Friars Club of Beverly Hills

The Friars Club of Beverly Hills (also known as the Friars Club of California) was a private show business club started in 1947 by comedian/actor Milton Berle, among other celebrities who had moved from New York. It was forced to change its name in 2007 after losing a lawsuit with the New York Friars' Club and later closed.

History

The modern history of the club began in 1947 when Milton Berle got a group together at the old Savoy Hotel on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, including actors Jimmy Durante, George Jessel, Robert Taylor, and Bing Crosby. The Friars Club of California was originally established as a spinoff from the New York Friars' Club, as a non-profit, membership only club. In 1961, the club moved into a distinctive, almost windowless building at 9900 Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills designed by noted architect Sidney Eisenshtat. Past members included Al Jolson, Frank Sinatra, Jack Benny, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, the Marx Brothers, Sammy Davis, Jr., Billy Crystal, and Johnny Carson among many others. Like the New York club, for many years the Friars Club of Beverly Hills was known for its celebrity members and "Roasts."

In 1992 Irwin Schaeffer became president of the Friars Club of California, and in 2004, after years of declining membership, the assets of the Friars Club of California were sold to a for-profit corporation owned by Irwin Schaffer's son, Darren Schaeffer. After the sale, the club was renamed "The Friars of Beverly Hills" and continued to operate under that name until 2007. However, in 2005 the New York Friars' Club commenced a lawsuit claiming trademark infringement under the Lanham Act (among other claims); in September 2007 the federal district court granted substantial portions of the New York Friars Club's motion for summary judgment, which effectively forced the California club to cease operations under the Friars Club name.

In 2005 the Friars at the time elected stand up comedian Dante, to be the final Abbott of the club.

The club changed its name to "Club 9900" for a few months but as of June 2008 the club was apparently closed [http://community.myfoxla.com/blogs/mitch_waldow/2008/06/27/Farewell_to_the_Friars] , and the landmark building was listed as available for lease. [http://www.kathleensilver.com/upload/silver/9900SantaMonicaBlvd_57/materials/Brochure_9900_Santa_Monica_Blvd_One_Page%5B1%5D.pdf]

The Friars Club was not related to the Friar's Inn, a famous 1920s jazz cabaret in Chicago, which was sometimes casually referred to as "Friar's Club".

External links

* [http://www.pryorcashman.com/assets/attachments/151.pdf "Friars National Association, Inc. v. 9900 Santa Monica, Inc., et. al."] , Case No. CV 05-4109 ODW (PLAx) (United States District Court for the Central District of California, Otis D. Wright II, District Judge; Order Granting In Part and Denying In Part Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment, entered September 6, 2007).
*Allen Salkin, [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/03/arts/03arts-EASTCOASTFRI_BRF.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Friars%20club&st=cse&oref=slogin "East Coast Friars Win Legal Battle"] , New York Times, October 3, 2007.
*Andy Fixmer, [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m5072/is_28_26/ai_n6128032 "New owner set to give major makeover to Friars Club,"] Los Angeles Business Journal, July 12, 2004.
* [http://www.thefriarsbh.com/ Friars' Club of Beverly Hills Official site]
* [http://www.9900club.com/index.html Club 9900 website]