We only had five Gaslight Girls–sometimes six– and we were like a family. I have so many stories you can’t believe it and so many good times. “I worked at the Paris Gaslight Club from 1964-1966. Gaslight Visionary Burton Browne Paris Gaslight Club – Excerpt from I Love Chicago Guide by Marilyn J. And if any one got fresh, their key was pulled forever!! I worked at the Gaslight and sang at the Playboy clubs (only 2 before quitting singing and marrying the Italian truck line owner), modeled for Shirley Hamilton, Playboy Models and Elite, etc. The Gaslight girls were supposed to be professional singers and dancers. “Bunnies” came later and just had to be pretty. “Mama Kerry” the costume mistress, an evil backstage entity, found me someone’s discard costume, spruced it up and, bada bing, bada boom, I was a Gaslight girl. What a hoot!! I sang Summertime and laid them all away and I was working there the next night. He was the assistant manager to Don Ogawa, the manager of the Gaslight Club and Burton Browne’s houseboy. The man with the eyebrows hired me on the spot. I was taken there by Allen Mowbry, an English actor, who was the star of the moment at the Pheasant Run Theater commanded by Carl Stone. “This pic and the one on the previous page are the ONLY pics of me at the Gaslight Club, Chi. I was never in the Huron Street mansion because by then I was married, raising a family and was trying to forge ahead. Hence, the move to the larger quarters on Huron Street. It was originally intended for the cadre in the advertising business to entertain clients in a more sophisticated atmosphere, but soon expanded beyond those limits. The place was pretty small and even with the annex room, I’d guess couldn’t hold more than 50 people, including the bar. I don’t recall that there was any food service at night. Of course, the drinks cost about three times more than anywhere else, so they didn’t lose anything on the sandwiches. Its origin, obviously, had to do with buying votes at election time. At lunch, they had a “make-your-own sandwich” bar, where you were asked to pay 5 cents for each sandwich, because at the time Chicago had an ordinance that prohibited giving away any free food, hence the nickel charge. (3) They did a fair luncheon business since Burton Browne’s advertising agency was just a couple blocks away on Michigan Avenue. (2) Several other items of memorabilia (statues, mirrors, etc.) were also from the Everleigh Club, especially the nude nymph on the back bar. I would assume it moved to Huron Street in the ’60s. A couple of other interesting tidbits (for what it’s worth): (1) the back bar on Rush Street was from the original Everleigh Club on south Dearborn Street (circa. Because I was considered part of the “family,” I was given a key without a number stamped on it. Killen at another restaurant near 71st & Jeffrey) was one of three assistant managers. My brother-in-law (who formerly worked with Mr. The Gaslight Club was a going concern then and the first manager was Wally Killen. “I returned from the military in ’54 and started back at Loyola night school that fall. – excerpt from, “The Gaslight is 15 Years Young” ~ Have a good story relating to this bar? Email us. Though now part of Chicago’s vibrant history, the legend lives on at the last surviving Gaslight Club (not to be confused with Gaslight Corner), located on the lobby level of the Hilton Hotel at O’Hare International Airport (across from Terminal 3). They even had a roadshow that could be booked for events: “a leggy, lively revue of mirth and madness that features flappers, the Charleston, Dixieland jazz and spirited Mardi Gras fun,” as well as a publication called Gaslight Gazette, read by 75,000 men with an average age of 47.8 years and income of $28,779 a year (back in 1968, the year of their 15th anniversary). The Gaslight Club also spawned additional clubs in Beverly Hills, New York City, Washington DC, and Paris. The Gaslight Club quickly outgrew its original location on Rush Street (kitty corner from Quigley Preparatory Seminary), then on Huron Street and finally moving to The Palmer House on Monroe. As such, the joint attracted older, well-to-do men there to have an eyeful of girls dressed in a 20s version of the bunnies further north and to drink cocktails out of ceramic mugs just as they did during Prohibition. The Gaslight Club, founded by Burton Browne, was private and required members to carry a key to get in, inspiring the rival Playboy Club that would open seven years later. While I never had the pleasure of frequenting the Gaslight Club in Chicago’s River North district, I can appreciate its memory (hence, this page).
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