Twenty years of silence. No one talked about it. No one wanted to. The public was shocked by ghastly televised images of an uncontrollable inferno and of the endless views of twisted, charred remains of what had been billed as "The Showplace of the Nation", now reduced to smoldering rubble with 167 of its guests dead. How could this happen? From its notorious early years of illegal gambling, glamorous night life, and organized crime to its reborn reputation as one of the finest entertainment and dining establishments in the country, the Beverly Hills Supper Club was frequented by the biggest stars, governors, politicians, and athletes of its day and never failed to deliver a good time. But, On May 28, 1977, the final curtain fell. Now you can know what really happened. Follow long-time Beverly Hills dealer, waiter, and finally captain, Wayne Dammert, in his personal inside account, Inside the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire, of this renowned showplace and the horrifying events of one of our nations' worst disasters. Wayne Dammert and other survivors tell the inside story: true eyewitness accounts of the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire.

"This is ... a story of greed, corruption, deceit, mafia rule, government cover-ups, kidnapping, and even murder."--Introduction.

The Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, was the preeminent nightclub of the lower Midwest for decades. After struggling financially into the1960s, the club was purchased by new owners in 1969. Over the next several years, the new owners completed numerous improvements, renovations, and additions, creating what they hoped would be the "showplace of the nation." On the evening of May 28, 1977, the lavish club burned to the ground, killing 165 people in the second worst nightclub fire in United States history. Robert Lawson's meticulous study makes clear that the tragedy flowed from the fact that the building had become over time a true firetrap. The renovations and additions completed since 1969 were dominated by multiple fire code violations and very significant design failures for a building that was destined to be occupied by huge crowds of people. Undoubtedly, a more complete compliance with state laws on fire safety would have averted the disaster. No single individual was responsible for the building's shortcomings.The firetrap in the nightclub, which ultimately resulted in the tragic death of 165 people, was clearly created by a combination of personal, professional, and legal failures by owners of the facility, local and state fire officials and inspectors, and others. Looking back, which is always easier than looking forward, it is clear that the real tragedy at Beverly Hills is that very little additional care and caution was needed to prevent some if not all of the deaths that occurred there. Beverly Hills: Anatomy of a Nightclub Fire was intended by the author to be an accurate historical account of the whole tragedy and not a sensational description of the event nor a polemic indictment of responsibility. It lays out in careful and complete detail every incremental step in the creation of the firetrap, describes the start and spread of the fire and evacuation efforts, and concludes with a description of the important legal proceedings that followed the fire.

A history Newport Kentucky and Cincinnati's playground known as Sin City, from the underworld takeover in 1936 to the tragic Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in 1977 that killed 165 people.

In 1977, at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, 165 people died in a tragic fire. Covered by news outlets across the country, many still associate tragedy with this popular entertainment destination. The club's legacy, however, stretches back to the 1950s, when it was known as the Beverly Hills Country Club. Folks from across the nation came here to see the best shows in town and to gamble in the casino. Considered the finest nightclub in the Cincinnati area, it showcased lavish entertainment at a time when television and rock and roll were still in their infancy. Beverly Hills presented all of the day's top entertainers: Liberace, Milton Berle, Carol Channing, Mel Torme, Jimmy Durante, Tony Bennett, and a galaxy of other world-famous headliners. This book reveals a host of those wonderful and diverse performers as they prepare backstage for their shows, chat with musicians, and strike poses for the camera. Featuring photographs taken by Earl W. Clark, who played saxophone in the Beverly Hills house band from 1951 to 1962, Images of America: Beverly Hills Country Club includes hundreds of the talented artists who graced the stage, as well as the crowds who saw them perform.

Thousands of years ago, the land that would become Northern Kentucky emerged above sea level when a large portion of the continental plate bulged upward. Today, the region rests on the crest of that uplift, known as the Cincinnati Arch. And just like the fascinating geology of this region, Northern Kentucky continues to grow and develop. From the arrival of the Native Americans, to the first European settlers in the late 1700s, to the building of Ark Encounter at Williamstown in 2016, Northern Kentucky's landscape and population have changed dramatically. This encompassing study delves into the region's unique past and considers its ever-evolving future. Provided is a wide-ranging overview of Northern Kentucky's rich history, including details about its early pioneers such as James Taylor Jr., Simon Kenton, and Daniel Boone, who knew the potential of the incredibly beautiful territory they had discovered at the mouth of the Licking River. The collection also chronicles significant historic moments, like the Battle of Blue Licks, the building of the Roebling Bridge, and tragedies such as the Ohio River Flood of 1937 and the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire of 1977. Famous Northern Kentuckians, such as singer and actress Rosemary Clooney, artist Frank Duveneck, and performer Kenny Price, are also featured. This well-rounded study also addresses the revitalization of the region—including the recent multi-billion-dollar riverside developments in Covington, Newport, and Bellevue—and how Northern Kentucky has evolved into one of the most desirable places in the country.

