Category Archives: Nightclubs

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 →

Posted in Food and Drink, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music, Nightclubs, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

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 , , , , , , | 4 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.

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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 , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

1944 in Print — Walter Winchell on Broadway, March 11, 1944

Posted on March 11, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 11, 1944 Lint From a Blue Serge Suit Dinah Shore’s headache: Her great arranger has been drafted … Barbara Stanwyck’s next film will be her 50th. Just finished Warners’ “My Reputation.” All those long-distance calls for starlet Gail Russell … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Columnists, Film, History, New York, Nightclubs, Stage | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

1944 in Print — Walter Winchell on Broadway, March 6, 1944

Posted on March 6, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 6, 1944 Broadway Ballad The Orchid Garden: Zanuck’s newest click, “The Purple Heart.” The author is listed as Melville Crossman. That’s Zanuck … Editorial Dept. Novelette: It happened in the city room of one of the Big Town gazettes … Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — ‘Walter Winchell on Broadway,’ March 1, 1944

Posted on March 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 1, 1944 Man About Town Norma Shearer is expected to resume her screen career in the role of Katy (the mother) in “Tree Grows in Brooklyn” … Franz Werfel, author of “Song of Bernadette” (after two heart attacks), is … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, New York, Nightclubs, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

1944 in Print — ‘Walter Winchell on Broadway,’ Feb. 29, 1944

Posted on March 1, 2014 by lmharnisch

Feb. 29, 1944 As you may have noticed from all the gags on the radio shows, 1944 was a leap year — unlike 2014. Here’s the extra Walter Winchell column. Notes of an Innocent Bystander The First Nights: In the … Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — ‘Walter Winchell on Broadway,’ Feb. 28, 1944

Posted on February 28, 2014 by lmharnisch

Feb. 28, 1944 Man With a Press Pass in His Hat At about 8:30 the other Monday night (during a heavy rainstorm) a packed Amsterdam Avenue trolley stopped at 128th Street. The conductor got out — went to a bar … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Film, Hollywood, New York, Nightclubs, Streetcars, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment