OSKO'S nightclub located at 333 South La Cienega.
Osko's: The holy grail of the disco clubs in Los Angeles.
This futuristic 60s design looked like very reminiscent of the LAX Theme building or the Ticket office at POP looked almost like a space ship had landed at the Intersection of La Cienega and San Vicente.
This was the club used in the movie "Thank God It's Friday". That place was so much fun. The dancing, the beautiful people, the energy!!!! I remember dancing here during it's final days in the late 90s when it became a rock club. And now, like everything else, it's a discount high- end Loehman's department store. Cheap.... we need the high life again!
OSKO'S on La Cienega.The OKSO'S building was many incarnations before. First starting with The Gas Light in 1963
And then The Millionaires Club in 1965. This time they added drapes to the claw. enormous chandelier that was visible from the street, that would brightly announce the Millionaires Club.
Then 1520 AD in the mid 1960s - back to its original white
A few years later during the psychedelic era, this building got a wild make over for CLIMAX II in 1969. The murals blended right into the landscape and only lasted one year and took 7 months to get it back to it's original color. I can't imagine how many gallons of paint that must have taken.
This building also sat just south of The Captains Table - now Loehmann's department store.
An article on the artists that painted the murals.
An Osko's napkin - ebay score!
What a shame they tore down that Mid Century Masterpiece and put up a god awful ugly building in it's place.
Does any one know of any other incarnations of this building or have any knowledge of what each club was like? Would love to hear your stories. I am forever fascinated with it.
Alison is also currently a columnist for Los Angeles Magazine.
Your blog makes me long for a time machine. Seriously. I don't get why Hollywood/LA seems to be so dead set against it's own history. I'm drooling over these pictures. I want to go there and I can't anymore than I can go to The Brown Derby. (And I REALLY want to.)
ReplyDeleteBest I can do is go to La Cave here in Costa Mesa. According to the whiners on Yelp it's "stuck in the '70s." But I think the place is awesome because of that.
Alison, it has been great discovering this blog and your Facebook page - just wish I'd done so sooner! I wrote a book last year, 'Bedpans & Bobby Socks', about my mother's eventful road trip across the States with four friends and fellow British nurses in the late 1950s which included a spell living in Los Angeles just off the Strip. They could see the back of Dino's from their window and watch the waiters having a cigarette during their breaks, so it was good to be able to see the front view from your pictures. Though the girls were working all hours, they still managed to rub shoulders with various Hollywood stars during their time there! Got a box full of memorabilia from LA and all over - must try to sort it out sometime.
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara, I'd love to hear about your box full of memorabilia from LA
DeleteI'd love it if you would share some pictures of some of the items.
larry at wichstand dot com is an email address for a drive in 1000's of us use to hang out also I have a wichstand site on facebook
Thanks for sharing
Larry
larry@wichstand.com
Oh yes,OSKO'S, my first time there was June 1974, my high school after prom. Then a few years later maybe 1977.By then it was the place to be. To show off your car ,your rags, your woman and your dance skills.
DeleteThanks so much for this and other trips to memory lane.
im also interested in this. Are there any pics or videos of the club when it was active? i have the movie, thank god its friday on vhs , and i still watch it. Was the dj booth really a bowl with 2 hands holding ot up? im a huge huge fan of this....please email me at carterwill63@yahoo.com
Deleteid love to reminise about this....
Yes there was a bowl/cup shaped dj booth. I was lucky enough to be a happy hour and ladies night DJ at this club
DeleteI was there in the very early ‘80’s. I participated in a dance contest on eve or twice a week. I remember dancing to “Little China Girl “ by David Bowie. I was a Little American Girl , but the China crowd loved me. It was lots of fun. I met a guy named Harry. I think he was kin to the owners or part owner , (not sure) he drove a red Ferrari and wore huge diamond necklace with the letter “H”. He was very nice and drove me home at the end of the night.
DeleteThe only thing I can add is that my friend Val Landsburg was in "Thank God It's Friday" and one of the best times I ever had was watching the movie with her while she did a running commentary about the behind the scenes of it all!!!
ReplyDeleteJust found your wonderful blog. By the way, nice Facebook tributes to the Beverly Hills Hotel! :-)
ReplyDeleteUsed to go to Osko's in the late 80s. Had some great times there... Thanks for these pics, good stuff.
