{"id":25222,"date":"2026-07-17T16:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T16:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/?p=25222"},"modified":"2026-07-17T21:59:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T21:59:33","slug":"mister-kellys-and-midcentury-nightclub-culture-in-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/?p=25222","title":{"rendered":"Mister Kelly&#8217;s and Midcentury Nightclub Culture in Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs\" data-active-tab=\"0\"><ul class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-links\"><\/ul>\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Intro<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Themes<\/strong><br>Chicago History<br>Music &amp; Performance <br>Nightclubs<br>Race Relations<br>Shifting Cultural Tastes<br><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Periods &amp; Events<\/strong><br>20th Century<br>Midcentury <br><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Skills &amp; Document Types<\/strong><br>Image &amp; Object Analysis<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Live Recordings<br>Newspaper Articles<br>Photographs<br>Record Covers<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Use this essay and source set to:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Explore nightclub culture in Chicago in the mid-twentieth century through images and ephemera.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Discover how the Marienthals&#8217; nightclubs influenced public tastes in jazz, pop music, comedy, and theater and helped establish styles still popular today. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Learn how cultural spaces can support social change, as Mister Kelly&#8217;s did during the Civil Rights Movement. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Appreciate how evolving tastes in music and comedy reflect changes in society.  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Essay<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contents<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#intro\">Introduction: What Was Mister Kelly&#8217;s? Why Does it Matter Today?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#two-man-empire\">A Two-Man Empire<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#rush-street\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#rush-street\">Rush Street in the 1950s and 1960s<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#clubs-themselves\">The Clubs Themselves<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#clubs-civil-rights\">The Clubs and Civil Rights<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#peak-decline-fall\">Peak, Decline, and Fall<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#conclusion\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"intro\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introduction: What Was Mister Kelly&#8217;s? Why Does it Matter Today?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Between the mid-1950s and the mid-1970s, Chicago\u2019s Rush Street nightlife district was home to one of the most celebrated nightclubs in America, Mister Kelly\u2019s. The club and its two sister properties \u2013 the London House in the Loop and the Happy Medium, also on Rush Street \u2013 constituted a live entertainment empire controlled for most of those two decades by the Chicago-born Marienthal brothers, George (1909-1972) and Oscar (1913-1963). It was an empire built on a foundation of sophistication, elegance, and hospitality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marienthal enterprises also boasted a strong and enduring commitment to social progress and civil rights, taking on both the de facto racial segregation and the blandness of content that characterized many of the other nightspots of the period. With its hip, sometimes edgy programming \u2013 including deliberately provocative, taboo-violating comics such as Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, Dick Gregory, and George Carlin \u2013 and its open-to-all admission policies, Mister Kelly\u2019s and the other Marienthal venues helped push the entertainment world out of the complacent, conformist 1950s and into the franker, more free-spirited 1960s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/Share\/on2i246m15yw3e623o67536b5xxesi1k\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1021\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_maier_-vivian_01-1021x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photograph of the exterior of Mister Kelly's, a nightclub with midcentury modern architecture on the corner of a city street. Two men walk by the club, one pushing a small dolly with a crate.\" class=\"wp-image-25107\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.9970719059433604;width:382px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_maier_-vivian_01-1021x1024.jpg 1021w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_maier_-vivian_01-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_maier_-vivian_01-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_maier_-vivian_01-768x770.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_maier_-vivian_01-1531x1536.jpg 1531w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_maier_-vivian_01.jpg 1994w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1021px) 100vw, 1021px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/Share\/on2i246m15yw3e623o67536b5xxesi1k\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vivian Maier, exterior of Mister Kelly&#8217;s (1967)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These three clubs, and especially the nationally renowned Mister Kelly\u2019s, were the hub of a mid-century Golden Age of live entertainment centered in Chicago\u2019s Gold Coast neighborhood, just north of the Loop. By taking a closer look at these clubs and some of their associated images and artifacts, we can get a glimpse of the cultural history of this period, and how tastes, habits, lifestyles, and even politics developed and shifted over the course of a generation. By the time Mister Kelly\u2019s, the London House, and the Happy Medium closed in 1975, victims of larger social and economic forces, the three nightclubs had had a significant impact on what Americans listened to and laughed at. It\u2019s an influence that still lingers in the public\u2019s wider acceptance of performers who seek to prod and challenge the audience, rather than simply soothe and distract it. In learning about the history of these three special clubs, gone for half a century, we can learn something about how public tastes and expectations have evolved over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ask Students<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In the photo, how would you describe the architectural contrast between the Mister Kelly\u2019s building and the structure behind it? What do you think the photographer might be suggesting about the club and the city and neighborhood of which it\u2019s a part?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do you think singers, comedians, and other performers can promote change in society? In what way?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is live performance, as opposed to recorded or \u201ccanned\u201d entertainment, as popular now as it was during the Mister Kelly\u2019s era? If attitudes toward live performance have shifted, what may have caused this change?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do you think a cabaret or other place of entertainment can influence a city? How so? Think about this question as you read through the rest of the essay.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How can entertainment venues illustrate history? Can you give examples of how some performers seem to reflect heir times?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"two-man-empire\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Two-Man Empire<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mister Kelly\u2019s (which opened in 1953), the London House (which opened in 1946 as a restaurant, becoming a jazz club a few years later), and the Happy Medium (opened 1960) were the brainchildren of George and Oscar Marienthal, two brothers of Jewish background who grew up in Hyde Park. They were shrewd businessmen who used their managerial and marketing skills to turn their dining and later entertainment venues into a lucrative, high-profile mini-empire, with frequent turn-away crowds and constant media attention. (Indeed, one Chicago newspaper had a nightlife reporter whose beat was essentially Mister Kelly\u2019s, which he would attend on a nightly basis to chronicle the acts and visiting celebrities.)&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The siblings knew how to create an inviting, fashionable environment, involving not only top-notch entertainment, but also similarly high-level service, sound systems, d\u00e9cor, food and drink options, and even graphic design. They understood what would attract was known as \u201ccafe society\u201d \u2013 a free-spending, fun-loving clientele eager to experience the best the city had to offer, and always in search of the best places to see and be seen. These patrons were what might be called \u201cinfluencers\u201d today, their presence marking the special places that promised a fine evening out. They dressed well and wished to display themselves in flattering settings imbued with sophistication and class. And the Marienthals gave them what they wanted, down to the patterns on the china, ashtrays, and even matchbooks. (Nightclubs were smoky places in that long-ago era, before smoking bans took effect.) Everything was thought through, creating a total experience for guests that was stylish and urbane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3H0J?BRPN=5&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"859\" height=\"859\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_plates-edited.jpg\" alt=\"Three white dinner plates of increasing sizes arranged in a row. Each as a black stripe across the middle with &quot;Mister Kelly's&quot; in white text.\" class=\"wp-image-25235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_plates-edited.jpg 859w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_plates-edited-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_plates-edited-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_plates-edited-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 859px) 100vw, 859px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3H0J?BRPN=5&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mister Kelly&#8217;s dinner plate (c. 1960s-1970s)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3H0J?BRPN=2&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1012\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_ashtray_02-1024x1012.jpg\" alt=\"Clear ashtray on a black background with the logos of four Marienthal properties: London House, Mister Kelly's, Happy Medium, and Pussycat.\" class=\"wp-image-25137\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_ashtray_02-1024x1012.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_ashtray_02-300x297.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_ashtray_02-768x759.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_ashtray_02-1536x1518.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_ashtray_02.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3H0J?BRPN=2&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ashtray advertising Marienthal properties <\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3H0J?BRPN=2&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">(c. 1960s-1970s)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two brothers split the sizable job of managing their properties. George, who had run officers\u2019 clubs for the army during World War II, was the detail man, taking responsibility for keeping guests happy and employees busy. His younger brother, Oscar, was th talent scout. He recruited performers who were often near the start of their careers, before they had achieved stardom and, if they caught on, then picked up the option he had included in the contract for a return engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The nightclub business at the time was not known for its sterling ethics, but the Marienthals were different. Their fair treatment of staff and talent tended to be reciprocated in the form of employee loyalty and enduring relationships with performers, who would often return again and again to the smallish Chicago clubs, even if they could do better financially elsewhere.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDJGIU?WS=SingleAsset_SharePublic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"580\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00220_0002-e1784298920679-1024x580.jpg\" alt=\"Cover of white matchbook with green text advertising Mister Kelly's on the front and red text advertising London House on the back.\" class=\"wp-image-25234\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.765534710678382;width:364px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00220_0002-e1784298920679-1024x580.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00220_0002-e1784298920679-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00220_0002-e1784298920679-768x435.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00220_0002-e1784298920679-1536x869.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00220_0002-e1784298920679.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDJGIU?WS=SingleAsset_SharePublic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Matchbook advertising Mister Kelly&#8217;s and London House (c. 1960)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are many examples of the esteem with which musicians and comics held Mister Kelly\u2019s and the London House. In 1971, famed jazz trumpeter Roy Eldridge declared: \u201cI\u2019ve&nbsp;played every big jazz club in the country except London House. It took me a while to get here, but now I can say&nbsp;I\u2019ve&nbsp;played \u2019em&nbsp;all.\u201d That same year, vocalist&nbsp;Roberta Flack&nbsp;was invited to perform at Mister Kelly\u2019s. Unsure of whether to accept, she consulted with Chicago-based civil rights leader Jesse Jackson. According to Flack,&nbsp;\u201cJesse Jackson told me I&nbsp;couldn\u2019t&nbsp;appreciate the importance of this engagement.&nbsp;It\u2019s&nbsp;costing me money to play Mister Kelly\u2019s, but&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;worth it for the prestige.\u201d&nbsp;And a decade earlier, the&nbsp;celebrated&nbsp;comedy team of (Mike) Nichols and (Elaine) May did so well at&nbsp;Mister Kelly\u2019s&nbsp;that they took out a newspaper ad thanking the&nbsp;club\u2019s audience.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Oscar died in 1963, his recruiting duties were picked up by George and by Oscar\u2019s one-time assistant, Arlyne Rothberg, who became the clubs\u2019 top talent booker. She was one of several women who held important positions in the organization, a rarity back then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/Share\/ocw5034i2gn1r336qusl7n44wx8166y0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"901\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00018_fl_00505_01-1024x901.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph of George Marienthal, a middle-aged white man wearing a suit, in front of a wall of signed photographs of people who performed at Mister Kelly's.\" class=\"wp-image-25111\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.1365385105353003;width:394px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00018_fl_00505_01-1024x901.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00018_fl_00505_01-300x264.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00018_fl_00505_01-768x675.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00018_fl_00505_01-1536x1351.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00018_fl_00505_01.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/Share\/ocw5034i2gn1r336qusl7n44wx8166y0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">E. Gustie, photograph of George Marienthal (1969)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marienthals were more than entrepreneurs. They were tastemakers in many fields, including jazz, pop music, comedy, and theater. As culture scouts, they were always on the lookout for quality acts with broad appeal. You can sense George Marienthal\u2019s pride as he stands next to the rack of publicity stills in his club, a roster of entertainers and celebrities that he and his brother had selected, nurtured, and brought to public attention. These performers, and the fame that Mister Kelly\u2019s had helped them accrue, were in some sense the Marienthals\u2019 life work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UFAC_L?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"823\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00002_fl_00011_01_01-823x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photograph of two white men sitting at a restaurant table. One plays the harmonica while the other looks at a booklet about how to play the harmonica and listens with a concerned look on his face.\" class=\"wp-image-25131\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.8037187849086519;width:217px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00002_fl_00011_01_01-823x1024.jpg 823w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00002_fl_00011_01_01-241x300.jpg 241w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00002_fl_00011_01_01-768x956.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00002_fl_00011_01_01-1234x1536.jpg 1234w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00002_fl_00011_01_01.jpg 1607w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 823px) 100vw, 823px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UFAC_L?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bob Howe Agency, Herb Schriner and Oscar Marienthal (December 1960)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marienthal brothers had competition in mid-century Chicago. There were equally lavish spaces nearby, such as the Chez Paree, Empire Room, and Playboy Club, as well as other progressive, style-setting venues such as the Gate of Horn (run by Albert Grossman, who would later become the manager of Bob Dylan and other folk icons). But only the Marienthal empire made stars in music and comedy on a regular basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The siblings\u2019 three clubs cross-marketed and cross-pollinated, quickly growing into a dominant force in local nightlife. They became the go-to place for memorable evenings and milestone celebrations. As a 1960s magazine story noted, \u201cThere\u2019s a Marienthal-owned restaurant or bar open 21 hours a day,\u201d from early-morning breakfast through the latest of late-night cocktails. All of these spaces shared a relaxed <em>joie de vivre<\/em>, which we can see in the photo of Oscar playing the harmonica with homespun humorist and media personality Herb Shriner. In their businesslike, low-key way, the Marienthals helped define an era: not just in terms of the acts they presented and the food they served, but, as we will see, in their progressive attitudes and staunchly liberal, anti-racist policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ask Students<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Why do you think the matchbook advertises not one but two of the Marienthal clubs?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How would you define \u201ccafe society\u201d in your own words? Do you think something similar exists today?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How would you describe the look and style of the Mister Kelly\u2019s dinner plate and ashtray? What sort of statement do they make about the club?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What sort of skills and personality do you think are needed to run a nightclub? Do you see hints of that personality type in these photos of George and Oscar Marienthal? Explain. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"rush-street\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rush Street in the 1950s and 1960s<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rush Street, the diagonal avenue that cuts through Chicago\u2019s Gold Coast neighborhood on the Near North Side, was at one time the heart of the city\u2019s nightlife district. The above postcard depicts it as what Chicago author Nelson Algren called a \u201cneon wilderness\u201d: glamorous and enticing, but also cold and anonymous. The postcard\u2019s reverse side describes Rush Street as the \u201cwell-lit mile of fun and frolic [that] has every type of music for dancing and listening. The bands and singers provide thrilling entertainment from twilight to dawn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3MVJ?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"677\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00236_postcard_000001-1024x677.jpg\" alt=\"Color postcard showing a city street at night. The street is lined with low buildings lit with bright lights and signs advertising restaurants, bars, and entertainment.\" class=\"wp-image-25135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00236_postcard_000001-1024x677.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00236_postcard_000001-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00236_postcard_000001-768x508.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00236_postcard_000001-1536x1016.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00236_postcard_000001.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3MVJ?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Postcard showing night along Rush Street (undated)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rush Street was everything that makes the city fun and exciting \u2013 but it had its shadow side, too. Contemporary accounts refer to the strip as \u201cChicago\u2019s Glitter Gulch,\u201d a quasi-vice district spangled with garish neon signs and dominated by organized crime. Through its control of certain business suppliers, such as linen services and vending machines, as well as its outright or partial ownership of some clubs, taverns and restaurants, the mob was a major presence on the street.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amid the many strip clubs and dive bars in the area, Mister Kelly\u2019s and its sister spaces were something of an oasis of honest business practices and high-class entertainment. As with all the Rush Street hangouts, Mister Kelly\u2019s clientele consisted of a mix of locals and visiting conventioneers. What distinguished these venues from their neighbors was the high caliber of the talent, the consistently high quality \u2013 and relatively high prices, for the time \u2013 of the food and drink, and the sophistication of the clientele, wherever they came from. Mister Kelly\u2019s, elegant and well-run, helped cleanse the neighborhood\u2019s image, transforming it from sordid to suave, a place where respectable people of discriminating taste would congregate. The club\u2019s reputation for quality allowed it to survive not one but two devastating fires, in late 1955 and early 1966, coming back each time stronger than ever. (The story may be too good to be true, but it\u2019s said that vocalist Lainie Kazan was singing \u201cSmoke Gets in Your Eyes\u201d when the 1966 fire started.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By attracting talent of national scope, Mister Kelly\u2019s and the London House helped rehabilitate the image of Chicago itself. Long associated with the violence of Al Capone and the open corruption that flourished in the 1920s and later, the city found itself recast as an entertainment mecca, rivaling New York, New Orleans, and San Francisco in terms of depth of talent and party atmosphere. Suddenly, Chicago seemed not just a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NoKn7vkSMBc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">toddling town<\/a>, as the old song goes, but a grownup, sophisticated city, open to new and different cultural experiences, including daring comedy and cutting-edge jazz and other musical forms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As America began to move in new directions culturally and politically following eight sleepy years under the aging, avuncular President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961), Chicago and its top nightclubs became a locus of change. Chicago may have been known as \u201cthe Second City,\u201d but Mister Kelly\u2019s and the London House were second to none. For performers, playing there meant you had arrived; you were at the top of the game. The frequent presence of newspaper columnists and other media people meant that word of your success would spread quickly. As the nightclubs\u2019 reputations grew, they attracted top performers, who in turn benefited from, and also enhanced, the clubs\u2019 prestige. It was a win-win situation, a mutually beneficial relationship between star-potential performers and star-making venues. Rush Street as a whole took on some of Mister Kelly\u2019s luster, and higher-class jazz cabarets, piano bars and other venues began to proliferate in the late 1950s and early 1960s.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Seeking to capture a touch of the Marienthal magic, many artists \u2013 ranging from the Smothers Brothers comedy act to jazz musicians Anita O\u2019Day, Sarah Vaughan, and Oscar Peterson \u2013 recorded live albums at Mister Kelly\u2019s and the London House, benefiting from the clubs\u2019 enthusiastic audiences and excellent sound systems. These albums, some of them still in print, are a tribute to the clubs\u2019 centrality in the mid-century music and comedy scenes, as well as a permanent part of the Marienthal legacy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C39DH?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1012\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00014_fl_00408_01-1012x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25110\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00014_fl_00408_01-1012x1024.jpg 1012w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00014_fl_00408_01-297x300.jpg 297w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00014_fl_00408_01-768x777.