Elmer Valentine (June 16, 1923 – December 3, 2008) was the co-founder of two famous nightclubs on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California: the Whisky a Go Go and The Roxy Theatre.
Elmer Valentine was born in Chicago on June 16, 1923. After serving as an Army Air Forces mechanic stationed in England during World War II, he returned to Chicago and joined Chicago police force. He moved to Los Angeles in 1960.
Valentine co-founded the Whisky i...
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Elmer Valentine (June 16, 1923 – December 3, 2008) was the co-founder of two famous nightclubs on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California: the Whisky a Go Go and The Roxy Theatre.
Elmer Valentine was born in Chicago on June 16, 1923. After serving as an Army Air Forces mechanic stationed in England during World War II, he returned to Chicago and joined Chicago police force. He moved to Los Angeles in 1960.
Valentine co-founded the Whisky in January 1964 with partners Phil Tanzini, Shelly Davis, and attorney Theodore Flier. In 1965, he launched the Trip, a small, short-lived rock club on the Sunset Strip. In 1972, along with Lou Adler, Mario Maglieri and others started the Rainbow Bar & Grill on the Sunset Strip. In 1966, Valentine, Adler and others founded the Roxy Theatre. Valentine was also co-owner of the restaurant-nightclub P.J.'s, but sold his interest in 1963.
Lou Adler bought into the Whisky in the late '70s. Valentine sold his interest in the Whisky a Go Go in the '90s...
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