1977 Beverly Hills S C Fire

This incident was included because of the many
techniques that were changed because of what was

learned from the tragedy.
Brief History Of
May 28, 1977— Beverly Hills Supper Club,
Southgate, KY, —Tragedy
May 28, 1977
Brief History
Courtesy http://allensedge.com/BHdoc.pdf
Excerpted from Beverly Hills Country Club, by Earl W. Clark and Allen J. Singer. ISBN: 0738566195
Available from the publisher online at www.arcadiapublishing.com or by calling 888-313-2665
Beverly Hills Country Club Introduction

Ten minutes south of Cincinnati, the most luxurious showplace in the Midwest sat atop a grassy hill off U.S.
Route 27 in Southgate, Kentucky. Every night of the week in the 1950s, sellout crowds flocked to Beverly
Hills Country Club to watch the world’s greatest entertainers perform. No secret to café society, this nightclub
attracted local clientele and high rollers flying in from New York and Chicago.
From the 1930s to the early 1960s, Northern Kentucky was replete with nightclubs and gambling. Local busi-
nessman Pete Schmidt opened the Beverly Hills Club in Southgate in 1935 with a casino and live entertain-
ment. An organized gaming group, the Cleveland Syndicate, wanted it. When Schmidt refused to sell, the club
burned down. Arson was suspected but never proven. After he rebuilt it, Beverly Hills Country Club reopened
in 1937, and Schmidt finally sold out.
The Cleveland Four (Moe Dalitz, Morris Kleinman, Louis Rothkopf, and Sam Tucker) ran Beverly Hills like
the Desert Inn they operated in Las Vegas. They put in a rotating chorus line, and their connections brought in
headliners from the major entertainment circuits. With affordable dinners, the draw of big stars, and the lure of
the casino, customers came pouring in. After 20 successful years, crackdowns and grand jury indictments
closed all gambling in 1961.
Beverly Hills stayed open without gambling, and business consequently plummeted. New budget cutbacks
cancelled all shows and shrank the orchestra by half. The employees lost their jobs. The show people moved
on.
On New Year’s Eve 1961, Beverly Hills closed. Eight years later, local businessman Dick Schilling bought it
and renovated it. Before it could open, it was completely gutted by fire. Schilling rebuilt it and opened it in
1971, without a casino.
The new Beverly Hills Supper Club was grand and plush. As before, there was dinner and a show, but the club
also catered to proms, weddings, birthday parties, graduations, and conventions. Then, on May 28, 1977, Bev-
erly Hills came to a tragic end when the club caught fire. A capacity crowd had come to see headliner John Da-
vidson. One hundred, sixty-five patrons, musicians, and employees lost their lives in one of the nation’s worst
nightclub disasters. The site stands vacant now except for a historical marker commemorating the deadly
event.
Modern generations equate Beverly Hills with tragedy, and understandably so. However, its legacy should be
that of happiness. Decades before the fire, it was an unforgettable place to visit, and equal to the best clubs in
Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Two entertainment-packed shows went on every night at Beverly Hills, three on Saturdays, seven days a week.
A four-course dinner costing $2.95 was served with high style in the Trianon Room before and after the show.
At 8:00 p.m., the lights dimmed and the curtains swept open.
The audience applauded as a dazzling production number filled the stage, opening the show with a line of
dancers high-kicking to music provided by the Gardner Benedict Orchestra. Afterwards, the first act, possibly
a juggler or tap dancer, took the stage. The second act could be a comedian or a singer. A ballet number fol-
lowed. The featured headliner then came on for 45 minutes. A “flag waver” finale closed the show.
After giving a standing ovation, audience members then played bingo or followed the headliner into the casino.
While the orchestra took a break, some of the audience danced on stage to the music of the Jimmy Wilbur
Trio. The second show started at 11:30 p.m., and if it was Saturday, the third show began at 1:00 a.m. Two
weeks later, a different headliner would appear, along with an entirely new show.
May 28, 1977
Brief History
Courtesy http://allensedge.com/BHdoc.pdf
Thanks to gambling, Beverly Hills could afford to bring in high-class entertainment like movie stars, opera
singers, Broadway actors, and the day’s top recording artists. Also crossing the stage were lesser known acts:
comedians, jugglers, vocal quartets, dance teams, animal acts, balancing acts, and even roller skaters. Some big
names were not booked. Though Frank Sinatra did not perform at Beverly Hills, he did visit. After he caught a
show, Sinatra reportedly spent $30,000 at the gaming tables.
Beverly Hills catered to the over-30 crowd; the musical acts were chosen based on what they preferred. Young
adult record store patrons bought sophisticated music—full of romance and lush orchestrations recorded by the
day’s top crooners. These were the sorts of performers who tended to headline at Beverly Hills. This music
held little appeal to the early-1950s teenage bobby-soxers, who coincidentally were too young to gamble in
Beverly’s casino. But rock-and-roll numbers were hitting the charts in 1955. By 1958, most record buyers were
teenagers. The popular music scene was changing.
Despite this, Beverly Hills never featured any rock and roll. Cleveland booking agents Frank and Rocky
Sennes handled the talent and did not consider the tastes of a potential young crowd.
Those who patronized Beverly Hills found it an unforgettable place to visit. The employees enjoyed it im-
mensely. One waiter reminisced, “It was a fabulous place to work.”
In 1951, saxophonist and author Earl W. Clark joined the Gardner Benedict Orchestra. Starstruck by all the
talent, he began taking his Argus C3 35-millimeter camera to work. For the next decade he photographed eve-
ryone from the top stars down to the novelty acts. His subjects frequently posed in the backstage dressing
rooms. Other times, surprise candid shots were taken while the entertainers chatted or relaxed, often while
holding a cigarette.
Clark took the pictures during intermissions, sometimes moments before the start of the show. Many were tak-
en beside one of the three couches backstage underneath the walls of photographs, like the headshots that
graced the walls in Hollywood’s Ciro’s. Clark even snapped a few from the orchestra during a performance
when not busy reading the score.
Thirteen years worth of wonder were captured during those fabulous nights. The images were made into slides
so Clark could project them onto a screen. Over the coming decades, some slides deteriorated, resulting in a
reddish hue. Frequent handling caused scratches and spotting in some. Flaws or no flaws, the images are im-
bued with a distinct 1950s flavor and reveal a unique view of life behind the stage at one of the nation’s lead-
ing showplaces.
Clark played with many fine orchestra musicians at Beverly Hills over the years and has never forgotten them.
Within these pages are: Frank Bowsher, sax; Carl Grasham, drums; Wally Hahn, trumpet/violin; Andy Jacob,
violin; Jim Langenbrunner, tenor sax; Harold Marco, drums; Charlie Medert, trumpet; Bill Mavity, trumpet; Al
Miller, tenor sax; Fritz Mueller, trumpet; Bill Rank, trombone; Bud Ruskin, bass; Glenn “Hap” Seaman, tenor/
baritone sax; Wilbur “Shooky” Shook, drums; George Thomas, sax; Ted Tillman, drums; Marty Weitzel, sax;
Dick Westrich, trumpet; Bob Wheeler, alto sax; Pierson DeJager, trumpet; and the Jimmy Wilbur Trio, includ-
ing Dick Garrett, Bill Kleine, and Frank Gorman.
Thanks to the Internet, modern readers can experience the entertainers presented in these pages. Most acts in
this book can be seen or heard on YouTube. Readers are urged to visit the Web site and experience entertain-
ment that was, for many years, a mainstay of the nightclub scene and has been largely overlooked by recent
generations.
The era has ended, but it has left behind a great legacy. In Clark’s own words, he reflects, “It was a wonderful
time and a long run for us, here in Northern Kentucky. A time which will never return. Gambling is now legal
in some places, but not bearing the glamour of the Beverly surroundings. The clientele has changed from the
once well-dressed and well-groomed. The songs have ended, too, but the memories linger on.” And so they
shall.
Location
Courtesy Google:
Before
Courtesy http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kycampbe/postcardbeverlyclub.htm
Courtesy http://www.hs.facebook.com/group.php?gid=166509976750#!/photo.php?
fbid=100772926607846&set=o.166509976750
1949
Before
Courtesy http://www.nkyviews.com/
campbell/beverly_hills_menu.htm
During
Courtesy http://www.hs.facebook.com/group.php?gid=166509976750&v=photos#!/photo.php?
fbid=102357413116064&set=o.166509976750
Courtesy http://www.iklimnet.com/hotelfires/case15.html http://www.nkyviews.com/campbell/

