| 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.
|
Adolph “Eddie” Brandstatter The Embassy
Club
The Montmartre Cafe
Sardi's Restaurant
Lindy's Restaurant The Sunset Inn

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 Restuarant 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!!! |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
Fred Glow Bit of Sweden

Click here for
a great pamphlet on 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 |
Kenneth and Teddy Hansen, a brother and
sister-in-law team, founded the luxurious
Scandia Restaurant in 1946, serving
Scandinavian cuisine. Kenneth Hansen first
arrived in America in 1920 from his native
Denmark. His first restaurant work was at
the Waldorf -Astoria. Ken Hansen's
first Los Angeles work was as the longtime
chef at the "Bit of Sweden" at 9051 Sunset Blvd. 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 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 was across the street
founded in 1947, but Scandia moved to 9040
Sunset in 1957. The "new" Scandia
Restaurant was designed by Wilson & Vogler.
Ken Hansen was in charge of the Denmark
Exhibit at the 1964 New York World's Fair.
In December, 1979 Teddy Hansen past
away at age 71. A year earlier, the Scandia
Restaurant was sold by the Kenneth Hansen to
his friends Margie and Bob Petersen. Kenneth
Hansen died at age 75 in December of
1980. 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. |
|
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

Cafe LaMaze in National City, CA - I believe
this is currently being remodeled. |
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. |
|
Al Levy |
A biography of Al Levy |
|
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
The Musso and Frank Grill
Musso Cafe
The Progress Cafe The Mona Lisa
Restaurant Frank's (Francois) Cafe?

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 |
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 establishing Musso and Frank’s in
1919 in Hollywood with Frank Toulet. 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 1926, 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.
Firmin "Frank" Toulet
and Marie Zoe Helene Prechacq .
Frank was born in France
around 1880-82. He came to the U.S.
in 1895. He kept a pretty low profile, so
information on him is sparse. If
anyone can fill me in, it would be
appreciated (write latimema2 at
latimemachines.com - replace the "at" with
@) 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 Prechacq in New York in 1917.
She was subsequently known as Helene Toulet.
Her family apparently owned several
restaurants including Campi's Restaurant in
San Fernando, CA and they met when Frank worked
at one of them. Both Frank and Helene
were original partners in Musso and Frank's
with Joseph Musso. Helene's role is
apparently almost forgotten. 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 burried at Holy Cross
Cemetery.
Helene died on 7-18-95 at the grand old age
of one hundred and one. Since Musso and
Frank's occupied the former site of Frank's
(Francois's) Cafe, it seems likely that that
was owned by Frank and Helene, but I have
been unable to verify this. I'll keep
working on this! |
|
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 |
|
Alexander Bruni Perino
Delmonico's Restaurant Perino's Restaurant
The Tropicana Hotel, Las Vegas, NV |
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. 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). |
|
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. |
|
Frank Sebastian Cafe Sebastian
The Cotton Club
The Cubanola
Cafe of All Nations
|
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. |
|
Antonio Luciano ("Tony
Lucey"), Nathan Sherry, and Fred
Brosio: Lucey's Restuarant (5444 Melrose
& Winsor St.)
Owned by Sherry only:
The Dugout, W. Ninth St.
Sherry's Restaurant, 9039
Sunset Blvd.
The Pago
Swing Club
The Clover Club
The Embassy
Chanteclair, 8572 Sunset Blvd.
Montecelli

