Carl Ferraro, 91; Owner of Dresden Restaurant

Carl Ferraro, who for more than 50 years owned the Dresden Restaurant in Los Feliz, a neighborhood fixture that has been used as a location for a number of popular Hollywood films, has died. He was 91.

Ferraro died Jan. 20 at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. The cause was congestive heart failure, according to his son, James.

Ferraro bought the Dresden in 1954 and kept the name, even though it referred to the china dolls that were part of the previous owner’s decor.

He remodeled it in 1963, adding white Leatherette booths, Venetian chandeliers and a wood-beam ceiling. In recent years the restaurant has earned a reputation as an example of a vintage interior in mint condition.

It has been used in the films “What Women Want” (2000), with Mel Gibson, and “The Two Jakes” (1990), with Jack Nicholson. Nothing, however, had more of an impact on Ferraro’s business than “Swingers” (1996). In it, two aspiring actors, played by Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn, often meet at the Dresden to commiserate over cocktails.

The restaurant’s actual name was used in the film, and Ferraro had a cameo role. The Dresden jazz duo, Marty and Elayne Roberts, who have performed in its piano bar for more than 20 years, also appeared in the film.

“Our name got out there, and the restaurant got so busy we had lines outside the door,” James Ferraro told The Times this week. “People from Europe and Australia came in. They’d heard about us there.”

Marty Roberts recalled nights in the piano bar when actors Kevin Spacey, Julia Roberts and Kiefer Sutherland were in the crowd.

Ferraro, who retired two years ago, set the tone. “He was at ease with himself and in any company,” Douglas Ferraro wrote for his father’s eulogy.

The youngest of four children, Carl Ferraro was born in Ashland, Wis. He lived with his grandparents in Michigan after his parents died during a flu epidemic when he was 4.

He moved to Cleveland in the late 1930s and opened his first tavern, the Heights. He married Sara Fioritto, and the couple moved to Los Angeles in 1951. Three years later he bought the Dresden.

Ferraro dressed for work in a tailored suit, greeted customers at the door and knew many of them by name. More recently he went casual in a red golf shirt and white jacket, Douglas Ferraro recalled.

“Carl was an old-school restaurateur,” said Heidi Siegmund Cuda, who writes the “Buzz Clubs” column for The Times.

“I’d go to hear Marty and Elayne in the piano bar, but Carl would come along and remind us there’s a restaurant.”

Ferraro is survived by his wife; sons James, Douglas and Carl; and one grandson, Mark.

Contributions in his name can be made to Hope-Net, 760 S. Westmoreland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90005. Douglas Ferraro is executive director of Hope-Net, which supplies food, shelter and other assistance to the homeless.