Unlock the secrets of survival with this riveting expedition into the science of disaster—now revised and updated to address the pandemic, the role of social media in disaster response, and more—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Smartest Kids in the World “The thinking person’s manual for getting out alive.”—NPR’s “Book Tour” “A must read . . . We need books like this to help us understand the world in which we live.”—Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness Disaster can come in many forms, from earthquakes and wildfires to pandemics and acts of terror. Afterward, when the dust settles and the survivors emerge, we can’t help but wonder: Why did they live when so many others perished? In The Unthinkable, prize-winning journalist Amanda Ripley, who has covered some of the most devastating disasters of our age, sets out to find the answers. To understand the human reaction to chaos and imminent danger, she turns to leading brain scientists, trauma psychologists, and other disaster experts—from a Holocaust survivor who studies heroism to a master gunfighter who learned to overcome extreme fear. Along the way, we learn about the perils of crowd psychology, the elegance of the brain’s fear circuits, how leaders can build trust quickly, and other invisible factors that can make the difference between death and survival. A fascinating combination of neuroscience, firsthand accounts, and thrilling investigative journalism, this book is for anyone who has ever wondered how they would respond in a life-and-death situation—or wanted to increase their odds of survival. This new edition updates all the original research and features timely material on enormous, slow-moving disasters such as pandemics and climate catastrophes. Most important, it reveals the brain’s ability to do much better—with a little help.

The guardians of our electrical safety have let us down. Aluminum wiring is a skeleton in the closet that left a trail of fatalities, injury, destruction and a latent hazard in millions of homes. It helped launch the Consumer Product Safety Commission and put a damper on TV investigative reporting. You'll see the many ways that a "self-regulating" industry protected itself while putting its end-user customers at risk. The catastrophic fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky in 1977 resulted in 165 fatalities. About 2,400 people were in the building. People came to hear John Davidson sing, to have dinner and to attend a variety of functions, including meetings and a wedding reception. This fire ranks high among the major civilian fire losses of the 20th century. Lawsuits followed. An aluminum wire connection failure was alleged to be the cause of the fire. Thirty-six companies in the electrical industry defended their products and their actions against claims that the aluminum wiring system they marketed was inherently dangerous, that they had conspired to market it in spite of their knowledge of the hazard and that they failed to warn the public. Information from that litigation tells the story of a self-regulating industry that managed an electrical fire safety problem to protect itself and not the public. Once in motion, the marketing of aluminum wiring was a rolling stone that could not be stopped by well-intended individuals in the companies that were involved. The industry's standards and practices were not equal to the task. Corporate interests and individual careers were protected at the expense of public safety.

In The Wisconsin Supper Clubs Story: An Illustrated History, with Relish, the third in his popular series, Ron Faiola invites readers to pull up a chair as he regales us with more than a century of history behind this beloved dining tradition, guiding readers from London to Hollywood, to New York City, and finally, to his own home state. The journey begins with the world’s very first supper clubs, which emerged in London in the mid-1800s. The phenomenon was adopted by New York’s restaurant and saloon owners in the late 1800s, and soon spread to suburban and rural areas. Across the United States, supper clubs enhanced culinary and dining traditions, and greatly influenced the evolution of live entertainment such as cabaret, comedy, and jazz, and dance crazes such as “The Charleston,” “Turkey Trot,” and the eyebrow-raising “Wiggle Wiggle.” Faiola unfolds the history of Wisconsin’s supper clubs with stories of its most iconic establishments, such as Ray Radigan’s, Hoffman House, and Fazio’s on Fifth. He reveals the remarkable durability of the supper club tradition as it withstood WWI, the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, Prohibition, the Great Depression, WWII, as well as the mid-twentieth century advent of fast food franchises and casual dining chains. Through their innovation and determination, supper club owners and their staff have managed not only to survive, but to maintain generations-spanning restaurants that remain prominent features of their communities to this day. Bursting with full-color photographs, newspaper clippings, and first-hand interviews, The Wisconsin Supper Clubs Story: An Illustrated History, with Relish offers a hearty buffet of the history of Wisconsin’s most iconic supper clubs and the folks who keep the cocktails poured, the relish trays fresh, and ensure there’s always an open seat at the table.

The definitive book on The Station nightclub fire on the 10th anniversary of the disaster