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00014_fl_00408_01-1518x1536.jpg 1518w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00014_fl_00408_01.jpg 1977w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1012px) 100vw, 1012px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C39DH?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Smothers Brothers, &#8220;Curb Your Tonge, Knave!&#8221; (1963)<\/a><br><br><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0hhehAv714c&amp;list=PLLQfcKi9bmQ49QfbxD_U0_13tOhZT78Lm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Listen to the album here!<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3LHY?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1001\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00012_fl_00402_01-1024x1001.jpg\" alt=\"Color album cover showing Anita O'Day, a white woman in a blue top, while singing.\" class=\"wp-image-25136\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00012_fl_00402_01-1024x1001.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00012_fl_00402_01-300x293.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00012_fl_00402_01-768x751.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00012_fl_00402_01-1536x1502.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00012_fl_00402_01.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3LHY?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;Anita O&#8217;Day at Mister Kelly&#8217;s&#8221; (1958)<\/a><br><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AS7CsM1lurk&amp;list=PL3z-B9In1uUdDm2Al9gRc2KgMS_6d9FGn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Listen to the album here!<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For twenty years, a long time in the pop culture world, Mister Kelly\u2019s and its sister venues were local and even national institutions, signifying artistic accomplishment and appeal, and making Rush Street feel like the place to be for entertainers. For example, Barbra Streisand, whose 1963 Mister Kelly\u2019s debut helped propel her into fame, decided to use photos she had taken at the club, elsewhere on Rush, and at the nearby Oak Street Beach as cover photos for her early record albums. We see her gazing out boldly at the viewer, full of youthful confidence, looking like someone ready to conquer the world. To be at Mister Kelly\u2019s, the crown jewel of Rush Street, was truly to be somewhere special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89CUXNS?BRPN=2&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"707\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00098_02_01-1024x707.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photograph of Barbara Streisand, a young white woman with dark shoulder-length hair wearing a striped collared shirt, posing in front of a brick wall. A sign partly visible behind her advertises her show at Mister Kelly's\/\" class=\"wp-image-25109\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00098_02_01-1024x707.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00098_02_01-300x207.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00098_02_01-768x530.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00098_02_01-1536x1060.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00098_02_01.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89CUXNS?BRPN=2&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Barbra Streisand posing in front of Mister Kelly&#8217;s (1963)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ask Students<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How would you describe the atmosphere visually evoked by the \u201cNight Along Rush Street\u201d postcard? Whom do you think it\u2019s aimed at? Do you find it appealing?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In looking at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0hhehAv714c&amp;list=PLLQfcKi9bmQ49QfbxD_U0_13tOhZT78Lm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Smothers Brothers<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AS7CsM1lurk&amp;list=PL3z-B9In1uUdDm2Al9gRc2KgMS_6d9FGn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Anita O\u2019Day<\/a> album photos, do you get a sense of the performers\u2019 personalities and of the immediacy of a live performance? How does seeing and hearing the nightclub setting add to the experience of listening to the album?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why do you think the Mister Kelly\u2019s management was receptive to the recording of live albums at the club? How might the club have benefited from them?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why did Chicago have an image problem in the 1950s? How did Mister Kelly\u2019s and the other clubs help create a new and more attractive image?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do you think you\u2019d enjoy a night out at a Marienthal club? Why or why not?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"clubs-themselves\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Clubs Themselves<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3OUN?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"736\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00221_01-1024x736.jpg\" alt=\"Postcard with red text and illustrations advertising the London House, Mister Kelly's the Happy Medium, and the Pussycat.\" class=\"wp-image-25113\" style=\"width:349px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00221_01-1024x736.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00221_01-300x216.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00221_01-768x552.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00221_01-1536x1104.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00221_01.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3OUN?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Postcard advertising Marienthal properties (1966)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The three major clubs had similarly high standards, but differed in their artistic offerings. Mister Kelly\u2019s was a classic cabaret, usually pairing a comic with a musician \u2013 although some performers, such as musical parodist Allan Sherman, mixed humor and song. It boasted a first-class kitchen and, of course, a well-stocked bar. (The building, on Rush Street at East Bellevue Place, is now occupied by Gibson\u2019s Restaurant.)&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The London House, the oldest Marienthal enterprise, was a steakhouse specializing in jazz, especially piano jazz, with famous keyboardists of the period such as Oscar Peterson, Marian McPartland, Bill Evans and Ramsey Lewis appearing on a regular basis. It was located in an ornate 1920s-era skyscraper on Wacker at Michigan Avenue, just south of the Chicago River (and, incidentally, on the exact site of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.architecture.org\/online-resources\/architecture-encyclopedia\/fort-dearborn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fort Dearborn<\/a>).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDKFYX?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"821\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00106_01-1024x821.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photograph of a group of well-dressed young white people standing and sitting in front of a sparkling sign. Only the bottom of the sign is visible in the photo, and it reads, &quot;inhumanity.&quot; There is a cake on a small table in the center of the group, and everyone has a slice.\" class=\"wp-image-25130\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.24728777541662;width:343px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00106_01-1024x821.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00106_01-300x241.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00106_01-768x616.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00106_01-1536x1232.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00106_01.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDKFYX?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;Medium Rare&#8221; cast (1960)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The youngest venue was the Happy Medium, a custom-built, space age-style performance venue that featured musical and comedy revues on the main floor, with a combination listening room\/disco below.The club was right on Rush Street, at Delaware, a couple of blocks south of Mister Kelly\u2019s. Although less remembered today than the other clubs, the Happy Medium was a success in its own right. It provided homegrown theatrical fare in a city dominated by touring Broadway productions and allowed the Marienthals to function as theater producers as well as cabaret impresarios. Together with the world-famous and still-running Second City improv club in nearby Old Town, the Happy Medium helped establish Chicago as a capital of sketch comedy. Several of the young Happy Medium cast members seen here \u2013 including Jennifer Warren and Tom Williams, along with Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, a married couple and comedy team who also headlined at Mister Kelly\u2019s \u2013 went on to varied and successful showbiz careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marienthals, both perfectionists, created just the setting they wanted. Vocalist Anita O\u2019Day\u2019s album ecorded live at Mister Kelly\u2019s in 1958 notes that the club \u201coffers the acoustic excellence and listening qualities necessary to any good recording activity,\u201d as well as the sort of savvy audience that provides the \u201cgive-and-take that makes these albums permissible.\u201d Another set of liner notes that accompanied a 1957 live album from Mister Kelly\u2019s by legendary jazz songstress Sarah Vaughan remarks that \u201cfifty-two hi-fi speakers, concealed in carefully selected spots around the ceiling, bring the entertainer to every table as though for each listener it were a private performance.\u201d Even much later, in their fading years during the early 1970s, the clubs continued to put on a good show.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/Share\/o5r8hqtl2q728364r24i3823m6528a4d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"649\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_mr_kellys_vaughan_record_002-1024x649.jpg\" alt=\"Record sleeve with a color photograph of Mister Kelly's, a two-story building on a city street corner with neon signs saying &quot;Hang your Hat at Mister Kelly's&quot; and &quot;Sarah Vaughan by Popular Demand.&quot; The black record sticks partly out of the sleeve.\" class=\"wp-image-25129\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_mr_kellys_vaughan_record_002-1024x649.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_mr_kellys_vaughan_record_002-300x190.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_mr_kellys_vaughan_record_002-768x487.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_mr_kellys_vaughan_record_002-1536x974.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_mr_kellys_vaughan_record_002.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/Share\/o5r8hqtl2q728364r24i3823m6528a4d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;Sarah Vaughan and Her Trio Recorded on the Spot at the Famous Mr. Kelly&#8217;s in Chicago&#8221; (1957)<\/a><br><br><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wka-ea_IXLA&amp;list=PLN_G3bWfXb3rQL1LQh0QO1ToFvGg538kA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Listen to the album here!<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A night out at Mister Kelly\u2019s or the London House was a multi-sensory experience. On top of the memorable harmonies and witty wordplay on stage, there was the venue\u2019s handsome d\u00e9cor and well-prepared, meat-heavy meals, including the club\u2019s trademark Green Goddess Salad and Candy Crunch Cake. The behind-the-scenes photo below shows London House manager David Maren, together with the house chef, holding a pot roast. The rich food, combined with strong drinks, smoky atmosphere, and high-energy entertainment, created a heady, intoxicating atmosphere, one very different from home or office. It was the era\u2019s idea of fun, glamor, and sociability.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was an era long preceding cell phone cameras, so there are relatively few interior photos available of Mister Kelly\u2019s and the London House. Those we do have, such as this picture of jazz vocalist Jeri Southern, reveal the club\u2019s crowded confines, inhabited by a crewcut, nattily dressed audience that\u2019s enjoying itself, but which also seems aware of the specialness of the occasion. What the clubs offered was the unique intensity of a live performance by a name performer in a compact room, holding no more than about 200 people. We still have the stars, but we lack the intimacy. These photos of Mister Kelly\u2019s and the other spaces offer a glimpse of an entertainment milieu that has largely disappeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UHNZEV?