berg’s

In 1945, the hippest Hollywood nightlife destination was Billy Berg\’s, on the corner of Vine and DeLongpre. A tall, suave black man named Slim Gaillard, who favored pinstripe suits, held court there. Black entertainers were seldom booked west of Western Avenue in those days, and Gaillard\’s appearances at Berg\’s were, in a very real sense, where Hollywood\’s racial integration began.