Viper Room

Infobox Venue
name = The Viper Room


image_caption = The Viper Room on the Sunset Strip
nickname =
location = 8852 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, California 90069
coordinates =
type = nightclub
genre = rock
broke_ground =
built =
opened = 1993
renovated =
expanded =
closed =
demolished =
owner =
former_names =
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seating_capacity =
website = http://www.viperroom.comThe Viper Room is a nightclub located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California. It was opened in 1993 and was partly owned by actor Johnny Depp until 2004. The club is well known for having been the site where actor River Phoenix died of a drug overdose on Halloween morning in 1993.

Even following Phoenix’s death, the club remained a hang-out for Hollywood’s hottest young actors. Regulars included Jennifer Aniston and Sean Penn. Adding to that group, Adam Duritz, the lead singer of Counting Crows, hid out as a Viper Room bartender in late 1994 - early 1995 to escape his newfound fame. [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0244154/bio Biography of Adam Duritz] at IMDb]

Johnny Depp had asked Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to play the club's opening night. They gladly obliged.

In Oliver Stone’s film, "The Doors" (1991), the Viper Room was used as a filming location for scenes depicting the London Fog, also of West Hollywood. London Fog was a lesser-known nightclub next to the Whisky a Go Go where The Doors had their first regular gig for four months in early 1966. [ [http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/d/doors.html Filming Locations for "The Doors"] ]

As part of the settlement of a lawsuit involving the disappearance of co-owner Anthony Fox in 2001, Depp relinquished his ownership of the Viper Room in 2004. [ [http://www.americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_285.html "A Christmas Murder In Hollywood, Part Three: Another Tragic Anniversary"] by James Ridgway de Szigethy, published December 2004 on [http://www.americanmafia.com/ AmericanMafia.com] ] Until early 2008, the club was owned by Darin Feinstein, Bevan Cooney, and Blackhawk Capital Partners, Inc. The club is currently owned by Harry Morton [ [http://www.msopr.com/?q=node/3654 Mitch Schneider Organization ] ] , President and CEO of Pink Taco, and the son of Hard Rock Cafe co-founder Peter Morton. Morton plans to turn the gritty Sunset Strip club into a global franchise by opening several live music venues throughout the world, all of which will bear the name "The Viper Room." [ [http://laist.com/2008/06/10/viper_room_notes.php LAist: Big Changes at Viper Room Start Playing Out ] ] [ [http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i0055cabe5256398a1c4bf5013cbbc8ca Billboard Q&A: Viper Room's Harry Morton ] ]

A nightclub located in Cincinnati, Ohio, was formerly called “The Viper Room”. The club changed its name to “The Poison Room” on January 1, 2006, after they were told by the West Hollywood Viper Room to stop using the name. [ [http://boards.cincymusic.com/index.php?showtopic=25525 "Viper Room Changing It's Name Jan. 1..."] on CincyMusic.com (December 2005 forum post by club owner/manager)] Another “Viper Room” in Portland, Oregon, has also been told to stop using the name under threat of a trademark lawsuit, with owner Darin Feinstein claiming “Every dollar they make is the result of using our name”. [ [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m5072/is_47_27/ai_n15933833 "Nightclub coils to strike in trademark infringement suits"] by Amanda Bronstad, "Los Angeles Business Journal" November 21, 2005] Additionally, there is a legal brothel in Brisbane, Australia called 'The Viper Room'. There is also a nightclub in Stockholm, Sweden called "The Viper Room", as well as one in Harrogate, UK called "Viper Room". [ [http://www.viperroom.se/ "The Viper Room" in Stockholm] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.viperroom.com Viper Room official website]