Inside the Labyrinthine Bowels of the Sunset Strip

1 Early History

Since its beginnings in the 1920’s, the Strip has been the preferred playground of the wild and famous.

2 Music Invasion

When Bill Gazzari opened his doors in the '60s the stars of old Hollywood glamour days moved over for the NEW stars of the Sunset Strip.

3. Rock On

This week's elitist club will be gone next week but  the Sunset Strip still Rocks on

PART 1

Early History

Some people think the Sunset Strip is the rock and roll entertainment capitol of the world. They believe if they had a guitar, a song and some luck, they could be the next Red-hot Chili Peppers, Danzig or Zeppelin. How could the Sunset Strip, which is only a 1.5-mile stretch of land parallel to Hollywood hills, become so famous? From its very beginnings in the 1920’s, it has been a magnet for eccentric, wild and brash behavior. I really decided to live in Los Angeles in the 1970’s, and when I saw the palm trees dancing against the sky it was love at first sight.

Hollywood and Beverly Hills were only sleepy orange groves until the motion picture business crossed its path in 1915. This group of vagabonds was greeted with signs like no dogs no actors in the housing community. Actors and actress, directors, stuntmen, the whole industry needed places to relax. Sunset Boulevard is a movie filled with old Hollywood clichés. William Holden’s character has memories of a textbook Hollywood lifestyle which he tells us from his shot dead bloated body floating in his sugar mama’s ( aging ex-starlet Gloria Swanson’s ) pool.

Thus came the roaring twenties when the passion for silent films was at its height. Millionaires brought their own entertainment , one of the first to buy into the scene was Rudolph Valentino who bought a piece of property for his wife, Alla Nazimova They called it Garden of Allah. After her divorce from Rudy, She ended up losing everything. Her home was sold to some shady developers and soon it became the Garden of Allah Hotel. During it’s glory days it was inhabited by the likes of John Barrymore, Clara Bow, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich and more. The Garden of Allah Hotel. Poor Alla was relegated to one little room in the hotel until her death.

The Trocadero opened it’s doors in 1934, . Hollywood’s studio system used it’s own movie stars to keep themselves entertained with stars like Judy Garland soon the new kid on the block was Ciro’s, fabulous place for dining and dancing with stars like Josephine Baker, Sammy Davis, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin and Eartha Kitt. The location has survived many rebirths. Now it is called the Comedy Store and it is owned by Mitzi Shore (Pauli Shore’s mom) , it was a Mecca for the rich and famous in it’s heyday between 1939 till 1957. It was once a Twist club called the Crazy Horse in 1966; the name changed later to The Boss with acts like Tom Jones, Dino, Desi, & Billy.

Chateau Marmont is a fairytale castle of a hotel, steeped in nature, pool, piano, bungalows, it was built in 1929 as apartments and is still private and discreet, the perfect location for an affair. It is a English style manor whose former tenants include Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and Yoko stayed in the bungalows and rumor has it Led Zeppelin rented them for orgies. When I called for more information they would give me no information as they are ultra discreet. It was also the unfortunate location of the drug overdose of the late comedian John Belushi, well, at least he died in a nice place.

The Mocambo, which had stars nightly and featured gods and goddesses of the forties. Patrons came for dinner dancing , chatter while elegant gowns swept across the room. Another Sunset Strip generation of party goers were being entertained by the likes of Lena Horne and Edith Piaf. In the forties it was the cat’s meow. It was featured on I Love Lucy and you can still see Ricky Ricardo and his orchestra there in reruns.

They re-opened as Ciro’s and the club itself starred in Sonny and Cher 1967's movie Good Times. Then the Bob Dylan-Lovin Spoonful generation gave way to soul/R&B acts Marvin Gaye and the Fifth dimension.

Pandora’s Box-Gone but not forgotten. The IN crowd in the 60’s made this club number one on the strip. It was a beatnik club in the 50’s when the strip took it’s tips from the kids. Bongo’s and turtlenecks were the rage for the truly hip. Buffalo Springfield’s wrote a great song called 'For what it’s Worth', about disturbances between the cops and the kids. Cops and kids were natural enemies in the 60’s, like the snake and the mongoose. The police drew a line and forbid the rockers to cross it.

Speaking of Historical sights, in the 40’s and 50’s Schwabs Drug Store was featured in the movie Sunset Boulevard. It was formerly located at Crescent Heights and Sunset and was the drugstore to the stars, though it was torn down in the mid-seventies. It’s new incarnation is the Virgin Mega store, Crunch Gym, and Wolfgang Puck. Though the rumor was that Lana Turner was discovered here in a very tight sweater it is a Hollywood lie which inspired thousands of girls to buy tight sweaters.
 

PART 2 Music Invasion