Name Dropping: Tales from My Barbary Coast Saloon

by Barnaby Conrad, Herb Caen (Foreword)

When it opened in 1953, Bennett Cerf called Barnaby Conrad’s saloon “the most attractive room in America.” San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen pronounced it “swank,” and wrote that because of it North Beach’s Broadway, “that garlicky old boulevard of longhaired men and shorthaired women will never be the same.”

In “Name Dropping,” renowned raconteur and “New York Times” best-selling author Barnaby Conrad tells the story of his San Francisco nightclub, the beloved El Matador, named and decorated in honor of his international bestseller Matador.

For ten years, El Matador glittered with stars like Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Duke Wellington, Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner, Lenny Bruce, Lucille Ball, Art Tatum, Eva Gabor, George Shearing, Bing Crosby, William f. Buckley Jr., Alex Haley, Robert Mitchum, Andre Previn, John Steinbeck, and Jack Kerouac.

This was where entertainers came to be entertained, leaving their priceless doodles and boozily enigmatic epigrams in the guest book—and a captivating trail of exploits and gossip all noted and recalled in this book.

Charming, personable, and witty, the author is both celebrity and fan as he shares vivid, hilarious, and surprising anecdotes, delightfully dropping famous names all the while. Conrad remembers everything, from Sinatra’s plan to star in a movie version of the author’s bullfighting story “Matador” (in order to lure Ava Gardner out of the arms of the real-life matador she’d left him for) to Truman Capote making friends with Conrad’s bulldog.

Grab a stool, pull up to the piano bar, lean in close and prepare to be transported to the Golden Gate city’s golden age.

“Gossipy memoirs on celebrities abound, but Conrad's book is cut above the rest.”
—William Gargan, Library Journal

Genres: Nonfiction

212 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Barnaby Conrad, Jr. was an American artist, author, nightclub proprietor, bullfighter and boxer.

NB: Father of writer Barnaby Conrad III.

Washington Post obituary:
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/20...

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oct 31, 1145am ~~ Reading this book is like eavesdropping on gossip coming from the next table in a restaurant, with a healthy dose of somewhat raunchy stories to satisfy the locker room crowd.

Conrad had a bar in San Francisco from 1955 to the mid-sixties. It seemed to be The Place To Go, and plenty of movie stars, writers, and musicians showed up on a regular basis.

This is an easy book to read, and most of the stories he tells are funny, even though after a while the locker room variety got tiresome.

There are some illustrations too. Conrad was an artist as well as an author and bullfighter, and he included some wonderful drawings of Marilyn Monroe, Bing Crosby, Artie Shaw, and others.

Exactly the kind of easy read I needed at this point, but of course it did help that I was familiar with at least the names of most people he wrote about. Not sure anyone who does not know who these people were would be as entertained as I was.

[Jeff Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barnaby Conrad graduated from Yale and became the American Vice Consul in Spain from 1943-46. He was a boxer, a bull fighter, a world traveler and even worked as a piano player in a hotel in Peru. He was an accomplished artist having studied at the University of Mexico. He’s the author of 30 books. “Name Dropping” is the story of 10 years, starting in 1953, when he was owner and manager of one of the best known bars in San Francisco El Matador. El Matador was a hangout for entertainers, movie stars, writers and celebrities of all types. Conrad tells stories of his own about each of the celebrities and recounts stories that these famous people told him. A few of the stories are very funny. If you’re under 60 you may not know many of these people. Artie Shaw, Phil Harris and Tallulah Bankhead may not be household names anymore. But there are also stories about Bing Crosby, Woody Allen, Lucille Ball and many others. I loved this little trip back in time but younger reads may not know these people well enough to find it interesting.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant day's read, nothing too earth-shaking, though the tone of "the San Francisco that was" gets wearying on occasion (insofar as it's a trope about 25 years younger than San Francisco itself). Also, more bullfighting lore than I personally needed, but well-written and brief enough not to disrupt one's enjoyment overmuch.

Ava Gardner & Talluhlah Bankhead sound like a real handful...and serve as good reminders that Lindsay Lohan didn't invent imbecilic behavior by a sex kitten - she just did it without the weighty encumbrance of talent.

[Duke Cullinan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty decent memoir primarily of the author's life owning/running a saloon in North Beach of San Francisco. The era was essentially the '60s, so these (and of the previous generation) are the names that are dropped. A good deal is also devoted to bullfighting and various famous stories and figures of the sport, as the author achieved his biggest fame penning the best selling novel Matador. This last feels only tangentially connected to the San Francisco bar scene of the day, as the name of the bar was El Matador and themed as you might imagine. Well-written and worth the leisurely read.

[Vincent Andersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by American artist, author, nightclub proprietor, bullfighter and boxer Barnaby Conrad, this is a jaunty anecdotal account of the years he ran the El Matador nightclub in San Francisco in the 1950’s and early 60’s.
He seemingly knew everyone in that Golden era of the city by the bay. Great fun and often insightful accounts of the famous performers and artists of his day.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damned amusing. One would have liked to spend an evening or three propping up Conrad's bar.

[Lorene Shyba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thrilling history -- unevenly written but Conrad had a life worth writing about.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating peek at a bygone era.

[Nila Novotny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can’t say this was time we’ll spent reading this. Parts were interesting but ….

[Fresno Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

great tales of old SF

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

New Name Drop

Every San Franciscan must read this book. This book will become a gift for family and friends. It's sure to evoke many memories and longing for days gone by.