almost unchanged. At present there
are scary but unsubstantiated rumors about
the future of the Prince, with its historic
Windsor interior. |
|
Gordon Fields Barney's 5 & 10
The Bull & Bush
The HMS Bounty |
Gordon Fields was the Co-founder of the HMS
Bounty on Wilshire Blvd. and the "Bull &
Bush," originally located at 6th street and
Kenmore Avenue. He started out as a bar
tender at Barney's 5 & 10 with Richard
O'Neill (see below) and remained partners
with him in the Bull 'n Bush and the HMS
Bounty. The Bull & Bush was known
for being a Los Angeles Rams hangout. Team
members were attracted into the restaurant
having been told that they could eat and
drink free. Gordon Fields was known as the
"Toots Shor of Los Angeles." He died at age
76 on October 30, 1998 . While the Bull and
Bush has disappeared, the HMS Bounty sails
bravely on with little or no changes.
For more on the Bull 'n Bush, see Richard
O'Neill below.
UPDATE: Gordon Fields son, Robbie
Fields has thankfully written a thoughtful
and nostalgic history of his wonderful dad.
He also includes information about Dick
O'Neil and The Bull & Bush and The HMS
Bounty restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard.
This is a very important expansion of my
meager tale of Gordon Fields above (due to a
lack of research resources). Please see
Robbie's blog by clicking
here. |
|
Fred Glow Bit of Sweden

|
Fred Glow owned a company called Hollywood
Produce for many, many years. That company
supplied restaurants on the Sunset Strip.
After December 7, 1941, the then owner of
the Bit of Sweden became quite concerned
about war. When a
Japanese Sub appeared off the Coast of
California in January 1942, the owner (who I
believe also owned a Bit of Sweden in San
Francisco) decided to liquidate his assets.
He just closed the San Francisco Restaurant
and sold the inventory and fixtures down to
the bare walls. The Sunset Strip
Restaurant was offered to Fred Glow for a
fixed amount. Fred thought the price was
very good. While he knew the back end
business of a Restaurant, he felt he did not
know the front end. He made a very generous
offer to Ken Hansen and his sister, who had
worked the front end of the business at the
Bit of Sweden and purchased the Restaurant.
When the sale was finalized and they took
inventory, they discovered the Liquor
inventory alone was equal to the purchase
price.
The Restaurant was very successful from
then on. The entrance was off of Sunset
Blvd. and all during WWII people lined the
stairs and out into the street while waiting
to get in. After the war, Mr. Hansen and his
sister, terminated the relationship with the
Bit Of Sweden and started Scandia which
became a great success. The Bit of Sweden
continued to be popular especially with
Swedes. A distributor of Aquavit, who was
responsible for 7 western states, stated
that he sold more Aquavit to the Bit of
Sweden than he did to the rest of the
Western States combined.
Their Smorgasbord table was nationally
famous. Fred would urge his guests to return
to the table many times. He would say "first
get your fish appetizers, then go back for
additional appetizers, then another trip for
salads and finally a trip for main dishes.
He hated to see people mix the foods up on
their plates because he felt the fish (for
example) would overcome the taste of
something else.
Fred was a very generous man in a very quiet
way. His family remembers him above all for
the kind support and assistance he gave
them.
The above information was generously
provided by Merv and Steve Glow. |
|
Kenneth and Teddy Hansen Margie and Bob
Petersen
The Scandia Restaurant
The Bit of Sweden

Scandia Bar Menu - 1980

Scandia Restaurant Tax Receipt
The above from the collection of Manny
Aguirre |
Kenneth and Teddy Hansen, a brother and
sister-in-law team, founded the luxurious
Scandia Restaurant in 1946, serving
Scandinavian cuisine. Kenneth Hansen
started out in Danish restaurants and also
worked on Danish Ocean Liners. Kenneth Hansen first
arrived in America in 1920 from his native
Denmark. His first restaurant work was at
the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. He
came to Los Angeles in the 30's and worked
for a time at the Hotel Knickerbocker in
Hollywood. Ken Hansen's
first big job in Los Angeles began in
1936 as the longtime
chef at the "Bit of Sweden" at 9051 Sunset Blvd
(at Doheny). The
first mention I can find of Bit of Sweden is
in 1932 (see above). This restaurant may have been the
first in Los Angeles with a Buffet or
Smorgasbord.
Teddy Hansen was born in Copenhagen,
Denmark and
first moved to Los Angeles in 1929. She
started out at the House of Murphy
Restaurant in 1936. Among other roles, she
usually was the hostess for Scandia
Restaurant. The restaurant was famous for
its dish "The Oskar" which was named after a
Swedish King. It was a veal dish with
béarnaise sauce, asparagus and crab legs.
The original location (Hansen took over a
spot named "Elmer's Fireplace") was across the street
founded in 1946 (one block from the original
Bit of Sweden), but Scandia moved to 9040
Sunset in 1957 or 1958. The "new" Scandia
Restaurant was designed by Wilson & Vogler.
Mr. Hansen was actually knighted by the King
of Denmark in 1961. Ken Hansen was in charge of the Denmark
Exhibit at the 1964 New York World's Fair.