southgate_beverly2.htm
Taken about 9:15 o the night of the fire, the light area is
lights, not the fire. Firefighters are already on the scene.
This is about 10:30, and the fire has spread throughout the
building. One hour later, the building was on the verge of Taken about 9:35. Fire has burned thru the roof, ventilating
collapse, and the firemen were ordered out of the building. the fire, and producing less smoke.
After
Courtesy http://www.iklimnet.com/hotelfires/case15_2.html
http://www.nkyviews.com/campbell/southgate_beverly2.htm
Courtesy http://www.courier-journal.com/assets/B274782527.PDF
Courtesy http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.michaelbrugh.com/images/bhfire-
big.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.michaelbrugh.com/
bevhillslarge.html&usg=__15Rh60kcTOuJQzlvKuyCzKI_gVc=&h=968&w=1593&sz=527&hl=en&start
=0&zoom=1&tbnid=hT5oPdj-PtYKKM:&tbnh=132&tbnw=217&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbeverly%
2Bhills%2Bsupper%2Bclub%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26rlz%
3D1T4GGLL_enUS390US390%26biw%3D1916%26bih%3D821%26tbs%
3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=718&ei=HKL6TL32I4n4swPZ9aH3DQ&oei=HKL6TL32I4n4sw
PZ9aH3DQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=32&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0&tx=84&ty=66
May 30, 1977, The Courier-Journal
The roof collapsed
on the Beverly Hills
Supper Club in
Saturday night's
fire, trapping many
inside. Most vic-
tims were in the
Cabaret Room,
bottom left.
Cabaret Room
Kentucky State Police stand watch over the remains of the Beverly Hills Supper Club
while rescue workers rest in back of the club’s burned out shell.
Little was left standing in

