The Brown Derby

[MK]

I just got a book on one of the most famous restaurants of the golden era. The Brown Derby was the place to be seen in Hollywood. There were four Brown Derbies but the one on Vine was the most famous.

This book is great. Not only does it have great photos of the stars and the eatery itself, but it also has the recipes too.

One thing I learned is that the architect for the Hollywood Derby was Carl Jules Weyl. He went on to work at Warner Brothers as an art director. He received an Oscar for The Adventures of Robin Hood.

More importantly he was the art dirctor for Casablanca . Obviously he fashioned Rick's after his design of The Brown Derby. I now can see plainly the same artist's hand.

Here are some pics of the repo version at the MGM Grand at Disney World in Florida.

It is hard to imagine what a classy place it was when the place is full of people who dress like.......well.......slobs. Then again, they are at an amusement park in Florida.

 

[Andykev]

Wonderful

The only thing I note out of place in those beatuiful posts...is that the people in the modern pics are wearing shorts, tank tops, and flip-flops.

An about seven people wearing baseball or visor hats indoors!!

What happened to the well dressed person of the 40's?????

 

[Dalexs]

I remember many moons ago, when I was just a younsta'...
on a trip out west, couped up for 3 weeks with the parents
in a Winnebago, we ate at a Brown Derby that wsa either on or close to Universal Studio property. Was that an original or replica? This would have been circa 1983ish.

Dalexs

 

[MK]

That probably would have been the Derby on Vine.

 

[havershaw]

That book sounds awesome. I will have to track one down. What's it called?

I have a couple of postcards depicting the Wilshire Brown Derby. It was located directly across the street from the Ambassador Hotel and was owned (I believe) by Gloria Swanson and her husband, both of whom lived in an Ambassador bungalow at the time.

The dome from the Brown Derby was moved slightly but is still basically across the street from the Ambassador. Get this - it's now painted silver and was put atop a strip mall - and I believe it's a Vietnamese restaurant. Maybe Korean, actually, as that once-thriving and fashionable stretch of Wilshire is now the heart of Koreatown.

I have not been inside the Brown Derby atop the mall. Isn't the Vine one still there (albeit called something else)?

 

[MK]

The Brown Derby Restaurant : A Hollywood Legend


Amazon has the hard back for a whopping $95

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...002-4345227-2587255?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

You might find it for a better price else where.

 

[Pen Collector]

In Vegas....

Isn't there a Brown Derby restaurant at the MGM in Las Vegas. I seem to recall seeing one there. I didn't eat there but did notice it. There again, people would probably walk in there with shorts, sandles and baseball caps. I am sure that at one time everyone going to Vegas dressed up, but now, its like going to Disneyland or Disneyworld.

We need a time machine gentlemen.... to go back a few years and enjoy style, everywhere.

 

[Forrestal]

I ate at the Brown Derby in the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas.

It was great. I guess because of Vegas, it was a very classy restaurant.

People were well dressed. The d?ɬ©cor was a lot like the original Hollywood restaurant.

I remembered the I Love Lucy episode where she saw William Holden at the Brown Derby. So I had my eye open for celebrities. Cindy Williams of Lavern & Shirley sat down at the table next to ours.

After several Markers Marks?¢‚Ǩ¬¶?¢‚Ǩ¬¶even she looked good?¢‚Ǩ¬¶?¢‚Ǩ¬¶?¢‚Ǩ¬¶
Regards,
Forrestal

 

[MK]

Good to know. I have been to the one in Orlando.....but I didn't know that there was one in Las Vegas. I have to go there in a couple of weeks. Now I know where I am eating dinner.

 

[Wild Root]

Vegas Derby eh? Well, it makes sense that a little more consideration would be made to dressing for a restaurant in Vegas then Orlando.

I went to Musso and Frank's Grill for my birthday and it was very nice. For those who don't know, Musso and Frank's Grill was built in 1919 and is one of the oldest restaurants in Hollywood.
The food is good, (Good and expensive!) But, the waiters had old fashioned uniforms on and were very polite. Some folks were dressed in suits but, mostly plane Jane street clothes. I, Matt and a close friend of ours were in full period clothes. We got comments like: You dress the way people dressed when the place first opened! The place even has a row of original phone booths with the doors and all. Only thing different is that they have modern phones in them. Yuck!

A good place to eat and experience a Hollywood land mark.

Root.

 

[MK]

Unfortunately the one in Las Veges is gone. The MGM got gready and now they only have restaurants that are owned by them.

 

[Andykev]

Next time bring your Brownie

Next time you go there and are wearing your vintage clothes, bring a dang modern digital camera. I know we would all love to see it!!

 

[Wild Root]

bring a dang modern digital camera

Well, we had one! Matt had his and took some photos. They came out ok and I'll get on him to post some.

Cheers!

