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A blast from the past for me...Merlin McFly's Santa Monica CA.
When I first moved to LA in the 1980s, I worked as a bouncer at a bar called Merlin McFly's on Main Street Santa Monica. Wolfgang Puck's Chinois on Main was across the street and Golds Gym was a block away where Arnold hung out. Lots of celebs ate at Chinois and would sometimes drop by after dinner.
Merlins was a great Cheers type bar with locals, celebrities, writers, directors, wannabes and tourists making up the clientele. Just to name drop a few, Larry Hagman and Lee Majors were in often for lunch, John Larroquette, Charlie Sheen, Herb Jefferson came by once in a while. Steve Carver who directed straight to video action movies was a frequent patron bringing in people like Barbara Carrera, David Carradine etc but the place was a great hangout for people who just wanted a quiet drink.
The house band GUMBO was led by Sherwood Ball, who's dad was Ernie Ball (of Ball Guitar Strings). Sherwood's band was a collection of session musicians who loved to get out of the studio and play live. On any given night there were famous musicians lined up at the bar to sit in on a set.
The place also had table magicians, who would do magic at your table ...( since this is a watch site, ) they had no problem "stealing" the watches of the wrist of unsuspecting people entranced with a card trick or two. I could watch them doing that 10 times a night. (They did return them)
The windows of Merlins had large stained glass windows depiciing famous posters of the golden age of magic.
The second picture is my "bouncing" partner at the bar, Big Bob, holding the Stanley Cup.
Wow! Looks and sounds like quite the place!
At first, I thought it said Marty McFly’s from Back to the Future, lol
Walked past McFly's on our way . . .
. . . to The Oarhouse and the Irish pub catacorner. This would've been summer 1982, hanging out with three pals from college.
I think the bouncers intimidated us.
😉
That's funny. When I got to Merlins in '86, the Oarhouse was the wilder place. We used to send our drunks down there after we cup them off...lol
Could also have been called Mullet McFly's
judging from the period hairdo being worn by the patrons, but who am I to judge?
I hear ya....business in the front and party in the back........Me circa 1985.
We sure were pretty back then. lol
Even though I've never done bar/club security....
and I certainly don't intend to in today's environments, it's a really pleasant nostalgia trip to read about your own experiences, and see some associated images.... Thanks for sharing these tidbits here with us! Cheers, Filip
Now it's a Jamesons Pub and Sports Bar.
Part of the bar is still there but most of it has changed.
I'm an irregular regular at . . .
. . . La Vecchia a few doors north. My favorite Italian restaurant in LA.
Second favorite? Frumento's in Montebello. Their lasagna is to die for. Ask Timerider and IndiaWhiskyCharlie.
🍝
I've heard so many great things about La Vecchia Cucina....
yet I haven't been, now that you brought it up, I'm going ASAP!! 😁
I've been going there since '07 . . .
. . . at least three times a year. Chef/owner and wait staff are mostly long-term . . . not only are their culinary skills on the high side, they're consistent, too.
Try the branzino . . . tops!
Since you're trippin' down Memory Lane...
I remember those stained glass windows. Not that we could afford to bar hop in those days but we did end up at Rick's across the street occasionally. Here's a pic of me and my now wife when we moved to LA in '85. Being from back east (Pittsburgh and Frostburg, MD respectively) we thought living on Venice Beach would be a great idea. We came to study architecture at SCI-Arc and our apartment building, 33 Horizon was right next door to Frank Gehry's "Spiller House"! We were however made aware of the realities of beach life very quickly...of which the boot and warning sticker were tame episodes in comparison. Still, I wouldn't trade the LA experience for anything...
...ah man...the Corolla!
...ah man...the Corolla!
A funny thing about LA is that whomever you talk to, it was always better a decade ago.
When I got there in the 80s and loved it, people would say, man, it was so much better in the 70s etc etc.
Natives of the place used to say, ah, the 60s was the best .....lol
Natives of the place used to say, ah, the 60s was the best .....lol
LOL...I was on of the 'Californians" that ruined Portland.
I remember getting my license plate changed the day after we got there. Only stayed a year but ruined it none the less.