the wake of the fire that
destroyed the Beverly Hills
Supper Club. At right,
workers begin cleaning up
the fire-fighting equip-
ment. Above, firemen re-
move one of the victims.
Photos—Keith Williams
Kentucky Gov. Julian Carroll could only sit and wait while firemen
removed the bodies of victims of the nightclub blaze.
2
September 19 & 20, 1977, Arizona Daily Star:
November 27, 1977, Arizona Daily Star:
May 28, 1997, The Cincinnati Enquirer
May 24, 2007, http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-05-24-supper-club-fire_N.htm#
May 24, 2007, http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-05-24-supper-club-fire_N.htm#
May 27, 2007, The Courier-Journal—
Courtesy-http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?
Bodies lined up in the armory in Ft. Thomas that served as a

Firefighters at the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire. (Archive makeshift morgue after the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire .
photos from The Cincinnati Enquirer)
Firefighters pulled a body from the rubble of the Beverly Rescue teams brought out the last of the bodies from the Bev-
Hills Supper Club fire. erly Hills Supper Club fire before ending for the night.
Tom Laver of the Southgate Volunteer Fire Department

Firefighters removed bodies after the Beverly Hills Supper
rested after searching through the rubble of the Beverly
Club fire.
Hills Supper Club fire.
Courtesy-http://www.courier-journal.com/appspbcs.dllgalleryAvis=B2&Dato=20070526&
Kategori=NEW S01&Lopenr=705260814&Ref=PH
June 1, 1977: Southgate assistant fire

chief John Payne inspected the aftermath
An aerial view of the fire scene.
Survivors gathered outside the supper club.
June 2, 1977: Workers sifted through the rubble after the fire.
June 1, 1977: John Davidson attended the funeral of his

music director Douglas Geogre Herro who died in the fire.
Avis=B2&Dato=20070526&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=705260814&Ref=PH
Scenes from the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, 1977

(Courier-Journal archives)
Avis=B2&Dato=20070526&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=705260814&Ref=PH
Scenes from the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, 1977 (Courier-Journal archives)
Courtesy-http://www.firefighternation.com/profiles/blogs/recalling-one-of-americas
October 27, 2007, Ancestry.com
Today
Courtesy http://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx?f=1&guid=40677687-aa09-4935-97e6-
11e26b3680ca
Today
Courtesy Google:
Courtesy, The Courier-Journal, May 27, 2007:
Former Beverly Hills Supper Club employees Wayne Dammert, left, and David Brock survived the May 28, 1977, fire.
Atop the hill where the club sat in Southgate, Ky., Dammert has erected a 25-foot cross. "This is where the people
died," he said. (By David R. Lutman, Special to The Courier-Journal)
2007
Courtesy http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?
Avis=AB&Dato=20070524&Kategori=NEWS0103&Lopenr=705240802&Ref=PH
Rick Dammert throws up a line to help secure the 25-foot cross that he and others put up at the site of the
Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Ky., on April 21, 2007. His father, Wayne, was working as a
manager at the club on May 28, 1977. A fire that night killed 165 people.
2007
Rick Dammert throws up a line to help secure the 25-foot cross that he and others put up at the site of the
Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Ky., on April 21, 2007. His father, Wayne, was working as a
manager at the club on May 28, 1977. A fire that night killed 165 people.
2011
Firefighters removing bodies after the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire,
May 1977.
1971 file photo of The Viennese Room at the

Beverly Hills Supper Club
Aerial view of the after-

math of the Beverly Hills
Supper Club fire - May
1977.
2011
Firefighters remove a body from the rubble of the Beverly Rescue teams bringing out the last of the bodies from the
Hills Supper Club fire. Beverly Hills Supper Club fire - May, 1977
Tom Laver of the Southgate Volunteer Fire Department

rests after searching through the rubble of the the Beverly
Hills Supper Club fire - May 1977
Workers sifting through rubble after the Beverly Hills Sup-

per Club fire - May, 1977. Firefighters at the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire - May
1977
2011
Bodies lined up in the armory in Fort Thomas that

served as a makeshift morgue after the Beverly Hills
Supper Club fire - May, 1977.
Kentucky Gov. Julian Carroll at the scene of the Beverly

