Los Angeles Showbiz Landmark: Ciro’s Nightclub On Sunset
Its been the Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard for over twenty years now, but in the 1940s and 1950s, it was Ciros”the hottest nightclub on the planet.
When Herman Hover became manager of Ciro’s in 1942, he made it into a destination nightspot for the best talent in the world. In 1950, it launched the career of a comedy team that would rise to superstardom together and separately in Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. A year later an opening act called the Will Mastin Trio would tear down the house and leave the headliner that night–Janis Page–in the dust. The Trio itself would become the answer to a trivia question when one of its members left to become one of the biggest stars on the planet–a young singer/dancer/comic named Sammy Davis, Jr.
The regulars at Ciro’s comprised a mind boggling array of the greatest entertainers in history–Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, Judy Garland and countless others. It became the clubhouse for the Hollywood elite to drink, mingle and network.
In a more civilized time, there was a circuit of world renowned nightclubs that featured the best entertainment in the country in an atmosphere of indulgent luxury. In Las Vegas, the Copa Room at the Sands became the place to be in the 1960s but before that there was the Coconut Grove in Miami, the 900 Club in Atlantic City, the Sam Giancanna owned Villa Venice in Chicago. Even during the early 1940s, Ciros was part of this top tier of clubs. What would later become the Holmby Hills Rat Pack was already holding court nightly at Ciros, then owned and operated by Billy Wilkenson. From Bogie and Bacall to George Raft and Betty Grable, it was L.A.s hottest spot. Like most clubs, however, it began to cool off a couple of years later and by 1942 owner Wilkenson was hard pressed to provide worthy entertainment for the celebrities that patronized his club. Customers were defecting in droves to the jungle themed Mocambo across the street. For a time, Ciros closed its doors. It wasnt dark for long when Herman Hoover put together a plan to reopen the club.
Hoover had an interesting background–while attending law school at Columbia University he was lured away by the mix of wiseguys and chorus girls at New York’s famed “Silver Slipper”. “The Slipper” was a prohibition era nightspot owned by a group of organized crime luminaries, and Hoover quickly became a valued management asset. He would later work at Harlem’s famed Cotton Club before relocating to the west coast in 1936.
Ciro’s reopened on the day after Christmas, 1942. The headliner that night was Sinatra crony Joe E. Lewis and the crowd included the aforementioned “Chairman of the Board” along with Mickey Rooney, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz and Cary Grant. Xavier Cugat was next to headline (he’d later to on to marry 1970′s gameshow fixture “Charo”) and became a regular.
In 1949, Hoover hosted Dean Martin’s second wedding at the club and Martin and Lewis debuted at Ciro’s a year later. Before long, they were among the biggest stars in the world but always remained indebted to Hoover for their big break. Even when they were making an at the time unprecedented $100,000 a week to perform they insisted that Hoover pay them their original salary for their first gig at Ciro’s–$7000 a week. Sammy Davis, Jr. got his start at Ciro’s and returned to the stage after his mid 1950′s car accident in what may have been the biggest event ever at the club. After an emotional introduction by Frank Sinatra, Davis tore down the house with a scorching performance.
It was the growth of “The Radiant City” in the Nevada desert–Las Vegas–that would eventually seal the fate of Ciro’s and nightclubs like it nationwide. With huge revenues afforded by legal gambling, Nevada casinos were in a position to lure away the best talent for its showrooms. Entertainers liked the fact that they didn’t have to travel, and Las Vegas afforded them a 24/7 playground. By the late 50′s, Ciro’s was forced to close its doors and was sold at a public auction in 1959 for a mere $350,000.
It also represented the end of an era in Los Angeles. Sunset Boulevard remained a vital commercial artery, but the glamorous strip of adult entertainment that became part of American mythology gave way to a tacky mishmash of restaurants, strip clubs, and tattoo parlors intermingled with more upscale businesses. Although another revolution would emerge from Sunset Boulevard”a culinary superstar named Wolfgang Puck, and his restaurant Spago”the world became a little less civilized with the passing of Ciros. The building has been the Comedy Store for the past 26 years, and has started its own crop of stars along the path to fame.
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