Hansen also started a group called the
"Vikings" of Scandia with hundreds of
members that often raised large sums for
charities over the course of 30 some years
of existence. The group included Bing
Crosby, Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre.
In December, 1979, Teddy Hansen past
away at age 71. A year earlier, the
Scandia Restaurant was sold by Kenneth
Hansen to his friends Margie and Bob
Petersen. Kenneth Hansen died at age 75 on December
17 ,
1980. His funeral services took place
at Church of the Hills, Forest Lawn,
Hollywood, CA. His widow was Musse Hansen.
Bob Petersen is perhaps best known for
his magazines such as Car Craft, Motor Trend
and Guns & Ammo. Tragically, the Petersens
lost both of their sons in an airplane
accident in 1976. Despite the Petersens'
best efforts to keep it going, the Scandia
Restaurant closed in 1989. |
Paul Hultman
Biff's Coffee Shop
(Several branches purchased from the Naylor
family)
Uncle John's Pancakes
|
Paul Hultman started out as an executive for
the Uncle John's Pancakes chain. He
later bought several of the Biff's Coffee
Shops from Biff Naylor. Click
here to read his daughter's wonderful
account of his life. |
|
Arthur M. Johnson Helen Johnson
The Tick Tock Tea Room |
Founder of the Tick Tock Tea Room, Arthur was a
native of Norway and he first arrived in
California in 1930. With a scant initial
outlay of $500, he bought an old house and
established the restaurant in 1931. An old clock from his residence
provided some initial decoration which later
became the theme of the restaurant. The
restaurant had a tradition of closing for
two weeks each year to give not only the
owners but the entire staff a vacation.
The restaurant was also renown for its
service, with each waiter or waitress having
only three tables to look after. Famous
for their Sticky Orange Rolls. The Hollywood
branch at 1716 N. Cahuenga had an early
American design.
Other addresses were 301 N. New Hampshire
and Wilcox at Yucca (pre-dates the Cahuenga
Restaurant) (also apparently called the
Town House Tea Room for a while). Also a
branch at 10123 Riverside Dr. in the Valley.
Arthur Johnson died
at age 84 in 1980. |
|
Marcel Lamaze
George Rector's
Restaurant, New York
Castles in the Air, New York
The Clover Club,
Sunset at La Cienega
Cafe Roxy,
9039 Sunset, W. Hollywood, CA
Cafe Lamaze, 9039 Sunset Blvd.
W. Hollywood, CA
Club Seville,
8433
Sunset Blvd. Hollywood, CA
Earl
Carroll's, 6230 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood,
CA Ciro's,
8433 Sunset Blvd.,
Hollywood, CA
The Kings, 8153 Santa Monica Blvd.
The Cal-Neva Hotel, Nevada/California
Arrowhead Inn, Saratoga Spring's
Cafe La Maze, National City, CA (?)
|
Marcel Lamaze was born in Providence, Rhode
Island on 3-22-1897 (although he also
claimed to be born in France). He started
out as "cigar-boy" at George Rector's in New
York. It appears he moved to Los Angeles
in 1935. Prior to becoming Cafe Lamaze,
9039 Sunset was the Cafe Roxy, which opened
in 1935. There was apparently another Cafe
there before the Cafe Roxy. The Roxy
advertised itself as a movie star hangout.
It appears that Marcel Lamaze became
associated with the Roxy, at least as Maitre
D' around July of 1935. The Cafe had dancing
featuring early on entertainers such as Miss
Vi Bradley, singer, Bill Hoffman, Charles
Bourne, Bruz Fletcher, the Park Avenue Boys
and Stan Clare and his Montrealers. Within a
few months it was renamed Cafe Lamaze.
Also in late 1935, Marcel was placed in
charge of the cuisine at Club Seville (which
later became Ciro's), just
down the street from Cafe Lamaze. Club
Seville had a crystal dance floor where fish
could be seen floating underneath.
The Cafe was robbed in January of 1936.
At that time, the owner of the Cafe was
listed as Mrs. Donna Grace Gordon.
On 12-13-38, Marcel got into a pickle
over accusations that there was gambling
going on at the Cafe. He was apparently
leasing the building at the time. Gambling
of course was pervasive in almost all the
classy clubs at the time, including the
Cotton Club and the Clover Club.
It appears the Cafe Lamaze closed in
1941. Later in that year, 9039 Sunset was
called the Biarritz and in 1942 it became
the 9039 Club. Around this time Marcel took
charge of the cuisine at Earl Carroll's
Theater Restaurant and lasted there until
1949. He also gave on going food
related classes in the 40's. By 1943,
Marcel was also in charge of Ciro's as
supervisor.
In 1943, Marcel married Virginia King,
and they were divorced in 1946.
In the late 40's he apparently spent some
time in Colorado, but returned to Los
Angeles in 1951 to take charge of the
cuisine at the Kings Restaurant, 8153 Santa
Monica Blvd., famous for their Seafood.
In November of 1953, Marcel returned to
his old haunts at the old Earl Carroll
Theater building, but it was now transformed
into the Moulin Rouge owned by Frank Senne's.
This is where he retired after 50 years in
the restaurant business.
Marcel died at age 62 in February of
1960. His address was listed as 4946 Alcove
Ave. in North Hollywood.
Mr. Lamaze's grandson provides the
following information:
Marcel Lamaze worked for a time as the
Maitre D' at Ciros. He helped produce with
the Queen for a Day show at the Moulin Rouge
night club as
well. The signature dish at the Cafe was
"Shrimp Lamaze" (similar to Shrimp Louie).
Click
here for
the recipe (generously provided by Marc
Lamaze).
Marcel was known to be a friend of Jimmy
Durante and loved to play poker with the
Marx Brothers.
Marcel had a brother named George Lamaze
who had cafes at the Warwick Hotel in
Philadelphia and Patio Lamaze in Palm Beach,
FL, which also served "Shrimp Lamaze with a
slightly different recipe.
The Cafe Lamaze building later became
Sherry's Restaurant (where Mickey Cohen
almost met an untimely death), the
Gazzarri's Rock club in
the 60's and the address is now the Key
Club.
He will be remembered
as one of Los Angeles' greatest restaurateurs, Maitre D's and bon
vivants.
Mr. Lamaze's step-son John C. provides
the following additional information: At
one point Marcel lived at 4946 Alcove, North
Hollywood. He also lived on Havenhurst Ave.
a half block south of Sunset Boulevard, near
the Garden of ***** Hotel. At one point
Marcel was head of "beverages" at the Clover
Club, where he came to be friends with the
head of a certain organization purportedly
dominated by guys of Italian decent (well
that's the rumor) - Jack Dragna. Marcel
was also good friends of Wilbur Clark, the
figurehead owner (along with the "guys'
mentioned above) of the Desert Inn Hotel &
Casino in Las Vegas. Turns out, Wilbur and
Marcel Lamaze were bus boys together when
they were first starting out in New York. |
|
Mike Lyman Mike Lyman's Grill
Simon's
Winter Garden
Rendezvous Inn
Palais de Dance
Cafe Alabam |
Born around 1888 as Mike Simon, he changed
his name in Chicago when he became a
vaudeville entertainer. He started out in
Los Angeles restaurants as an entertainer at
the historic Vernon Country Club in an act
called Blondie and Mike (where he pushed
around a portable piano). His first place
may have been the Sunset Inn in Santa
Monica, a joint venture with Eddie Brandstatter, around 1920. His brother Abe
Lyman was an orchestra leader. After a
very serious operation in 1924, he was
running the Winter Garden and Rendezvous
Inn. In August of 1925, he opened the Palais
de Dance at a cost of $800,000 at Hill near
6th St. in the location of the former
Rendezvous Inn. By 1926 he also had the
Café Alabam on Spring St. near 5th. On April
24, 1935, he opened his famous “Mike Lyman’s
Grill” in the former locale of “Herberts” at
Hill and 8th St. and hired chef Henri
Chateau of Maxim’s in Paris. He was part
owner of the Simon Restaurant chain. The
Simon Corporation bought a lease at Al
Levy’s place on 1623 N. Vine, when Al Levy
died and established the second Mike Lyman’s
Grill. In October 1950 he had another very
serious operation. He died of cancer on
November 30, 1952, at age 65. His wife was
Bertie Jones Lyman. George Burns and Chico
Marx attended his funeral, along with Baron
Long. |
|
Baron Long The Vernon Country Club
Hawaiian Village
The Tavern
The Sunset Inn
The Ship Cafe
The Biltmore Hotel
|
Baron Long was born in Indiana and
first sold patent medicine in San Francisco,
California (in a fashion similar to Gaylord
Wilshire). He started out in the Los Angeles
area organizing boxing at the Vernon Fight
Arena. Baron Long later bought nightclubs in
Vernon (the Vernon Country Club and the
Hawaiian Village), Watts (the Tavern), and
Venice (The Ship Café). He established the
Vernon Country Club on May 2, 1912. This
was considered the first great night club
for the stars in Hollywood. The country club
burned to the ground in 1929. Rudolf
Valentino worked at the Vernon before he
became famous, and was actually fired by
Baron Long, who apparently didn’t like the
way he danced.
Baron Long started the Sunset Inn
(formerly the Nat Goodwin Café), along with
Paul Schenck, but lost his liquor license in
1917 in the battle to make Santa Monica
“dry” and apparently had to sell it to Mike
Lyman and Eddie Brandstatter. The Sunset Inn
was first located at Ocean Ave and Colorado
Street and then moved to the Crystal Pier.
Baron Long then teamed up with Julius
Rosenfield in 1917 to purchase the Ship Café
in Venice. Baron Long bought the U.S. Grant
Hotel in San Diego in 1920. In 1933, he
took over ownership of the luxurious
Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. He
also moved into some pursuits in Mexico as
president of the Agua Caliente Company. In
Tijuana he built the Agua Caliente race
track and he also owned the fabled Agua
Caliente resort in Tijuana, a big star
hangout during prohibition in the 1930s. He
was associated with the Biltmore up until
the time of his death. He died in February
of 1962 at age 78 of a heart attack |
|
George Klein March El Coyote |
A native of Sacramento and a Mason, he
founded the "El Coyote" restaurant with his
wife, originally located at 105 N. La Brea.