Hills Supper Club fire - May 1977
Father Ed Murray, left, and an unidentified man, right, es-

corting James Dwyer of Lexington from the temporary
morgue in the Fort Thomas armory. Dwyer's mother and
two sisters were killed in the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire
- May, 1977
Southgate assistant fire chief John Payne inspecting the af-

termath of the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire - June 1, 1977
2011
One of the many funerals of Beverly Hills Supper Club

victims - May, 1977
An FBI special fingerprint team from Washington checking

fingerprints to identify bodies from the Beverly Hills Supper
Club fire - May, 1977.
John Davidson attends the funeral of his music director

Douglas G. Herro, who was killed at the Beverly Hills Sup-
per Club fire - June, 1977.
Press conference with Campbell County Coroner Dr. Fred

Stine outside the Ft. Thomas Armory after the Beverly Hills
Supper Club fire, May, 1977
2011
An aerial view of the Beverly Hills Supper Club reveals unclaimed cars and the gutted building - May,
1977.
The interior of the Beverly Hills Supper Club after the fire.
The 1977 sale of items salvaged from the Beverly Hills Sup-
per Club after the fire.
Today
Courtesy http://www.waymarking.com/gallery/default.aspx?f=1&guid=a9b80ccd-d487-443b-bd64-
27a3c06d3282&gid=2
Anderson Township Firefighter’s Memorial
At one time there was a small grotto here. This is

what remains.
Today
Courtesy http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20110528/NEWS0103/105290334/Busboy-Beverly-Hills-
fire-arson?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CKentucky%20Legislature
Today
Courtesy http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20110528/NEWS0103/105290334/Busboy-Beverly-Hills-
fire-arson?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CKentucky%20Legislature
2011
July 13, 2011, Courtesy WLWT.com:
NFPA Fire Investigations
Courtesy—Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire, Southgate, KY, May 28, 1977:
Appendix C Richard Bright’s Analysis
Courtesy—Appendix C Richard Bright’s Analysis, September 1, 1977:
June 2, 2012, The Courier-Journal:
June 2, 2012, The Courier-Journal:
Greater Tucson Fire Foundation
Thanks you for taking an interest in
Tucson Fire Department history —
This is one of many sections that contain information, documents, letters, newspaper articles,
pictures, etc. They have been collected and arranged in chronological order or by a subject.
These items were collected, organized and entered into a computerized database by Dave Rid-
ings Assistant Chief Tucson Fire Department, Al Ring friend of the department, Greater Tucson
Fire Foundation and with the help of many friends and fellow firefighters.
All graphics have been improved to make the resolution as good as possible, but the reader
should remember that many came from copies of old newspaper articles. This also applies to
other items such as documents, letters, etc.
Credit to the source of the documents, photos, etc. is provided whenever it was available. We
realize that many items are not identified and regret that we weren’t able to provide this infor-
mation. As far as the newspaper articles that are not identified, 99% of them would have to be
from one of three possible sources. The Arizona Daily Star, The Tucson Citizen and the Tucson
Daily Citizen, for which we want to give a special thanks.
Please use this information as a reference tool only. If the reader uses any of the information for
any purpose other than a reference tool, they should get permission from the source.
Should the reader have additional information on the above subject we would appreciate you
sharing it with us. Please see the names and contact information on the 1st. TFD Archives page
right below this paragraph.

1977 Beverly Hills S C Fire

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1977 Beverly Hills S C Fire

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This incident was included because of the many

techniques that were changed because of what was

Beverly Hills Country Club Introduction

Courtesy http://www.iklimnet.com/hotelfires/case15.html http://www.nkyviews.com/campbell/

Little was left standing in

Bodies lined up in the armory in Ft. Thomas that served as a

Tom Laver of the Southgate Volunteer Fire Department

June 1, 1977: Southgate assistant fire

An aerial view of the fire scene.

Survivors gathered outside the supper club.

June 1, 1977: John Davidson attended the funeral of his

Scenes from the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, 1977

Courtesy, The Courier-Journal, May 27, 2007:

1971 file photo of The Viennese Room at the

Aerial view of the after-

Tom Laver of the Southgate Volunteer Fire Department

Workers sifting through rubble after the Beverly Hills Sup-

Bodies lined up in the armory in Fort Thomas that

Kentucky Gov. Julian Carroll at the scene of the Beverly

Father Ed Murray, left, and an unidentified man, right, es-

Southgate assistant fire chief John Payne inspecting the af-

One of the many funerals of Beverly Hills Supper Club

An FBI special fingerprint team from Washington checking

John Davidson attends the funeral of his music director

Press conference with Campbell County Coroner Dr. Fred

Anderson Township Firefighter’s Memorial

At one time there was a small grotto here. This is

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