The Trocadero

The Trocadero was a nightclub owned by William Wilkerson.

Trocadero (Los Angeles)

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The new Trocadero

In West Hollywood, California, the Cafe Trocadero was the center of jitterbug in the 1930s. Today, a " new" Trocadero stands as a nightclub at 8610 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. A black tie French-inspired supper club, the original Trocadero, now demolished, was considered the jewel of the Strip in the 1930s and became synonymous with stars, starlets, movie producers, and fun. Founded by William R. Wilkerson in 1934. Wilkerson was the successful publisher of The Hollywood Reporter who also owned other nightclubs nearby on the Sunset Strip like Ciro's and LaRue^[1]. It was also the scene of many famous movie premiere parties. There was a mid 1940s low-budget film about the Trocadero and its history starring Ralph Morgan which bore little with reality.

Celebrity patronage

Among the celebrities who frequented the Trocadero were Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Jackie Gleason, Henry Fonda, Judy Garland, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Jean Harlow, and Norma Shearer. The Trocadero was featured in the 1937 movie A Star is Born starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. That same year, vaudevillian and Three Stooges manager Ted Healy died shortly after a fight in the parking lot, allegedly at the hands of fellow contractee Wallace Beery and MGM studio executive Eddie Mannix. A 2004 documentary film claimed that Healy's assailants were actually Wallace Beery, gangster Pat DiCicco, and DiCicco's cousin Albert "Cubby" Broccoli.
Actress/comedienne Thelma Todd, who died mysteriously in December 1935, spent an evening at the Trocadero at a party thrown by Ida Lupino and her father Stanley. Todd had formerly been married to Pat DiCicco, and was angry that he had shown up there with another actress, Margaret Lindsay. The party was one of the last times that she was seen alive.

In popular culture

The dance club was parodied in the 1938 Warner Bros. cartoon, Porky at the Crocadero.[1] The club also received a brief mention, via actual film footage, in 1944's What's Cookin' Doc?.

References

1. ^ Wilkerson III, W.R. (2000). The Man Who Invented Las Vegas. Ciro's Books. p. 9. ISBN 0-9676643-0-6. http://cirosbooks.com/man_who_invented_las_vegas.html.

External links

• Photo of jitterbuggers at the Trocadero Ballroom, with newspaper clipping dated March 10, 1936

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                                Robert Cummings & Marsha Hunt at the Trocadero in 1937

 

 

 

The Trocadero was the place where Thelma Todd went to a party shortly before her death. Ted Healy was also there right before he died. On both occasions, Thelma Todd's ex-husband Pat DiCicco was also present.

 

 

 

 

Scene with the Trocadero, from A STAR IS BORN.




Jitterbugs at the Trocadero, 1936:
http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z4jtrbg1.htm


The Trocadero:
http://www.hollywoodphotographs.com/category/114-1/trocadero-cafe/




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