Collection of Daniel Sullivan

Collection of Kathleen B. |
A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Nat Sherry
moved to Los Angeles around 1934. His first
business in Los Angeles was known as the
Dugout on W. Ninth St. He was a
controversial figure with quite a few ups
and downs in the business, but certainly one
of Los Angeles' more important restaurateurs
in the Golden Era of the 1940's. His most
famous restaurant was Lucey's on Melrose, a
star studded restaurant for many years. As
an example, when a fire broke out in the
restaurant in 1948, Robert Preston, John
Wayne and Ronald Coleman had to flee their
meals. Sherry bought Lucey's in 1945 from
Antonio Luciano who went by the nickname
Tony Lucey (hence "Lucey's" restaurant).
Luciano was born in Britain to Italian
parents. Lucey's Restaurant first opened in
the 20's as a place to wet your whistle
surreptitiously during prohibition. The 5444
Melrose Restaurant was the second location.
Luciano also had a restaurant in the Golden
Nugget in Las Vegas. Luciano died in Las
Vegas 11-16-55.
Sherry had a wife named Lucille, a
daughter named Margaret Ferguson and a son
Newton Sherry. Nathan Sherry's
restaurant bearing his name - "Sherry's"
gained notoriety when it was the scene of a
shootout and attempt on the life of Mickey
Cohen in 1949. Cohen survived but his
bodyguard was killed. The incident basically
put the restaurant out of business. It was
at 9039 Sunset Blvd.(formerly Cafe Roxy
,Cafe LaMaze, Gazzari's and now I believe it
is the Key Club), next to the Bit of Sweden
restaurant at the time. Sherry's was
co-owned by Barney Ruditsky.
At the height of his business, Sherry
operated almost 12 nightclubs and
restaurants and owned a very lavish home
with extensive antique furnishings at 724 N.
Elm Dr. in Beverly Hills.
Sherry died of a heart attack, after
having been involved in a car accident in
May of 1954 at age 65. He is buried at
Forrest Lawn. For a while his daughter
Margaret Ferguson carried on with some of
his businesses.
Lucey's restaurant continued on into the
60's, next becoming Lucey's New Orleans in
August of 1959 and then Casa Lucey's Mexican
food in April of 1963. It doesn't seem like
long ago I can remember seeing the building
still standing that housed Lucey's, but with
my flaky memory it could have been 15 years
or so. Here is some important information
from the grandson of one of Lucey's
Restaurant's owners: My
grandfather, Fred Brosio, was working as the
maitre d' at Perino's in 1936 (give or take
a year). Tony Lucey already owned Lucey's at
that point but wasn't up to running it on a
day-to-day basis. He was somehow introduced
to my grandfather and persuaded him to take
over management of
Lucey's. It worked out very well. So Lucey
offered my grandfather an ownership stake.
My father thinks it was 50%, but he doesn't
know for sure .
He and Lucey got along fine, but they didn't
"hang out" together. Although Lucey
certainly came into the restaurant
sometimes, he largely did his own thing. And
my grandfather was spending all his time in
the nitty gritty of running the business,
which is definitely something Lucey did not
do there. One thing my father does remember
is that other than the matchbooks they had
in the restaurant, my grandfather never
advertised. He was very happy with the movie
industry clientele and wasn't interested in
trying to make it a household name.
My father thinks that they sold it in either
1945 or 1946 to Steve Crane and Al Mathes,
and that Sherry was somehow later brought in
by the new owners at a later date. He's just
not sure. The one thing he does know is that
after the sale, my grandfather had nothing
at all to do with the restaurant or its
subsequent owners. And he and Lucey pretty
much went their separate ways. |
|
Somborn, Herbert K.
The Brown Derby Restaurant at 3427 Wilshire
The Brown Derby Restaurant at 3347 Wilshire
The Brown Derby Restaurant at 9537 Wilshire
The Brown Derby (Hi Hat) Restaurant at 3927
Wilshire |
Herbert Somborn was born in 1881 and he died
on January 3rd, 1934 (at age 53) from kidney
disease. His first career centered on
being a film producer, as president of
Equity Pictures Corporation . Herbert
Somborn married Gloria Swanson, the
great golden age movie star, in a ceremony
at the Alexandria Hotel, in downtown Los
Angeles on 12-20-1919. They later divorced
on 8-9-22. They had one daughter, Gloria
Swanson Somborn. One of Somborn’s best
friends was Wilson Mizner, a Hollywood
writer. A much talked about event
occurred when Somborn, Wallace Beery and the Marquis de la
Falaise, all previously married to Gloria
Swanson, had dinner together in the Brown
Derby Restaurant. Somborn formed H.K.
Somborn Enterprises, Inc., which opened the
first Brown Derby in 1926. The Rodeo Dr.
Brown Derby opened in 1931. Somborn was not
involved in the Los Feliz Brown Derby which
opened after his death in 1941. Somborn’s
friend and business manager was Robert
H. Cobb. Jack Warner was thought to be a
silent partner in financing the Brown
Derby. When Somborn died, Robert (" Bob ")
Cobb, under the terms of Somborn’s will, was
made President of the Brown Derby
restaurants. Herbert Somborn's daughter
Gloria, age 12 when Somborn died, also
inherited an ownership interest in the Brown
Derby Restaurant. She closed the Wilshire
Center Brown Derby (Hat) in 1980. She
initially intended to demolish the site, but
gave in to preservationists and allowed it
