Porn 'stache a la Chippendale (1983)

[dandyads]

I got curious and looked up the restaurant in the ad. Apparently it was quite the 'swinging singles bar' in the 1960s. This is what the inside looked like. ETA - apparently I didn't read that closely, and this pic is actually the west coast outpost of Maxwell's Plum although the New York location was similarly garish and tacky-acular. I read somewhere that Donald Trump met his first wife there. Anyway, the Chippendales performed at a club down the street, they just had a promotional deal with Maxwell's Plum.

Comments

[fallconsmate.livejournal.com]

wow, that venue!! and woohoo the 'staches!! :D

[woodburner.livejournal.com]

Eugh, those dudes look gross...D:

[rosehiptea.livejournal.com]

I don't think they're that bad but it definitely doesn't make me want to pay money to see them "dance." Especially the guy in the back who looks like he's wearing a bad wig.

[tudorlady.livejournal.com]

I believe he is wearing a *very* bad wig.

[srsly-yes.livejournal.com]

ZOMG! Maxwell's Plum! Is that the New York or San Francisco location? I went to the one in San Francisco, and the photo above brings back memories. The interior with the stained glass ceiling was knock-your-socks-off gorgeous.

[lightning-rose.livejournal.com]

I tracked down the probable source of the photo and I believe it's the SF location.

http://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/2009/01/07/swingin%E2%80%99-at-maxwell%E2%80%99s-plum/

The poster is advertising the NYC location.

[srsly-yes.livejournal.com]

Thank you! No wonder the picture jogged my memory. Walking into that restaurant was like stepping into the Emerald City.

[cionaudha.livejournal.com]

Fabulous! Thanks!

[amiga500.livejournal.com]

OMG! Prince Adam!

[pikkewyntjie.livejournal.com]

Are those lines in the background supposed to make it look like a police lineup? Maybe it's part of a "bad boy" theme. Let's see, the dude at 9 o'clock is a serial killer (they're always so clean-cut). The guy at 6 o'clock is your son's scoutmaster and the other two were just caught in the act of playing out a Starsky and Hutch sex fantasy at a rest area.

After seeing this ad, I think we also need to have a helmet hair weekend! Seriously, the dude at 12 o'clock has hair that looks like he borrowed a wig from his mom.

The room needs more fuchsia and magenta.

[1islandinthesea.livejournal.com]

Mad Men needs to recreate this complete with dancers. Peggy could go there.

[meezergal.livejournal.com]

YES!

[suzycat.livejournal.com]

The Chippendales weren't really a 60s thing were they? More like 80s.

[dandyads]

Yeah, they didn't start until 1979 - Maxwell's Plum was a bit past its heyday by the time they were making deals with the Chippendales. But when I read about the restaurant, I was really surprised that it hasn't been referenced on Mad Men yet.

[1islandinthesea.livejournal.com]

Yes, you're right. The Chippendales (why do I think of Chip and Dale the chipmunks? lol) were an 80s thing.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

The guy at the back should have fixed his wig so it didn't fall over his forehead. :-P

Wow, amazing ceiling! I could do without most of the rest though including the hydrangeas.

[franklanguage.livejournal.com]

It was meant to be over-the-top so that if you walked in and you weren't tripping on acid, it made you think you were.

[cionaudha.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure the Plum is quite camp enough.

HAHAHAHAHA what am I saying.

[cionaudha.livejournal.com]

I regret never having eaten there. Where are the over-the-top-and-down-the-other-side dining rooms of yesteryear?

[mentalhygiene.livejournal.com]

Good lord that's one hell of a ceiling. Were you meant to be looking up at that, and not the entertainment, or something?

The clean cut fellow on the left looks perturbed, as if he didn't know this was what the want-ad had in mind by "$$$ADULT PHOTOSHOOT$$$CASH QUICK$$$" all he wanted was a little pocket money to keep him in free-weights and cheeseburgers.

