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Chasen's was a famous restaurant frequented by film stars, entertainers, politicians and other dignitaries in
West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages in ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...
, located at 9039
Beverly Boulevard Beverly Boulevard is one of the main east–west thoroughfares in Los Angeles, in the U.S. state of California. It begins off Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills and ends on the Lucas Avenue overpass near downtown Los Angeles to become 1s ...
on the border of Beverly Hills. It opened for business in 1936 and was the site of the
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
s party for many years. It was also famous for its chili.
Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...
had several orders of Chasen's chili flown to the set of ''
Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. ...
'' in 1963 while filming in Rome, and to
Oroville, California Oroville (''Oro'', Spanish for "Gold" and ''Ville'', French for "town") is the county seat of Butte County, California, United States. The population of the city was 15,506 at the 2010 census, up from 13,004 in the 2000 census. Following the ...
during the filming of ''
The Klansman ''The Klansman'' (also known as ''Burning Cross'') is a 1974 American drama film based on the 1967 book of the same name by William Bradford Huie. It was directed by Terence Young and starred Lee Marvin, Richard Burton, O. J. Simpson (in his ...
'' in 1974. Many of the restaurant's regular customers had booths named in their honor. The Ronald Reagan booth is now on display at the
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is the repository of presidential records from the administration of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, and the burial place of the president and first lady, Nancy Reagan. It is the larg ...
, and was where Reagan proposed to his actress wife Nancy Davis. Well-known celebrities with their own booths included
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...
,
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
,
James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...
, and
Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...
. The restaurant suffered a decline in business over the course of many years and closed permanently in 1995.


History

Comedian Dave Chasen, who had starred in many shows, especially with Joe Cook, such as ''
Fine and Dandy "Fine and Dandy" is a popular song from the 1930 Broadway musical of the same name. Composition The music was written by Kay Swift, the lyrics by Paul James (a pseudonym of James Paul Warburg). The song was published in 1930. The song was intro ...
'', opened the restaurant in December 1936 on the advice of director
Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s ...
. When
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film pr ...
went to Chasen's to have dinner in late 1937 he met conductor
Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appeara ...
and talked to him about composing
Paul Dukas Paul Abraham Dukas ( or ; 1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, having abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His b ...
'
The Sorcerer's Apprentice "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (german: "Der Zauberlehrling", link=no, italic=no) is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe written in 1797. The poem is a ballad in 14 stanzas. Story The poem begins as an old sorcerer departs his workshop, leaving ...
for a short with
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and whi ...
and he agreed which eventually led to the development of Disney's 3rd full-length animated film
Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
. It was initially called "Chasen's Southern Pit". ''The New Yorker''s founder/editor
Harold Ross Harold Wallace Ross (November 6, 1892 – December 6, 1951) was an American journalist who co-founded '' The New Yorker'' magazine in 1925 with his wife Jane Grant, and was its editor-in-chief until his death. Early life Born in a prospecto ...
funded the operation, along with business associate Daniel Silberberg. It was nothing more than a shack at the beginning, but it quickly became well known for its chili and was soon a favorite among Hollywood stars. Capra had to lend Chasen his silverware for the restaurant's operation.


Clients

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film pr ...
,
Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appeara ...
,
Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one of ...
,
Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...
,
Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...
, and W. C. Fields were among its customers. As newer generations took the reins of Hollywood, trendier restaurants drew the celebrities and stole some of Chasen's clientele, but many stayed faithful to the end. Ronald Reagan and Frank Sinatra well as
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
,
Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood C ...
,
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...
, and
Jack Lord John Joseph Patrick Ryan (December 30, 1920 – January 21, 1998), best known by his stage name, Jack Lord, was an American television, film and Broadway actor, director and producer. He starred as Steve McGarrett in the CBS television progr ...
were still regulars, along with newer celebrities such as
Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...
,
John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes '' Carrie'' (1 ...
and
Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...
.
Ed McMahon Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the ABC game sh ...
and
Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six P ...
were frequent guests.
Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...
treated guest stars of her
variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...
to dinner at Chasen's following the Friday night tapings from 1967 to 1978. Chasen's did not accept credit cards. Instead, established or recognized customers simply signed for their charges and had a bill mailed to them. The restaurant closed on April 1, 1995 and the site was used for private parties and as a filming location ('' The Opposite of Sex''). In 1997, its contents were auctioned off, including pictures, bars, booths, and paneling. Many original photos and artwork from Chasen's walls, ten of the booths, and the barstools are now found in
Santa Paula, California Santa Paula ( Spanish for " St. Paula") is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. Situated amid the orchards of the Santa Clara River Valley, the city advertises itself to tourists as the "Citrus Capital of the World". Santa Pa ...
in the Mupu Grill on Main street, including a piece by
LeRoy Neiman LeRoy Neiman (born LeRoy Leslie Runquist, June 8, 1921 – June 20, 2012) was an American artist known for his brilliantly colored, expressionist paintings and screenprints of athletes, musicians, and sporting events. Early life Neiman was ...
of Tommy The Maitre'D. Comedian
Brian Haley Brian Carlo Haley (born February 12, 1963) is an American actor and comedian. His stand-up act is characterized by playing his all-American looks against manic outbursts and absurd situations. As an actor, he may be best known for his roles as Vee ...
purchased the Frank Sinatra booth, the bar, the front awning, and many other items. The original building was demolished except for the Beverly Blvd side and a
Bristol Farms Bristol Farms Inc. is an upscale grocery store chain in California, United States. Founded in Los Angeles County, Bristol Farms operates 19 stores: 14 as Bristol Farm locations and 5 branded as Lazy Acres Markets throughout Southern Californi ...
grocery store was built in its place. The store's cafe features several booths from the original Chasen's and some of the original paneling. After it closed, investor Grady Sanders bought the name from the Chasen family and opened a new Chasen's in Beverly Hills in 1997. However, in 2000, this restaurant closed down.


See also

*
Brown Derby Brown Derby was a chain of restaurants in Los Angeles, California. The first and best known was shaped like a derby hat, an iconic image that became synonymous with the Golden Age of Hollywood. It was opened by Wilson Mizner in 1926. The chai ...
* Perino's


References

{{reflist, 30em History of Los Angeles Defunct restaurants in Hollywood, Los Angeles Restaurants established in 1936 1995 disestablishments in California Landmarks in Los Angeles Restaurants in West Hollywood, California 1936 establishments in California Fine dining