Here we have Harry Belafonte playing the Cocoanut Grove nightclub at the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Blvd. To headline at “the Grove” you had to be a pretty big deal, so I’m guessing this photo (and the two below) was probably taken in the late 1950s, after Belafonte had released his breakthrough album, “Calypso. It was released in May of 1956 and ended up spending 31 weeks at number 1 on the Billboard charts. What surprises me is how close he is to his audience. Not up on a stage, not far removed from everyone, but right there, maybe ten to twelve feet away. So close he can see can see right into their eyes.
David R. on Twitter says: “That’s a floor show. The orchestra might be on a raised platform but the main entertainer was on the floor. The Palmer House in Chicago was an early venue for floor shows.”
** UPDATE ** – @Forgotten_LA on Twitter says: “Did some heavy digging to pinpoint these last year, and was able to place them in February of 1957, during Belafonte’s fourth engagement at the Grove. Photos by Ralph Crane for LIFE magazine.”
Must have been one of the first, if not the first, times a single black man had headlined at the Cocoanut Grove. Something missing today: second picture shows four front row ladies wearing flower corsages, with one a wrist corsage! When’s the last time anyone can recall a lady wearing one? Also indicative of its era – not one person of color in the audience….
I haven’t bought a corsage for a date since high school in the late 70’s
Martin………… As you can imagine, by my now age of 94, I spent many a happy night at the “Grove”……….especially during my high-school years. I vividly remember the decorative palm trees with monkeys with lighted eyes peering down at us. Then, in the 1940s, Freddie Martin and his orchestra was the big attraction. Dancing to him was dreamy….! Actually, he was not one of our fave bands at the time. Those were Harry James (who lived 2 doors from me on Rexford Drive), Stan Kenton, Glenn Miller (ESPECIALLY), Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw…and others.
Wow, Joan, lucky you to have such wonderful memories to look back on! I do envy you!
…en
The man who is wearing glasses and sitting at the from table appears to be Sammy Davis Junior.
I can see some resemblance, but Sammy was 5 ft 4 inches tall. So unless the woman sitting to his left was super short, I don’t think that’s him
That closeness was quite common pre the Beatles and the rise of big arena venues. Nightclubs were the thing. Some with small stages, but many not. Nowadays going to see your favorite entertainer involves binoculars.
Comedy clubs are still like that; you’re in close proximity…I wish singers would go back to the more intimate settings, at least occasionally, like the nightclubs on the Sunset Strip were. Though I can’t imagine what they’d be charging nowadays. We usually do, however, seem to think that if we went back to these days we would be able to afford it then and visit all the famous restaurants, too!
I’ve seen the Coconut Grove in old movies, and, yes, the singer is usually on the dance floor — the same level as the diners. It was like that in most nightclubs of that era that I have seen in old movies. I wasn’t lucky like Joan to actually go to any of them!