He purchased the present location of the El
Coyote for $37, 500 in 1951, but died a year
later on 11-19-1952 at age 58. |
|
Joseph Musso
John Mosso
Rina Mosso
Joseph Carissimi
Firmin "Frank" Toulet
Marie Zoe Helene Prechacq
Prosper "Robert" Prechacq (also spelled Prachacq)
The
Musso and Frank Grill
Musso Cafe
The Progress Cafe The Mona Lisa
Restaurant Frank's (Francois) Cafe
Campi's Restaurant

Picture of the Musso Cafe from the
collection of R. Rovere. Click to expand.

Cemetery tombs for Joseph and Emma Musso in
"the old Catholic Cemetery of Los Angeles" All of the above photos were
generously donated by R. Rovere |
See the link below for a much expanded
history of Musso and Frank's
Joseph Musso, was born in Italy in 1880, and had
two sisters, Adele Giolitto, and Lina Danovi.
He started out with the Progress Café in
Portland, Oregon in 1910, before moving to
Los Angeles to eventually form the Musso and Frank
Grill in Hollywood with Firmin "Frank" Toulet.
The current Musso and Frank Grill opened on
September 27, 1919 as "Frank's Cafe".
The original owners were Firmin Toulet and
Prosper "Robert" Prechacq (Frank's father in law).
Sometime before 1925, Joseph Musso joined
in. In
October of 1930 there was apparently
confusion over whether he had opened a new Musso and Frank Grill. Various disclaimers
give the impression that he still had some
role at Musso and Frank’s (even though he
sold it in 1926). On February 21,
1934, he did open his own restaurant at 6300
Wilshire Blvd. called Musso Café or just
Musso’s. He was not only a restaurant owner
but considered a great chef, known for his
Canape Sous Cloche, Potatoes a la Musso,
Plank steak, Zucchini Florentine, Zabaione
and Chicken Valencia. He often gave public
cooking classes. On May 26, 1934, he
expanded his restaurant to include a
Parisian outdoor Garden with dancing. Joseph
Musso was living in West Hollywood when he
died at age 66 on July 7, 1946. His
wife Emma Musso died on 10-30-1968 in Las
Vegas. Emma was from the Rovere family,
whose most notable member was Bert Rovere,
owner of the Paris Inn, Lucca's and a well known Opera
singer. A marriage of two great lines of
restaurateurs!
Rina Mosso opened the Mona Lisa Restaurant
(see my extinct restaurant page). She was so
proud of her restaurant that at one point,
when a robber came into the Mona Lisa
Restaurant and pointed a gun in her face,
she was able to get it away from him and
have him arrested.
John Mosso (not be be confused with
Joseph Musso) passed away in March of 1974
at age 89. He purchased the Musso and Frank
Grill in 1927, along with Joseph Carissimi.
He was survived by his daughter Mrs. Charles
Keegel.
Joseph Carissimi died at his residence
at 6712 Franklin at age 68 on June 9, 1944.
He was survived by his wife Teresita and his
two son’s Louis and Charles. Charles died on
December 17, 1969. The families of
John Mosso, and Joseph Carissimi have
continued on with the Musso and Frank
Grill. Jordan Jones, of the Mosso
family and the pioneering Jones family of
Las Vegas is one of the fourth generation
owners keeping this great tradition going.
A little information on the Musso and Frank
building: Depending on the resource -
the brick structure that houses Musso and
Frank's was built either in 1917 or 1919 by
Frank (just a coincidence) Meline with
architect L.A. Smith. It appears the
back room interior was designed by "Allen
McGill and Douglas McLellan" architects.
Firmin "Frank" Toulet
and Marie Zoe Helene Prechacq
.
Frank was born in Lys (possibly Saint Lys), France on 2-25-1880 (or
1879). He came to the U.S.
at New York on board the ship Normandie in
July of 1896 after living in Havre,
France. He kept a pretty low profile, so
information on him is sparse. In 1910 he was living at 1952 Stockton
St. in San Francisco and working as a
waiter. He married his only wife,
Marie Zoe Helene ("Helen") Prechacq in New York
on 11-8-1917.
She was subsequently known as Helene Toulet.
Her father Prosper "Robert" Prechacq
apparently owned several restaurants and they met when Frank worked
at one of them. Both Frank and Prosper
"Robert" Prechacq (Helene's father)
were original partners in Frank's Cafe (the
beginning of Musso and Franks Grill) which
opened on September 27, 1919 (a fact you
will only find on this website!). The
Original name was Frank's Cafe. Helene's role is
apparently almost forgotten. She was
born on 10-13-1893 in New York, New York
(and she apparently lost her U.S.
citizenship when she married Firmin -
originally a French citizen - as was the
strange law back then). At one
point the couple lived at 202 West 31st
Street. in Los Angeles. In 1920,
just after opening the Musso and Frank Cafe,
Frank and Helene where living at 6685
Hollywood Blvd. as lodgers. Helene worked as
the cashier at the time. Frank and
Helene cashed in their interest in Musso's
in 1926. Frank then went into obscurity.
