Monte Proser's Beachcomber, New York and Other Locations

The "Deacon's Sin" must have been their version of the "Missionary's Downfall" :)

Saw this photo from the Beachcomber in Miami on ebay. Great looking interior.

DC

Another wonderful thread I was unaware of until today!

Here is an ad (seen on ebay) from the New York Worlds Fair for Monte Proser's original rip off of the Zombie drink. He had not started using the "Beachcomber" name yet.

DC

On 2011-06-15 19:16, Dustycajun wrote:

Close up of the table and the lamps, surprised one of these has never surfaced on TC.

And sure enough, one finally surfaced! I posted this in the Tiki Table Lamp thread but thought it deserved to be part of this thread as well... for obvious reasons.

The lamp shade is super cool and amazed that it survived intact. Interesting that it is signed all over including by Marty Proser himself. Curious if this was a thing to do or just part of a crazy evening. Reading some of the odd writing, this lamp feels like it was part of a bachelor party that Marty let go home with the soon to be married man.

Tatoo, that is one awesome lamp, congratulations!

Here is an interesting 1949 souvenir from a show at the Beachcomber in Miami that featured Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis AND Frances Langford! What a show.

By then Ned Schyuler had taken over from Monte Proser.

DC

Spotted a couple of nice menu covers from the Ruby Foo's oriental-style Beachcomber in Providence.

Also found an article confirming that Don the Beachcomber sued Monte and won for stealing the Beachcomber name and the drinks.

DC

I can add some info on the Boston location - a description from September 23, 1940 : "The Beachcomber, Boylston St., is one of the most startling replicas of a thatched roof hut on a Hawaiian beach and presents a floor show, dancing, entertainment by native Hawaiians, and food prepared by native chefs."

Interestingly, Monte Proser's name was listed above the name of the restaurant up till August 1941, when his name no longer appears, and the name is just listed at the Beachcomber. Tommy Maren is listed as the owner in December 1941.

In April, 1942, it was noted - "The Beachcomber has been enlarged. The kitchen was dropped to a lower floor and additonal tables have been set up near the bandstand to accommodate 100 more patrons."

After the deadly fire at the Cocoanut Grove Restaurant in 1942, it seems that many of the bars in Boston changed decors and much of the "tiki" style was removed including the artificial palm trees, the rattan walls and hanging decorations - in December, 1942 it was noted that panels in oil had been installed at the Beachcomber replacing the rattan walls - "the panels by Miron in the Beachcomber are exceptional." I have no idea if these were carved panels of a tiki theme or what. Maybe someone can shed a light on this.

The bar went through some changes in the menu in early 1943, and then vanishes from the radar then so I suspect it might have closed that year or shortly after.

Some ads from the Beachcomber, the Home of the Zombie, from the Boston Globe -

1941-04-30

1941-06-11

1941-08-06

1941-09-25 - A savage dance spectacle -

1941-10-23

1941-10-29

1941-12-28 - Some areas of the bar : the Zombie Room and the Tropical Garden

1942-10-28

[ Edited by: TikiTeddie 2017-03-26 11:13 ]

[ Edited by: TikiTeddie 2017-03-26 13:18 ]

The Zombie Cafe at the 1939 World's Fair.

That is just gorgeous.

Great Find Lori! And here is Mary enjoying her Zombie at the fair!!

DC

Another menu entry from the Boston location with an Ode to Rum that steals directly from Don the Beachcomber. The nerve of that Proser!

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2020-01-16 07:56 ]

On 2017-02-27 09:31, Dustycajun wrote:

Also found an article confirming that Don the Beachcomber sued Monte and won for stealing the Beachcomber name and the drinks.

Hey -- out of curiosity, where did you find this article, and when was it?

Arriano,

Found during research of newspaper archives. The article states that the Chicago Don the Beachcomber restaurant opened a yer earlier so that puts the date in 1941.

Here is a comparison of the Don the Beachcomber logo and the rip-off from the Beachcomber menu.

DC

Hello! Does anyone know the order that the Monte Proser Beachcombers opened? I know New York was first - was Miami second? What about the four New England places?