CEREMONY RECALLS THE RENDEZVOUS

The strains of Glenn Miller’s “Tuxedo Junction” wafting from a loudspeaker set an appropriately nostalgic tone as more than 125 people gathered on the ocean front sidewalk in Newport Beach on Tuesday awaiting the answer to the question, “What ever happened to the Rendezvous Ballroom?”

The answer came with the unveiling of a bronze commemorative plaque set in concrete just a few yards from the former site of the Rendezvous, the dance hall where virtually every major big band performed during the 1930s and ‘40s.

The Rendezvous not only was host to the bands of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Guy Lombardo and dozens of others, but also helped make Newport Beach a nationally known entity through weekly Big Band radio broadcasts over the Mutual Broadcasting network. For several years during the ‘40s, Stan Kenton’s band was the resident orchestra at the Rendezvous.

The plaque was unveiled in an hourlong ceremony and was the culmination of an effort initiated in 1982 by former Big Band pianist and singer Ronnie Kemper to establish a visible tribute to the Rendezvous, which was built in 1928 for $200,000.

The idea was endorsed and undertaken as a joint project by the Newport Beach Historical Society, the Orange County Historical Commission and the City of Newport Beach.

The plaque is in the corner of a small parking lot planter, across a concrete walkway from the three-story condominiums that sit where the Rendezvous formerly stood on Newport Boulevard between Palm and Washington streets. It reads, in part: “For 39 years, the sounds of dance music echoed from this block-long ballroom, which was destroyed by fire in 1966. The music and dancing have ended, but the memories linger on.”

During the unveiling ceremony, emcee J. Leslie Steffensen, a member of the Newport Beach Historical Society, elicited smiles from the mostly over-50 audience as he reminisced about the days “when dancing was a social grace, not an athletic experience.”

Even after big bands faded out in the 1950s, the Rendezvous continued presenting performers including Nat (King) Cole and the Four Freshmen, as well as local rock acts such as surf-rock guitarist Dick Dale & the Del-Tones and the Righteous Brothers.

Besides Ronnie Kemper, several veteran musicians were in attendance, including bandleader Ansel Hill, whose group was one of the house bands at the Rendezvous, and Harry Babbitt, the former vocalist with Kay Kyser, who led the crowd in an impromptu sing-along session of ‘40s novelty tunes “Mairzy Doats” and “Three Little Fishes.”

In addition, representatives of U.S. congressman Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach) and state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) were present, as well as Newport Beach Mayor Phil Maurer, who said he frequented the Rendezvous in the 1930s. “I was known as Dancing Phil in those days,” Maurer joked. Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, who was scheduled to unveil the plaque, did not attend.

At the conclusion of the formal ceremony, which took place under chilly, foggy skies, Steffensen invited the crowd to adjourn for further reminiscing at the nearby Balboa Inn where, he said, “You’re entitled to a drink--if you pay for it yourself.”