Black Orchid Club
The "Black Orchid" Club was an upscale Chicago nightclub that flourished in the mid to late 1950s where, according to print media critics, Johnny Mathis got his first big break. The club opened in 1949. The "Black Orchid" was declared bankrupt in July 1959, closed, and never reopened. The club was located at Rush and Ontario Streets in Chicago's Near Northside. The club was frequented by celebrities that included Tony Bennett and Hugh Hefner.
Owners
The founding owner, Al Greenfield (né Albert Melvin Greenfield; 1908–1984) sold the club in 1956 to Paul David Raffles (1932–1973), Pat Fontecchio (aka Patsy, né Patrick Frank Fontecchio; 1914–1994), and William (Bill) Doherty. Greenfield sold it so that he could be near his ex-wife, Gertrude Niesen, whom he married July 19, 1943, and remarried in the 1950s — and remained married to her until her death in 1975. Raffles, Fontecchio, and Doherty also owned The Cloisters Inn at 900 Rush Street.
Before founding The "Black Orchid", Greenfield had been partners with Milton Schwartz in four cocktail lounges: The Rhumba Casino (opened 1941) at 222 North State Street, The Capital Lounge at 167 North State Street, The Hollywood Show Lounge at 87 West Randolph Street, and The Brass Rail at 62 West Randolph Street. Schwartz and a partner, Ralph Mitchell, of Ralph Mitchell & Associates, had been pioneers in the Chicago nightclub business from 1941, through the 1950s.
Before co-owning The "Black Orchid", Patsy Fontecchio had been a nightclub MC, originally in his hometown of Hurley, Wisconsin.
Bankruptcy
The media reported that Raffles, Fontecchio, and Doherty were the owners when bankruptcy proceedings began in 1959.
An Associated Press article reported that three waiters — Gorge Ellis, Henry Mallick (1909–2003), and Mario Bastiani (né Salvadore Mario Bastiani; 1917–1988) — triggered the proceedings by petitioning the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois to declare the club bankrupt. They contended that they were owed wages of $1,847.00
A month before the bankruptcy proceedings, Billboard published that Ruffles and his wife were giving up the nightclub business to live in Los Angeles. Federal and Illinois state court records reflect that "Black Orchid", Inc., an Illinois corporation, Gertrude Niesen, Albert Greenfield, and others, were parties to a lawsuit involving tax liens, debtors' claims on escrow accounts, and priority of Federal tax liens over state tax liens.
Managers
Benny Dunn (1913–1989), "King of Rush Street," a former comic, operated the "Black Orchid" while Greenfield was the owner. Dunn went on to be a publicist and influential staffer for Hugh Hefner and "Playboy".
Notable performers
Featured guest
- Don Adams
- Orson Bean
- Harry Belafonte
- Joey Bishop
- Corinne Calvet
- Diahann Carroll
- Jack Carter
- Ray Charles
- Robert Clary
- Nat King Cole
- Sam Cooke
- Jimmy Dalton Trio
- Lola Dee
- Jack Eagle
- Billy Eckstine
- Frances Faye
- Buddy Hackett
- Mimi Hines
- Herb Jeffries
- Christine Jorgensen
- T. C. Jones
- Zsa Zsa Gabor
- Juanita Hall
- Ace Harris
- Mimi Hines
- Mary Kaye Trio
- Jack E. Leonard
- Abbey Lincoln
- Johnny Mathis
- Gertrude Niesen
- Josephine Premice
- Don Rickles
- Mickey Rooney
- Mort Sahl
- Lili St. Cyr
- Roberta Sherwood
- Randy Sparks
- Larry Storch
- Pat Suzuki
- Sylvia Syms
- Mel Torme
- Dinah Washington
- Josh White
- Kitty White
- Billy Williams Quartet
- Jonathan Winters
- Anita Wood
- Henny Youngman
House musicians
- Buddy Charles (1927–2008), pianist
- Joe Parnello (1928–1987), house orchestra conductor
- Kenneth T. Sweet (1923–1992), house orchestra conductor
- Raymond (Ray) F. Duna (1931-2017), guitarist
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