The Chez Paree

WGN Television filming at the Chez Paree in Chicago, early 1950s.

In its early years WGN regularly brought its cameras to the Chez Paree to broadcast live from one of the greatest rooms in the city. This particular night appears to have been a western or country themed variety production. Bales of hay, wagon wheels, cowboy costumes and a full orchestra on the Chez Paree stage. Whatever the show was, they went all out.

Look at the size of that WGN camera on the floor while another crew member works the lights overhead. This is television in its earliest days. Heavy equipment, live broadcast, no margin for error, right in the middle of the greatest nightclub in Chicago.

We do not know what show this was. If you do, please tell us below.

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New Year’s Eve in the Key Club at the Chez Paree in Chicago, 1950s. From left, co-owner Al Kaiser, Aaron Cushman, and around the table co-owners Dave Halper, Donjo Medlevine and Jack Schatz. Frenchie Medlevine, Donjo’s brother, is seated on the floor in front.

The Key Club was the private VIP room where members mixed with performers before and after the show. On any given night the people in this room included some of the most celebrated names in American entertainment. Tonight it belongs to close friends ringing in the New Year together, streamers everywhere, everyone packed in tight, nobody wanting to be anywhere else.

Aaron Cushman, second from left, was the man who told the Chez Paree’s story to the world. A decorated World War II combat pilot and Korean War veteran, he came home to Chicago in 1952, started a PR firm with two chairs, one desk and one typewriter and built it into the tenth largest independent public relations firm in America. His clients included Milton Berle, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis Jr., Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. He eventually became a part owner of the Chicago White Sox. He was remarkable.

But on this particular night he was just a friend at a table with people he loved. That is the whole story right there.

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The Ritz Brothers at the Chez Paree in Chicago, 1950s.

The Brooklyn raised Ritz Brothers were one of the most beloved and genuinely funny acts in American entertainment. They got their start in vaudeville, broke into Hollywood films in the 1930s and built a career on a frenetic brand of physical comedy and slapstick that stopped audiences cold. Three brothers, Al, Harry and Jimmy, performed on stage while a fourth brother George served as their manager. They were masters of the nightclub circuit, the kind of act that owned every room they walked into and left audiences completely spent from laughing.

Harry Ritz was called the funniest man in the world by Mel Brooks and was a direct and acknowledged influence on Milton Berle, Jerry Lewis, Gene Wilder and Woody Allen. The people who shaped American comedy for generations learned from watching Harry Ritz work.

The Chez Paree loved having them and the feeling was mutual. This photo is all the proof you need. Whatever was happening at that table, these four men were having the time of their lives.

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Patti Page at the Chez Paree in Chicago, 1950s. From left, co-owner Jack Schatz, Patti Page, co-owner Dave Halper, co-owner Donjo Medlevine and one more friend of the club.

Patti Page was the best-selling female recording artist of the entire 1950s. Over 100 million records sold. Eighteen gold records. They called her the Singin’ Rage and she earned every word of it. She got her start right here in Chicago singing with Benny Goodman before signing with Mercury Records and becoming one of the most recognized voices in America. Tennessee Waltz spent thirteen weeks at number one and became one of the biggest selling singles of the twentieth century. That Doggie in the Window. Old Cape Cod. All My Love. Hit after hit after hit for over a decade. She was the only artist of her era to host her own television show on all three major networks. A kid from Claremore, Oklahoma who came through Chicago and changed American music.

She started it all right here in this city.

The owners clearly loved having her. You can feel it in this photo.

Do you recognize the person on the far right? 👇

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The Chez Paree in Chicago, 1950s. The show in full swing.

Look at how close those tables are to the stage. The performers are right there, close enough to touch. That was the Chez Paree. It was not a concert hall where you watched from a distance. It was a room where the show came to you, where you could feel the music and see every expression on every face.

The full production cast in elaborate costumes, the feathered headdresses, the orchestra behind them, the mural stretching across the entire back wall, a packed house leaning forward in their seats. This is what three shows a night looked like at one of the greatest cabaret nightclubs in America.

We do not know what show this was. If you recognize the performance please tell us below!

© Chez Paree Chicago

Jack Schatz, George Liberace and Donjo Medlevine at the Chez Paree in Chicago, early 1950s.

George Liberace was a gifted violinist, bandleader and conductor who built a serious career well before becoming the musical director of his younger brother’s television show. Trained at the Chicago Conservatory and Northwestern, he performed with leading orchestras across the country including the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conducted the symphony orchestras of Kansas City, Dallas, Philadelphia, Denver and St. Louis. He made command performances before the Pope, the Queen of England and the President of the United States. When he did not appear on his brother’s weekly television show, Liberace would tell the audience “I wish my brother George was here.” He was also a dear friend of Donjo Medlevine and a regular at the Chez Paree.

After performing at the club one night, George took the building’s back elevator down to get to his car. A thug was waiting in the alley with one thing in mind, his Stradivarius violin. George was hit over the head and needed 16 stitches. What saved his life was his toupee, which cushioned the blow just enough. Three days later, Chicago Police recovered the violin in a pawn shop.

Only at the Chez Paree.

© Chez Paree Chicago