to be moved. She died on 12-11-2000 at age
80. There was recently a successful battle to save the
Los Feliz former location of the Brown
Derby. |
|
Marius Taix Sr. & Marius Taix Jr. Raymond
and Pierre Taix Les Freres Taix |
Marius Taix (pronounced "Tex") immigrated
to the U.S. from France way back in the
1880s. He constructed a brick building in
1912 at 321 Commercial St. that became the
Les Freres Taix restaurant in 1927, a center
for the French community. His son by the
same name was one of the people to take over
the leadership later. It has been run by
descendents such as Raymond and Pierre Taix
ever since. They moved to the Sunset Blvd.
location when the original brick restaurant
was condemned by the Federal Government to
make a parking lot for the old Federal
Building in August of 1964. The restaurant
has always been one of the best known in Los
Angeles, famous for its reasonably priced French
meals. Marius Taix Jr. died at age 73 in
March of 1967. |
|
William R. "Billy" Wilkerson
Vendome, 6666 Sunset Blvd. (opened
1933)
Cafe Trocadero, 8610 Sunset
Blvd. (opened 1934)
Sunset House
L'Aiglon, Beverly Hills
Ciro's, 8433 Sunset (opened
1940)
La Rue, Sunset Strip (1944)
Arrowhead Springs Hotel
The Flamingo Hotel (Las Vegas) |
He was born in Springfield Tennessee Sept.
29, 1890. He had a son, William III and a
daughter, Cynthia. His last wife and
widow was Tichi Wilkerson Kassel who died in
2004. Billy was one of the greatest
Los Angeles Restaurateurs and Hollywood
personalities in general. At times
associated with Marcel Lamaze, which had to
be one of the greatest teams of
restaurateurs ever! Wilkerson
developed the perfect symbiosis of owning
and running "the Hollywood Reporter"
starting in 1930 and running gourmet
restaurants and nightclubs for the stars.
For a film or star to truly make it, they
needed his publicity in the Hollywood
Reporter, so naturally movie stars and
producers flocked to his restaurants.
In addition, he could use the Hollywood
Reporter for free advertising and hype for
his restaurants. His superb taste and
natural affinity for excellence and elegance
would probably have brought them to his
places in any event. The first office of
the Hollywood Reporter was located at 1606
N. Highland Ave. and later moved to 6715
Sunset Blvd. This was right near where he
started his first restaurant, the Vendome.
The Vendome emphasized ultra gourmet foods
and delicacies. In 1935, Wilkerson lived at
535 N. Hillcrest Road.
His next venture in 1934, The Cafe
Trocadero, took over the locale of an older
nightclub "La Boeme". It had a perfect view
of the City of Los Angeles with glimmering
lights below. It was decorated very much in
the French style of the day. For it's first
few years, it was the number spot in
Hollywood for the stars. Then came Ciro's
which also reigned as the number one star
spot and it lasted even longer than the
Trocadero. His final big venture, La Rue was
more of a restaurant than a boite de nuit,
but the cuisine was once again of sky high
quality.
In the 40's and 50's Wilkerson made his
staunch anti-Communist views known in his
paper. He was a lifetime devoted Catholic.
He was known to always be impeccably
dressed.
Of his many restaurants and nightclubs - Ciro's,
the Cafe Trocadero (1934) and La
Rue have to be three of the top ten or
so greatest Hollywood hot spots ever, right
up there
with places owned by others like Chasen's,
Perino's, Romanoff's, Scandia,
Earl Carroll's, the Brown Derby
Restaurants.
The Trocadero Cafe
closed in May of 1940, finally falling out
of fashion with the movie star crowd.
Up until the '80s you could find the three
steps that used to lead to the Trocadero
still present at the now empty lot. Wilkerson married six times. He
was living in Bel Air at 10425 Sunset Blvd. when
he died in 1962.
Despite the thesis presented in the movie
"Bugsy" (which despite the historical
inaccuracies necessary to make it a great
plot was a movie I very much liked) - it was
actually Billy Wilkerson who came up with
the idea for the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas
and who had the foresight to transform Las
Vegas from a cowboy ranch theme into the
relatively upscale (albeit somewhat evil)
place it is today. This is outlined in a
fascinating book by Mr. Wilkerson's son
called "the Man Who Invented Las Vegas". It
was Benjamin Siegel who essentially
stole the Flamingo from Billy Wilkerson.
Benjamin Siegel at first was good
friends with Mr. Wilkerson - with Siegel
adopting Ciro's as his home away from
home. Conflicts over the Flamingo however,
turned Siegel and Wilkerson into enemies,
with Siegel threatening (with great
credibility I might add) to kill Wilkerson
before Siegel himself was murdered.
It is hard to estimate just how powerful
and influential Billy Wilkerson might
have become (over and above his huge rule in
Golden Age Hollywood) had he not been
terribly addicted to gambling, losing
hundreds of thousand's (perhaps millions) of
dollars. He was only able to give up
his voracious gambling habit upon the birth
of his son. |
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My Choices for Top Ten Best Los Angeles History
Time Machines for Various Categories
Miscellaneous Facts on Los Angeles bar and
restaurant history |
Matchbooks & Historic Images
TIKI/GOOGIE/ART DECO/NEON |
Misc. FUN FACTS RESTAURANT HISTORY |
DETAILED ARCHITECTURAL PICTURES |
MORE READER MEMORIES
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