Inside the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire

by Ron Elliot

Twenty years of silence. No one talked about it. No one wanted to. The public was shocked by ghastly televised images of an uncontrollable inferno and of the endless views of twisted, charred remains of what had been billed as "The Showplace of the Nation," now reduced to smoldering rubble with 167 of its guests dead. How could this happen? From its notorious early years of illegal gambling, glamorous night life, and organized crime to its reborn reputation as one of the finest entertainment and dining establishments in the country, the Beverly Hills Supper Club was frequented by the biggest stars, governors, politicians, and athletes of its day and never failed to deliver a good time. But, On May 28, 1977, the final curtain fell. Now you can know what really happened. Follow long-time Beverly Hills dealer, waiter, and finally captain, Wayne Dammert, in his personal inside account, Inside the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire, of this renowned showplace and the horrifying events of one of our nations' worst disasters. Wayne Dammert and other survivors tell the inside story: true eyewitness accounts of the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire.

Genres: Nonfiction

282 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 9, 2013

Reviews

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a 3 1/2 stars for me. I come from an age of podcasts, so I’m used to jumping right into the story. It was just a lot for me personally to get to the fire. But once you get to the fire it is a super fast read. It is well written and you lose yourself in the story. I really appreciate the decision to share others stories as well! This is definitely a good read about a tragic story.

[Leslie Goddard · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unusual approach that works surprisingly well. This is both a memoir by a man who worked at the club as a waiter and captain, as well as a historical account of the fire. Does a nice job introducing what the club was and why it was so popular, as well as a vivid account of the experience of the fire. Eyewitness accounts from other survivors at the end are a valuable addition.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was in elementary school when the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire occurred. My father was one of the volunteers who worked in the temporary morgue. This book helped me understand how much the fire still affects people from Northern Kentucky. We always look for exits when we enter public buildings and will leave places that feel too crowded. Now I know how important those behaviors are.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to learn more about the fire and the tragedy, which occurred where I grew up. So in that sense, the book was good. I was not crazy about the style of it / type of narrative. But it still served the purpose I wanted. I learned.

[B.L. Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, compelling retelling of one of the worst nightclub fires in history.

[Laura Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book meanders a bit at times, it is still a compelling tale of thousands of circumstances and coincidences that dovetailed all at once and bringing about death, destruction, and sorrow in its wake. I am a Cincinnati girl by birth and I still have family there; the Cincinnati details in this book were endearing and upsetting all at once. Even with maps and detailed descriptions in this book, I have trouble picturing the layout of the doomed building, with all of its nooks and crannies and numerous rooms. I will also say that I firmly believe that this was an act of arson.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrifying look at a tragedy. It's obvious that the author is not a professional; none-the-less, this book is riveting in it's details and includes many facts that only a person who lived through the fire could relay. The BHSCF was the catalyst for many of today's current fire laws and codes so the lives lost were not totally in vain.

Well worth reading if you are interested in this event.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling and Comprehensive

This is a wonderfully written book. It does not devolve into a narrative mind-numbing legal wrangling following the fire, as so many of these accounts do. The author faithfully recalls his long history with the club, bringing meaning and nuance to a horrific story. He also includes statements and survival stories from other victims which are as compelling as his own story. The downside: this book was scanned in from a hard copy, but not proof-read, resulting in some ridiculous sentences in the midst of horrific descriptions. For instance, "burns" nearly always turns up as "bums;" easily translated while reading, but gives us sentences like, "she emerged from the oily smoke, her face and body covered with bums." It's an odd feeling to unintentionally laugh at that while reading about such a tragedy. Still worth the read.