Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's (1997)

Directors:

Shari Springer Berman
Robert Pulcini

Genre:

Documentary | History

Plot:

In 1995, Chasen's closed its doors after 60 years of serving chili to movie stars and visiting dignitaries...

Plot Keywords:

1970s | Actor | Hollywood | Celebrity | Landmark

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Raymond Bilbool	...	Himself
Tommy Gallagher	...	Himself (waiter)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Trisha Absher	...	Herself
Army Archerd	...	Himself
Maureen Arthur	...	Herself
David Brown	...	Himself
Byron Clark	...	Himself
Gary Coleman	...	Himself
Pierre Cossette	...	Himself
Charles W. Fries	...	Himself (as Chuck Fries)
David Frost	...	Himself
Neal Gabler	...	Himself
Patrick Gallagher	...	Himself / Waiter
Dale Gross	...	Himself
Paul Gross	...	Himself
Adam Heller	...	Himself
Ladislav Hodur	...	Himself (ex-waiter, author)
Jimmy Jones	...	Himself / Chasen's Porter
Sally Kellerman	...	Herself
Dan Klosterman	...	Himself
Martin Landau	...	Himself
Jack Lemmon	...	Himself
Michael Lerner	...	Himself
A.C. Lyles	...	Himself
Carol Lynley	...	Herself (as Carol Linley)
Anthony Macchio	...	Himself
Mark Maiden	...	Himself
Ed McMahon	...	Himself
Marvin Michaelson	...	Himself
Margaret O'Brien	...	Herself (also archive footage)
Dale Olson	...	Himself
Ava Ostern Fries	...	Herself (as Ava Fries)
Suzanne Pleshette	...	Herself
Don Rickles	...	Himself
Milton Rudin	...	Himself
Mrs. Milton Rudin	...	Herself
Val Schwab	...	Herself
Tom Snyder	...	Himself
Rod Steiger	...	Himself
Sharon Stone	...	Herself
Donna Summer	...	Herself (also archive footage)
Eleanor Vallee	...	Herself
Robert Wagner	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Norman Winter	...	Himself
Ralph Woodworth	...	Himself
Fay Wray	...	Herself
Jane Wyman	...	Herself (also archive footage)
Steve Allen	...	Himself (uncredited)
Desi Arnaz	...	Himself (with Lucy) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Lauren Bacall	...	Herself (with Bogie) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Lucille Ball	...	Herself (with Desi) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Billy Barty	...	Himself (with Chasen on This Is Your Life) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Angela Bassett	...	Herself (uncredited)
Humphrey Bogart	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Oleg Cassini	...	Himself (with Grace Kelly) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Dave Chasen	...	Himself (restauranteur, on This Is Your Life) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jackie Collins	...	Herself (uncredited)
Bing Crosby	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Billy Davis Jr.	...	Himself (with Marilyn McCoo) (uncredited)
Nancy Davis	...	Herself (uncredited) (also archive footage)
Bo Derek	...	Herself (uncredited)
Matt Dillon	...	Himself (uncredited)
Ralph Edwards	...	Himself (with Chasen on This Is Your Life) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Eddie Fisher	...	Himself (with Debbie Reynolds) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Joan Fontaine	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Betty Ford	...	Herself (with Gerald) (uncredited)
Gerald Ford	...	Himself (with Betty) (uncredited)
Michael J. Fox	...	Himself (uncredited)
John Gavin	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hugh Grant	...	Himself (with Liz Hurley) (uncredited)
Merv Griffin	...	Himself (uncredited)
Monty Hall	...	Himself (with Art Linkletter) (uncredited)
Charlton Heston	...	Himself (uncredited)
Bob Hope	...	Himself (uncredited)
Rock Hudson	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Elizabeth Hurley	...	Herself (uncredited)
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Himself (uncredited)
Van Johnson	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jennifer Jones	...	Herself (uncredited)
Quincy Jones	...	Himself (with Nastassja Kinski) (uncredited)
Grace Kelly	...	Herself (with Oleg Cassini) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Deborah Kerr	...	Herself (with Sinatra) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Nastassja Kinski	...	Herself (uncredited)
Sally Kirkland	...	Herself (uncredited)
Jessica Lange	...	Herself (uncredited)
Jay Leno	...	Himself (uncredited)
Jerry Lewis	...	Himself (with Dean Martin) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Art Linkletter	...	Himself (with Monty Hall) (uncredited)
Courtney Love	...	Herself (uncredited)
Dean Martin	...	Himself (with Jerry Lewis) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Johnny Mathis	...	Himself (uncredited)
Marilyn McCoo	...	Herself (with Billy Davis Jr.) (uncredited)
Robert Mitchum	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Colin Powell	...	Himself (uncredited)
Tyrone Power	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Kelly Preston	...	Herself (with John Travolta) (uncredited)
Marc Raducci	...	Himself (uncredited)
Ronald Reagan	...	Himself (with Nancy) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Debbie Reynolds	...	Herself (with Eddie Fisher) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Miranda Richardson	...	Herself (uncredited)
Dinah Shore	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Frank Sinatra	...	Himself (with Deborah Kerr) (archive footage) (uncredited)
James Stewart	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Quentin Tarantino	...	Himself (uncredited)
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Shirley Temple	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
John Travolta	...	Himself (uncredited)
Claire Trevor	...	Herself (with Jane Wyman) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Lana Turner	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Natalie Wood	...	Herself (with Robert Wagner) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Yanni	...	Himself (uncredited)

