Inside the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire

by Ron Elliott

Twenty years of silence. No one talked about it. No one wanted to. The public was shocked by ghastly televised images of an uncontrollable inferno and of the endless views of twisted, charred remains of what had been billed as "The Showplace of the Nation," now reduced to smoldering rubble with 167 of its guests dead. How could this happen? From its notorious early years of illegal gambling, glamorous night life, and organized crime to its reborn reputation as one of the finest entertainment and dining establishments in the country, the Beverly Hills Supper Club was frequented by the biggest stars, governors, politicians, and athletes of its day and never failed to deliver a good time. But, on May 28, 1977, the final curtain fell. Now you can know what really happened. Follow long-time Beverly Hills dealer, waiter, and finally captain, Wayne Dammert, in his personal inside account, Inside the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire, of this renowned showplace and the horrifying events of one of