Ciro's

From Free net encyclopedia

Ciro's was a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip.

Opening in 1939, Ciro's combined an overdone baroque interior and an unadorned exterior and became a famous hangout for movie people of the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s. It was one of "the" places to be seen and guaranteed being written about in the gossip columns.

Among the celebrities who frequented Ciro's were Desi Arnaz, Gary Cooper, Lucille Ball, Betty Grable and Dean Martin. Lana Turner said it was her favorite spot.

In the mid-1960s, with the coming of the counterculture, Ciro's became a rock and roll club, where The Byrds first achieved notice.

In the 1960s as Ciro's was on the decline it the held the first gay dance nights on Sunday nights. Men dancing together was illegal in those days but like the casinos and speakeasies that had gone before, the laws were not strictly enforced. This tolerance lead to more gay clubs after Ciro's closed and the end of the anti-gay laws that prohibited dancing between two persons of the same gender in Los Angeles County.

The site of Ciro's is now The Comedy Store.

Ciro's was started by Billy Wilkerson who went on to open "the Mocambo" and later "the Flamingo" in Las Vegas. Benny Seigal took over "The Flamingo" and was misrepresented in the Movie "Bugsy" with no mention of Wilkerson. They say that there are still dead people in the basement and that the ghosts still haunt the joint.