ReplyDeleteUsed to work in the Beverly Center parking lot and passed by Osko's every night on my way home in the 80's. Never went in though.
DeleteMy sister and I used to drive to Osko's in the mid 80's from the bay area about once a month. It was sheer MAGIC. Wish I could upload pics here... :o)
DeleteEarly 80s was there all the time!!!! Every weekend we would all meet up there and party, worked at Osko's as a cocktail waitress for a brief time too. I am still friends with a few of the people that I knew form there.
DeleteWhat happened to Osko the owner? Is he still around? I have MANY STORIES!
We would party at Oskos than after hours we would go to the Odyssey and dance til morning.
ameriswed@cox.net
Oskos also used to have a comedy club downstairs that was popular. Went there 1979-1982 I am thinking.
DeleteAmeriswed@cox.net
I went to that club in the mid-70's to the early 80's, first when it was called the Climax II and then renamed Oskos. The Comedy Club downstairs was called The Cave. Many now well-known comedians practiced their comedy material there late at night, such notables like Pablo aka Paul Rodriguez, and a slew of others from the nearby Comedy Store and Improv. It was the place to be back then for dancing, dating,networking, and comedy. Loved that club. I was a weekly regular with my girlfriends. Lots of history!
DeleteCeleste Mitchell
very nice blog!
ReplyDeleteLove this blog..... great memories <3
ReplyDeleteI just finished watching "Thank God It's Friday" and it made me reminisce about when I used to go there in the 80's. They used to have a night for young teenagers right before all of that area became the Beverly Center. Then I ended up working at the Broadway in the Beverly Center when I was in high school.
ReplyDeleteso sad
ReplyDelete~Smile...Thanks For Helping Me Relive..My Many Fun Weekend At "Osko's"...In 1979-1980..Much Younger Then and So Many Good Times..I Was Actually Looking For Info On The "Comedy Cave",Located In The Basement Level...So So Many Good Acts Got Their Early Start There...Thanks Again,For Making Me Feel Young Again...Freespirit Vargas....
ReplyDeleteI agree a lot of memories! Good Times! I do not know how I even found this post but I am happy I did.
Deleteameriswed@cox.net
I used to go here weekly for about 5 years and it was always our starting place. Like others above, we'd close this place down then head over to Odyssey for after hours. After that it was down to Beverly Hills Cafe where everyone went to eat after a long fun night. Great times!! Osko is still in L.A. and owns gas stations among other things.
Deleteno one has mentioned Cabaret and the something lounge Cabaret came after 1520 AD was very hot for a while remember they had 2 dance floors main round one with the balcony that looked down on it then the smaller square one under the balcony where everyone used to line dance yes and there was the cave you took the elevator down to was small area small bar very dark. then the lounge room where many started in old LA , then they closed it for a while so the studio could do it over as the Zoo for TGIF was in the movie also dancing by Donna who was sooo nice we talked for awhile RIP and outside in parking lot and I think that ended Cabaret during the time people went to Cabret Studio did one of Its first renovations invited everyone to a free night to be in a scene with the Village People for the movie Can't Stop The Music I hooked up with Randy something the original cowboy and a friend hooked up with Glen Hughes leather man oh! being in W HLWYD in the very beginning was soo awsome
ReplyDeleteI went there when it became Cabaret with a Cerwin Vega bi-amped sound system with 2 QRK turntables. The DJ booth was in the center on the floor. This was 1975. I remember spinning there. Howard Metz and Louis LaCoste were also resident DJ's. We would play the Earthquake soundtrack at the end of the night for the rumbling effect. We also played a song from soundtrack from Lion In Winter to show off the sound system. Billboard came in and took pictures of me spinning. There were 3 dance floors, one was used for the Hustle or as it was called in other cities "THE L.A. Hustle". I h
ReplyDeletead many, many good times there (The first time in my life I did a shot of Tequila). The place was all red with the caves pool room downstairs. After mismanagement the place was closed and reopened as UP, which didn't take off.
Hi Marc,
DeleteNot sure I remember you or if you were also one of the DJs but your facts are pretty close (except the turntables, they were similar but not QRKs) lol.
Thanks for the memories!
Regards,
Howard
Hi Marc,
DeleteNot sure I remember you or if you were also one of the DJs but your facts are pretty close (except the turntables, they were similar but not QRKs) lol.