[ms-hissyfit.livejournal.com]

He definitely looks like he really is taking a long, hard look at his life choices.

[meezergal.livejournal.com]

The guy on the bottom's up for anything. The guy to the left is scared. The guy on the right is bored. And the guy on the top is so out of it he has no idea where the hell he is.

[radteacherally.livejournal.com]

WOAH. Those guys are a far cry from the waxed and clean shaven guys of today!

And that room makes me want to vomit. It makes me carsick.

[zydee.livejournal.com]

The book Fashionable Food mentions Maxwell's Plum a few times, but I didn't realize it was so porntastic. Wow. It's shocking it lasted as long as it did.

The guy on the left seems like a nice Mormon* fellow who's been forced to take up porn acting, like Orgazmo or something, and he's just looked down at the text and realized what "Gentlemen welcome after 10:15" means in big bad evil New York City.

* or whatever, I'm totally cool with that, just that was what Orgazmo was.

[lauramcewan.livejournal.com]

OMG. OUTSTANDING!!

Is it possible to get this post unlocked? I'm trying to link people to it...thanks! :)

[dandyads]

Well since you asked so nicely, why not. Hairy 80s Chippendales for all!

[lauramcewan.livejournal.com]

eee thanks!

[chr1st1an.livejournal.com]

I don't think I could eat in that room. So. Much. Going. On.

[hannahsarah.livejournal.com]

Anyone know if either of the two Maxwells are still in business? If not, what happened to the amazing interiors?

[dandyads]

The one in NYC closed in 1988 and the one in San Francisco flopped. They spent a ton of money to open it in 1981 and it didn't last long. Not sure about the SF one, but the owner sold the building in NYC and auctioned off the interior. The bar is at a pricey restaurant in Tribeca now.

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

For me, the lack of foreheads is the most disturbing thing in the photo.

[pony-rocks.livejournal.com]

The one on the left kind of reminded me of Mason Capwell (when portrayed by Lane Davies).

[amelia-eve.livejournal.com]

I had a birthday brunch at Maxwell's Plum in SF in the early 80s. It was in Ghirardelli Square, and there were huge picture windows with views of the Bay. In the daytime it was very light and airy, and the big windows made all the crazy chandeliers sparkle. I was very interested to see from this ad where the NYC branch was located. That neighborhood was indeed the cradle of the singles bar scene. The original TGI Fridays was located near there, along with PJ Clarke's, which persists to this day.

Someone above said it was like stepping into the Emerald City, and that was quite apt -- Warner Leroy, the developer, was the son of the producer of the Wizard of Oz. He also ran the Tavern on the Green for many years, which was just as splendid, if not more so, and I think his daughter still manages the revival of the Russian Tea Room. We received a gift certificate to Tavern on the Green as an engagement gift in 2009, and I had another birthday lunch there, not too long before it closed.

Here's a picture of my (now) husband showing the intensely patterned room, including carpet, ceiling, and menus, and of course the crystal chandeliers. You can also see the planters between the tables, just like Maxwell's Plum This room was all glass on three walls, like a conservatory in the midst of Central Park. The decor made it sort of like being on the inside of an enormous birthday cake. The food was surprisingly good.

Wild decor at Tavern on the Green! (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3322/3588829602_8ecb4dd88d.jpg)

[murakozi.livejournal.com]

I dunno. The guy at the top has some seriously defined cheekbones and either that's a wig or he uses 3 cans of hairspray a day. Add in his vacant stare and angled eyebrows and he's got a real android vibe going on.

The one on the right must be wishing it was still 1974 so all that chest hair and the stache were still really hot. His hair also makes him appear to be trying to disguise the fact that he's from Remulac.

Bottom guy is just creepy. He's still got his makeout party van from his high school days and you seriously don't wanna end up alone with him.

Mr 9 o'clock at least looks normal. He appears to be wondering what he's gotten himself into and how long he can bank on the Christopher Reeves look for job security. There's a bit of a deer-in-the-headlights look to his eyes.