Tag Archives: Nightclubs

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 →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Food and Drink, Nightclubs, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 , , | Leave a comment

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: 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

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 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 →

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

1944 in Print — ‘Walter Winchell on Broadway,’ Feb. 15, 1944

Posted on February 15, 2014 by lmharnisch

Feb. 15, 1944: Notes of an Innocent Bystander “The Sullivans” …  This is the movies’ memorial to the five Sullivan boys who died in the same sea action. It’s tender and moving and resists the temptation to cry too much. … Continue reading →

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

1944 in Print — ‘Walter Winchell on Broadway,’ Feb. 9, 1944

Posted on February 9, 2014 by lmharnisch

Feb. 9, 1944: Al Jolson is Jinx Falkenberg’s most constant visitor at her St. Luke’s Hospital bedside…. New Yorkers suspect that Wayne (wife-killer) Lonergan’s sudden coin (to hire a lawyer) came from men named in her diary … Betty Hutton … Continue reading →

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1944 in Print — Walter Winchell on Broadway, March 7, 1944

Posted on February 7, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 7, 1944 Notes of an Innocent Bystander The Magic Lantern: Danny Kaye, who knocked off B’way in his first start, put Hollywood in his pocket the same way. His starter, “Up in Arms,” makes him a Milquetoast in khaki … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, New York, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Flo Ash — The ‘Cutest Little Nudist’ — Gets a Divorce

Posted on January 26, 2014 by lmharnisch

Jan. 26, 1944: “Flo Ash” is one of my favorite names from 1940s Los Angeles.  In 1940, she sued the Florentine Gardens and producer Nils T. Granlund over use of the nickname “Cutest Little Nudist.”

Posted in 1944, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, Nightclubs, World War II | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The Whisky a Go Go Opens, Jan. 15, 1964

Posted on January 13, 2014 by lmharnisch

The Whisky a Go Go at Sunset Boulevard and Clark Street via Google Street View. Trentham Roberts, the proprietor of “The ‘60s at 50” blog, has an entry on the opening of Whisky a Go Go on Jan. 15, 1964.

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A Night at the Florentine Gardens, 1943

Posted on July 15, 2013 by lmharnisch

Here’s another item from the Florentine Gardens: A 1943 photo of people that has been listed on EBay for 99 cents.

Posted in 1943, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Nightclubs, Photography, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Death of Ted Healy — Part 11

Posted on June 14, 2013 by lmharnisch

Dec. 25, 1937: Ted Healy “never learned to save money.” (Los Angeles Examiner) In case you just tuned in, we are nearing the end of a long journey that began in April, when I stumbled across a Wikipedia entry claiming … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The Death of Ted Healy — Part 10

Posted on June 13, 2013 by lmharnisch

Dec. 22, 1937: Ted Healy in the Los Angeles County morgue, photographed by the Daily News. In case you just tuned in, we are nearing the end of a long journey that began in April, when I stumbled across a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Film, Hollywood, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

The Death of Ted Healy — Part 8

Posted on June 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

Dec. 22, 1937: “Beating of Ted Healy Told in Death Probe,” in the Los Angeles Daily News. In case you just tuned in, we are nearing the end of a long journey that began in April, when I stumbled across … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Earl Carroll’s Swanky Sunset Boulevard Theater

Posted on March 18, 2013 by lmharnisch

Photo: Earl Carroll at the groundbreaking for his nightclub, with Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor and W.C. Fields. Courtesy of James Curtis. In the late 1930s, Earl Carroll reigned as Broadway’s exotic showman, producing splashy musical revues featuring statuesque, sultry showgirls. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1938, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Found on EBay – The Florentine Gardens

Posted on January 1, 2013 by lmharnisch

A Sept. 16, 1944, photo from the Florentine Gardens – with souvenir lipstick prints – has been listed on EBay at Buy It Now for $25. The lot includes souvenir photos from Ace Cain’s, 1369 N. Western Ave., and the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Black Dahlia, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Nightclubs, Photography | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment