Cocoanut Grove 1963

Streisand / LIVE

The Cocoanut Grove (1963)

Ambassador Hotel
Los Angeles, California

August 21—September 8, 1963

Located at the Ambassador Hotel, the Cocoanut Grove was a 1,000-seat, lavish and legendary Los Angeles nightspot. The Grove’s very chic Moorish décor was straight out of a Hollywood movie. “Upon their arrival, guests were led down a majestic staircase into a large ballroom,” wrote George Geary. “The nightclub’s ceiling was scattered with ‘stars,’ and a waterfall flowed in the back of the room.”


Audience members sat at tables that were situated among a literal grove of cocoanut trees (said to be retrieved from Rudolph Valentino’s 1921 movie The Sheik). 


The Cocoanut Grove was a historic Los Angeles landmark, now demolished. Many Academy Awards ceremonies were held at the Grove.  Capitol Records recorded Judy Garland’s first live album at the Grove in 1958. The nightclub also appeared in Garland's 1954 film, A Star is Born. 


The Grove was also very important milestone for Streisand. It was her Los Angeles debut. In July 1963 Ray Stark announced he had cast Streisand as Fanny Brice in his Broadway musical about her life, Funny Girl.  Her first album for Columbia Records, The Barbra Streisand Album, was in the top 10 on Billboard’s charts.  And Barbra had appeared as a guest star on some high-profile television shows like The Dinah Shore Show and The Ed Sullivan Show.


“Just think,” Streisand told Variety, “one year ago this month I was earning $400 weekly and making $108 per week a few months before that. Today, I am turning down offers up to $15,000 a week for nightclubs because they conflict with [Funny Girl], which I start rehearsing Nov. 15 for Broadway opening at the Winter Garden.”


At the Cocoanut Grove, Streisand sang at 10:15 p.m. during the week. On Fridays and Saturdays Streisand performed twice — at 9:30 p.m. and a second show at midnight.


Streisand was backed by her talented accompanist, Peter Daniels, and supported by Pierson Thal’s 12-piece orchestra.  Between Streisand’s shows, the Allyn Ferguson Rhythmic Strings played. The Grove had added the 13-piece string orchestra in May to give their patrons “continual dancing and music throughout the evening.”

“Barbra Streisand drew more movie stars to the Cocoanut Grove than show up at film premieres.”


... Entertainment columnist Walter Winchell

Streisand’s August 21 opening night created quite a buzz in L.A. “The place was packed with cheering fans who were still waiting for another glimpse of their favorites at 1 a.m.,” columnist Louella Parsons wrote. Parsons was seated next to songwriter Sammy Cahn who told her he had visited Barbra’s hotel suite before the show where she was drying her hair with a newfangled hand blow dryer!

Barbra’s opening night audience included a who’s who of Hollywood: Gracie Allen, Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, John Huston, Edward G. Robinson, Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Sal Mineo, and Tony Bennett. Barbra (who was 21 years old when she debuted at the Grove) recalled, “There were so many movie stars there. I was the least-known person in the room.”

Streisand made her entrance by walking from the back of the room, through the audience to the stage.

“I remember as I was walking to the stage one night, passing one of these tables,” Streisand shared in 1994, “I overheard the wife of one of the big stars say, ‘I can’t believe I came here to see some fakakta folk singer.’”
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Two photos of Barbra Streisand at the microphone from the Cocoanut Grove gig.

Her admirers applauded as she entered the reception thrown by Ray and Fran Stark. Newsreel film from the evening revealed Streisand shielding her eyes from the glare of the camera lights with manager Marty Erlichman by her side.


Margaret Harford, reviewing Streisand for the Los Angeles Times , wrote that Streisand’s “chatter is fresh, comical and clean,” and prophetically opined, “I hope she never changes at the behest of press agents and powder room critics. Some of the sexy, no-talent babes who call themselves ‘vocalists’ should hear Miss Streisand.”


