The Be-Seen Scene
Show your face in the right place and the L.A. elite will assume you're one of them. From there on, it's just a matter of time before the deals get made.
But just where are "all the right places?" Jay Bernstein knows; he's been haunting them for years.
Bernstein has had good reason to frequent the industry hangouts. He has played a number of roles in the industry. Currently a TV movie producer (he did the Mike Hammer series, among others), he has been a publicist with a gift for gimmickry (he was the man who had Mary Hart's legs insured for US$1 million – though, actually, just for one day) and a personal manager (he launched Farrah Fawcett and Suzanne Somers to fame).
Here, he offers us a look at five current hot spots for Hollywood players.
Spago
This restaurant has been so well known for so long, how could it possibly still be "hot?" Actually, explains Bernstein, it had cooled for a while. The eatery had a long run atop Sunset Boulevard, then lost its panache. But when a new space became available in Beverly Hills, owner Wolfgang Puck snatched it up and Spago warmed up all over again.
Le Dome
Of all the restaurants, says Bernstein, "Le Dome has been the most consistent for lunch." Sure enough, through the years, the bistro has maintained a steady studio clientele in the midday hours. And, says Bernstein, it boasts an additional cache: "Older Hollywood – Kirk Douglas and all those people – at night, when they throw their parties, they all seem to be there."
Barfly
One of the new nightspots on Sunset Boulevard, it's a gothic-style restaurant surrounding a big bar, and features a house D.J. in the evening. All factions of "the industry" stop by. "I brought Nastassja Kinski there the other night," Bernstein says, "and saw Jeff Goldblum."
Buckley (For The Kids)
Being a player means more than just going to the right restaurants and clubs. You have to have your kids seen at the right schools. Schools like Buckley. Mommies and Daddies here include Melissa Gilbert and Bruce Boxleitner as well as Warren Beatty and Annette Benning.
Sportsclub L.A.
Sure, they all seem to have personal trainers out there. But when they want to sweat in the company of their peers, they go to this club. And just who are "they?" Says Bernstein, "Everybody."
Back to Plot Your Big Break In Hollywood
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Educating Siskel
Film-schooled
Written by Rob Medich with graphic design by Dana Byerly