SCOTT, PRIME,
Prime, somewhere up above you mentioned a lot of places which I was familiar with bringing back old memories, but failed to mention Musso and Franks, the Formosa Cafe, and a number of other LA spots which I have long forgotten .... But .....
If I was an asshole I could tell ya LA/Hollywood stories that wold make you shit tour pants, none of which most GetBiggers would be interested in .... such as two feet in one paper bag .... but interesting enough to enlighten the much younger generation
In fact one such Hollywood story was the foundation of a major Hollywood TV series which I'd estimate that 40% of youse GetBiggers are familiar with.
And another .... how the Hollywood stunt guys spent their weekends making their own movies with the studio's 'borrowed' equipment and somehow getting them released in those old US drive inn 'theaters' and into legit Asian theaters.
Look for me. I was always the 'dead guy'.
Good old days way back then.
Thanks for those memories.
They can never be repeated.
The Formosa Café sounds vaguely familiar. How about Hamburger Mary's on Santa Monica in West Hollywood. It was quite the hangout for extras and bit players. And for something a little more upscale, Hamburger Hamlet. They had a menu item called Those Potatoes, which was basically hash-browns in layers with sour cream slathered between. How I ate that and lived to remember it, I don't know.
When I was still a student at Birmingham Highschool my then girlfriend and I went to the Hollywood Palladium to attend a Ray Charles concert. I literally passed out standing up during intermission because of the size of the crowd and my agoraphobia. When I came to we were sitting at a table with an old black couple who bought us drinks even though we were both way underage.
Another girlfriend, Jill and I went to the Coconut Grove for dinner with her parents who owned a chain of restaurants, the name of which I do not recall at the moment.
My wife and I sometimes hung out at the Plush Pup on the Strip for hours on end. You could also find us and Ben Frank's on the strip a couple of nights a week. It is amazing how long we could stretch out a dinner. There was this character Zito who came in frequently with an entourage of younger women. He was quite a character. Don't remember which actor it was, but he'd drive his Jag XKE down the strip with his large dog sitting on the hood. Another place I remember is Tops a drive-in restaurant were the servers (all female) wore roller skates.
My wife and I had our very first date at the Stanley-Warner Theater on Wilshire Blvd in Beverly Hills. Lawrence of Arabia was playing (although it was after the premier). It is an incredibly long movie shot mostly in the desert. We were so parched when the movie ended. Don't remember were we when for something to drink, but I'm guessing it was close by. LOL!
Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton premiered at the Hollywood Pantages Theater. Margie and I drove by but the crowd was overwhelming and as I mentioned have an issue with crowded places. We had some good times going to performances by various folk singers and others like Oscar Brown Jr. at the Troubadour.
We were often invited to preview showings at the Village Theater in West Wood. These weren't crowded since it was by invite only. One of my wife's high school friends was the daughter of a big shot at 20th Century Fox. Even then, it helped to know someone. LOL! Our neighbor and friend of my mom's husband, Alfred Hayes was a screenwriter which was another good connection for invites.
What was great about those days was that actors and other celebrities were everywhere and weren't being mauled by thongs of people nor did they have visible security surrounding them.
