Mister Kelly's
Mister Kelly’s was an iconic nightclub on Rush Street in Chicago. For thirty years, before it closed on August 25, 1975, it was a springboard to fame for countless entertainers. As reported in the Chicago Tribune, “It was a supernova in the local and national nightlife firmament.” Mr. Kelly’s was owned and operated by the late brothers, Oscar and George Marinthal, whose Chicago empire included the London House (Chicago), an upscale jazz supper club and the theatrically oriented Happy Medium.
Mister Kelly’s opened on November 24, 1953 on Rush Street in Chicago as a restaurant featuring steaks and Green Goddess salad as a house special. In 1954, entertainment was added with two singer pianists, Buddy Charles and Audrey Morris as the first entertainers. The nightclub was destroyed on December 8, 1955 when a fire started in grease chute and spread through a ventilator into the nightclub.2 Mister Kelly’s was rebuilt and reopened on August 29, 1956 with a new policy of standup singers. Previously the nightclub specialized in singers who played their own accompaniment. Recording star Jeri Southern was one of the first standup singers to appear in the nightclub. The nightclub also had a completely new décor but retained an original Mister Kelly’s feature, stairways which went nowhere for casual enthusiasts who simply wanted to sit and watch the show.2 Mr. Kelly’s became a springboard to fame for countless entertainers.
In November, 1956, the Marienthal Brothers’ nightclubs made their debut on Channel 5 (NBC) in Chicago. The new color television show was entitled “Here’s Music – At London House and Mister Kelly’s.” The set duplicated the décor and many of the appointments of Mister Kelly’s as an authentic supper club setting for the show. Entertainers appearing at Mr. Kelly’s begin to record albums at the nightclub. By 1958, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy King, Della Reese, Buddy Greco, Anita O’Day, Sarah Vaughn and comedian Mort Sahl had recorded there.
In 1959, Mr. Kelly’s instituted a new entertainment policy which combined a musical act and a comedy act. This combination remained the nightclub policy for the next sixteen years. New talent and established entertainers were featured. For example, in April, 1960 comedian Bob Newhart, and songstress, Janice Halpern, were featured. In 1963, Oscar Marienthal discovered a young songstress at a small New York nightclub and booked her several months before she was to appear. Oscar Marienthal died suddenly at the age of 50 before the new talent, twenty year old Barbara Streisand made her singing debut at Mr. Kelly’s on June 11, 1963.
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