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.

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.

The HMS Bounty Restuarant and bar

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.

Filomena D'Amore

Casa D'Amore

Patsy D'Amores Italian Food

The Villa Capri

Quo Vadis

Patsy's Pizza

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.

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.

Barney's 5 & 10

The Bull & Bush

The HMS Bounty

Bit of Sweden

Click here for a great pamphlet on Bit of Sweden

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.

Margie and Bob Petersen

The Scandia Restaurant

The Bit of Sweden

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.

Helen Johnson

The Tick Tock Tea Room

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.

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.

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's Grill

Simon's

Winter Garden

Rendezvous Inn

Palais de Dance

Cafe Alabam

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.

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.

El Coyote

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!

Bradley's 5 & 10

Blarney Castle

Bull 'n Bush

HMS Bounty

El Adobe

Tiny Naylor's

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

Cafe Sebastian

The Cotton Club

The Cubanola

Cafe of All Nations

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Les Freres Taix

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)

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.