The Night Clubs of Eddie Nash


We’ve all read the bio, Eddie Nash (Adel Nasrallah), a Palestinian born immigrant, arrived in L.A. with $7 in his pocket. After waiting tables, he bought his first hot dog stand and he grew into a huge entertainment tycoon. By the 1970s, he was really freeking loaded. His main rackets were his night clubs. They covered as a front for his other activities, vices and crimes as well. He was quite a generous guy though. If you have not read about the women he loved and how he once helped a woman and her autistic son, google it. Get out the Kleenex first. Heartwarming!

This post features a few of his old clubs. A music venue and a teen dance club. At one point Eddie Nash had 25+ liquor licenses in the Los Angeles area. This gives you a picture of his largess, and what the business scene was like behind the wild man… who was Eddie Nash. The King of L.A. I feel it is right to document these things because if too much time goes by, the facts are lost forever.

This music and concert club catered to local and int’l bands alike. It was open from 1972 to 1981. “Rubicon” played the CalJam ’77 I think.

Of course, you had to have a teen dance club. Eddie brought you, “Odyssey”!

There’s a two ecstasy limit, please.

This great site (LAist) tells the history of the Odyssey club, and how after having their dance license revoked at the club, kids staged what appeared to be a protest, but it looks really cheezy and fake:

So, when you think about it. The city and the cops were sick of Eddie. What does he do? Eddie Nash probably had the place burned down a few nights later, for the insurance money. I believe he was acquitted of this fraud charge though, but a few of his other businesses had “burned down” in the past. He got away with stuff. So the police messed with him all the time after Wonderland. Before Wonderland, he flew just under their radar. For the rest of the 80s though he would be in a world of legal shit, multiple arrests, trials, short stints in jail or prison for drugs, all the way up until the 2000 trial (where he did like 2 years of a 4 year sentence due to old age). LAPD never got that feather in their cap though. The cops never really nailed him for Wonderland. That’s too bad. All of the other witnesses were dead. It was by then a lost cause. Twenty years later too. They were lucky to get what they got with Eddie. He was slick.

Burned, like so much freebase. Wanna Play Baseball!! (anyone)

Nash owned several more clubs catering to black folks, gays, older crowd, tropical theme, blues bar, etc. I could not find pictures of them. Please send if you have any. Thanks!

-JW

Sources:

Wikipedia – Starwood

LAist web site. http://laist.com/2012/08/17/laistory_all-ages_dance_club_the_od.php#photo-5