Directed by
Shari Springer Berman
Robert Pulcini

Produced by
Diandra Douglas	....	executive producer
Rob Grader	....	associate producer
James V. Kimsey	....	co-executive producer
Julia King	....	post-production producer
Alicia Sams	....	executive producer
Julia Strohm	....	producer

Original Music by
Mark Suozzo

Cinematography by
Sandra Chandler
Ken Kobland

Film Editing by
Robert Pulcini

Sound Department
John R.F. Halaby	....	sound
Nicholas Renbeck	....	dialogue editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Cindy Chastain	....	first assistant camera

Other crew
Dave Chasen	....	in tribute to
Maude Chasen	....	in tribute to
Michael Charles Hill	....	distribution and marketing coordinator

Thanks
Raymond Bilbool	....	very special thanks
Charles W. Fries	....	thanks (as Charles Fries)
Neal Gabler	....	thanks
Tommy Gallagher	....	dedicatee
Ava Ostern Fries	....	thanks (as Ava Fries)
Tina Sinatra	....	thanks
Ralph Woodworth	....	thanks

Production Companies

• A la Carte Entertainment
• Lobos Grande
• Off The Menu LLC

Distributors

• Northern Arts Entertainment

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

A la Carte Entertainment

Movie Connections:

References It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

From the Inside

Know that, as of yet, I have not seen this documentary. So why might I be arrogant enough to comment? My father, Jack Loveland, was General Manager of Chasen's 1949-1966. He passed in 1967. I grew up in the bowels of Chasen's; knowing Dave Chasen (and to a very limited extent, a few contacts with Maude Chasen) and brother Phil. I knew more about the wine cellars, the pantry (and pantry chef Joe), the freezers, meat preparation areas, and unseen corridors than just about anyone. As a wee boy I rolled butter into balls to placed into iced silver bowls, vacuumed the dining room floors, took inventory in the deep freeze. I knew where they kept the massive barrels of MSG and spent hundreds of hours doing child-drawings on the backs of unused menus (brought home by my dad). I heard stories of how Peter Lorre spent massive amounts of time in those wine cellars with my dad pouring his movie salaries down his throat in the form of rare bottles and vintages. Bob Hope gave me a toy wind-up tank when I was five or so. Every once in a while we would get a case of chili or a cake or a Per Al's cheesecake as gifts. Oh, yeah - I never ate in the dining room. Ever.

So just finding out about this DVD from Wikipedia and our noble host, IMDb, I look forward to viewing this video with a very prejudiced eye. From the comments, should hope for an accurate presentation of the hard-working staff. I note Tommy Gallagher is cited, and I remember him well. With any restaurant, presentation - by waiters and bartenders and maitre-d's - as well as the celebrity owners and customers is they typical fodder for the most amicable of filmmakers. Here, as with others, however, they had best beware. Some of us know far more than you do, and it had better be a fair and balanced presentation! Yea, I have a voice on the web (albeit minor) and a history of reviewing film. One so close to my heart and dear to my memory will indeed undergo the harshest of scrutiny, and this small piece will indeed lead to a review of microscopic detail. (One day, soon, to show up under IMDb's Miscellaneous links.) Should anyone care to send me a review copy, I'd be delighted. As is, I am grateful for a tribute of any sort to a Hollywood / Beverly Hills landmark, an important meeting place and watering hole for many celebrities; provided by a group of very fine people who worked hard for a living.