Title supplied by cataloger.; Photograph was edited for publication purposes. Eddie Brandstatter was one of Hollywood's greatest early restaurateurs. A native of France, he worked in Paris, London and New York restaurants before moving to Los Angeles in the 1910s. In 1920 he was joint owner and manager of the Sunset Inn in Santa Monica. In 1923 he built the famous Cafe Montmartre, designed by Meyer and Holler, at a cost of $150,000. This establishment was described as "the center of Hollywood life", where stars usually frequented, and which was the place to see and be seen. In 1929 Brandstatter opened the Embassy Club, a private and exclusive venue for his Hollywood friends, but due to financial troubles, opened the club to the general public in 1932. That same year Brandstatter declared bankruptcy and sold Montmartre. At one point, he was charged with grand theft in a dispute with Hollywood real estate developer C.E. Toberman for having stolen furnishings, drapes, china, and a large "nude statue" of a woman, as well as other valuables and was convicted, though he was given two years probation after returning the property. In 1933 he bounced back and opened Sardi's, only to be again convicted for illegally selling "stimulants" at the establishment. Sadly, Sardi's Restaurant was destroyed by fire on November 2, 1936. The last venue Brandstatter opened and operated was the Bohemian Grill on Vine. On January 20, 1940 Brandstatter's wife, Helen, found the once-famous restaurateur dead in their home garage in Sherman Oaks. He had committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in his car. He was 54. Photograph caption dated September 24, 1932 reads, "Eddie Brandstatter, who wore well-tailored evening clothes and morning coats when he was "Host of Hollywood" and manager of the fashionable Montmartre cafe and Embassy club, is pictured in blue denim prisoner's uniform while he sat in jail today. He waits sentence, following his conviction on theft charges n [sic] the disappearance of furnishings from the Montmartre cafe, rendezvous of film stars."
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Image
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1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 21 cm. Photographic prints
Brandstatter, Eddie Brandstatter, Eddie--Trials, litigation, etc Trials (Burglary)--California--Los Angeles Restaurateurs--California--Los Angeles Businessmen--California--Los Angeles Imprisonment--California--Los Angeles Theft--California--Los Angeles Los Angeles Evening Herald and Express photographs Herald-Examiner Collection photographs Portrait photographs
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