WEST HOLLYWOOD (CNS) – Diners at West Hollywood’s iconic Dan Tana’s restaurant are being encouraged to sign a guest book this week in honor of its namesake founder, who has died at age 90.
Dan Tana, born Dobrivoje Tanasijevic, died Saturday in his native Belgrade, Serbia, according to a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
“The great Dan Tana has passed on.” it read. “We all know that he created a very magical place. Our beloved little yellow house will forever feel his presence. This man is a legend, and as you know, a legend never dies.”
The one-time actor turned restaurateur opened Dan Tana’s in 1964, and it quickly became a favorite hangout for generations of actors from John Wayne and Kirk Douglas to Jack Nicholson, Harry Dean Stanton, and George Clooney.
Other fans included legendary “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson and Variety columnist Army Archerd, as well as numerous musicians who played at the nearby Troubadour — including Elton John, Bette Midler, Axl Rose, and Bruce Springsteen.
“Dan had wonderful stories about Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, James Dean, Frank Sinatra, Lauren Bacall, and Sammy Davis Jr.,” the Facebook post continued. “In fact, Robert Urich’s character was named after Dan Tana on the classic TV show, “Vega$.”
Tana played for several European soccer teams before coming to America with dreams of becoming an actor. He appeared in the 1957 film “The Enemy Below” with Robert Mitchum and Curt Jurgens and on several TV shows including “The Untouchables,” “Rin Tin Tin” and “Peter Gunn.”
“To survive, he supplemented his income as a packer in the Star Kist Tuna factory — where, presumably, he learned something about good taste,” the Facebook post noted. “He got a job washing dishes in Miceli’s pizza house on McAdam and Hollywood Boulevard. He got $9 a day. He moved up from waiter to maitre d’ / manager of a popular teen club called Peppermint West. He also took English lessons three days a week and took drama classes too. Dan didn’t become an actor, but he sure hung out with major movie stars.”
Tana eventually converted the popular Dominick’s hamburger stand into an Italian eatery that stayed open later than most other restaurants of the era.
The Los Angeles Times once called it “the restaurant of choice” for anyone who wanted to be “seen in All The Right Places.”
He sold the restaurant to his longtime friend Sonja Perencevic in 2009 and retired to Belgrade. Perencevic has maintained the restaurant exactly as it was — still housed in a bright yellow 1929 bungalow on Santa Monica Boulevard.
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