Before there was a Comedy Store, there was Ciro’s

Classic Locations

The Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard has been serving up laughs since 1972. But before that, it was home to Ciro’s — one of the most glamorous nightclubs of the golden age of Hollywood. Entrepreneur William Wilkerson opened the club in January 1940 and it quickly became the place to be seen. Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart and Lana Turner were among those who frequented Ciro’s. Even a young John F. Kennedy visited the boîte after World War II. Such greats as Cab Calloway, Sammy Davis Jr., Judy Garland, Peggy Lee and Mae West performed there. During the 1960s, it was transformed into a rock club.