The Cafe Trocadero was a Hollywood hot spot during Hollywood’s golden era. The French themed restaurant and night club quite possibly didn’t become popular with the acting colony legitimately; it was owned by William Wilkerson, who also owned The Hollywood Reporter. It was well-known around Hollywood that if one wanted to be featured in Wilkerson’s industry paper, a dinner at the Trocadero would be a good way to do it.
At this Hollywood hot spot, formal dress was a must. During its heyday, the high class club located on the Sunset Strip was one of the most famous nightclubs in the world. A who’s who of Hollywood royalty regularly attended the club, including Joan Crawford, Lucille Ball, Cary Grant, Fred Astaire and many others.
Wilkerson sold the business in 1938 and it went into quick decline. With the exception of hosting the premiere party for Gone With the Wind, the club would never regain the success of its glory days. Wilkerson’s ties to crime syndicates- he was an original investor in Las Vegas’ Flamingo Hotel with Bugsy Siegel- led many to believe that the club had been propped up by laundered money under his ownership. Most likely it was the combination of Hollywood’s fickleness and the elimination of the club’s ties with The Hollywood Reporter that did the club in. Wilkerson’s successful launch of Ciro’s years later would suggest that his ownership of THR was the biggest factor in Club Trocadero’s success.