Thanks for the memories!
Regards,
Howard
RUSSO Turntables
DeleteBass traps went on the speakers around midnight so the people who lived nearby could sleep.great place, line dancing in gym shorts and hiking boots was common, keys on the left or on the right.
Deletelos angles was no better than any other city most people were lamers and refused to learn to dance , the HUSTLE .
ReplyDeletethe best many could was march in a line like a dead zombie !!
them dirty rock head hippies wanted pot and sitting down not couples dancing.
saturday night live and them t.v. rock concerts were for the say at home set, you understand that.yes ?
oscos was one of the very best clubs in l.a. indeed .
i will take osco`s over dillons west wood any time ..there is no comparison to the room , layout and vib....throw out the la hot club as well . osco`s was the grand place ..
I moved to Hollywood in 1972 and remember the Medieval Times type place but never went inside. Had forgotten that 333 La Cienega was a glorious Modern structure smack in the middle of Hollywood. this archive breaks my heart but I am so grateful it exists.
ReplyDeleteAfter 1520 AD it became the disco Osko's then I swear it became a grocery store. Am I right? Didn't they keep some of those gorgeous white columns as part of the store's entrance? I can swear I used to shop at a mini mall which featured a portion of the original architecture?
Does anyone else remember that mall or know where to find pictures of the intersection from 1984 to 1992?
I remember it well in the summer of 1975. It was called Cabaret and it was the place to go that summer. It took a lot of business away from Studio One for the short time it was Cabaret. The bright spot for me is that I met my partner/husband there on August 12, 1975 and we have been together ever since. Celebrating 38 years together next month! He was doing the Hustle and was the only person who looked like he was having a good time (everyone else was very serious about getting the moves right). What great times were had there that summer!
ReplyDeleteCabaret opened at that location in April, '75. Howard Metz and Mitch Shatsky were DJs. This was after 1540 AD and before Osko's. Cabaret's run was short, but they gave Scott Forbes' Studio One a run for their money during that time. I believe Cabaret was closed by '77 and Osko's opened in '78.
DeleteHi,
DeleteThe other DJ was Lou LaCoste.. the club did super until Ron Larsen sold to.a group of guys the we're never in the club business. They fired a number of people including both managers and ran the club down and out of business in onl 2 months. Was a real pity as this place was amazing. Can't think of another gay club ever quite like it in LA since.
Howard Metz
Hi,
DeleteThe other DJ was Lou LaCoste.. the club did super until Ron Larsen sold to.a group of guys the we're never in the club business. They fired a number of people including both managers and ran the club down and out of business in onl 2 months. Was a real pity as this place was amazing. Can't think of another gay club ever quite like it in LA since.
Howard Metz
I remember going to Cabaret and seeing Charles Pierce performing on stage! Sometime in the 70's. Does anyone remember when it WAS Cabaret? I know (from reading the blog) that it wasn't called Cabaret for very long.
DeleteI seem to be coming in very late to this site, but maybe someone can answer my questions regarding when it was the Climax.
ReplyDeleteI went to this awesome club back in 1971 at the legal age of 21, I now assume shortly before it changed names and "paint" again. I tried researching this club years ago to no avail, but stumbled upon this site last night. I was honestly beginning to think that I dreamt of this club of so long ago and that it was all in my head! As soon as I saw here the shape of this structure and it's corner block position, I knew that I finally found the Climax.
My question is: I remember there being another downstairs room or two and that all the rooms (3??) were decorated in their own theme. Did I dream that or...?
One more question: I remember one of the themed rooms being a small theater. Am I right or...?
DeleteHahaha ! I had the same thing happen to me. I was at this club when it was the Climax and could find very little information on it. I was beginning to think I imagined the crazy rooms/lighting. I was thrilled to see the photos and retrospective of this part of La Cienega. Yes, there were rooms downstairs, decorated in their own theme. It was a decadent triumph of the time !
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI knew the club well as the Climax. It lasted a little over two years. If you are still out there respond and we can share old memories. - Christine
DeleteI have the same type of hazy memory of the Climax. Many rooms, flowing curtains and sex going on, shiny fringe leading to the dance area, a movie theater. Lots of drugs in there too. I was stoned and that could account for much of the haziness. But I know I had never in my life experienced a place like that!
