Frances davis and which hamburger hamlet

Learn how your comment data is processed. Gotta Dance with You, Claude and Nickie…. Bless your soul. I had dinner once with you and you were a doll. I used to see you at Trader Joes and you would say hello to everyone! Truly rest in peace. We need more gracious people like you in the world. I will miss lovely, delightful, Frances Davis…My deepest sympathy to her family….. Rest in peace…. I loved Frances! She was loved by many.

So so sad. Miss her warm and heart filled smile. Until we meet again Miss Diva! Frances was a trailblazer extraordinaire breaking glass ceilings with her lifelong series of firsts.

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Disagree Agree. Notify of. Director John Landis spoke on a recent podcast about getting a job as a teenager at the Hamlet and being the only caucasian on staff. It was so comfortable and warm," recalls Lewis in Executive Magazine in She worked at the counter, cooked complicated dishes and delivered the food to customers, while her husband Harry broiled burgers, greeted people and handled the cash register.

The eatery opened in on Sunset Strip. It offered an elevated diner menu and unpretentious seating — relatively unheard of in the city at the time — and quickly became a local institution, beloved by throngs of teenagers and Warren Beatty alike. The Hamlet would go on to become a chain with more than a dozen locations in Los Angeles and the Lewises; fashionable fixtures on the scene.

By , the Lewises opened a second location in Westwood. The 50's decor had never been touched until the closed in the early s. The Smithsonian should have saved it and put it on display. Today that location is a Taco Bell. The operation expanded during the s, largely the result of popular demand. The Hamlets developed such a quality reputation that land lords and developers began to seek them out.

James Lauver, who had been a waiter at the Hamburger Hamlet on Sunset since , went on to work at Kate Mantilini when the Hamlet closed in Harry Lewis died in I was very fortunate to attend his memorial service at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It was quite appropriate since it was directly next-door to Kate Mantilini. As far as the Sunset Strip location, two restaurants have failed in its place since. I vote for putting it back the way it was for 40 years.

They closed in And there was also the failed location in Larchmont Village that would have been better off in an airport. Nobody ran them like Ma rilyn Lewis who had several lives — restaurateur, fashion designer, movie producer — all of which required talent, hard work and extraordinary instinct. I was extremely fortunate to get this picture with her on closing night of Kate Mantilini.

And just like I told you Frances would sometimes do, here she is doing a little dance. MPTV Images. Hamburger Hamlet in its original location on Sunset Strip in These photos can now be viewed on the 12 Sunsets website courtesy of Stamen Designs and Getty. Hamburger Hamlet, Mid-Wilshire location. Hamburger Hamlet on Beverly Blvd. Pasadena Hamlet Alison Martino and host Frances Davis on closing night. We sadly lost Frances in Alison and her mother Judi on closing night.

Loved Hamburger Hamlet. Do you remember the Tick Tock restaurant in Hollywood? Post a Comment. November 20, I was there for its last day and plan on saying farewell to the Pasadena location in person on Thursday, too. Nothing pained me more then saying goodbye to the West Hollywood neighborhood hangout.

It was where you bumped into celebrities and industry moguls in a casual environment, dining in darkly lit giant red leather chairs. But there was nothing casual about the clientele. Where else could you see Dean Martin sipping a martini at the bar, Lucille Ball hair spraying her red locks in the ladies room, Bette Davis chain smoking in the Tap Room, or Frank Sinatra taking a meeting with his publicist?

I witnessed all of this first hand. I remember Francis and Diahann Carroll discussing chord progressions in the lobby. It was great eavesdropping. For me, it was also a home away from home. At times the Hamlet felt like an extended room of our house.