The Chez Paree

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.

© Chez Paree Chicago

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.

© 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