DeleteAnother who has a hazy memory of this place as Climax II. The murals outside were incredible. Just started looking for the name of the club...very happy to find this blog and all the comments! Only there once, sometime around early 1970s, was too timid to be in that scene. Prob a popular place to trip on acid, so many visuals. "The Masque of the Red Death" with Vincent Price was playing in the theater the night I went. There was a fantastic (all-nite?) burger stand nearby, poss down La Cienega -- Great American Burger, maybe??? Anyone remember? Thanks for the memory refresher and the history of that building!
DeleteNever was a better after hours club than the Climax! So huge with different stories and rooms. Loved to go following an earlier evening at Gazzarris.
DeleteBlacklights for dancing so lots of white clothing. Piped in soul music but I'll never forget "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" by Isaac Hayes. Free buffet, ice cream cones, sodas. Enter another room and watch old movies in black and white. Walk down some narrow steps to get downstairs where there would be separate open cave rooms with pillows everywhere and couples getting it on. Lots of beautiful black men and gorgeous white females. The good young days...
There was a very wide range of entertainment that played the club through the years.
ReplyDeleteIn the early Seventies black supper club acts like The Checkmates LTD used to perform there. In 1976 I remember going there when Rodney Bingenheimer used to do KROQ nights, and then in 1987 there were goth & glam clubs White Trash A Go Go, Zombie Zoo and English Acid.
I went to the Climax in 1969/1970. You had to be a member or enter as a guest. My girlfriend was a charter member and I count get in on her card. It was FANTASTIC!! There were many rooms. A dining room, an upstairs dance room with live bands, a downstairs "cave" dance floor with a skull for a wall, an upstairs room from there which had nothing but large pillows and man alcoves for "making out", a theater room that showed old b/w movies that had booths all around and large pillows on the floor. The place didn't get going until after 2:00 pm. Then it was packed. There was no alcohol served after 2pm. There was free food. First dinner and much later breakfast. There was a pool table. The place was extremely dark and your eyes had to adjust. You id not know when it became daylight outside until you went outside to go home. We went every weekend. We would get there around midnight and leave around 5:00 am
ReplyDeleteI think you meant 2 am :)
DeleteWOW THE last time i was there was in 1985 or 86 for the GUNS N ROSES record release party there..Went there to see Joseph Brooks in the DJ booth..That was a lot of fun and the last time i was ever there..The building was amazing and the drinks great too..I think Ricky Rachtman was the promoter that night...Maybe was the Cathouse i think there...Anyways that was good times..Was 20 years old and the world was My oyster. Anyways i remember alot of those hair dudes hangin around but whatever cause i was still rockin and rollin with the other side of the coin in those days...Loads of fun...Peace and keep on rockin..
ReplyDeleteit was 87! And I was there too. Such good times. Yes Cathouse was originally there and then moved to Highland. Joesph was the best Dj ! I loved dancing there, such good memories!
Deleteit was 87! And I was there too. Such good times. Yes Cathouse was originally there and then moved to Highland. Joesph was the best Dj ! I loved dancing there, such good memories!
DeleteIn the eighties there was a separate club in the basement. The walls were molded out of concrete in a cavern motif, with stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Everything was white with sparkles, so it all glittered in the light of the disco ball and black light. In 1986 there was a one-night-a-week glam rock club in there called the White Trash A-Go-Go run by a woman named Janis De Soto. Leigh Reynolds was the Maitre 'de with DJ Henry. Bernadette Seacrest was the celebrity cocktail waitress and I worked the door with my partner Spike.
ReplyDeleteWhite Trash Au Gogo, yeah! Thank you! I was trying to remeber. Besides English Acid, that was my favorite. Great legendary bands. now.
Deletethe last part of the history is when ROLLER disco came and ruined dancing and club life for the few party people.
ReplyDeleteyes i say very out loud roller disco was the spike in the heart that buried disco in concret then dumped it under water.
dead beat los angeles the no fun town,
go to the strip and pay extra high for one hour of entertainment,
Hello. I watched the movie, "Thank God it's Friday" (1978), and I want to know if there are any memorial of the former nightclub. Also, does anyone knows what will become of the site, since I read online that Loehmann's is closed?