Frank died on January 1, 1941 "suddenly". He
was living at 1813 West Seventy-Ninth St. at
the time. He is buried at Holy Cross
Cemetery. Helene died on 7-18-95 at the
grand old age of one hundred and one.
Prosper "Robert" Prechacq
- Not much is known about this original
partner in "Frank's Cafe". He was born
around 1868 in France and came to the U.S.
in 1888, initially to New York, where
he worked at the Martin Cafe. On June
23, 1907 he bought the famous and very early
San Fernando Restaurant, Campi's for 4000
dollars along with partner Bruno Pindat.
The Prechacq family was also associated with
the Pindat Catering Company. In 1910
the Prechacq family, consisting of Prosper,
his wife Elise, daughter Helen (soon to be
Toulet), and sons George and Adrian lived at
1919 Maple Ave. in Los Angeles.
Prosper died in April of 1938, three years
before Frank Toulet. Well, I hope I
got all of that right. I guess Musso
and Frank's could have ended up being called
Prechacq and Toulet's or Mosso and
Carissimi's! |
|
Richard Jerome O'Neill ("Dick")
Bradley's 5 & 10
Blarney Castle
Bull 'n Bush
HMS Bounty
El Adobe
Tiny Naylor's
|
Richard O'Neill's history is so important to
the topic of this site, as well as Southern
California history in general - I've
dedicated a whole page to him which can be
seen by clicking this
hyperlink
UPDATE: Sadly, this great man passed
on April 4, 2009. His memory and great
achievements will certainly live on. |
|
Alexander Bruni Perino
Delmonico's Restaurant Perino's Restaurant
The Tropicana Hotel, Las Vegas, NV
The Embassy Club
|
Alexander Perino, the founder of
Perino's Restaurant, was born in Brusnengo,
Italy. Alexander Perino’s father was known
to be a wine maker and politically he was a
socialist (he would have liked Gaylord
Wilshire). Alexander Perino came to New
York at the young age of 15. His early work
experience in New York was obtained at
Delmonico’s Restaurant and the Plaza Hotel.
He first came to Los Angeles in 1925 working in
the Town House Hotel on Wilshire Blvd., the
Victor Hugo Restaurant and the Biltmore
Hotel. He also helped out at the Embassy
Club on Hollywood Blvd. Perino’s Restaurant opened in 1932 at
3927 Wilshire (in the former location of the
Hi-Hat and the mysterious 5th Brown Derby).
August 15, 1934 a fire destroyed the
interior of Perino’s Restaurant, but it was
insured and immediately work began to
reopen. Perino's chef at the time was
Attilio Balzano. Perino established a
cocktail lounge called Bodega next to
Perino’s Restaurant in 1935.
Perino's Restaurant moved to 4101
Wilshire in February of 1950 (when the
original locale closed) with the new
restaurant costing over $400,000. It was
designed by Architect Paul Williams. It was
in the New Orleans style with a California
influence and it employed over 100
individuals.
Some called Perino's Restaurant the most
beautiful or greatest restaurant in the
world. In September 1954 another fire caused
$200,000 damage to Perino’s Restaurant.
After the fire, Perino's Restaurant reopened
in February of 1955 with a new look and 17th
century chandeliers, and this time it was
designed by Anthony Longinotti.
Violet Perino, Alexander’s wife, died
at the age of 55 on January 1, 1968. They
were living at 3300 Country Club Drive at
the time. The couple had a daughter,
Sandra. Perino sold the restaurant in 1969.
Perino's Restaurant attempted to relocate to
Beverly Hills in 1976, but it never came
about. Alexander Perino died in January of
1982. The restaurant stopped operating in
1985. The building that housed Perino's
Restaurant was torn down in 2005. A
new structure using Perino's name will be
constructed on the site (I believe it will
be apartments). |
Paul Perrot: (The Ambassador Hotel, The
Montmartre, The Nickabob, The Paul
Perrot Cafe)
Nick Krause
H.C. Stevens
Nathan Adelman
Joe Adelman
Manny Adelman
Jack Kallan
The Nikabob Restaurant,
875 S. Western
at 9th, Los Angeles, California. |
The Nikabob
was one of the truly great Hollywood
restaurants and a long lasting one.
Established in 1928. First owners were Nick
Krause, Paul Perrot (of Montmartre and
Ambassador Hotel fame as well) and the great
Bob Cobb of Brown Derby Restaurant
fame (the name being made up of two of the
owners first names).
As to Paul Perrot: His first big job
was a head waiter at the Montmartre with
Eddie Brandstatter. He was in the
movie "The Goose Woman" playing the role of
a head waiter. He then moved on to Miller's
Cafe Lafayette, which soon became "The Paul
Perrot Cafe". It appears that
when the Depression hit, he closed up the
Paul Perrot Cafe on 1-3-30 and returned to
being head waiter at the Montmartre.