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"816\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00001_fl_00051_pr_01_01-1024x816.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photograph of three white adults in a kitchen, two men and a woman. The woman and the man on the right are dressed in business clothing, while the man between them is dressed as a chef and holds a pot roast on a platter.\" class=\"wp-image-25132\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00001_fl_00051_pr_01_01-1024x816.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00001_fl_00051_pr_01_01-300x239.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00001_fl_00051_pr_01_01-768x612.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00001_fl_00051_pr_01_01-1536x1224.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00001_fl_00051_pr_01_01.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UHNZEV?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Chicago Sun Times<\/em>, David Maren and other staff at London House (c. 1971)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDHHRR?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"837\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00096_01-1024x837.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photograph of a crowded night club with a band on stage.\" class=\"wp-image-25141\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00096_01-1024x837.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00096_01-300x245.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00096_01-768x628.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00096_01-1536x1256.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00096_01.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDHHRR?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Singer Jeri Southern on stage at Mister Kelly&#8217;s <\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDHHRR?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">(c. 1956)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ask Students<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Notice how close the audience is to the Mister Kelly\u2019s stage. How do you think this affected listeners\u2019 experience? How does a jazz combo in a small space differ from, say, a rock concert in a stadium?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What is the average age of the audience members in the Mister Kelly\u2019s photo? How would you describe their clothes? What do your observations of the audience tell you about the club?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do you think a modern-day fancy restaurant would feature pot roast? Why do you think the Marienthals chose to serve this kind of \u201chomey\u201d food?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The 1966 advertising postcard lists no acts for Mister Kelly\u2019s, saying only \u201cthere was this fire \u2026.\u201d But even with only two clubs in operation, the lineup of talent is impressive. In its writing and design, how does the postcard convey excitement and entice viewers?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Looking at the Happy Medium cast photo, what sort of show would you expect to see? How do you think staging a theatrical event at the Happy Medium might differ from presenting a musician or comedian at the other Marienthal venues?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"clubs-civil-rights\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Clubs and Civil Rights<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marienthal clubs were businesses, of course, but they were also social, artistic, and to some extent political statements. In the way they booked and ran their clubs, the Marienthals embraced a progressive version of modernity, tying the hipness and relevance of their night spots to their ahead-of-the-pack policies. They fostered an inclusiveness and diversity not just of race but of ideas, too, as they sought to create spaces open to everyone where artists could express themselves freely.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What was remarkable about Mister Kelly\u2019s programming is that \u2013 in an era of widespread racial segregation, both South and North, where hotels, restaurants and stores routinely discriminated against people of color \u2013 the club generally paired white and Black acts. If, for example, Black comedian Dick Gregory were headlining, he would likely be paired with a white musician; if white comedian Lenny Bruce were featured, he would most often be matched with a Black musician.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/Share\/76q6p2nyk1w2t0p7u23l15e33l0ic750\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"844\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00001_fl_00083_01-844x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photograph of Richard Pryor, a young Black man wearing a suit. The photograph is taken from the chest up. Pryor is smiling and has his hand on his chin in a thoughtful pose.\" class=\"wp-image-25112\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.8242170187620033;width:306px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00001_fl_00083_01-844x1024.jpg 844w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00001_fl_00083_01-247x300.jpg 247w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00001_fl_00083_01-768x932.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00001_fl_00083_01-1266x1536.jpg 1266w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00001_fl_00083_01.jpg 1648w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 844px) 100vw, 844px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/Share\/76q6p2nyk1w2t0p7u23l15e33l0ic750\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Publicity photograph of Richard Pryor (1969)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This policy meant, among other things, that Mister Kelly\u2019s was a major launching pad for Black entertainers. Indeed, it\u2019s where emerging stars such as Richard Pryor earned their spurs. It\u2019s also where Pryor segued from the well-dressed, polite, and more-or-less conventional comedian he was at the beginning of his career, to the much more confrontational, political, four-letter-word-wielding figure he would become. Pryor was scheduled to perform at Mister Kelly\u2019s on April 4, 1968, the day that Martin Luther King was murdered and cities across the country \u2013 including Chicago\u2019s West Side \u2013 exploded in rage. When Pryor heard about the assassination, he got in a car with a Mister Kelly\u2019s staffer, lit a joint, and roamed the city all night, sobbing. When he came back to performing, he was a changed man. Scheduled to return to Mister Kelly\u2019s a year after the assassination, Pryor canceled his engagement when George Marienthal, fearful of potential audience reaction, apparently objected to the \u201cblue\u201d language that now characterized his act. Pryor never again performed at Mister Kelly\u2019s. He took his act elsewhere, and with his frankness and sometimes overtly angry persona, changed standup comedy forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UHT6SE?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"872\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_016_fol_0486_01-872x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white sign advertising signer Della Reese and the interracial comedy duo Tim and Tom at Mister Kelly's.\" class=\"wp-image-25128\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.8515635433957225;width:267px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_016_fol_0486_01-872x1024.jpg 872w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_016_fol_0486_01-256x300.jpg 256w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_016_fol_0486_01-768x901.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_016_fol_0486_01-1309x1536.jpg 1309w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_016_fol_0486_01.jpg 1704w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 872px) 100vw, 872px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UHT6SE?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;Della Reese with Pianist Marvin Jenkins and Comedy Duo Tim &amp; Tom&#8221; sign (August 21-27, 1972)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps the ultimate expression of Mister Kelly\u2019s bold programming philosophy was the booking of Tim (Reid) &amp; Tom (Dreesen), the pioneering interracial comedy team that formed in the late 1960s. Mostly working what was then known as the \u201cchitlin\u2019 circuit\u201d of Black-owned venues, Tim &amp; Tom found a home at Mister Kelly\u2019s around 1970. At a time when racial conflict was at a high point, they found there a mixed and accepting audience, ready to listen to the pair\u2019s funny but pointed take on the highly charged topic of being Black or white in America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rush Street in the 1950s and early 1960s was not famous for its racial sensitivity. But Mister Kelly\u2019s prided itself in its inclusiveness. Everyone who loved good music, comedy, and food was welcome; no one was made uncomfortable. Mixed-race couples, subject to potentially rude treatment elsewhere, would make Mister Kelly\u2019s their meeting place. The Marienthal venues received something close to official recognition for their liberal ways in 1960, when Chicago-based <em>Ebony<\/em> magazine, aimed at an African-American audience, listed Mister Kelly\u2019s and the London House as the only local clubs recommended for its Black readers. In today\u2019s parlance, Mister Kelly\u2019s was a safe space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UFAI_H?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"540\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/99703968805867_h_58_37_0023_vol_015_june_1960_pg_116_117-edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"Detail image of a page of text from a magazine listing &quot;Mister Kelly Chicago&quot; as a place to enjoy &quot;top jazz and comedy entertainment, food.&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-25270\" style=\"width:340px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/99703968805867_h_58_37_0023_vol_015_june_1960_pg_116_117-edited-1.jpg 540w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/99703968805867_h_58_37_0023_vol_015_june_1960_pg_116_117-edited-1-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UFAI_H?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mister Kelly&#8217;s listing, <em>Ebony <\/em>(June 1960)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In so many ways, the Marienthals were ahead of their time, but their commitment to integration and promoting Black talent is what most distinguishes them. It was all part of their winning formula: forward-looking creative artists playing to a cool, open-minded crowd. They were on the right side of history, and it paid off for them and the city as a whole, whic saw inclusiveness and togetherness in action on a nightly basis.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ask Students<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>During the first dozen or so years after the founding of Mister Kelly\u2019s, what else was happening in the country? How might these events, movements and personalities have affected the Marienthal clubs?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why do you thin <em>Ebony<\/em> magazine saw the need to provide a \u201cVacation Guide\u201d to its readers in the 1950s and early 1960s?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why was Mister Kelly\u2019s taking a risk in hiring an interracial comedy team like Tim &amp; Tom? Does the photo still seem startling or provocative? Why or why not?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why do you think the Marienthals made it a policy to pair Black and white acts on a nightly basis? Do you think such a practice might be controversial even today? If so, why?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"peak-decline-fall\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Peak, Decline, and Fall<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At its peak, from the late 1950s through the 1960s, Mister Kelly\u2019s was arguably the top nightclub in America. Mister Kelly\u2019s and its jazz-oriented sibling, the London House, made for a formidable one-two punch. Jazz musicians on stage included such legends as George Shearing, Chet Baker, Horace Silver, and Herbie Hancock, among myriad other top stars. Pop vocalists included not only Streisand, but also heavyweights such as Mel Torm\u00e9, Eartha Kitt, Bette Midler, and Lainie Kazan. The comedy roster comprised the most famous \u2013 and notorious \u2013 performers of the day, from Lenny Bruce, whose brilliant but off-color routines led to his arrest on obscenity charges in Chicago and elsewhere, to the unabashedly political and iconoclastic Mort Sahl, to such luminaries as Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, George Carlin, Freddie Prinze, and Joan Rivers. It would be easier to name the stars of the day who <em>didn\u2019t<\/em> grace a Marienthal stage. Mister Kelly\u2019s became what we would now refer to as a powerful brand, with crowds lining up to get in even if they didn\u2019t recognize the names on the marquee. The name that counted was Mister Kelly\u2019s itself, a guarantee of quality and a good time. It worked the other way too, reassuring performers that they would be heard by a knowledgeable, open-minded, appreciative crowd.