ReplyDeleteI remember this club as The Climax too. I went to Crenshaw HS's after prom there in 1971 when it was The Climax. I remember the round couches and pillows downstairs, very cool. Then in the late 70s I loved going there mid week for disco dancing at Oskos. This was the place to be!! And they always played Donna Summer's "Last Dance" at the end of the night. Nice memories.
ReplyDeleteI remember this as the Cabaret Club. I've read all the comments and they do jog my dusty memory of the place. I went there in 1976. I thought it was like the Haunted Mansion of clubs in the basement. There were gargoyles on the walls, everything painted black, a lounge area and a big dance floor (like The Cave described earlier). It was very cool at the time; really no place else like it that I experienced. My guess is that I went on Rodney Bingenheimer KROQ night. This was the summer of the Ramones first release so I remember dancing to "Beat on the Brat" a few times, mixed in with the Sex Pistols. This was early in the punk scene in L.A.; one of the first places I know that featured the music and local punk bands. X-Ray Specs was playing that night, though they might not be considered punk.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to read all of these comments about the club cabaret that we all danced the night away in our youth. Didn't we have some great times in that place? The Bitterend west ,and the Afterdark were fun but their was something special at Cabaret. I was one of the first bartenders to work for Ron Larsen and Tish at the Cabaret and enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks for bringing great memories back. Ron Larsen got into a bit of trouble and had to sell the clubs
ReplyDeleteI think this is the place I saw acts like Joan Jett and Van Halen in the late 70's. Small stage, intimate seating and an amazing venue. I remember it was a round building on La Cienega, South of Hollywood.
ReplyDeleteIn 1986 I turned the rundown disco into the CATHOUSE. The concept was a rock and roll dance club. I declined having live bands because that wasn't my plan but then several of the Cathouse locals asked to have a record release party. That band was a local LA band by the name of Guns n Roses
ReplyDeleteCathouse nights were pretty blurry but I remember leaving with the bartender to go to a 'party' at todd crews house...he had just bought his girlfriend a valentines day or birthday gift which she insisted everyone meet...a big beautiful furry tarantula...lovely!
DeleteI loved the CATHOUSE! The first time we went there, Riki let us right in because he loved our New York biker bitch style. Good times, killer music! So sad my CATHOUSE tee shirt got stolen.
ReplyDeleteRiki is still selling those t-shirts! You can get one on his website at cathousehollywood.com Boom!
DeleteIn the late 70s/early 80s I saw Iron Butterfly in The Cave. They blew the walls off the club. I have a vague memory of it being called Cabaret, but my time frame would indicate it was OSKOS by then.
ReplyDeleteIn the late 70s/early 80s I saw Iron Butterfly in The Cave. They blew the walls off the club. I have a vague memory of it being called Cabaret, but my time frame would indicate it was OSKOS by then.
ReplyDeleteI had worked for Larsen in Boston at Cabaret After Dark and heard that After Dark in LA burnt down while I was working in Boston. Then the Cabaret After Dark in Boston closed and burnt down. Then I went to Atlanta with them to help open a new club. It got sketchy, I left. I had heard they found a building but then it burnt down. I moved to LA and worked at Cabaret shortly after arriving in August of 75. I ran the follow spot for a few of the shows. I remember Rusty Warren, Jackie Vernon, Craig Russel. Aretha Franklin came to see a show once. To my amazement the club did not burn down this time. I ended up getting a job at the Odyssey as patio security for about six months. I left and got a job at the Backlot. A few years later Odyssey burnt down. I wonder what happened to Larson, Dan Daniels, Tish etc?
ReplyDeleteWhile at Odyssey, did you know Marco D'Amato?
DeleteI worked at Osko's as a cocktail waitress. It was so much fun but Osko was a douche bag!
ReplyDeletehi...were you really a waitress at oskos? id love to learn more about the club.....im fascinated
DeleteI was a cocktail waitress at Oskos too. It was so much fun...but working for Osko...not so much. Osko was a douche bag. Too bad there was no "Me Too Movement" back then. It was his way or the highway...I ended up on the highway.
DeleteMy Aunt took me to that building when it was 1520 AD restaurant for my 21st birthday. I still have the "gold" medallion they gave me. Afterwards we went to the Whiskey A Go Go. I should mention, my Aunt was only two years older than I was. :)
ReplyDeleteI used to take my fake id to oskos when it was white trash agogo on thursdays and cathouse on tuesdays...i was only 19 or 20 but i would get fuucked uuup! i remember dancing to the stooges and ministry...maybe ministry was still a disco band back then it was 1986 87...i think i mightve hooked up with the bartender...great times!