Paul Perrot's great grandson Jeff provides
this information:
My Great Grandfather Paul Perrot was French
born in Paris. He owned and co-owned several
restaurants in Los Angeles, Santa Monica and
San Luis Obispo in his career spanning over
35 years. He co-owned the Nikabob in L.A.
with Robert Cobb (Cobb Salad fame)
He perhaps was best know as the Maitre d to
the stars during Hollywood's golden era. He
made sure that Tom Mix got a little extra
something in his tea during prohibition and
that Mary Pickford always felt at home
whenever visiting the Montmartre and later
the Coconut Grove. He was also keeping
everyone happy at the Trocadero and the
Ambassador hotel. He made many friends among
the Hollywood elite of the day which is
evident from the many signed personal
photo's from the stars always referring to
him as a friend. There is the family story
of how he fed starving actors in the kitchen
during the early days of Hollywood including
Charlie Chaplin. Mary Pickford was so taken
by his striking looks that she arranged for
him to have a small part in the 1936 movie "Dodsworth"
but alas his true love
was fine cuisine and he retired to San Luis
Obispo and opened Paul Perrot's Grill and
Buvette. He passed away June 3rd 1955.
The next owner was H. C. Stevens . Long term
owners were Nathan Adelman and his two
brothers Joe and Manny. It survived up to
the 1960s I believe. Jack Kallan was a
later owner (who also owned Carolina Pines).
Signature dish was frog legs.
|
|
Umberto Guiseppi "Bert" Rovere Madam Zucca's
The Paris Inn
Lucca's Italian Rendezvous

Family Register indicating Bert birthday was
11-23-1890 (but appears to be corrected by
hand from 11-20). From the collection of R. Rovere. |
Below is what I've been able to piece
together in News Papers and Books (which are
notoriously inaccurate) - see below for
corrections and more detail provided by his
descendent R. Rovere. Umberto "Bert" Rovere was born the
November 23 (or by other accounts
November 29 or possibly 20), 1890 in Turin, Italy. His
"nick-name" was "Five by Five" (apparently
an affectionate reference to his height and
weight when he was in his late fifties). In
1906 (or alternatively at age 12 by other
accounts), he came to New York and worked at
the Waldorf-Astoria as a bus boy. He
married Virginia Pierce Trivelli. He had
three brothers, Dino, Ettore, and Mario, and
one sister, Emma, who married famous
restaurateur Joseph Musso (of Musso and
Frank's Grill).
He arrived in Los Angeles
in 1920. He purchased the already existing
but closed Paris Inn Cafe in December of
1924. The Paris in was previously owned by
Rovere's employer, "Madam Zucca", who also
had another restaurant featuring her name
(Bert worked there in various capacities
including head waiter and of course
entertainment). He had previously worked as
a well-known opera singer (baritone) in the
San Carlo Opera Company and Metropolitan
Opera Company and also a wrestling promoter,
a boxer and a star in Vaudeville. Given his
former sports involvement, well known sports
figures, including early race car drivers,
frequented the Paris Inn Cafe under Rovere's
management. Early on the Paris Inn Cafe was
located at 110 E. Market Street (near the
Post Office and across from the Civic
Center) and featured dancing and orchestras
along with dinner. It was most famous for
it's singing waiters, which was an idea
Rovere was credited with inventing. It
featured both French and Italian cuisine.
He eventually took on a partner at the Paris
Inn, a Mr. Innocente Pedroli.
He continued to sing in guest appearances
on the radio and sang nightly of course at
the Paris Inn. Opera stars, given their
friendship with Mr. Rovere, also naturally
frequented the Paris Inn.
Beside being a famous restaurateur, Bert
Rovere was also a renown athlete, who
attempted to swim from the Los Angeles
mainland to Catalina Island in 1927 (the LA
equivalent of swimming the English
channel!). He came close to accomplishing
the task, but exhaustion and the chilly
ocean waters prevented him from
accomplishing his goal. He lost 12-15
pounds of weight in the attempt. He later
participated in a 21-mile swim marathon in
Toronto, Canada.
The Paris Inn was substantially remodeled
in 1930 at a cost of $100,000. It was
redone to resemble a street in Paris,
complete with a replica of the Eiffel Tower.
The building holding the Paris Inn resembled
a French Norman Castle complete with a
turret. Despite the French decoration,
Rovere, being a son of Italy made his
restaurant the center of the Los Angeles
Italian community, where major events, such
as a visit by Italian Boxer Primo Carnera,
were celebrated at the Paris Inn. The Paris
Inn was a natural local for big events given
that it could seat 500 people.
Rovere hit a mild set back when he and
his partner were charged with selling liquor
at the Paris Inn during prohibition, but
they were quickly exonerated. Known as a
generous man, Mr. Rovere gave away 500
turkey dinners on one Thanksgiving during
the depression. He also arranged meals and
shows for handicapped children.
Bert Rovere later went into business with
G. Lucca to create Lucca's Italian
Rendezvous at 5th and Western in Los
Angeles. Lucca's started in San Francisco,
but opened their Los Angeles branch in
partnership with Rovere, March 1, 1933. The
chefs at Lucca's in the beginning were Roy
Zetterholm and A. Maurici. Around this
same time, the Paris Inn had it's own radio
show on KNX radio.