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

Another revival

Some short discussion on the Brown Derby was brought up, so I thought more discussion on here would be nice. I also have the book Mr. Key is speaking of. It's a great book and inexpensive to buy. It has since been out of print but $30 and $40 copies show up on Amazon.com. Look there for the best deal. I also had the pleasure of meeting Mark Willems, the co-author of this beloved book, and have kept in close contact. He's a real gentleman, with much love for the Brown Derby, but his passion probably goes more towards his art, which can be found here. http://www.markwillems.com/

The Brown Derby is a large piece of forgotten Los Angeles history, and really needs to pay it's dues as being known again.

There were 4 Brown Derby locations. The first one opened on Wilshire Blvd in West Los Angeles in 1926, right across the street from the famous Ambassador Hotel.

It was the only location of the Brown Derbies in the shape of a hat. It catered to those staying or treading the Ambassador as well as seconding as a place to go other than the Coconut Grove, located inside of the Ambassador Hotel.

On Valentines Day in 1929, the second and most famous Brown Derby opened at 1628 Vine Street, near the corner of Hollywood and Vine. During it's lifetime, it was regularly frequented by movies stars, directors, actors and actresses, producers, writers, editors, and basically the entire entertainment industry, as well as tourists, looking to spot a star or two in the famed city.

Two others opened, one at #1 Wilshire Blvd in Beverly Hills and the last location opened at the corner of Los Feliz Blvd and Hillhurst St in Los Feliz Village by film pioneer Cecil B Demille in 1941. The location on Los Feliz was once another restaurant, which had gone through two owners before becoming the Los Feliz Brown Derby.

In the 1980's, sadly three of the four Derbies were set to be demolished, including the famed Hollywood Brown Derby, now a parking lot, and the original hat shaped Brown Derby, now a hat shaped shell mounted on a mini mall and painted orange. Not very attractive.

The Derby night club

In the late 1990's, The Los Feliz Brown Derby was given a face lift, becoming the now "The Derby" night club, promoting swing dancing and the sweet big band sounds of the Golden Era. Mr. Chevalier can fill you in on much information of that time (). It was "ground zero" of the swing revival and jump started the careers of bands like The Royal Crown Revue and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, not to mention promoting bands like Dean Mora's, the Swingsations, and many others.

In mid 2004, the property and remaining block of the Los Feliz Brown Derby was purchased by the dreaded anti preservists, with the intention to demolish the last remaning structure of the once famous Brown Derbies. Rebecca Goodman, as well as members of the swing and Los Angeles Community formed the Save The Derby Coalition to fight the developers and to preserve this piece of land and what sat on it. Early last year it was named a historical landmark by the Los Angeles Council and currently promotes a Swing Night every Sunday in the same location it has been for the past 60 years and still going strong.

That's about all I know in general terms and you can read all of that on about 20 different websites. If you want to know more, I advise you to purchase the book. Much more history and lots of great photos.

 

[Ellie]

My grandma grew up in Los Angeles where she often attended live radio shows with friends. They would always go to the Brown Derby on Vine afterwards to grab a bite to eat.

Supposedly this is where the Cobb Salad was invented.

I too have a vintage Brown Derby postcard. I guess this is to make up for the fact that I will never be able to visit it.

 

[jonniangel]

I've been fascinated by the Brown Derby....probably since seeing that I Love Lucy episode.

When we lived in Orlando, Mr. Angel and I would visit the Disney Brown Derby frequently for Cobb Salad and Grapefruit Cake, both are supposed to be original Derby recipes.

Mr. Angel took a few pictures without tourists in it so you can see the beauty of this place. It's not the original but it's the closest I'm ever going to get....until somebody builds that darned time machine!

Brown Derby at MGM Studios Orlando

 

[MK]

.

It is a great place. I visited there several years ago and it was wonderful to see....somewhat......what it was like. It would have been perfect except for the patrons:

That just kills the illusion. .

 

[HadleyH]

The first one opened on Wilshire Blvd in West Los Angeles in 1926, right across the street from the famous Ambassador Hotel.

It was the only location of the Brown Derbies in the shape of a hat. It catered to those staying or treading the Ambassador as well as seconding as a place to go other than the Coconut Grove, located inside of the Ambassador Hotel.

In the 1930s the Brown Derby was almost like a private club for the show business community, open twenty-four hours a day to receive actors wanting breakfast before going to work and others dropping in after work late at night.
What an amazing time that must have been! Garbo, Gable Cooper, Dietrich,........Those were the times!

 

[Rafter]

I visited there several years ago and it was wonderful to see....somewhat......what it was like. It would have been perfect except for the patrons:That just kills the illusion. .

I can't believe how these folks are dressed. I guess that's "California casual".

My dad went on a cross-country trip in 1959. One of the places he went to was the Brown Derby. I remember seeing his pictures of the place. The men were in suits and the ladies wore their hats and dresses. Everyone looked so classy!

Boy, the have times certainly changed!

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

Well, it is a theme park. You can't expect people in Florida of all places to wear dressier clothes. If I were at that theme park in the summer, I'd be scorched as it is. It gets humid in the summer in Florida.