THE debaucherous 90s club The Viper Room was once the playground of a host of A-list celebrities after Johnny Depp launched it as a rock venue in 1993. Glenn Tilbrook and the Fluffers, Too Close to the Sun 2008Depp hooked up with Squeeze front man Glenn Tilbrook to play guitar on this New Wave oddity from 2008s Pandemonium Ensues. The Viper Room's latest feature has been in the new hit series Pam & Tommy (featuring Lily James and Sebastian Stan), which details an altercation between Tommy Lee and two other bathroom goers, confirming the bar's popularity amongst the rock scene in the early nineties which still continues through to this day. Los Angeles Times mentioned Cohen as Mickey Cohen from Denver, Colorado, incorrectly, in their report of the match. died. While which account proves true may never be known, players supposedly included Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, A-Rod, the Olsen twins, and Matt Damon. The properties total 38,000 square feet of land and 16,000 square feet of parking space, an attractive location for development in an otherwise land-poor city. Mitch Mitchell (of the Jimi Hendrix Experience), Buddy Miles, Les Dudek, Carlos Castaneda, Jr., C.C. Of course, times have changed since the club's height, and events have made for a precarious future. Johnny Depp exits the Fantastic Beasts franchise at the request of Warner Bros. 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P 1993After Edward Scissorhandsmade him a movie star, Depp helped open a nightclub, the Viper Room, and formed the band P with Butthole Surfers front man Gibby Haynes and pal Bill Carter. . Depp has been caught up in the. Jack Black and Kyle Gass perform as Tenacious D. at the Viper Room May 4,1997. The band, which occasionally featured Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, released a self-titled album in 1995 on Capitol Records before breaking up. The club and several adjacent buildings along the Sunset Strip, totalling 38,000 square feet, have been sold for $80 million to a buyer known simply as 8850 Sunset. Iggy Pop, Hollywood Affair 1999Two decades after opening for Iggy as a member of the Kids, Depp and Pop reunited for this B-side from 1999s Avenue B. In 1993, Johnny Depp opened The Viper Room. From drug overdoses to violent scuffles, illegal poker games to whispers of murder, the past two decades have yielded up some of the club's most shocking and salacious rumors, thanks to the Hollywood big names frequenting the joint. About Us Advertise Business Write For Us T&Cs Just days before Fox was scheduled to testify in late 2001, The Charley Project reports that Fox went missing along with a .38 caliber revolver and his pickup truck. Aerosmith, Freedom Fighter 2012Future Hollywood Vampire Joe Perry wrote this politically charged song for Aerosmiths Music From Another Dimension! The legendary Sunset Strip music club was opened in 1993 by Depp and actor Sal Jenco. Until February 2009 there was a nightclub with the same name in Melbourne, Australia; it was closed down due to a spate of violent incidents that included two shootings as well as license breaches and the arrest of a co-owner on drug charges. By the late 1920s, the market, neighborhood, and winding "County Strip" thoroughfare became the site of transformation, according to Playground to the Stars. Foxs disappearance is still in question, as he was never found. How could local business owners get away with the mischief? [25] When it came time to track Kansas City, Costello was out of town due to a prior engagement, so Burnett called on Depp to add a subtly forceful guitar part. When actor Johnny Depp launched The Viper Room in 1993, it automatically became one of the hottest places on the Sunset Strip. Nonetheless, the place remained a hot hangout for celebrities. [4][5] This nightclub was close to shutting down before Chuck E. Weiss, who had performed there for years, suggested to Depp that he should revitalize the spot and rename it "The Viper Room". Coordinates: 34525.7N 118234.8W The Viper Room is a nightclub and live music venue located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, United States. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. made him a movie star, Depp helped open a nightclub, the Viper Room, and formed the band P with Butthole Surfers front man Gibby Haynes and pal Bill Carter. The mid-1990s and early 2000s proved an especially vibrant time for performers, including Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Green Day, Oasis, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Run-DMC, Counting Crows, Johnny Cash, and the Pussycat Dolls. After vacationing with Noel Gallagher on the island of Mustique, Depp was invited back to the studio, this time to play slide guitar on the Be Here Now track Fade In-Out.. He also read one of Echolss prison letters over a score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. While predominantly known as a music venue, the Viper Room also hosts a lower level below the stage and audience area, which is home to a large whiskey bar. For 30 years, it was blighted by scandal. Daily traffic increases justified paving the highway as the surrounding neighborhood evolved into a celebrity playground. We may earn a commission from these links. And Hollywood tours still stop to point out the spot where the tragedy took place. Curtis claims Tobey Maguire staged the illegal games. It opened in 1993, and was owned in part by actor Johnny Depp. For the first 20 or so years, it was actually a small grocery store that served the neighborhood residents working down the hill in a small industrial village called Sherman. Fox accused Depp and four other partners of conspiring to defraud the club of millions. Post continues. Chocolat and other soundtracks 2000presentIn 2000, Depp starred opposite Juliette Binoche in the romance Chocolat, playing an itinerant guitarist. From 1951 to 1969, the location was a bar called "The Melody Lounge". Some say Johnny Depp named the place after a Louisiana jazz club, and others say it refers to pot-smoking jazz musicians of that era. Preliminary plans for the sites redesign include a 15-story building that would include a hotel, restaurants, lounges, as well as a potential new space for the Viper Room. Budding superstar River Phoenix died aged 23 outside the venue on Halloween night in 1993 as his brother Joaquin watched on. [7], Despite the death of River Phoenix the year the venue opened, the club became and remained a hangout for Hollywood's most popular young actors and musicians. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. From Sacramento, the California Legislature dispatched the Subcommittee on Public Morals to the scene, writes Playground to the Stars. When did Johnny Depp sell the Viper Room? You can tell theyve really made it by the fact that, less than 24 hours after their Grammy performance, theyre already the subject of an Illuminati conspiracy video: *Correction: This article originally mischaracterized Depps relationship with Vanessa Paradis. According to the New York Post, it was even the base of the underground poker ring that was the subject of the 2017 film "Molly's Game," which Tobey Maguire reportedly founded. "I knew he was high that night, but the heroin that killed him didn't. Cohen was also involved in many businesses in his life; he owned flower shops, nightclubs, gas stations and casinos. I tried to steady myself but my legs buckled under me and I fell to the floor.". The Pirates of the Caribbean star had turned the club into a rock venue where acts including Guns 'N' Roses and Johnny Cash performed. Hed rejoin them the following year to record The Jesus Stag Night Club, a song about a group of guys who have a wild bachelor party with none other than Jesus. The Viper Room is a nightclub and live music venue located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, United States. History. 'Ted Lasso' Season 3 Dropped Its First Trailer, 'Outer Banks' Season 4 Is Already In the Works. According to his autobiography,Between the Lines: My Story Uncut, as highlighted in The Mirror, Donovan had a near-death experience at the Viper Room after succumbing to cocaine-induced seizures. The original building where the club is currently located is slated to be demolished by 2023, to make way for a replacement club, retail and a five star hotel tower. In the early 1950s, he became a focus of the U.S. Senates Kefauver Committee on organized crime. Laugh? Sources close to Depp claim the movie star lost interest in the club in Depp's star power went a long way: the actor was able to hire Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to perform on their opening night, assuring a lot of press attention and quickly making The Viper Room the talk of the town. The location invited vice. The 41-year-old Hollywood hunk hasn't set foot in the in Los Angeles venue [15] In 2016, The Viper Room began issuing cease and desist notices to bootleg merchandise sellers on eBay and other online storefronts. According to Dollar Times, that's the equivalent of more than $110,000 in 2021. Juliette Lewis performing with her band Juliette & the Licks at the Viper Room in West Hollywood, California on August 14, 2003. The Viper Room rose to Hollywood infamy after River Phoenix tragically overdosed there on Halloween night in 1993, and his brother's harrowing 911 call was broadcast on news channels around the world. establishment. Vanity Fair also alleged that he took a Valium. The Viper Room was also the place where Mtley Cre drummer Tommy Lee was charged with battery after getting into a fight with paparazzi in 1996, per The Chicago Tribune. To read and save unlimited articles, sign up to become an Esquire member. According to an article in Vanity Fair penned by Bloom, she soon took full control of the high-profile games, becoming the mastermind of the operation and inspiring 2017's Molly's Game, starring Jessica Chastain. It was also relatively free of photographers; however, some photos were taken throughout that period, and they offer a glimpse into a wild world. But despite the benign sound of Phil and the Fours' show, the Greenwich Village Inn found itself, along with seven other Hollywood hotspots, embroiled in a statewide scandal. He also contributed three impressive European jazz songs to the soundtrack, marking the first of several times hed provide music for a film of his own. , co-writing two songs, playing guitar on another, painting some of the artwork, and directing two of the LPs music videos. But while The Viper Room was an iconic establishment, it's also infamous for being the setting for many deaths and scandals, including River Phoenix's untimely demise just months after the club opened to the public. "I don't really wanna make judgments publicly, but I . In 1993, Johnny Depp opened The Viper Room. Some locals fear the worst, an encounter with the wrecking ball. Getting there: The Viper Room is located at 8852 Sunset (just west of Spago), an address that has a long history mixing music with controversy. The club changed hands multiple times between 2004 and 2016; the club is currently owned by Viper Room Holdings, Ltd. Two years later, on January 20, 1997, Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, who performed a rambling drug-induced set at the club the night Phoenix died, performed at the Viper Room again. You could go into season three cold (knowing nothing) or warm (knowing everything). Stephen Baldwin at the Viper Room for AIDS benefit on April 9, 1994. But everything changed in 1951, when local officials folded to pressure to bring the Strip's laws into synch with that of the city. Charlize Theron hugs Keanu Reeves outside the Viper Room after his performance with his band Dogstar on December 18, 1997. Depp soon decided to try acting, on the advice of his wifes friend Nicolas Cage. He was only 23 when he died from a reported combined drug intoxication of cocaine and heroin on Halloween in 1993. Luckily, The Viper Room's legacy will still live on. Picture: Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom wax figures Wax figure of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow and Orlando Bloom as Will Turner debuted at Madame Heartbroken actor Johnny Depp has sold his share in the nightclub where his Shane MacGowan and the Popes, That Womans Got Me Drinking 1994, , which featured Depp providing weird guitar noises on the punk-blues track That Womans Got Me Drinking. They reunited in 2010 to cover Screamin Jay Hawkinss blues classic I Put a Spell on You.. Taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Donovan found himself at the same facility where Phoenix had been pronounced dead. Called `` the Melody Lounge '' daily traffic increases justified paving the highway as the surrounding neighborhood into. 4 is Already in the romance chocolat, playing guitar on Another, painting some of the.... Place remained a hot hangout for celebrities by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis Todd: the Demon Barber Fleet. 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