Bert bought the controlling interest in
Lucca's in 1940, with co partner's Mario
Revere, his brother and Amadeo Ponzeo, a
resident of San Francisco. He continued to
own the Paris Inn.
The Original Paris Inn closed around
1950, when Los Angeles, using eminent
domain, built the City Jail on the
property. Who knows how long the Paris Inn
would have gone on were it not for this
event. Due to the success of the Paris Inn
and Lucca's, Rovere was able to buy a ranch
in Las Vegas, Nevada (with a swimming pool
of course!). A new Paris Inn was built at
845 N. Broadway and opened July 25, 1950.
Sadly, Bert died of a heart attack on March
28, 1957, at age 66. He was living in Lake
Elsinore, California at the time.
R.
Rovere states (and corrects mistakes in
the newspaper accounts):
Bert was one of ten
children born to Carlo Rovere and Marianna
Rossetti.
The birth certificate
shows his birth date as 20 Nov 1890. Then
somebody has written a numeral 3 over the 0
in 20. All the children were born in Biella, Cossato, Italy. A beautiful city at the
base of the Italian alps.
Lucca's opened the
evening of Feb. 29,1933, not on March 1st.
Bert never had a ranch
and pool in Las Vegas! At the time of
Bert's death he owned property in Los
Angeles, Covina and in Lake Elsinore.
Bert had a large piece of land downtown that
was being used as a parking lot by a place
called Little Joes Market. The land was
appraised at over 200,000 dollars in 1963
dollars.
Lucca's was robbed
after hours the night of Mothers Day 1955.
The robbers got away with over 20,000
dollars. A lot of money back then. The
restaurant didn't have any insurance and had
to close up. |
|
Mike Romanoff aka Harry F. Gerguson
Romanoff's or Romanoff Cafe |
Possibly born Feb 21, 1893 in
America in a Jewish Orphanage (or Vilna,
Lithuania as immigration officials
believed) Michael Romanoff spent time in
the New York Juvenile asylum as a child. No
one is sure of his real name. Harry F. Gerguson was the name given to him at the
Juvenile asylum, perhaps because his real
name was hard to pronounce.
Michael
Romanoff was one of the greatest characters
of all in golden age Hollywood. He claimed
to be Prince or Duke Michael Romanoff of
Russia when he came to Hollywood in 1927
(son of Alexander the III and brother to
Nicholas the Second) and obtained a high
level job in a movie studio. Theodor Lodijenski (also a restaurateur) of the
Russian Guard exposed him, since he knew
both the real Romanoff and Gerguson. The
real prince died in 1918 during Lenin’s
revolution. At times Romanoff admitted he
was the son of tailor from St. Louis or
Hillsboro, Illinois. There were also claims
that he was born in Cincinnati. The fact
that his escapades and false claims were
regularly published in major newspapers
never stopped him. He only spoke English and
a little French.
Michael Romanoff claimed to have
killed Rasputin. The official name he
claimed was Prince Michael Alexandrovitch
Dimitry Obelensky Romanoff. He once sold
someone a masterpiece painting while it was
still hanging on the museum wall. Gloria
Lister was his ex-secretary. They married in
Las Vegas in 1948.
He claimed to have a degree from
Oxford and he actually did gain admission to
Harvard claiming that his school records
were destroyed in the Russian revolution.
He first made his claim in Paris in 1919 and
he spent time in Paris in the 20s claiming
to be hiding from the Soviet government. He
was so convincing the rich would wine and
dine him, even lending him large amounts of
money.
Michael Romanoff was so vehement in
his claim that he was brought before
immigration officials in August of 1927. He
was in and out of deportation proceedings.
He also had 16 other aliases, including R.A.
Adams and Rockwell Kent, supposedly a famous
artist. Sometimes he was Prince Obelinski
or Count Gladstone. He was accused of
bouncing checks in Reno. He would stow away
on the world’s most elegant luxury liners
and con his way into free cabins and dinners
with the Captain. He was so outrageous that
friends would always step in to save him
from trouble. In 1924 and again in May of
1932 he was actually deported, at least once
to France of all places. In December of
1932, immigration officials arrested him in
New York. By 1933, he was again apparently
facing jail time in California. Michael
Romanoff spent three months in jail in 1933
for immigration violations. In 1934, he
openly starred in a Broadway Musical, “Saw
When”.
He was accused in 1935 of slipping a
narcotic in a woman’s drink, taking her to a
hotel room and then pretending to be her
lover, so that her husband could burst in on
the scene and have cause for divorce. The
woman won a $25,000 verdict when the fraud
was exposed.
Later, when he lived at 209 S. El
Camino Dr. in Beverly Hills, he worked as a
film writer and was arrested in a fancy car
for drunk driving in 1939. At this time he
admitted his name was Harry Gerguson and
that he was born in New York. Police were
later after him again when he violated
probation. In 1941, he went so far as to
file immigration forms in the name Michael
Romanoff. For a time he worked as a waiter
at Chasen's.