ReplyDeletewhen i first moved to LA in 78 & 79 i used to go Disco Dancing @ Oskos many a Weekends .. it was such a great , fun Time to be at the very place where one of my favorite Moviers was made that i just had a chance to see,, just bevor i left Germany to go live in the USA ....
ReplyDeleteI worked there briefly when it was 1520 A.D., a Henry VIII themed restaurant with floor show. The servers dressed like wenches, to the best of their ability in their own made-up costumes, spoke with made-up English accents, and performed in chorus line on stage. Diners sat on long tables with set menu. The managers were English, and pretty much sexist pigs, but I didn't last long enough to get accosted. I had used a fake ID because they served alcohol so you had to be twenty-one to work. Still, a memorable experience serving and singing.
ReplyDeleteI went there in late ‘68-‘69...late at night and would stay until breakfast at 3-4am. Mama Casa came often. I saw Hugh Hefner and Don Adams. We sat on pillows and grooved. It was the place to trip or come down.
ReplyDeleteI loved the vibe.
Before OSKO's it was the CABARET a gay nightclub. The first floor was the dance floor and everyone was dancing to the hustle. I went there in the early seventies. It was close to a great dinner restaurant called THE CAPTAINS TABLE. Back in the early seventies, singers and singing groups would come and try out their latest hit to the gay population. It was a great disco. Then when it turned to OSKO's, I started to go the STUDIO ONE, which was on the second floor. It was fantastic. Entrance was on La Peer in West Hollywood. STUDIO ONE later turned straight and the name changed to the FACTORY. Both the CABARET and STUDIO ONE was visited by celebrities and choreographers and of course gays dancing to the latest disco beat. It should have been kept as a historical site but West Hollywood City Counsel sold out and since torn down. West Hollywood was a haven in the seventies for gays from all over our country who had been turned away from their families. It was great. Now, West Hollywood is about 30 to 40 percent gay, no longer a BOYS TOWN. They are moving East. When Gays started to get sick in the early 80's, it appeared that they were getting sick with what the medical professionals called, CAT SCRATCH FEVER later to be known as HIV. It was horrible. For those of us living through that period it was terrifying There were no cures or medications. My partner and I would do our own research as no one really knew what to do about the disease. We had read about two drugs manufactured in the US but not approved to use here, yet it was okayed to use in other countries. It was sold in Mexico where we would buy the drugs and take them without knowing their ramifications. To this day, I dont know how we survived. Our friends were dropping like flies, family and friends didn't want us to visit for fear of them catching what we had. It was a nightmare. We felt as if a gun had been fired and the bullet had not yet reached us. We spend a good 12 years going to work and locking ourselves up in our apartment as not to catch HIV. I will never forget being invited a friends house for dinner and after dinner, he thanks us all for coming then killed himself. He had AIDS and the meds he was taken were not working. Earlier in the day he had his dog put down and later that night he took his life. Crazy times but for those of us who lived through that period, it made us stronger individuals. So much to deal with...so much....
ReplyDeleteI was a 1972 escapee from Georgia and had moved to Hollywood .I recall CABARET nightclub very well. My partner was a waiter there and our best friend Roger was a bartender. I got free admission so went there several nights a week. The dance floors were great with an art deco railed balcony above to watch the dances from. I had the time of my life there . One night in 1975 a darling ,tiny black girl came in wearing cut off daisy dukes and a white tank top, she was accompanied by a blonde hunk on the order of Mr. Clean. They went to the DJ and talked for a while . DJ came on and said we have a new artist in town who would like you to listen to her first single . The music started with an unusual slow thumping beat and the people on the dance floor didn't move. The vocal started and the crowd didn't move. We couldn't grasp what this was. This was the LA world hearing Donna Summer singing Love To Love You Baby. As she got into it we got into it. She came out on the floor and one by one took us by the hand and danced with us . I was blown away by the whole experience . It was not long before the unknown Donna was the Hit of the disco world. It's a very tender memory. Another dream come true was getting a tap on the shoulder one night and there before me was the exquisite Leonard Whiting of Romeo and Juliet fame. I had collected picture of him when I was in High School . We danced three dances and I was on a cloud but my partner was there to bring me down to Earth. For a week they featured one of the most glorious singers that ever drew breath Miss Carmen McRae. She sat at a grand piano and sang her heart out and I was ringside every night. One evening she singled me out and asked if I had not been there every night. I said i had and that she was the first jazz artist I had ever seen. That was in NYC in 1968 when I was 16 yrs old and she was playing at The Bottom Of The Barrel with Dizzy. She then asked what I would like her to sing to me to which I answered "Alfie" it was a dream moment. People have mentioned THE CAVE . it was a piano bar in the basement that actually had artificial cave walls and stalactites. There was a small stage and a wonderful resident singer Maria Sales . You could order hors d' oeuvres and sit and listen and talk. The whole club was very classy compared to just the normal funky dance joints. As for the part about not being run well I think it was true, at least on a financial basis. After Miss McRaes week was up they stiffed her on her payment. I don't know if it was ever resolved. It took the luster off the place for me. Then my partner Richi and I baled for San Francisco.
