Category Archives: Nightclubs

December 13, 1941: Roundup of Aliens Overwhelms L.A. Jails

Posted on December 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 13, 1941: So many alien Japanese, Germans and Italians are being taken into custody that Chief Jailer William Bright of the County Jail is being forced to send some of his other inmates to county prison farms. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Fashion, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Nightclubs, Nuestro Pueblo, World War II | Tagged , | Leave a comment

October 12, 1957: Matt Weinstock

Posted on October 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 12, 1957: Matt Weinstock profiles Burl Ives as he makes the transition from folk singing to acting. Continue reading →

Posted in broadcasting, Columnists, Film, Food and Drink, Matt Weinstock, Music, Nightclubs, Television | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on October 12, 1957: Matt Weinstock

September 4, 1933: Man Kills Wife and Daughter, Commits Suicide Over Pink Bedroom

Posted on September 4, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 4, 1933: A man fatally stabs his estranged wife and daughter, then slits his throat after an argument because his wife had the bedroom painted pink. Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, Art & Artists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Homicide, LAPD, Main Street, Nightclubs, San Fernando Valley, Streetcars, Suicide, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on September 4, 1933: Man Kills Wife and Daughter, Commits Suicide Over Pink Bedroom

Los Angeles History — Stage

Posted on June 7, 2025 by lmharnisch

T.C. Jones, whom Philip Scheuer calls “the greatest female impersonator I have seen and heard since Julian Eltinge. Continue reading →

Posted in broadcasting, Film, Hollywood, Nightclubs, Stage | Comments Off on Los Angeles History — Stage

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Drag Comes to Hollywood at B.B.B.’s Cellar

Posted on July 16, 2024 by lmharnisch

Long before Silver Lake’s Black Cat Cafe or the first LBGT parade down Hollywood Boulevard in the 1960s, Hollywood highlighted female impersonators and the gay community in a popular, energetic nightclub called B. B. B.’s Cellar and led by host … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Mary Mallory, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Studio City Nightlife

Posted on June 14, 2021 by lmharnisch

Feb. 10, 1940: Ching Howe is opening in the Valley. Photo: The 11380 block of Ventura Boulevard. Credit: Google street view. Note: This is an encore post from 2011. Studio City seemed to blossom into an entertainment-related town after the … Continue reading →

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January 1959: The LAPD’s Pandora Files

Posted on January 23, 2019 by lmharnisch

This was a fun post on Pandora’s (later Pandora’s Box), 8118 Sunset Blvd., that I completely forgot. The material is in the agenda packets of the Police Commission. The club was under the jurisdiction of the LAPD’s Hollywood Division Vice … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Food and Drink, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Jan. 10, 1959: Paul Coates Confidential File – Mash Notes and Comments

Posted on January 10, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 10, 1959: Paul Coates runs a letters column – and has an interesting item about Herman Hover’s efforts to reopen Ciro’s (Coates covered L.A. nightlife and restaurants before he became a columnist).. The entire column appeared in the L.A. … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Drag Ball Planned for the Avodon Ballroom in DTLA

Posted on August 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

The site of the Avodon Ballroom at 843 S. Spring St., via Google Street View.  Aug. 14, 1947: A drag ball is planned for the Avodon Ballroom, 843 S. Spring St. Although the Sentinel didn’t follow up on the event, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Black Dahlia, Dance, Downtown, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

From the Florentine Gardens

Posted on August 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

Posted in 2006, Nightclubs, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Comments Off on From the Florentine Gardens

Black L.A. 1947: Hitting the Nightspots With ‘The Owl’

Posted on July 31, 2018 by lmharnisch

Eight black athletes are trying out for the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference. July 31, 1947: “The Owl,” the Sentinel’s nightlife columnist, visited the clubs, noting that the high prices of food and rent were taking a … Continue reading →

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Black L.A., 1947: Onyx Club Opens in Pasadena; Cafe Was Site of Sensational 1950 Killing

Posted on March 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

March 6, 1947: The Onyx Club opens at 109 S. Fair Oaks in Pasadena. The former site of what was variously called the Onyx Club, Onyx Cafe or Onyx Bar on South Fair Oaks in Pasadena, via Google Street View. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1950, African Americans, Crime and Courts, Food and Drink, Music, Nightclubs, Pasadena | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Black L.A. 1947: Sentinel Refuses Ads From Central Avenue Club Over White Cashier

Posted on January 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

4201 S. Central, the location of the Downbeat Room, via Google Street View. Notice the Dunbar Hotel next door. The famous Club Alabam’ was nearby at 4215 S. Central.   Jan. 9, 1947: Mabel Scott and Gerald Wilson open the … Continue reading →

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RIP: Dave Pell, Jazz Musician 1925 – 2017

Posted on May 8, 2017 by lmharnisch

Veteran jazz musician and record producer Dave Pell has died at the age of 92, according to his Facebook page. Here are excerpts of an interview I did in 2007. (The full interview is at latimes.com.) Dave Pell on Lenny … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, 2017, Mickey Cohen, Music, Nightclubs, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Ahoy Mateys! Guests Walk Plank at Pirate’s Den.

Posted on April 4, 2016 by lmharnisch

The Pirate’s Den, Radio Television Mirror. During the height of Hollywood’s Golden Age, colorful and elaborate restaurants and nightclubs filled the scene. In the 1920s, programmatic architecture flourished in California, providing automobile passengers giant iconic representations of the foodstuffs available … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Film, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Ahoy Mateys! Guests Walk Plank at Pirate’s Den.

Garry Shandling: A Tour of L.A. Comedy Clubs in 1981

Posted on March 24, 2016 by lmharnisch

I rarely dig into my old clips, but here is my feature on Garry Shandling, who died today at the age of 66, from the Arizona Daily Star, Nov. 24, 1981. The ending isn’t exactly mine; it was altered  by … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 4269 Lankershim Blvd: Evolution of an Address

Posted on July 27, 2015 by lmharnisch

Club Indigo matchbook courtesy of Mary Mallory. While some proprietorships remain in business for decades at one address, most often, occupancy at the site frequently changes due to economic and cultural cycles. Following owners usually continue in the same vein … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music, Nightclubs, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Studio City Nightclubs Jazz Up San Fernando Valley

Posted on February 9, 2015 by lmharnisch

The Zomba Cafe in “The Loved One,” about the 1:38 mark. Thanks to its geographic location and its proximity to entertainment industry businesses, Studio City has served as the home for eclectic restaurants and nightclubs providing a variety of amusement … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Nightclubs, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

1944 in Print — Walter Winchell on Broadway, March 17, 1944

Posted on March 17, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 17, 1944: New York Newsreel Faces About Town: Capt. Clark Gable and pretty Virginia Grey. Their chums say, “This is it!” … Lovely Ann Mace, Billy Rose’s tallest showgirl. Her groom, Lt. Al Downs of Westchester, has the miseries … Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — Walter Winchell on Broadway, March 15, 1944

Posted on March 15, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 15, 1944 Man About Town Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt (newspaper row hears) is fed up with the way some syndicate clients chop her column to appease local subscribers … Drew Pearson made the identical squawk. Pearson’s beef was that some … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Columnists, Hollywood, New York, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments