A Night to Remember

A disappointment turned into a night to remember for my fiance and me back in 1952. I was living in Glendale, California, and my friends and I had attended many exciting radio shows, movies and dances in nearby Hollywood.

One of our favorite things was dancing at the Hollywood Palladium, where some outstanding big bands played. The large, beautiful ballroom was extremely popular with young people, and Saturday nights always drew big crowds.

I moved away to college after the war, and the dances continued. When I met my future husband in Utah, we discovered we both loved to dance. After Charley proposed, I was determined to show him the greatest dance place of them all.

I could hardly wait! After Charley met my mother and got her stamp of approval, we headed for the dance, dressed in our best outfits, in our little red pickup truck.

When we arrived at the Palladium, I couldn’t believe what was written on the marquee: “Closed for a Private Party.” I had never been so disappointed in my life!

I was close to tears when we happened to be driving by the Ambassador Hotel. Charley asked if I would like to walk around to cheer myself up. Before I could answer, he drove right into the parking lot. We parked our truck right next to all the Cadillacs and limousines, then started to walk down a long hallway.

At the end of the hall, a man motioned to us to come in the door. We wondered why he was holding the door for us. Perhaps it was simply because there were two seats available and we were dressed up for the evening.

Without saying a word, he closed the door behind us, and we were surrounded by darkness. He pointed to two chairs, and we were glad to sit down before we fell over someone’s feet. It was so dark it took a few minutes before we could even see where we were.

When our eyes adjusted, the music started. When it stopped, the announcer in the middle of the dance floor introduced people in the audience, with the help of a huge spotlight. Right across from us were Robert Taylor and his new girlfriend. Howard Keel was a few tables over, and Red Skelton was with his friends nearby.  The spotlight shone on other celebrities at tables around the room.

We had stumbled into the Cocoanut Grove at the Ambassador, where Freddie Martin’s orchestra, one of the best in the country, was playing It’s Only a Paper Moon, Moonglow, It Had to Be You and other great songs. It was also opening night for the Andrews Sisters, who sang Rum & Coca-Cola, The Pennsylvania Polka and Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. What a fantastic show!

It couldn’t have been a more exciting night. It wasn’t the Palladium, but we didn’t care. We were rubbing elbows with the stars.

We danced the night away and thanked the waiter who had motioned to us. We felt guilty that we hadn’t paid for anything, so we ordered a piece of pie. At $18, it turned out to be the most expensive pie we ever had! We didn’t realize we probably could have ordered a whole dinner for that amount, because $18 was the minimum charge.

Because of a lucky accident, we enjoyed one of the most memorable evenings of our lives and saw some of the most beautiful people in the world. Charley and I, now married 57 years, have been dancing ever since and have even taught ballroom dancing. We never did get to the Palladium, but I doubt it could have compared to our night at the Ambassador.

— By Shirley Van Katwyk, Walnut Creek, California