Romanoff was most famous for his
restaurants on Rodeo Dr. (see R.I.P.
section). Darryl Zanuck, Joseph Schenck and
others put up the capitol for his
restaurant. His first Café opened in 1941
and lasted until 1963. He filed a complaint
in 1943 against a nightclub owner, Charles
Morrison for punching him in the nose at his
restaurant, Romanoff Café. In 1948 he was
in the movie “Arch of Triumph”. He made
over $100,000 a year in the 1940s. He was a
house guest of Frank Sinatra in 1957.
Incredibly, in March of 1958, the
U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill
making Romanoff a lawful permanent resident,
since the Justice Department could not prove
he was born abroad and Romanoff could not
prove he was born in the U.S. There was
talk by Disney of making a movie about his
life called “Instant Prince” in 1960. I
don’t know if the movie was made. As late as
1969 at age 78 he was still claiming to be
born in Russia.
He died September 2, 1971 at Good
Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles of a heart
attack, probably at age 81. Michael
Romanoff surely must be one of the most
beloved imposters in American history. |
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Frank Sebastian Cafe Sebastian
The Cotton Club
The Cubanola
Cafe of All Nations
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Frank Sebastian was known as an elegant
gentleman who knew talent when he saw it.
His first Los Angeles restaurant was Café
Sebastian (or Frank Sebastian’s Café Venice)
in Venice in the 1920s with French and
Italian Food. He opened his famous Cotton
Club (previously Moonlight Gardens and
Mandarin Gardens and the Green Mill) on
Washington Blvd. in Culver City in February
of 1926. This was one of the earliest and
best known sites for Jazz and other acts by
Afro-American performers in Los Angeles. The
Cotton Club is remembered in part as the
place Louis Armstrong was busted for
Marijuana use. The Cotton Club was also the
venue for many great Jazz performances,
including Duke Ellington's Band. In July
of 1935, Frank Sebastian was jailed for
contempt when he refused to answer grand
jury questions regarding liquor and gambling
at his club. He was rumored to have mob
ties. He lost his liquor license and then
was accused of bribery when he regained it.
News about the Cotton Club seems to end
around 1938. It later became Casa Manana
under different ownership. He also owned the
Cubanola at La Brea near Beverly. Frank
Sebastian also owned the “Café of all
Nations” in Sacramento. The building that
housed the Cotton Club (last known as
Zucca’s Opera House) burnt down on
2-20-1950.
Frank Sebastian was married in 1959 at
age 61 to Effie Hashow. Later in life he
ran the Senator Hotel and the Hotel El
Dorado in Sacramento. |
Alessandro Uzielli
La Dolce Vita
|
Alessandro Uzielli did
not start out with the goal of being a
restaurateur.
Coming from the illustrious heritage
of being the grandson of Henry Ford II and
son of renowned New York restaurateur Gianni
Uzielli, Alessandro attended the American
Film institute, receiving a Masters in Fine
Arts degree.
His contributions to the movie
industry include “The Proposition” and “Bongwater”.
After
almost a decade in the film industry
producing films, he returned to one branch
of his family’s “roots” (of great
restaurateurs) in a fortuitous manner.
On a visit to the
historic “Rat Pack” Restaurant La Dolce Vita
in 2002, Alessandro was shocked to find the
place empty, and he was told that the
classic restaurant’s demise was just around
the corner.
He refused to give up on a restaurant
that was a favorite of Presidents (like JFK
himself) and mega entertainers like “old
blue eyes” Frank Sinatra.
Alessandro
bought the place and with a much
careful updating, returned the restaurant to
its rightful place among the Los Angeles and
Beverly Hills greats (in the tradition of
Romanoff’s and “The Brown Derby”).
The Stars flocked back to their old
hang, along with a new hip crowd that
rediscovered the place.
One
has to walk a fine line in restoring a place
that was a “second home” to some stars, but
the measure of Mr. Uzielli success is that
long time regulars like Don Rickles and
members of the extended Sinatra family still
love the place.
There is of course a
stereotype image of Beverly Hills
restaurateurs being snobbish or pretentious,
but both Alessandro
and
restaurant maitre D’ Ruben Castro are about
as warm, affable and sincere as they come.
Perhaps the essence of the Uzielli
philosophy at La Dolce Vita is to “treat
everyone as a star regardless of who they
are.”
And that’s not just talk – yours
truly, the dyed in the wool Bohemian behind
this website, personally experienced exactly
that the first time I went there unannounced
and having no idea what to expect.
Within minutes I was feeling like an
heir to the Bloomingdale fortune – no wait –
that was the person in the next booth – but
I was feeling like that anyway! I
guess it didn't hurt driving up in my Ford
Windstar.
While it may be the
equivalent of General George Patton getting
a pin for marksmanship (this website has a
strong tendency toward self-importance) –
Los Angeles Time Machines humbly bestows
it’s “Best All-Around Time Machine” Award
solely to “La Dolce Vida” – a place where
the service, warmth, friendliness, romance,
elegance, music, history, star quotient and
above all cuisine are unparalleled and
that’s obviously due to the great
restaurateur behind it.
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