Brown Derby restaurant, Vine Street, Hollywood

Posted on January 30, 2016 by

Brown Derby restaurant, Vine Street, HollywoodOf all the times I’ve looked at photographs of the Brown Derby restaurant on Vine Street in Hollywood, I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that driveway next to the Western Airlines office. I know some of the people who visit this page were lucky enough to go the there, so perhaps they can tell us—is that where you parked when you went to the Brown Derby?

Andie Paysinger says: That was a small parking area for building tenants. In the ’50s and early ’60s there was an attorney on the second floor and a private investigator, who was a patient, Seymour was his first name and right now I can’t recall his last name. He was nothing like the “movie and TV” PIs. Small, I was taller than him at 5’6+… And the attorney specialized in contracts for land deals, leases, also not very exciting. I only know that because I went with my stepmother to take some papers there to be notarized after we had lunch at the Derby and that was probably in 1953.

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4 responses to “Brown Derby restaurant, Vine Street, Hollywood”

  1. Bill Baldwin, Jr. says:
    March 7, 2016 at 3:00 am

    That is the driveway entrance and exit if you were using Valet Parking for the Brown Derby. You entered the restaurant from that point, perhaps walking through the bar to the main room. I went there a number of times in the 1950’s and 1960’s with my dad who was an announcer and actor. The first time I had a Cobb Salad, Bob Cobb himself tossed it for me at the table. My first credit card was from the Derby.

    Across Vine St. and down a half a block was the hippest clothes store in LA in the 1960’s, Sy Devore where Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack got their suits. My father shopped there, as well and I probably was the best dressed guy at North Hollywood High thanks to Sy Devore. Here’s a link to the History of Sy Devore. http://www.sydevore.com/#!history/cwzy

    Reply
    • Martin Turnbull says:
      March 7, 2016 at 7:32 am

      Wow, Bill, you’ve sure got some neat memories! Thanks for stopping by and sharing them with us. I have to ask: the Brown Derby had their own credit card??? That’s the first I’ve heard of such a thing. So you used it to charge your meal at that (or any?) Brown Derby? What era would that have been?

      Reply
  2. ivor says:
    January 18, 2022 at 9:39 am

    For my new book I am currently writing, I needed to refresh my memories about the Brown Derby where I met and interviewed lots of personalities…including a lady named Judith Campbell Exner! So thanks for the memories….. I go back to interviews with, Walter Pidgeon, David Janssen, –and tons more. Chasens was popular among the celebrity crowd, of the Sixties…but Brown Derby was the venue the stars liked to go and be seen……so thanks Martin.

    Reply

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