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C34QV?BRPN=1&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"506\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00004_fl_00203_01-506x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Detail of a newspaper clipping entitled, &quot;Changes Ahead for Chicago Night Spots.&quot; Reads, &quot;George Marienthal, Chicago's' Mister Nightclub, is not given to exaggeration. So when he says that the night club business is on the verge of big change, you can believe it. And tho he knows only what his own operations will be doing in the months ahead, he suspects that what's true for him will be true for other owners as well. &quot;Among the changes he sees for his Mister Kelly's, London House, Happy Medium and Flower Pot are some that are already taking place, and others that will occur between now and late spring. &quot;Kelly's began its image change a few weeks ago with the addition of a small dance floor, which diners have been slow to try. [Larry Novak's fine trio is feeling its way with that challenge.] Monday, tuxedoed maitre d' Monroe Elfenbein was replaced at the door by sports jacketed new maitre d' Will Sheldon. The result of that sartorial pendulum swing, Marienthal hopes, will be that Kelly's will be a less awesome place for the sometimes night clubber to enter. Other changes upcoming: a limited-menu luncheon, an afternoon cocktail session and a new dinner menu with some lower-priced [$3.95] entrees. &quot;'We've got to attract the younger [21 to 35-year-old], more informal audience, which is the night life crowd now,' Marienthal says. 'We'll do this by making them feel welcome without compromising the quality of our food or the acts we book. We will book more hot, young acts--along with prove crowd pleasers, of course--and pass on those who have not been worth their price.'&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-25142\" style=\"width:257px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00004_fl_00203_01-506x1024.jpg 506w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00004_fl_00203_01-148x300.jpg 148w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00004_fl_00203_01.jpg 621w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 506px) 100vw, 506px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C34QV?BRPN=1&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Chicago Tribune, <\/em>&#8220;Changes Ahead for Chicago Night Spots&#8221; (February 12, 1971)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet by 1975, Mister Kelly\u2019s was gone forever, as were its sibling venues. Both Marienthals brothers were dead by then, and their mini-empire had passed out of family control. A <em>New York Times<\/em> headline at the time noted, \u201cJazz in Chicago is Muted by Demise of Top Clubs.\u201d Mister Kelly\u2019s and the London House could survive two massive fires a decade apart and two major riots in 1968, but they could not withstand the onslaught of youth culture in the 1960s and the displacement of jazz and show tune-based pop music by rock-and-roll and disco. Nor could it hold out forever against the larger venues, including glitzy Las Vegas show lounges and sprawling suburban supper clubs, which offered larger paychecks to performers and easier parking to patrons.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The newspaper articl here, \u201cChanges Ahead for Chicago Night Spots,\u201d touches on the perception of stodginess that had attached to Mister Kelly\u2019s by 1971. Noting that the former tuxedo-clad ma\u00eetre d\u2019 had been replaced by a younger man wearing a sports jacket, the story\u2019s writer adds that the change was made in the hope that, henceforth, Mister Kelly\u2019s \u201cwill be a somewhat less awesome place for the sometime nightclubber to enter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UHTBRL?BRPN=2&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"745\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/999999999_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00233_000011-745x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Page from a printed booklet entitled &quot;Entertainment and Restaurants.&quot; It describes the profits of Mister Kelly's, London House, and The Happy Medium during 1971. Photographs of the venues are on the side of the page.\" class=\"wp-image-25133\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.7275379800482493;width:282px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/999999999_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00233_000011-745x1024.jpg 745w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/999999999_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00233_000011-218x300.jpg 218w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/999999999_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00233_000011-768x1055.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/999999999_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00233_000011-1118x1536.jpg 1118w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/999999999_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00233_000011.jpg 1456w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 745px) 100vw, 745px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UHTBRL?BRPN=2&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Arts and Leisure Annual Report<\/em>, &#8220;Entertainment and Restaurants&#8221; (1972)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Already, it had become clear that what was chic and sophisticated in 1961 \u2013 an aesthetic captured in much later television series such as <em>Mad Men<\/em> and <em>The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel<\/em> \u2013 seemed pass\u00e9&nbsp;ten years later. The nightclub experience itself, with its dinner jackets, solicitous service, and aura of conspicuous consumption, had lost its relevance to youthful partiers who desired another kind of social and sensory experience, something that didn\u2019t feel quite so square and remind them quite so much of their parents.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the entertainment world became more corporate and less personal, so too did the Marienthal empire. In 1971, Mister Kelly\u2019s and the London House were purchased by the Arts and Leisure Corporation, a conglomerate that owned art galleries, printed greeting cards, and ran restaurant and entertainment venues, the division that George Marienthal headed until his death a year later. (The company also had a counterculture-oriented \u201cYouth Products\u201d department, comprising \u201cHip Products, Inc.\u201d and \u201cVoice of the Flower.\u201d) But corporate control, with its layers of bureaucracy and bottom-line focus, did not mesh well with the Marienthal enterprises\u2019 family heritage. Despite heroic efforts by management and staff \u2013 including Mister Kelly\u2019s final supervisor, restaurateur Jerry Dambra \u2013 the curtain went down on all the venues in 1975. Said Dambra about his brush with nightlife history: \u201cI was a lucky man to shut down the two best clubs in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ask Students<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Why did nightclubs like Mister Kelly\u2019s seem dated and square by the 1970s? What sort of entertainment venues replaced them?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How might corporate control of Mister Kelly\u2019s and the London House have changed the culture of the two clubs?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why do you think Mister Kelly\u2019s employees and managers alike went to such lengths \u2013 including sometimes forgoing paychecks \u2013 to keep the club going?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>All the interior shots of the various clubs show how formally people dressed back in the day for a night on the town. Why do you think such dress codes have mostly disappeared?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"conclusion\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For a twenty-year period between the 1950s and 1970s, Mister Kelly\u2019s and its sister nightclubs served as places not just of entertainment and refreshment, but also of transformation. The Marienthal brothers\u2019 attention to quality and detail helped transmute the less-than-respectable, mafia-ridden Rush Street area into a live performance district of national renown, thus altering and enhancing the image of Chicago itself. In addition, their ethical hiring and business practices, along with their commitment to create a safe and welcoming space for all and to feature a mix of white and Black acts, helped gently ease the previously segregated nightclub industry away from its racist past and into the dawning civil rights era.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On a smaller but still meaningful scale, the Marienthal clubs\u2019 lofty standards, high profile, and unquestioned status as a kind of seal of artistic approval transformed many lives, launching performers such as Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Herbie Hancock, Richard Pryor, Woody Allen, Bob Newhart, Shelley Berman and so many others into national prominence. Mister Kelly\u2019s and the London House helped keep jazz, which had been losing popularity throughout the 1960s, in the public eye. The club also elevated standup comedy from <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Borscht_Belt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">borscht-belt<\/a> schtick and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vaudeville\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">vaudeville<\/a> gags into a potent art form that punctured illusions and challenged conventions and clich\u00e9s with humorous but hard-hitting truths.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The agent of change that was Mister Kelly\u2019s would itself fall victim, ironically enough, to social and economic changes, as cafe society gave way to youth culture, and the very idea of a high-class nightclub like Mister Kelly\u2019s or the London House began to seem obsolete. The clubs could bend only so far before breaking in the face of shifting tastes and the ever-tougher competition for entertainment dollars.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mister Kelly\u2019s, the London House, and the Happy Medium are long gone, but they\u2019ve never completely disappeared from public consciousness. They represent an apex of live entertainment in Chicago, when the best musicians and comedians performed on a daily basis at a couple of small local clubs, where they shared themselves with an audience sophisticated and broad-minded enough to appreciate their artistry, under the guidance of two brothers who both reflected and influenced public taste and who treated talent like family.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The newspaper article below underscores just how warm and personal the Mister Kelly\u2019s experience could be for performers, and how much loyalty the Marienthal brothers generated. In his profile of standup comedian Shelley Berman, a longtime Mister Kelly\u2019s favorite famous for his telephone conversation routines, the writer notes that \u201chis biggest moment came when the late Oscar Marienthal hired him, an unknown, at Mister Kelly\u2019s.\u201d That\u2019s where his act took off, leading to growing success at larger clubs, on records, and on television. Berman\u2019s gratitude was boundless, as he explains to the writer: After the 1966 fire that shut down Mister Kelly\u2019s for a year, \u201cI told [George Marienthal] I\u2019ve got to be there in the new place opening night. Mister Kelly\u2019s means something to me. Man, that\u2019s home.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"509\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00018_fl_00499_may_02_1966_01_01-1024x509.jpg\" alt=\"Newspaper clipping of an article entitled, &quot;Chicago and Kelly's are Tops with Shelley.