Perino's

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Perino's was a restaurant located on

Hollywood Golden Age. Despite its closure, the restaurant enjoyed an afterlife as a filming location for film and television until the building was sold and demolished in 2005.[1]

History

Alessandro Bruno Perino was born in

Steinway piano in the restaurant bar, and Cole Porter composed songs on the back of menus. Richard Nixon, Ronald and Nancy Reagan were regulars. During the 1940s and 50s the restaurant gained a reputation as a Mob hangout, because it was frequented by such figures as Bugsy Siegel , Johnny Stompanato and Frank Desimone. In the early 50s a mob summit convened between L.A. based mobster Jack Dragna and Anthony 'Big Tuna' Accardo was broken up by the police at Perino's.[7]

Perino's was renowned for the high quality of its food, and Perino for his fastidious attention to detail. There were 150 separate

Paul Revere Williams was hired to implement a $400,000 renovation ($5,065,560 in 2023 dollars [2]).[9] He chose a New Orleans theme, in pink, beige and peach tones, which would become Perino's signature. The outside featured a porte-cochère in wrought-iron, a mansard roof, and pink stucco. The central dining room, which could accommodate 150 diners, was a large rotunda lined with banquettes upholstered in salmon-colored velvet, crystal chandelier sconces[clarification needed], and floor-length mirrors. Tables were covered in pink linen, each with a single pink rose placed on top, and pastry-carts and serving trays were made of solid silver.[7]

In 1954 the restaurant suffered another disastrous fire, blamed on a discarded cigarette left on an upholstered chair, which cost $250,000 in damages ($2,843,478 in 2023 dollars [2]).[9] Paul Williams returned to supervise the restoration, which featured furniture and paneling in the "French Continental" style.[8] Perino's would remain a hugely popular venue through the 1960s, and Alexander Perino would sell in 1969. The restaurants' popularity began to decline in the 1970s with changing tastes; an attempt to re-launch it under new ownership failed in 1986, leading to its closure.

In 2002, the defunct restaurant was purchased by real estate developer Tom Carey, and the contents were auctioned off two years later.[7][10] The building was demolished in 2005 and an apartment building constructed in its place. The lobby of the new building retains mementos from Perino's.[10]

In popular culture

Before its closure in 1986, Perino's had already become a popular filming location, appearing both as itself and for general use in restaurant scenes. It continued in this vein and as a venue for the occasional private event through 2004, when it was purchased by a developer.

The exterior of Perino's at its first location appears in

haberdashery
to buy clothes.

George Hamilton appears in the restaurant, in the 1979 "Love at first Bite" film, with Susan Saint James and Richard Benjamin.

Dustin Hoffman appears in the restaurant, in "Marathon Man".

American Gigolo (1980) filmed a scene at Perino's where Richard Gere's character Julian asks Anne (Nina van Pallandt) for help.

The 1981

biopic Mommie Dearest featured a scene where Joan Crawford attends dinner with Louis B. Mayer at Perino's. She later declares that "Perino's is my place!" in anger at having to dine with her boss. Later in the film Crawford and her daughter attend lunch there.[10]

Scarface (1983) uses Perino's for a restaurant scene between Tony Montana, Elvira and Manny.[11]

Numerous television shows used Perino's for restaurant scenes, including Melrose Place, Hart to Hart, Dallas, Falcon Crest and Columbo.[12]

1992's Chaplin includes a scene where Charlie Chaplin (Robert Downey Jr.) takes Paulette Goddard (Diane Lane) to Perino's for dinner.

The 2017 FX anthology series Feud: Bette & Joan sets numerous dining scenes at Perino's for the fictional counterparts of real-life regulars Joan Crawford, Bette Davis and Hedda Hopper. The famous dining room of Perino's was recreated on a soundstage.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Perino's (Demolished)". The Los Angeles Conservancy. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  2. ^ a b c d 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  3. ^ "The Man Who Set the Standards", The Los Angeles Times, Sunday, January 10, 1982
  4. ^ Joseph Temple (2014-09-05). "7 Famous L.A. Restaurants from the Studio Era". Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  5. ^ "The Man Who Set the Standards", The Los Angeles Times, Sunday,January 10, 1982.
  6. ^ Martin Turnbull (2015-02-12). "Perino's Restaurant at its 2nd location at 4101 Wilshire Boulevard". Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  7. ^ a b c d "At Perino's, L.A. History Goes on Auction Block". LA Times. 2004-06-05. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  8. ^ a b c d Hadley Meares (2014-01-23). "The Michelangelo of the Menu: Alexander Perino's Rules of Fine Dining". kcet.org. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  9. ^ a b "Perino's Restaurant, Los Angeles, CA". PaulRevereWilliamsProject.com. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  10. ^ a b c "Perino's Restaurant". iamnotastalker.com. 2012-08-14. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  11. ^ "Scarface Filming Locations". imdb.com. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  12. ^ "Most Popular Titles With Location Matching "Perino's Restaurant - 4101 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA"". imdb.com. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  13. ^ Jessica Radloff (2017-03-06). "Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon Reveal Behind-the-Scenes Details About FX's Feud: Bette and Joan". Glamour Magazine. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
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