The Brown Derby was the name of a chain of restaurants in Los Angeles, California. The first and most famous of these was shaped like a men's derby hat, an iconic image that became synonymous with the Golden Age of Hollywood.
The chain was started by Robert H. Cobb and Herbert Somborn (a former husband of film star Gloria Swanson). It is often incorrectly thought that the Brown Derby was a single restaurant, and the Wilshire Boulevard and Hollywood branches are frequently confused.
The Brown Derby began its licensing program[1] in 1987 with an agreement with Walt Disney Company for a replica of the original Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant at the new Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida. In 1990, Walt Disney Company entered into three additional agreements for Euro-Disney, Tokyo Disney and Disneyland in Anaheim, California. In 1996, a ten-year agreement was entered into with MGM Grand Hotel and Casino Las Vegas, Nevada; in 1998, the MGM Grand Detroit, Michigan temporary facility was added.
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Opened in 1926, the original restaurant at 3427 Wilshire Boulevard remains the most famous due to its distinctive shape. Whimsical architecture was popular at the time, and the restaurant was designed to catch the eye of passing motorists. It is said that the shape of the hat worn by New York governor and 1928 Democratic Party presidential candidate Al Smith, a personal friend of Somborn, was an inspiration. Another theory claims that Somborn was told that a good restaurateur could serve food out of a hat and still make a success of it.
The small cafe, close to popular Hollywood hot spots such as Cocoanut Grove at the Ambassador Hotel, became successful enough to warrant the building of a second branch.
The building was moved in 1937 to 3377 Wilshire Boulevard at the northeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Alexandria Avenue and, after being sold in 1975 and renovated, was finally replaced in 1980 by a shopping center known as the Brown Derby Plaza. The domed structure was incorporated into the third floor of the building and accommodates a cafe. A Korean mini-mall occupies the site today.[2]
Despite its less distinctive Spanish Mission style facade, the second Brown Derby, which opened on Valentine's Day 1929 at 1628 North Vine Street in Hollywood, was the branch that played the greater 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.
In "L.A. at Last," the first of the Hollywood episodes of I Love Lucy, Lucy (Lucille Ball), Ethel (Vivian Vance), and Fred (William Frawley) have lunch at the Brown Derby. During the misadventure, the trio dines in a booth with Eve Arden on one side and William Holden on the other. This leads to the famous disaster scene in which Lucy inadvertently causes a waiter to hit Holden in the face with a pie.
Like its Wilshire Blvd counterpart, it was the home of hundreds of caricatures of celebrities. Many of these caricatures were drawn by Jack Lane between 1947 and 1985. Lane had written a book, A Gallery of Stars: The Story of the Hollywood Brown Derby Wall of Fame, describing his many years as the resident caricaturist there.
It also claimed that the Hollywood Brown Derby was the birthplace of the Cobb Salad, which was said to have been hastily arranged from leftovers by owner Bob Cobb for showman and theater owner Sid Grauman. In the I Love Lucy episode featuring William Holden at the Brown Derby, Holden orders a Cobb Salad.
The building was largely destroyed by fire in 1987. Only a small fragment of the restaurant's facade remains, and is being incorporated into a new W Hotels development.
The third Brown Derby, built in 1931 at 9537 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills, greatly resembled the Hollywood branch. It was closed in the early 1980s and demolished in 1983.
The Los Feliz Brown Derby at 4500 Los Feliz Blvd is the last remaining branch of the chain still extant and in operation. Film mogul Cecil B. De Mille, a part owner of the Wilshire Blvd. restaurant, bought the building, a former chicken restaurant named Willard's, and converted it into a Brown Derby in 1940. It uniquely combined a formal restaurant with a dramatic domed ceiling with a more casual drive-in cafe outside.
In 1960 it was purchased by actor Michael St.Angel aka Steve Flagg and became Michaels of Los Feliz, and in 1992 was transformed into a nightclub known as The Derby. In the late 1990s, it became one of the centers of the resurgence of swing dancing, also launching the careers of modern swing bands such as Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Johnny Crawford. Oregon rock/swing/ska band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies recorded a song titled "Brown Derby Jump" on their album Zoot Suit Riot.
In June 2004, the Derby and adjacent lots were purchased by Hillhurst/Los Feliz LLC with a view to demolition and replacement by a condominium complex. The planned redevelopment became a cause celebre for historic preservation activists. An independent coalition called "Save The Derby" fought to prevent the demolition, and, on May 19, 2006, the Los Angeles City Counsel voted unanimously to designate the entire structure an official Historic Cultural Monument of the City of Los Angeles.
In January 2009, the nightclub closed its doors. The current landlord chose not to renew their lease, not long after a shooting inside the club. The Los Feliz Brown Derby is currently owned and operated by Louise’s Trattoria, a local chain of Italian restaurants. The remnants of the original Derby dome can be seen rising above the roofline.
A store named after the brown derby is located in the Hollywood section of universal studios Florida called the brown derby hat shop, which sells many hats including those from many movies and TV shows.
In the Ohio area, there are Girves Original Brown Derby Roadhouses that were founded in 1941 [1].
The Brown Derby is a local corner dairy in Christchurch, New Zealand.
A Brown Derby is a dessert served by the Wimpys hamburger chain in Britain, which consists of soft serve ice cream on a doughnut, covered with chocolate sauce and nuts. [2]