&quot; Reads, &quot;By Bob Rose, Our West Coast Bureau Chief &quot;Beverley Hills, Calif--Comedian Shelly Berman, born, raised and succussed in Chicago, wouldn't give you a dime for a Manhattan, if you know what I mean. &quot;'Well, I mean, New York, what is it? Nothing. They treated me great there. I've made money there,' Berman says.... &quot;'But Chicago. Chicago is something else. The town is beautiful. The people are beautiful. And they support entertainment. Believe me, one of these days they'll try out plays in New York for Chicago. Believe me, it'll happen.' &quot;Berman jabs a finger at you to emphasize each point, but he's a safe couple of yards away, slumped in a leather chair, one bare foot nervously picking at the carpet, the other perched on a coffee table. He's wearing an old pair of slacks and a thin zippered jacket, open down to the middle of his chest, and no shirt. &quot;Even so, the skinny (150 pounds, 5 foot 11) comedian might as well be on stage in his Brooks Brothers suit, half-sitting on his high stool, instead of in this huge, leathery home studio-office. The words start out as conversation and wind up as declamation, loud and forceful. The theme, usually, is man's absurdity. &quot;'All these people so concerned about four-letter words about sex and they don't give a damn about those four-letter words about war. If my little boy wants to say THE dirty word, I don't think that will harm him. Not like bang-bang. You know the song, 'bang-bang, that awful sound, I hit the ground.' Now this can kill him.' &quot;Look, last night on TV, there was this drama. And I counted. Four people, four were killed off for no reason. I mean there was no plot reason for them to die. It was just entertainment. Now tell me that isn't sick.' 'We glorify death. We say the greatest honor is to die for your country. Look at that song, 'The Green Beret' and the father wants his son to grow up and die like he did, fighting in a war. No tell me that's healthy. Our anthem says the bombs bursting in air prove our flag is still there. You couldn't just walk outside and look. No, the bombs got to be 'bursting in air.'' 'I'm not a pacifist. I think we're in Viet Nam probably because we can't help but be there and I think we ought to win. Maybe we're there because of 1776. It's just us and our history. But I think we sure as hell glorify guns and death. And nobody ever tells these kids that people don't die conveniently like they do on TV or in the movies.' Berman, a World War II Navy veteran, has been taking to the lecture platform recently to tell his views. 'I'm not looking for dates but if somebody asks me to, I talk. And I'll talk if they don't ask, too.&quot; Even so, Berman says he's not going to the extremes of Lenny Bruce, the comedian who got himself jail sentences for defying anti-smut ordinances by delivering comedy routines loaded with four-letter words. 'Nobody will hire him any more. So what's the good of it? He's chopped away the only platform he had. You know, you've got to compromise a little. It doesn't do you any good to kill yourself. When you're dead nobody can hear you.' Berman relaxes a little when the subject gets back to Chicago. He was born there 40 years ago. After the war, he enrolled in the Goodman Theater, where he met aspiring actress Sarah Herman. They have just celebrated tehri 19th wedding anniversary. They have an adopted son, Joshua Getzel, five French poodles, an XKE Jaguar, a 1952 Army jeep and a beautiful Beverly Hills home way up a steep twisting road, a road that reminds you of the roller coasters at Riverview. 'Yeah,' he says, 'like Riverview. You're right. But we only went there on the two-cent days.' His biggest moment in Chicago came when the late Oscar Marienthal hired him, an unknown, at Mister Kelly's. 'I didn't know anything. A couple of routines. I didn't know how to get on or how to get off. But he looked at me and listened and said, 'Kid--what's your name again?--kid, you're good.' And he hired me. He gave me a definite date. He didn't consult with anybody, or put me off until Thursday and give me that agony. I loved that man.' When Mr. Kelly' s burned down, Berman phoned Oscar's brother George. 'I told him I go to be there in the new place opening night. Mr. Kelly's means something to me. Man, that's home.'&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-25140\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00018_fl_00499_may_02_1966_01_01-1024x509.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00018_fl_00499_may_02_1966_01_01-300x149.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00018_fl_00499_may_02_1966_01_01-768x382.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00018_fl_00499_may_02_1966_01_01-1536x763.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00018_fl_00499_may_02_1966_01_01.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UFAX_3?BRPN=1&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bob Rose, &#8220;Chicago and Kelly&#8217;s are Tops with Shelley,&#8221; <em>Chicago Daily News<\/em> (May 2, 1966)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mister Kelly\u2019s felt like home to a great many people. That\u2019s why there was such sadness when it closed, why it\u2019s still missed by some so many years later, and why it\u2019s worth remembering. The Marienthal clubs were places of entertainment, existing apart from wars, governments, revolutions, social movements, and all the other things emphasized in history books. But in their own way, the clubs helped shape the cultural mood of their era. They are windows \u2013 important windows \u2013 into a certain time and place, revealing much about how life was lived at a certain moment, and how it changed over the course of two key decades.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ask Students<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Why was Shelley Berman, quoted in the article, so attached to Mister Kelly\u2019s? Do you think this is how performers typically think of the venues that employ them?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do you think the influence of Mister Kelly\u2019s and the other Marienthal clubs lingers today? In what ways?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why should Mister Kelly\u2019s be remembered today? What made it special?&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Could nightclubs like Mister Kelly\u2019s or the London House ever return? Can you think of examples of old fashions or preferences becoming popular again?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"author\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">About the Author<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Hugh Iglarsh<\/strong> is a Chicago-based critic, essayist, satirist and editor, and a longtime member of the Nelson Algren Committee. His work \u2013 including theater, dance, book and art reviews, as well as political and cultural commentary and travel accounts \u2013 has appeared in a number of publications, including <em>Newcity<\/em>, <em>CounterPunch<\/em> and the <em>Chicago Quarterly Review<\/em>. His article <a href=\"https:\/\/music.newcity.com\/2024\/03\/19\/empire-of-the-night-how-the-marienthal-brothers-brought-class-to-rush-street\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cEmpire of the Night: How the Marienthal Brothers Brought Class to Rush Street\u201d<\/a> was published in the March 2024 issue of <em>Newcity<\/em>. A jazz fan, Hugh regrets being born just a bit too late to experience Mister Kelly\u2019s and the other Marienthal clubs.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Source Set<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Clubs<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marienthals worked hard to make their nightclubs inviting, fashionable places, down to the design of their china and matchbooks. These objects and photographs provide a glimpse into that environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3MVJ?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"677\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00236_postcard_000001-1024x677.jpg\" alt=\"Color postcard showing a city street at night. The street is lined with low buildings lit with bright lights and signs advertising restaurants, bars, and entertainment.\" class=\"wp-image-25135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00236_postcard_000001-1024x677.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00236_postcard_000001-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00236_postcard_000001-768x508.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00236_postcard_000001-1536x1016.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00236_postcard_000001.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3MVJ?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Postcard showing night along Rush Street (undated)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDDTTU?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1021\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_maier_-vivian_01-1021x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photograph of the exterior of Mister Kelly's, a nightclub with midcentury modern architecture on the corner of a city street. Two men walk by the club, one pushing a small dolly with a crate.\" class=\"wp-image-25107\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_maier_-vivian_01-1021x1024.jpg 1021w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_maier_-vivian_01-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_maier_-vivian_01-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_maier_-vivian_01-768x770.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_maier_-vivian_01-1531x1536.jpg 1531w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_maier_-vivian_01.jpg 1994w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1021px) 100vw, 1021px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDDTTU?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vivian Maier, exterior of Mister Kelly&#8217;s (1967)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UHNZEV?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"816\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00001_fl_00051_pr_01_01-1024x816.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photograph of three white adults in a kitchen, two men and a woman. The woman and the man on the right are dressed in business clothing, while the man between them is dressed as a chef and holds a pot roast on a platter.\" class=\"wp-image-25132\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00001_fl_00051_pr_01_01-1024x816.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00001_fl_00051_pr_01_01-300x239.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00001_fl_00051_pr_01_01-768x612.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00001_fl_00051_pr_01_01-1536x1224.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00001_fl_00051_pr_01_01.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UHNZEV?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Chicago Sun Times<\/em>, David Maren and other staff at London House (c. 1971)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3H0J?BRPN=5&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"859\" height=\"859\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_plates-edited.jpg\" alt=\"Three white dinner plates of increasing sizes arranged in a row. Each as a black stripe across the middle with &quot;Mister Kelly's&quot; in white text.\" class=\"wp-image-25235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_plates-edited.jpg 859w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_plates-edited-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_plates-edited-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_plates-edited-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 859px) 100vw, 859px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3H0J?BRPN=5&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mister Kelly&#8217;s dinner plates <\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3H0J?BRPN=5&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">(c. 1960s-1970s)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3H0J?BRPN=2&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1012\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_ashtray_02-1024x1012.jpg\" alt=\"Clear ashtray on a black background with the logos of four Marienthal properties: London House, Mister Kelly's, Happy Medium, and Pussycat.\" class=\"wp-image-25137\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_ashtray_02-1024x1012.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_ashtray_02-300x297.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_ashtray_02-768x759.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_ashtray_02-1536x1518.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00017_fl_00494_ashtray_02.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3H0J?BRPN=2&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ashtray advertising Marienthal properties (c. 1960s-1970s)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3OUN?BRPN=1&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"736\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00221_01-1024x736.jpg\" alt=\"Postcard with red text and illustrations advertising the London House, Mister Kelly's the Happy Medium, and the Pussycat.\" class=\"wp-image-25113\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00221_01-1024x736.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00221_01-300x216.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00221_01-768x552.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00221_01-1536x1104.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00221_01.