Villa Capri
In 1939, the legendary restaurateur Pasquale “Patsy” D’Amore came to L.A. from New York and with his brother Franklyn, opened Casa D’Amore on Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood. There, they served the first pizza in Los Angeles to the likes of Frank Sinatra, Joe DiMaggio, Tommy Dorsey and Dick Powell.
In 1949, he opened Patsy D’Amore’s Pizza in the famous Farmers Market at Third and Fairfax. The place was such a success that a year later, he opened the Villa Capri on McCadden Street in Hollywood. In 1957, it relocated to a larger, plusher building a few blocks away at 6735 Yucca, one block north of Hollywood Boulevard. The new Villa Capri became a favorite of movie stars, including James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and Jimmy Durante. Durante was there so often that a private banquet room was named for him.
But the big star of the Villa Capri was Sinatra. That was, if you don’t count Patsy, who was much loved by the cliente. But with the Capitol Records building only a few blocks away, Frank practically used the restaurant as his clubhouse, dining there often and throwing lavish parties. When he recorded the song, “The Isle of Capri,” he snuck a mention of the Villa Capri into its lyrics. It is said that in 1960, when Sinatra threw his support behind John F. Kennedy for president, he held planning sessions there to figure out how to mobilize show business to help J.F.K.
D’Amore passed away in 1975, by which time the area around the Villa Capri had deteriorated. By then, for reasons unknown, Sinatra had shifted his main patronage to Matteo’s in Westwood. Joe Barbera (of Hanna-Barbera) used to lunch there almost every day, often taking Yours Truly. In 1982, shortly after it was used as a location for the movie Body Heat, the building was turned into a radio station and later an office complex before it was bulldozed in 2005. Still, the cuisine of the late Patsy D’Amore lives on. His family still owns and manages the Patsy’s Pizza stand in Farmers Market. A photo behind the counter proudly shows Patsy on the set of the movie Guys and Dolls, chatting with Sinatra.
9 Responses to Villa Capri
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Dean only went to the first Villa Capri on McCadden. He died in 1955 before the second Villa Capri opened.
Spent many years at the Villa Capri on Yucca…..THE WILLA CAPRI WAS HOLLYWOOD !!
Spent many good years, fabulous food and drinks, a wonderful atmosphere, a great place to meet friends at the “Villa”. THE VILLA CAPRI WAS HOLLYWOOD.
Dean Martin did not die in 1955, he died in 1995.
@ D. Altmann,
I believe P. Avello was referring to James Dean.
Was there a dress code at the Villa Capri? Photos of James Dean in the restaurant show him wearing a suit, white shirt and tie, when he was usually a jeans & T shirt type dresser.
My best friend’s father was a waiter at the Villa Capri for many years. He was a Brooklyn Italian and loved mingling with all of the paisans. He told us often about the times Joe Di Maggio and Marilyn Monroe came in during their courtship. He said of all the glamor girls that came to the restaurant, Monroe was the most beautiful, even with a minimum of makeup, she outshone everyone else. He also said that she and Joe were two of the best tippers and never condescending–unlike Jerry Lewis apparently.
I lived a couple doors west of the yucca street location and saw Frank arrive in his Thunderbird convert. Might have been the same car as in Went thereOUT Pal Joey. There was a demo 45 record in the front seat that I was tempted to swipe. Went there for dinner and saw one of the Everly brothers really drunk. Think he was with Venicia Stevenson. GOOD FOOD THAT NIGHT.NIGHTMARE
I was fortunate to dine at the Villa Capri, twice, both in 1979 and the area there was beginning to deteriorate. I only wish that the family could have opened another restaurant somewhere else in Hollywood or Downtown LA. Seems all the landmark places are gone now like the Brown Derby, Little Joes (in Chinatown), Don the Beachcomer, Tracton’s, all the places I frequented when courting my wife and after we got married.