approximately 17 INCHES TALL and has four pages including the covers.
Musty smell, corners dog-eared, upper margin of the covers sunned, few blemishes and wrinkles on the covers, otherwise a clean item from the 1950's.
The Copacabana opened on November 10, 1940, at 10 East 60th Street in New York City. Although Monte Proser's name was on the lease, he had a powerful partner: mob boss Frank Costello. Proser (1904–1973), a native Englishman, was a well-connected nightclub owner and press agent whose various clients included Walt Disney, Maria Montez, Mary Pickford, and the Ziegfeld Follies. Costello put Jules Podell on the scene to look after his interests; Podell had a police record and would not have been an acceptable front man for the business, and indeed, the club faced tax problems and a racketeering investigation in 1944. However, by 1948, such pressure had lessened; Proser was out, and Podell was the official owner.
The Copacabana had Brazilian decor and Latin-themed orchestras, while the menu featured Chinese food. The club was also known for its chorus line, "The Copacabana Girls".
Podell originally had a strict "no blacks" policy. In 1944, Harry Belafonte, then a member of the U.S. Navy, was denied entry with a date. Eventually, Podell was persuaded to change his policy and Belafonte returned in the 1950s as a headliner at the club. Sammy Davis Jr. shattered attendance records with his run in May 1964 and Sam Cooke performed there on July 8, 1964, resulting in the LP Sam Cooke at the Copa. In July 1965, the Supremes made their debut there, resulting in Motown Records booking the Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, and Marvin Gaye to perform at the Copa over the next few years. The Supremes also recorded a live album there in 1965 that just missed the Top 10, peaking at #11. Marvin Gaye also recorded a live album, as did The Temptations. The Supremes, who proved to be the most successful of all the Motown acts, released The Supremes: Live at the Copa Expanded Edition in 2012, featuring the much-sought-after original repertoire.
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were frequent performers at the club and performed their last show there on July 25, 1956, which can be seen in the TV movie Martin and Lewis (2002).
This nightclub achieved a degree of notoriety due to a May 16, 1957, incident involving members of the New York Yankees. On that evening, teammates Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Hank Bauer, Yogi Berra, Johnny Kucks, and Billy Martin, along with the wives of all but Martin, arrived at the nightclub to celebrate Martin's birthday. Sammy Davis Jr. happened to be the headliner. During the performance, a group of apparently intoxicated bowlers started to interfere with Davis' act, even hurling racial slurs at him. This behavior incensed the Yankees, especially Martin, since his teammate was Elston Howard, the first black player to join the Yankees. Tensions erupted between the two factions, and the resulting fracas made newspaper headlines. Several of the Yankees were fined. One of the bowlers, a Bronx deli owner, ended up with a concussion and a broken jaw, and sued Bauer for aggravated assault; the case was thrown out for insufficient evidence. Martin was later traded from the Yankees to the Kansas City Athletics, with this incident cited as a main cause.
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