DeleteUnknown.... you met Leonard Whiting?!? Omg, I'm jealousing all over the place right now!
Delete"But soft... what light through yonder window breaks?"
*sigh*
Love the story about Donna! Thanks for writing!
DeleteI loved your story about Donna! I was in the Air Force in Victorville but would come to LA to dance! Thanks for writing!
DeleteI worked there for a hot minute as a bar back…lived in a $100 month attic apartment on Beverly Blvd and La Cienega behind a Taco Bell across the street from The Oddessy Disco.
ReplyDeleteI am going to reserve my comments for my future biopic book. However, here's a tease as a student of Fairfax High School in the '70's me and my boys would always sneak into the club through the servants or kitchen area and I'll will kiss n' tell later how many "high" celebs I made out with... lol
ReplyDeleteOh Allison, thank you so much for putting this out there!!! There are several movies and TV shows that were filmed in Osko's. Of course "Thank God It's Friday" and "Jennifer". Chips had a segment with Erik Estrada as "Ponch" and he did a great job disco dancing there. These can be found on you tube when you type in "Osko's disco. I was in the Air Force in Victorville and would drive to LA to tour the city. My first memory was Dillon's in Westwood. If I remember correctly, they had 3 stories with different music on each floor. I lived in West LA for a few months on National Ave. in 1981 and would drive to work selling cars at Keyes Toyota. Anyway, I would go to Osko's and always have a great time. I met a girl there, we lived together for 3 months but she got back with her old boyfriend and they are married to this day. We are still friends on facebook. I would also go to Chippendale's after the guys finished dancing to try and pick up girls, lol! There were a couple of other great dance places in San Bernardino (The Plantation where I went out with a beautiful long haired Asian girl for the first time), another one in Redlands off the I-10, one in Rubidoux off the 60. Later in the 80's there was Bobby McGee's in San Bernardino and in Newport Beach that were a lot of fun.
DeleteSo nice to see this and remember of an awesome time, it was another world. Thank you for posting!
ReplyDeleteIt was OSKOS THAT WAS THE SPOT IN THE 80’s so much fun you danced upstairs and down stairs great memories . Thanks for the pictures
ReplyDeleteYes it was. I spent at least 3 nights a week there. The o.g. Cathouse, English Acid, some other club in the Cave. By that time that iced look was grey and a bit dreary. The "Ladies" room was the real hangout. Faded brocade or velvet lounges and a valet who handed me many tissues & candy while I cried over some glam boy, haha. But the legendary bands I've seen there... Such crazy memories. A whole dang book. It was Hollywood, it was the 80s. At Oskos.
Deletei met my wife at the climax 1/1972 we married 6/1975 until she passed 2014. what a blessing we met at that great night club, the climax. that moment will live with me forever.
ReplyDeleteI worked for the Owner, Osko but not at this LA location. Osko, purchased his Long Beach Club, Osko's, on Marina Drive clustered with other waters-edge businesses. The Club wasn't doing as well as it once did so Osko changed it up and established a lesbian club. The new clientele made Osko more money, back to La Cienaga Club level! We had long waiting lines especially on holiday weekends and Osko would come down from his office to smoke his stinky cigars with a huge smile on his face! Great memories 🤙🌺
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