"The Rise and Fall of Dino's Lodge."

July 24, 2011 The Rise and Fall of Dino's Lodge by Kliph Nesteroff Screen shot 2011-07-08 at 8.40.30 PMA tall, neon approximation of Dean Martin's face once radiated a mysterious ambiance down on the Sunset Strip. The sign could be spotted in episodes of Dragnet, the Billy Wilder film Kiss Me Stupid and even an episode of The Andy Griffith Show. Much of the time it was treated as if it were just a typical building facade that fictional characters would drive past without comment. But today, to see a giant neon Dean Martin face makes one arch an eyebrow. What in Lord's name is that!?

Dino's Lodge was a real-life Los Angeles restaurant that lasted twenty years. It is primarily remembered by fans of the television series 77 Sunset Strip. Ed Byrnes played the pseudo-hipster character Kookie, a kid working as a valet at Dino's Lodge, which was a neighbor to the private eye headquarters of the program's protagonists. When Dino's Lodge first opened it was a happening nightspot frequented by the Hollywood elite. When 77 Sunset Strip made it famous to television viewers, it descended into a tourist trap and was abandoned by its celebrity clientele. By the early seventies, this restaurant that had once hosted parties for Frank Sinatra, was part of a cornball travel agency package that advertised a two-hundred and forty-dollar "guided tour of a motion picture studio, a full day at Disneyland and dinner at Dino's Lodge. "

From the very beginning the weird looking sign was one of Hollywood's campiest icons. "Dino's Lodge was immensely popular," says Shawn Levy, "serving home-style Italian food and grilled entrees in a wood-paneled atmosphere meant to replicate the great roue's den." Behind those wood-panels, however, hides a story of mismanagement, lawsuits and vindictive Jerry Lewis spite. The project, in the words of Dean Martin himself, was one of "total regret." Screen shot 2011-07-14 at 5.13.50 AMNo comedy team in the history of show business had greater success than Martin and Lewis. They were the rock stars of comedy, creating a blistering hysteria among their fan base that only Elvis and The Beatles would go on to rival. When Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin decided to disband their professional relationship, it was an expensive ordeal for both of them. "They had to settle contracts for movies that wouldn't be made and nightclub appearances that would never happen," says Ric Martin, Dean's son. "Dad didn't easily fly solo. The first movie he made in 1957 without Jerry, Ten Thousand Bedrooms, was a flop. Jerry's [first solo film] came out at the same time and was a hit." Ric says that Dino's Lodge was borne of urgency. "In debt and desperate, Dad agreed to several business deals on the side in the hopes something big would come along to reignite his career. He sold his name to a restaurant and bar on Sunset, which became famous as Dino's Lodge." The address of 8532 Sunset had been home to an auction house in the nineteen forties, one that specialized in wooden furniture. Although it was a swinging place as far as Hollywood geriatrics were concerned, it was not on the radar of the Brown Derby set. By the early fifties the space had been renamed, remodeled and opened as a dining spot called the Alpine Lodge. The family restaurant had a loosely defined wooden shoe concept and was not particularly successful. Described as "an attractive Swiss restaurant which fell on hard times," the owners soon dropped the word Alpine in place of the name Dino, while leaving much of its decor intact.

Los Angeles business owners Alex Wexler, Paul Wexler and Harvey Gerry owned the Alpine. Paul Wexler approached Dean Martin and his business partner Maury Samuels with the proposition of using his name in order to save his floundering business. Dean agreed, and he was soon a co-partner in Alpine Lodge Inc. Dino's Lodge had its grand opening in the spring of 1958. When the strange sketch that became the memorable sign was raised to the sky, its base cemented to the ground and the switch turned on, most assumed this meant it was Dean Martin's restaurant. Of course, this is exactly what the owners of the former Alpine wanted. "Contrary to report," explained an April 1958 edition of the Los Angeles Times, "Dean Martin does not own the restaurant on the Strip ... They just use his name and give him a percentage." It was a large percentage. Fifty percent. Dean frequented the restaurant during its first year. It was initially very popular with major Hollywood stars. The Vincent Minnelli film Some Came Running starring Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine, had its star-studded post-premiere party at Dino's Lodge. It was one of many such events during the first sixteen months. Dino's Lodge was hot. The view was great, people loved their strawberry melbas and the joint was open until five in the morning. It was soon "serving an early morning breakfast from 1 to 5 am. Steak sandwiches and eggs served in any fashion by candlelight." 77 Sunset Strip joined forces with Dino's Lodge in a collective agreement that was hoped to reap mutual benefits. Dino's had become one of the most iconic signs along the Strip's already colorful allotment of venues. Warner Brothers television, having placed their new series in the neighborhood, wanted a feel of authenticity. Shots of the sign were used in the opening credits sequence and in many of the establishing shots. A mile away at the Warner Brothers studio, an exact facsimile of Dino's front door, abridging canopy, and parking lot entrance were constructed. The collaboration may or may not have helped 77 Sunset Strip become a hit, but it unquestionably served as an infomercial for Dino's Lodge, making it one of the most popular destinations in Los Angeles.

Pretty Baby

The Dean Martin Show. St. Anthony's High in Long Beach, my mom surprised me w/a Dean Martin Album, "Pretty Baby." I memorized every song on the "Albium!" While auditioning for the SA Glee Club, my "Dino" came out, Director Father Hansen had me sing Italian songs for our Spring and Winter Concerts. I tried my best to croon and sound like Dino, I got pretty good at it. After college, and the Marine Corps, I got an interview at NBC Burbank. Started out as an NBC Page. "The Dean Martin Show" was my first assignment. That "quirk of fate" changed my life. As Sinatra once sang, "No, no, they can't take that away from me." More on my DeanMartinBlog.Blogspot.com. "Let's have Vino for Dino!"

Dino, "Non Dimenticar."

One of my favorite albums in High School was Vic Damone's "Non Dimenticar." I spent lot's of time memorizing the words to Vic's and Dean's album "Pretty Baby." Love those guys. A few years later, woring at NBC Burbank, I got to meet Vic on the Dean Martin Summer Show. Dino's show was my all time favorite. Love it!!!