Latin Casino
| "Show Place of the Stars" | |
Latin Casino Theatre Restaurant Cherry Hill New Jersey
|
|
| Former names |
Latin located at 1309 Walnut Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1950) |
|---|---|
| Location | Cherry Hill, New Jersey (1960) |
| Owner | Dallas Gerson and Dave Dushoff |
| Type | Dinner theater Nightclub Showroom |
| Genre(s) | Entertainment |
| Seating type | Showroom Tables & Booth seating |
| Capacity | 1,500 |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1960 |
| Construction cost | $3 million (1960) |
Latin
The Latin Casino (1960–1978) was a Philadelphia-area nightclub that first opened in 1948 at 1309 Walnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Many top entertainers performed at the Latin including Harry Belafonte, Jimmy Durante, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Richard Pryor, Jerry Lewis, Milton Berle, Lena Horne, Pearl Bailey, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, and Joey Bishop. The Latin was a very popular Center City nightclub for a decade.
In 1960, Owners Dallas Gerson and Dave Dushoff, relocated to nearby Cherry Hill, New Jersey and built the plush 1,500-seat, Vegas-style dinner theater renamed from the "Latin" to the Latin Casino, although casino gambling was not included. It was considered one of the fanciest, hippest dinner nightclubs experiences of that time featuring dinner, drinks and a showcase of top entertainment.
Following a period of strong popular success, the Latin Casino finally closed in the summer of 1978 as an indication of an end of era and a symbol of the evolution of Pop culture. Five months later, at the height of the disco craze, it reopened as an exotic disco club, Emerald City (inspired by the Wizard of Oz fabled city Emerald City). Success was short lived and was converted to a venue for progressive rock bands and finally closed in December 1982 and later demolished for commercial use.
The Latin was a famous showroom for showcasing entertainers like Cherry Hill Estates neighbors Bobby Darin, Al Martino, and Frankie Avalon (whose family had ownership interests in a popular pizzeria "King of Pizza" diagonally across Route 70). Stars that appeared on stage and frequented the area were Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Richard Pryor (who recorded his 1975 album ...Is It Something I Said? there), Frank Sinatra, Pat Cooper, The Temptations, The Supremes, Liza Minnelli, Tom Jones, Donna Summer, B.B. King, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Connie Francis, Don Rickles, Gloria Gaynor, Della Reese, Eddie Fisher, Trini Lopez, Allan Sherman, Doris Ruby,Fran Warren,Danny Thomas, and Engelbert Humperdinck.
...
Wikipedia