 | |
  Clicquot Club Location in Atlantic City | |
| Address | 15 North Illinois Avenue Atlantic City, New Jersey United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°21′38″N74°25′56″W / 39.36056°N 74.43222°W Coordinates: 39°21′38″N74°25′56″W / 39.36056°N 74.43222°W |
| Type | Nightclub |
Clicquot Club was a nightclub at 15 North Illinois Avenue [lower-alpha 1] in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the heart of the city. Billed as the club that "never closed", [2] it became notorious as an illegal gambling spot in the city. [3]
Operating during the Prohibition era in the 1920s, the club provided both illegal liquor and illegal gambling. [3] The bar and cabaret were considered "feeder rooms" to bring people to the profit-making roulette wheels, craps tables, and card games in the backrooms. [4] A news item in December 1931 reported a raid on the club in which Federal agents removed $20,000 worth of lavish Japanese and Chinese furnishings from the 20-room mansion and "poured several thousand dollars worth of alleged whiskies and champagnes down a drain". [5]
The bar and cabaret also developed a reputation for lawlessness, as the Clicquot became known as one of the "bust-out joints" for Philadelphia convention-goers eager to "release their inhibitions as they experienced everything and anything available". [6] [7] Until 1951, when the Kefauver Committee mounted an "anti-hostess campaign", the Clicquot used its waitresses to push drinks on guests and even offer to sit and drink with them, in violation of New Jersey's alcoholic beverage control laws. [8]
The cabaret underwent a series of management changes in the 1940s. In March 1942 Max Cohen assumed management of the cabaret. [9] In February 1943 Cleo Valenteene, a former burlesque and nightclub dancer, became manager, [10] followed by performer Nan DeMar in July 1943. [11] In December 1950 Michael J. Keeley became the owner-operator. [12] [13]
The Clicquot Club has been called "the leading white nightclub" in Atlantic City. [14] [15] In 1945 popular black bandleader Mandy Ross was booked into an engagement at the club, and a white vocalist refused to perform with the band. [15] In 1946, Eleanor Sherry and Her Swinghearts performed at the club. [16] The cabaret often booked revues, including the 1946 Nan DeMar revue [17] and a 30-performer revue in 1948. [18] Eddie Kaplan was responsible for booking acts to perform at the club in the late 1940s. [18] [19] [20] In 1947 drink prices started at 90 cents at the Clicquot Club, Paddock International, and Club Harlem. [21]
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. It is mainly distinguished by the performance venue, which might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, does not typically dance but usually sits at tables. Performances are usually introduced by a master of ceremonies or MC. The entertainment, as done by an ensemble of actors and according to its European origins, is often oriented towards adult audiences and of a clearly underground nature. In the United States striptease, burlesque, drag shows, or a solo vocalist with a pianist, as well as the venues which offer this entertainment, are often advertised as cabarets.
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. The word derives from the Italian burlesco, which, in turn, is derived from the Italian burla – a joke, ridicule or mockery.
Studio 54 is a former disco nightclub, currently a Broadway theatre, located at 254 West 54th Street, between Eighth Avenue and Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building opened in 1927 as the Gallo Opera House. It operated as an entertainment venue under various names until 1942, when CBS began using it as a radio and television studio dubbed Studio 52.
The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Cranbourn Street and Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few survivors. Hippodrome is an archaic word referring to places that host horse races and other forms of equestrian entertainment.
Sin City is an urban area that caters to various vices. These vices may be legal or illegal activities which are tolerated.
Marco Reginelli, also known as "Small Man", was an Italian-American New Jersey mobster who became underboss of the Philadelphia crime family and operated a famous nightclub in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Reginelli's nickname came from his short stature.
Neo-Burlesque, or New Burlesque, is the revival and updating of the traditional American burlesque performance. Though based on the traditional burlesque art, the new form encompasses a wider range of performance styles; neo-burlesque acts can range from anything from classic striptease to modern dance to theatrical mini-dramas to comedic mayhem.
Charles "King" Solomon was a Russian-born mob boss who controlled Boston's bootlegging, narcotics, and illegal gambling during the Prohibition era.
American burlesque is a genre of variety show derived from elements of Victorian burlesque, music hall and minstrel shows. Burlesque became popular in America in the late 1860s and slowly evolved to feature ribald comedy and female nudity. By the late 1920s the striptease element overshadowed the comedy and subjected burlesque to extensive local legislation. Burlesque gradually lost popularity beginning in the 1940s. A number of producers sought to capitalize on nostalgia for the entertainment by recreating burlesque on the stage and in Hollywood films from the 1930s to the 1960s. There has been a resurgence of interest in this format since the 1990s.
Elizabeth Jane Watson was an American actress and singer known for her roles in musical theatre, especially Laurey in Oklahoma!, creating the role in the London premiere. She also performed in nightclubs and on television, including as co-host of the game show Winner Take All.
The Red-Light District of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was formerly centred on the intersection of Saint Laurent Boulevard and Saint Catherine Street in the borough of Ville-Marie.
Julia Gerity was a singer of popular music, most often identified with blues singing. Today she is known primarily through her two recordings.
Leonard Harper was a producer, stager, and choreographer in New York City during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s.
Paul "Skinny" D'Amato also known as "Mr. Atlantic City", was the owner of the 500 Club in Atlantic City, New Jersey, from the 1940s until the club burned down in 1973.
The 500 Club, popularly known as The Five, was a nightclub and supper club at 6 Missouri Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States. It was owned by racketeer Paul "Skinny" D'Amato, and operated from the 1930s until the building burned down in 1973. It became one of the most popular nightspots on the East Coast, and housed the first illegal casino to be run in the city.
Club Harlem was a nightclub at 32 Kentucky Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Founded in 1935 by Leroy "Pop" Williams, it was the city's premier club for black jazz performers. Like its Harlem counterpart, the Cotton Club, many of Club Harlem's guests were white, wealthy and eager to experience a night of African-American entertainment.
The Paradise Club or Club Paradise was a nightclub and jazz club at 220 North Illinois Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was one of two major black jazz clubs in Atlantic City during its heyday from the 1920s through 1950s, the other being Club Harlem. Entertaining a predominantly white clientele, it was known for its raucous floor shows featuring gyrating black dancers accompanied by high-energy jazz bands led by the likes of Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, and Lucky Millinder. In 1954 the Paradise Club merged with Club Harlem under joint ownership.
Babette's or Babette's Supper Club was a supper club and bar at 2211 Pacific Avenue on the Boardwalk of Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States. It operated from the early 1920s onwards and was sold in 1950. The bar was designed like a ship's hull. In the backroom was a gambling den, which was investigated by the federal authorities and raided in 1943.
A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may also be referred to as a nightclub act. A scheduled performance, such as a wedding gig, is a club date.
