Among the pictures from my mother’s senior prom, I was surprised to find a shot of my parents and five other couples seated in a nightclub! How was it that the generation before me lived such a glamorous life far beyond the typical after-party at a friend’s house that I knew? The answer: The Latin Casino.
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At the Latin Casino after the senior prom in 1958 |
In 1960, the Latin Casino moved across the bridge to Route 70 just west of the Racetrack Circle in Cherry Hill. Like many other establishments, it was drawn to the near-suburbs of Philadelphia, enticed by free parking and more lax regulations that allowed the alcohol to flow past midnight on Saturdays. With seating for as many as 2,000 patrons, it became one of the largest supper nightclubs outside Las Vegas.
During the 1960s and into the early 1970s, the Casino still hosted old-school acts like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Totie Fields, but it loosened its collar a bit, also hosting the likes of Ray Charles, James Brown, the Supremes and the Spinners.
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Latin Casino show poster from 1960 |
For about $30 a piece, showgoers were treated to a meal and a concert. No small sum, it was a special night out, and patrons dressed the part, arriving in tuxedos and evening gowns, or at least suits with ties and cocktail dresses.
Sinatra performed two weeks a year at the self-proclaimed “Showplace of the Stars.” Perhaps you once caught a performance at the Latin Casino Theatre Restaurant by Harry Belafonte, Engelbert Humperdinck, Johnny Mathis, B.B. King or Tom Jones?
Once Atlantic City casinos provided a more fitting site for lounge acts, it became clear that the days of the faux Casino were numbered. And with the casinos willing to offer seven-figure multi-year contracts to entertainers like Don Rickles, clearly the game became too rich for the blood of Latin Casino owner Dallas Gerson, and the nightspot closed in 1978.
Later its owners tried to resurrect the entertainment mecca as the Emerald City disco. After all, suburbanites with Saturday Night fever had to have some place to go. Alas, disco was not long for this world, and neither was Emerald City. Within a few years, the building was demolished and became the site of Subaru of America headquarters.
What memorable performance did you see at the Latin Casino? Was it better when it was in Philly or Cherry Hill? Tell us more.
I like Ray Charles
ReplyDeleteWorked there as a showgirl dancer in the chorus line from 1961 to 1963.What a beautiful show place it was.When the one owner died Dave Dushoff,the place really went down.The other owner Dallas Gerson didn't really know how to run a big supper club like the Latin.Down it went.What a shamed was and the casino's opening in AC Didn't help much.Worked with many wonderful stars there.
ReplyDeleteI saw Liberace there. Great place very much missed even after all these years
ReplyDeleteI saw Sammy Davis Jr. during the show, he brought Frank Sinatra from backstage. Frank even did a number.
ReplyDeleteSaw Johnny Mathis with my friends back in the late 1950s also went there after my little flower high school prom in 1960!
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