January 15, 1937
Harrison Carroll
LA Evening Herald Express
Lili Damita and Errol Flynn dining at the Hollywood Brown Derby together on the day one had them separated.
…
“The Hollywood Brown Derby opened on Valentine’s Day 1929 at 1628 North Vine Street played a great part in Hollywood history. Due to its proximity to movie studios, it became the place to do deals and be seen. Clark Gable is said to have proposed to Carole Lombard there. Rival gossip columnists Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper are recorded as regular patrons.”
“The rendezvous of the stars, the Brown Derby, Hollywood, California. The famed Brown Derby on Vine Street, Hollywood, with its adjacent distinctive Bamboo Room, is the acknowledged center of the smart social life of the movie colony.”
P.S. Flynn Fans!
“The building’s architect, Carl Jules Weyl, later became a noted art director and went on to win an Academy Award for art direction on the classic 1938 Errol Flynn-Olivia de Havilland film, “The Adventures of Robin Hood.”
— Tim
Ralph Schiller
January 17, 2021 at 7:18 pm
Tim, thanks for uncovering this bit of Hollywood history. That entire building is gone now. Only one great restaurant remains from the golden days of Hollywood.