A flavour of Hollywood's golden age comes to the university

The sights, sounds and smells of Hollywood in the late 1950s and early 60s are coming to Plymouth University.

For five weeks from April 27, the Peninsula Arts Gallery will host an exhibition which features a recreation of a Los Angeles coffee house, complete with authentic entertainment and a working vintage espresso machine.

The exhibition has been coordinated by Fine Art lecturer Dr Anya Lewin, whose father Max ran the Sunset Strip coffee house Chez Paulette, renowned as a bohemian hangout for actors, directors, writers and flamenco guitarists.

He emigrated with his family from Berlin just before the Second World War, but his cafe was so popular with the stars that it was chosen to appear in hit detective show 77 Sunset Strip, with Max playing himself as the genial owner.

Its celebrity clientele included screen icons Jack Nicholson, James Dean, Rita Heyworth, Marlene Dietrich, Dennis Hopper, Bobby Darin, and Marlon Brando, who helped keep the place open in 1958 by constantly coming in until it was known as the hip place to be.

Dr Lewin was born after her father closed his café in 1964, but his tales about it always fascinated her and she is now hoping to bring some of that star-studded Hollywood atmosphere to Plymouth.

“My father was a great story-teller, and while I grew up hearing about the Chez Paulette, you could never be sure about all the tales he told,” she said. “My father said he first met Marlon Brando while working in the art department at Paramount Studios, and that he (Brando) persuaded him to keep the café open. But it wasn’t until I saw it printed in a newspaper column of the time that I realised it was actually true.”

Dr Lewin has carried out extensive research into the history of the Chez Paulette, aided by a range of documents left by her father, a huge number of newspaper cuttings from the time, and documents and photographs from the Warner Bros Archive. She also spent a great deal of time speaking to some of the coffee house’s former clientele.

“Many of them were well into their 80s, but as soon as I said the words ‘Chez Paulette’ their eyes lit up because many had not spoken about it for almost 50 years,” Dr Lewin said. “I met with John Gilmore, a former actor who later wrote biographies on many stars of the time, and he said they would all go at the end of the night and soak in the atmosphere. I also spoke to Will Hutchins (who starred in a number of films along Nicholson and Elvis Presley) who told me great stories about the late night revelry.”

After the Chez Paulette, Max Lewin opened another restaurant, which again attracted a range of celebrities, including John Travolta at around the time Saturday Night Fever became a global sensation.

But it is his earlier café – with its mix of beatniks, Hollywood stars, espresso and late night philosophising – that has inspired the Plymouth exhibition, and for the whole five weeks the espresso machine at the Chez Paulette will stir into action once again.

There will also be poetry readings, live music and film screenings, including showings of Dr Lewin’s film Chez Paulette and the Sunset Strip, which includes recreations from the TV series which cemented its place in Hollywood history.