Hedda Hopper described Streisand “as relaxed as a cat on a hearth rug, she makes old songs sound new.”


“A strikingly vivid performer,” wrote Variety, “who emanates warmth and sensitivity whether in song or her very carefully selected patter, her simple satin midshipman blouse and black skirt increase the dramatic effect she so strongly projects in her songs.”


Some of the tunes Barbra sang during her run at the Grove:Keepin’ Out of Mischief Now, Lover, Come Back to Me, Who Will Buy?, Bewitched, When the Sun Comes Out, Down With Love, Like a Straw in the Wind, Value , and Happy Days Are Here Again.


By all reports, Streisand’s shows at the Cocoanut Grove were a triumph for her. Even Barbra's future boyfriend and creative partner Jon Peters brought his then-wife Marie Zampitella to see her show. “When Barbra sang,” Peters recalled, “whatever it was, the power she had—the magic in her fingers and face—controlled the entire room.”


Cecil Smith reported that on closing night Streisand received actresses Irene Dunne and Nina Foch, as well as and Anthony Franciosa in her Ambassador Hotel suite after the show. Streisand’s on record that she had a crush on Franciosa in the film Wild is the Wind. Smith reported that Franciosa said, “Ten years from now, you’ll remember her tonight” (which must have been thrilling for Barbra to hear!)


Even 17-year-old Liza Minnelli brought her mother, Judy Garland, to see Streisand at the Grove. “I said to my mom, 'You've gotta hear this singer, she's just great; she sings in a key nobody's ever sung in,'” Minnelli recalled. “I took my mom to the Coconut Grove to hear Streisand and there were all kinds of people at the table saying, 'Well, we don't know if she's any good or not; she's funny looking.' [Streisand] walked on the stage, she sang the first eight bars of her opening song and my mother turned to the people around the table and said, 'You're all crazy, and I want her on my show.' I felt so great because my mom knew talent.”


The Minnelli/Garland story was confirmed in Harrison Carroll’s August 31, 1963 column when he mentioned Garland and actor Andre Philippe were at Streisand’s show. Garland biographer Scott Schechter cataloged Garland’s attendance, too, elaborating that director Norman Jewison, some Judy Garland Show writers, as well as agent David Begelman attended a Streisand Grove performance. A month later (October 4, 1963), Streisand – now represented by talent agency CMA’s Begelman and his partner Freddie Fields – guest starred on Judy Garland’s CBS television show .


Variety ran a curious item right before Streisand’s gig at the Cocoanut Grove commenced. They reported that Columbia Records would record four nights of her engagement as a future live album. No such album has ever surfaced.


When her successful run at the Grove ended, Streisand quickly relocated to Nevada where she was due to begin a two-week engagement at Harrah's.

Photo Slideshow Below:  See photos from Streisand's engagement at the Cocoanut Grove ... use the arrows to navigate.
SOURCES USED FOR THIS PAGE

  • Behind the Scenes in Hollywood column by Harrison Carroll. September 2, 1963.
  • “Columbia To Cut Streisand Album During Grove Run.” Variety, August 13, 1963,
  • “Grove Adds New String Orchestra.” Los Angeles Times, May 21, 1963.
  • Hopper, Hedda. “Barbra Streisand Hit At Cocoanut Grove!” The Journal Herald, August 28, 1963.
  • Judy Garland: The Day-by-day Chronicle of a Legend by Scott Schechter. Taylor Trade Publishing, 2002.
  • L.A.’s Legendary Restaurants: Celebrating the Famous Places Where Hollywood Ate, Drank, and Played by George Geary. Santa Monica Press, 2016.
  • Liza Minnelli quotes from Larry King Live. Aired March 25, 2006 on CNN.
  • Nitery Review by Dale. Variety. August 23, 1963.
  • “Stage Scene, The” by Margaret Harford. Los Angeles Times, September 6, 1963.
  • Walter Winchell column. The Cincinnati Enquirer, September 20, 1963.
End / Cocoanut Grove
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