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3OUN?BRPN=1&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Postcard advertising Marienthal properties (1966)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDJGIU?WS=SingleAsset_SharePublic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"580\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00220_0002-e1784298920679-1024x580.jpg\" alt=\"Cover of white matchbook with green text advertising Mister Kelly's on the front and red text advertising London House on the back.\" class=\"wp-image-25234\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00220_0002-e1784298920679-1024x580.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00220_0002-e1784298920679-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00220_0002-e1784298920679-768x435.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00220_0002-e1784298920679-1536x869.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00220_0002-e1784298920679.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDJGIU?WS=SingleAsset_SharePublic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Matchbook advertising Mister Kelly&#8217;s and London House (c. 1960)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Performers<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For twenty years, Mister Kelly\u2019s and its sister venues were local and even national institutions, signifying artistic accomplishment and appeal. Discover some of the many performers who appeared at the clubs through the photographs and album covers below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDDOO5?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"901\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00018_fl_00505_01-1024x901.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph of George Marienthal, a middle-aged white man wearing a suit, in front of a wall of signed photographs of people who performed at Mister Kelly's.\" class=\"wp-image-25111\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00018_fl_00505_01-1024x901.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00018_fl_00505_01-300x264.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00018_fl_00505_01-768x675.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00018_fl_00505_01-1536x1351.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00018_fl_00505_01.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDDOO5?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">E. Gustie, photograph of George Marienthal (1969)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UFAC_L?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"823\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00002_fl_00011_01_01-823x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photograph of two white men sitting at a restaurant table. One plays the harmonica while the other looks at a booklet about how to play the harmonica and listens with a concerned look on his face.\" class=\"wp-image-25131\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00002_fl_00011_01_01-823x1024.jpg 823w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00002_fl_00011_01_01-241x300.jpg 241w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00002_fl_00011_01_01-768x956.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00002_fl_00011_01_01-1234x1536.jpg 1234w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00002_fl_00011_01_01.jpg 1607w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 823px) 100vw, 823px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UFAC_L?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bob Howe Agency, Herb Schriner and Oscar Marienthal (December 1960)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89CUXNS?BRPN=2&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"707\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00098_02_01-1024x707.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photograph of Barbara Streisand, a young white woman with dark shoulder-length hair wearing a striped collared shirt, posing in front of a brick wall. A sign partly visible behind her advertises her show at Mister Kelly's\/\" class=\"wp-image-25109\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00098_02_01-1024x707.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00098_02_01-300x207.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00098_02_01-768x530.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00098_02_01-1536x1060.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00098_02_01.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89CUXNS?BRPN=2&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Barbra Streisand posing in front of Mister Kelly&#8217;s (1963)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C39DH?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1012\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00014_fl_00408_01-1012x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25110\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00014_fl_00408_01-1012x1024.jpg 1012w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00014_fl_00408_01-297x300.jpg 297w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00014_fl_00408_01-768x777.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00014_fl_00408_01-1518x1536.jpg 1518w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00014_fl_00408_01.jpg 1977w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1012px) 100vw, 1012px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C39DH?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Smothers Brothers, &#8220;Curb Your Tonge, Knave!&#8221; record cover (1963)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3LHY?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1001\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00012_fl_00402_01-1024x1001.jpg\" alt=\"Color album cover showing Anita O'Day, a white woman in a blue top, while singing.\" class=\"wp-image-25136\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00012_fl_00402_01-1024x1001.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00012_fl_00402_01-300x293.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00012_fl_00402_01-768x751.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00012_fl_00402_01-1536x1502.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00012_fl_00402_01.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C3LHY?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;Anita O&#8217;Day at Mister Kelly&#8217;s&#8221; (1958)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/Share\/o5r8hqtl2q728364r24i3823m6528a4d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"649\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_mr_kellys_vaughan_record_002-1024x649.jpg\" alt=\"Record sleeve with a color photograph of Mister Kelly's, a two-story building on a city street corner with neon signs saying &quot;Hang your Hat at Mister Kelly's&quot; and &quot;Sarah Vaughan by Popular Demand.&quot; The black record sticks partly out of the sleeve.\" class=\"wp-image-25129\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_mr_kellys_vaughan_record_002-1024x649.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_mr_kellys_vaughan_record_002-300x190.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_mr_kellys_vaughan_record_002-768x487.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_mr_kellys_vaughan_record_002-1536x974.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_mr_kellys_vaughan_record_002.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/Share\/o5r8hqtl2q728364r24i3823m6528a4d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;Sarah Vaughan and Her Trio Recorded on the Spot at the Famous Mr. Kelly&#8217;s in Chicago&#8221; (1957)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDHHRR?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"837\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00096_01-1024x837.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photograph of a crowded night club with a band on stage.\" class=\"wp-image-25141\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00096_01-1024x837.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00096_01-300x245.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00096_01-768x628.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00096_01-1536x1256.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00096_01.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDHHRR?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Singer Jeri Southern on stage at Mister Kelly&#8217;s <\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDHHRR?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">(c. 1956)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDKFYX?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"821\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00106_01-1024x821.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photograph of a group of well-dressed young white people standing and sitting in front of a sparkling sign. Only the bottom of the sign is visible in the photo, and it reads, &quot;inhumanity.&quot; There is a cake on a small table in the center of the group, and everyone has a slice.\" class=\"wp-image-25130\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00106_01-1024x821.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00106_01-300x241.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00106_01-768x616.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00106_01-1536x1232.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00002_fl_00106_01.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDKFYX?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;Medium Rare&#8221; cast,&nbsp;Tom Williams, Anne Meara, James Inman, Jean Arnold, Bobo Lewis, Judy Bement, Liza Stuart, Gary Oakes, Jerry Stiller, and Jennifer Warren (1960)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Clubs and Civil Rights<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the way they booked and ran their clubs, the Marienthals embraced a progressive version of modernity. They fostered an inclusiveness and diversity not just of race but of ideas, too, as they&nbsp;sought&nbsp;to create spaces open to everyone where artists could express themselves freely.&nbsp;The sources below show their commitment to integration in the 1960s and 1970s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDKZ37?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"844\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00001_fl_00083_01-844x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photograph of Richard Pryor, a young Black man wearing a suit. The photograph is taken from the chest up. Pryor is smiling and has his hand on his chin in a thoughtful pose.\" class=\"wp-image-25112\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00001_fl_00083_01-844x1024.jpg 844w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00001_fl_00083_01-247x300.jpg 247w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00001_fl_00083_01-768x932.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00001_fl_00083_01-1266x1536.jpg 1266w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00001_fl_00083_01.jpg 1648w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 844px) 100vw, 844px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8ZSWDKZ37?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Publicity photograph of Richard Pryor (1969)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UHT6SE?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"872\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_016_fol_0486_01-872x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white sign advertising signer Della Reese and the interracial comedy duo Tim and Tom at Mister Kelly's.\" class=\"wp-image-25128\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_016_fol_0486_01-872x1024.jpg 872w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_016_fol_0486_01-256x300.jpg 256w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_016_fol_0486_01-768x901.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_016_fol_0486_01-1309x1536.jpg 1309w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_016_fol_0486_01.jpg 1704w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 872px) 100vw, 872px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UHT6SE?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;Della Reese with Pianist Marvin Jenkins and Comedy Duo Tim &amp; Tom&#8221; sign (August 21-27, 1972)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UFAI_H?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"540\" height=\"797\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99703968805867_h_58_37_0023_vol_015_june_1960_pg_116_117.jpg\" alt=\"Detail image of a page of text from a magazine listing &quot;Mister Kelly Chicago&quot; as a place to enjoy &quot;top jazz and comedy entertainment, food.&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-25106\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99703968805867_h_58_37_0023_vol_015_june_1960_pg_116_117.jpg 540w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/99703968805867_h_58_37_0023_vol_015_june_1960_pg_116_117-203x300.jpg 203w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UFAI_H?