Whenever I am at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, I always like to take a peek inside of the Brown Derby. If nothing else, the restaurant has great bathrooms. But I like the dining room and like dining there even more.
Like any Hollywood diva (well Pasadena but it is close), I have my traditions and want just what I want the way I want it. This is Hollywood, right? I insist on sitting in a booth, preferably one of those in a corner. Sing my chaueffer is driving (the bus) I feel comfortable cruising through the wine list. And I must finish off the meal with that healthy California treat – a slice of Grapefruit Cake. It can’t be fattening because it is made with Grapefruit, right? Must remember the camera adds 10 pounds.
When most people think of the Brown Derby in Hollywood they think of a building that was shaped like a, well, big brown derby hat. That restaurant opened in 1926 and was located on Wilshire Boulevard. The one inside of the park is modeled after a second restaurant that opened in 1929 and was near the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue.
Covering virtually all of the walls of the dining room are portraits of famous Hollywood celebrities. The portraits were part of a grand bargain between an artist named Vitch and owner Bob Cobb. When Cobb wanted to add somebody to his “Wall of Fame” he would commission Vitch to draw a caricature and trade him for a meal. The tradition continued with other noted artists such as Zel, Pancho, and Jack Lane.
Along with everything else, there is one cool little fantasy I like to play when I dine at the Derby. Just like today, there are times when somebody that is as important as I am is desperately wanted on the telephone. Since cellphones did not exist back in the day, it would be inconsistent to pull the phone out of my pocket. The Brown Derby has a solution. If you are sitting at a booth notice the little telephone jacks. Your server can bring you a rotary telephone. This meant it had a dial where you stuck one finger inside of the dial and turned it all the way to the stopper. If the number had a lot of zeros you just grinned and bared it. Like today, time is money and if you can combine a bit of business with your meal all the better. More importantly, in those days talking on the phone while eating was very rare and meant you must be doing something very, very important for the server to walk all that way and plug in the phone. Just ask your server and you may get to talk with a celebrity. Of course, I was talking with my agent at the time…
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