Dan Tana, who opened the emblematic Hangout of the celebrity of West Hollywood, the restaurant of Dan Tana in 1964 and led it until the sale in 2009, died. He was 90 years old.
The restaurant has published a statement, saying: “The Grand Dan Tana died. We all know that he has created a very magical place. Our little beloved yellow house will forever feel its presence.
“Dan started working for La Scala and the Villa Capri in the 1950s. It worked for these classic restaurants that encouraged him to open his own! And he did it. He was still proud of where he came from and from what he accomplished, a former football star from Yugoslavia.
“Dan had wonderful stories about Marilyn Monroe, Joe Dimaggio, James Dean, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis. In fact, the character of Robert Urich was appointed after Dan Tana in the classic television show, “Vega $”.
“Today, Dan Tana belongs to his dear friend Sonja Perence who has kept him exactly the same since 1964.
“This man is a legend, and as you know, a legend never dies.”
Born Dobrivoje Tanasijević near Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Tana played football in adolescence and became a professional football player in Canada before deciding to move to Hollywood. He started taking actor lessons with Jeff Corey, whose students understood Natalie Wood, Kim Novak and Angie Dickinson.
After having American her name, Tana made her screen debut in “The Enemy below” of 1957. He continued to appear in series such as “The Untouchables”, “Rin Tin Tin” and “Peter Gunn”.
While looking for an actor work, he started washing the dishes at the Villa Capri de Patsy d’Amore in Hollywood, then became a master of Scala to Beverly Hills.
He launched Dan Tana in 1964 when he took over the Dominick Stand Hamburger, hosted in a 1929 bungalow on Boulevard Santa Monica, changed the menu in the Italian kitchen in New York and decided to keep it open later than most restaurants at the time. Although Dan Tana did not immediately take off as a meeting place for celebrities, a brilliant review of Times helped draw attention to the restaurant, and in a few years, he has become a magnet for actors and studio leaders who appreciate his private life.
A favorite of Variety The columnist Army Arche, the restaurant attracted faithful guests, notably Johnny Carson, John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Jack Nicholson and Harry Dean Stanton, as well as many musicians who played Troubadour nearby.
The calf rib for Alla George Clooney was named after the frequent boss, and Dabney Coleman ate the New York steak bearing his name several times a week for many decades, often dining with Sean Penn or Al Pacino.
Tana continued to be involved in football, becoming director of the Los Angeles Toros in the 60s, president of the English team Brentford and football clubs in Belgrade.
Tana sold the restaurant in Sonja Pérencevic in 2009 and withdrew to Belgrade.