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mister Kelly&#8217;s listing, <em>Ebony<\/em> <\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UFAI_H?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">(June 1960)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Clubs&#8217; Decline and Legacy<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mister Kelly\u2019s and the London House could not withstand the onslaught of youth culture in the 1960s and the displacement of jazz and show tune-based pop music by rock-and-roll and disco. Nor could they hold out forever against the larger venues which offered larger paychecks to performers and&nbsp;easier&nbsp;parking to patrons.&nbsp;Both clubs closed by 1975. These sources track their final years and the strength of their legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C34QV?BRPN=1&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"506\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00004_fl_00203_01-506x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Detail of a newspaper clipping entitled, &quot;Changes Ahead for Chicago Night Spots.&quot; Reads, &quot;George Marienthal, Chicago's' Mister Nightclub, is not given to exaggeration. So when he says that the night club business is on the verge of big change, you can believe it. And tho he knows only what his own operations will be doing in the months ahead, he suspects that what's true for him will be true for other owners as well. &quot;Among the changes he sees for his Mister Kelly's, London House, Happy Medium and Flower Pot are some that are already taking place, and others that will occur between now and late spring. &quot;Kelly's began its image change a few weeks ago with the addition of a small dance floor, which diners have been slow to try. [Larry Novak's fine trio is feeling its way with that challenge.] Monday, tuxedoed maitre d' Monroe Elfenbein was replaced at the door by sports jacketed new maitre d' Will Sheldon. The result of that sartorial pendulum swing, Marienthal hopes, will be that Kelly's will be a less awesome place for the sometimes night clubber to enter. Other changes upcoming: a limited-menu luncheon, an afternoon cocktail session and a new dinner menu with some lower-priced [$3.95] entrees. &quot;'We've got to attract the younger [21 to 35-year-old], more informal audience, which is the night life crowd now,' Marienthal says. 'We'll do this by making them feel welcome without compromising the quality of our food or the acts we book. We will book more hot, young acts--along with prove crowd pleasers, of course--and pass on those who have not been worth their price.'&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-25142\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00004_fl_00203_01-506x1024.jpg 506w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00004_fl_00203_01-148x300.jpg 148w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00004_fl_00203_01.jpg 621w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 506px) 100vw, 506px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z89C34QV?BRPN=1&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Chicago Tribune, <\/em>&#8220;Changes Ahead for Chicago Night Spots&#8221; (February 12, 1971)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UHTBRL?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"745\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/999999999_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00233_000011-745x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Page from a printed booklet entitled &quot;Entertainment and Restaurants.&quot; It describes the profits of Mister Kelly's, London House, and The Happy Medium during 1971. Photographs of the venues are on the side of the page.\" class=\"wp-image-25133\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/999999999_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00233_000011-745x1024.jpg 745w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/999999999_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00233_000011-218x300.jpg 218w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/999999999_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00233_000011-768x1055.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/999999999_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00233_000011-1118x1536.jpg 1118w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/999999999_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00233_000011.jpg 1456w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 745px) 100vw, 745px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UHTBRL?WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Arts and Leisure Annual Report,<\/em> &#8220;Entertainment and Restaurants&#8221; (1972)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UFAX_3?BRPN=1&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"994\" src=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00018_fl_00499_may_02_1966_01_01.jpg\" alt=\"Newspaper clipping of an article entitled, &quot;Chicago and Kelly's are Tops with Shelley.&quot; Reads, &quot;By Bob Rose, Our West Coast Bureau Chief &quot;Beverley Hills, Calif--Comedian Shelly Berman, born, raised and succussed in Chicago, wouldn't give you a dime for a Manhattan, if you know what I mean. &quot;'Well, I mean, New York, what is it? Nothing. They treated me great there. I've made money there,' Berman says.... &quot;'But Chicago. Chicago is something else. The town is beautiful. The people are beautiful. And they support entertainment. Believe me, one of these days they'll try out plays in New York for Chicago. Believe me, it'll happen.' &quot;Berman jabs a finger at you to emphasize each point, but he's a safe couple of yards away, slumped in a leather chair, one bare foot nervously picking at the carpet, the other perched on a coffee table. He's wearing an old pair of slacks and a thin zippered jacket, open down to the middle of his chest, and no shirt. &quot;Even so, the skinny (150 pounds, 5 foot 11) comedian might as well be on stage in his Brooks Brothers suit, half-sitting on his high stool, instead of in this huge, leathery home studio-office. The words start out as conversation and wind up as declamation, loud and forceful. The theme, usually, is man's absurdity. &quot;'All these people so concerned about four-letter words about sex and they don't give a damn about those four-letter words about war. If my little boy wants to say THE dirty word, I don't think that will harm him. Not like bang-bang. You know the song, 'bang-bang, that awful sound, I hit the ground.' Now this can kill him.' &quot;Look, last night on TV, there was this drama. And I counted. Four people, four were killed off for no reason. I mean there was no plot reason for them to die. It was just entertainment. Now tell me that isn't sick.' 'We glorify death. We say the greatest honor is to die for your country. Look at that song, 'The Green Beret' and the father wants his son to grow up and die like he did, fighting in a war. No tell me that's healthy. Our anthem says the bombs bursting in air prove our flag is still there. You couldn't just walk outside and look. No, the bombs got to be 'bursting in air.'' 'I'm not a pacifist. I think we're in Viet Nam probably because we can't help but be there and I think we ought to win. Maybe we're there because of 1776. It's just us and our history. But I think we sure as hell glorify guns and death. And nobody ever tells these kids that people don't die conveniently like they do on TV or in the movies.' Berman, a World War II Navy veteran, has been taking to the lecture platform recently to tell his views. 'I'm not looking for dates but if somebody asks me to, I talk. And I'll talk if they don't ask, too.&quot; Even so, Berman says he's not going to the extremes of Lenny Bruce, the comedian who got himself jail sentences for defying anti-smut ordinances by delivering comedy routines loaded with four-letter words. 'Nobody will hire him any more. So what's the good of it? He's chopped away the only platform he had. You know, you've got to compromise a little. It doesn't do you any good to kill yourself. When you're dead nobody can hear you.' Berman relaxes a little when the subject gets back to Chicago. He was born there 40 years ago. After the war, he enrolled in the Goodman Theater, where he met aspiring actress Sarah Herman. They have just celebrated tehri 19th wedding anniversary. They have an adopted son, Joshua Getzel, five French poodles, an XKE Jaguar, a 1952 Army jeep and a beautiful Beverly Hills home way up a steep twisting road, a road that reminds you of the roller coasters at Riverview. 'Yeah,' he says, 'like Riverview. You're right. But we only went there on the two-cent days.' His biggest moment in Chicago came when the late Oscar Marienthal hired him, an unknown, at Mister Kelly's. 'I didn't know anything. A couple of routines. I didn't know how to get on or how to get off. But he looked at me and listened and said, 'Kid--what's your name again?--kid, you're good.' And he hired me. He gave me a definite date. He didn't consult with anybody, or put me off until Thursday and give me that agony. I loved that man.' When Mr. Kelly' s burned down, Berman phoned Oscar's brother George. 'I told him I go to be there in the new place opening night. Mr. Kelly's means something to me. Man, that's home.'&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-25140\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00018_fl_00499_may_02_1966_01_01.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00018_fl_00499_may_02_1966_01_01-300x149.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00018_fl_00499_may_02_1966_01_01-1024x509.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00018_fl_00499_may_02_1966_01_01-768x382.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ord_midwest_ms_mister_kelleys_box_00018_fl_00499_may_02_1966_01_01-1536x763.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.newberry.org\/asset-management\/2KXJ8Z8UFAX_3?BRPN=1&amp;WS=AssetManagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bob Rose, &#8220;Chicago and Kelly&#8217;s are Tops with Shelley,&#8221; <em>Chicago Daily News <\/em>(May 2, 1966)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Further Reading<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Deam Milano. <em>The Chicago Music Scene: 1960s and 1970s<\/em>. Images of America (2009).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hugh Iglarsh. <a href=\"https:\/\/music.newcity.com\/2024\/03\/19\/empire-of-the-night-how-the-marienthal-brothers-brought-class-to-rush-street\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;Empire of the Night: How the Marienthal Brothers Brought Class to Rush Street.&#8221;<\/a> <em>Newcity<\/em> (March 19, 2024).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Live At Mister Kellys.<\/em> Directed by Ted Bogosian (2021).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Richard Pryor with Todd Gold. <em>Pryor Convictions and Other Life Sentences<\/em> (1995).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen with Ron Rapoport. <em>Tim and Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White<\/em> (2008).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vince Vieceli and Bill Brady. <em>Stand-Up Comedy in Chicago<\/em>. Images of America (2014).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Related Resources<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related Newberry Resources<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;A Night at Mister Kelly&#8217;s&#8221; Exhibition Tour<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"&quot;A Night at Mister Kelly&amp;apos;s&quot; Video Tour\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/k3tVzSsjoKg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Comedy in Black and White: Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen&#8221; Public Talk<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Comedy in Black and White: Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen \u2014 A Night at Mister Kelly&amp;apos;s Program\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/57HuNlYZUf4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newberry.org\/calendar\/a-night-at-mister-kellys\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Watch more videos from the Newberry&#8217;s &#8220;A Night at Mister Kelly&#8217;s&#8221; exhibit here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":25135,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[84,164],"tags":[167,169],"class_list":["post-25222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-20th-century","category-collection-essays","tag-arts","tag-chicago-midwest"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/99_midwest_ms_mister_kellys_box_00005_fl_00236_postcard_000001.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25222"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25463,"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25222\/revisions\/25463"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dcc.newberry.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}