Elmwood Casino

The Elmwood Casino, once known as the “Showspot of Canada,”[1] was a popular swanky nightclub situated on Dougall Avenue in Windsor, Ontario.[2][3][4] It was located not far from Detroit, just across the Detroit River. (The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit and Windsor, an area collectively referred to as Detroit-Windsor. The Ambassador Bridge, the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel connect the two neighboring cities.) Danny Raskin stated in an article in the The Detroit Jewish News that the Elmwood “was considered a major stomping ground for show biz greats. If you didn't play Al Siegel’s Elmwood Casino, you hadn't hit the big time yet.”[5] Russ Sanders stated in a Windsor Star article, “Name any top notch star and surely that person had either performed there or at least was seen enjoying Al Siegel’s hospitality.” Sanders was a special guest of Al Siegel one night at the Elmwood. He “enjoyed a delicious roast beef dinner and Fiddler on the Roof Starring Topol.” Sanders stated, “I will always remember it as one of the finest shows I have ever seen.”[6]

Elmwood Casino
1946
Location Windsor, Ontario
Address 2335 Dougall Avenue
Opening dateMay 8, 1946 (1946-05-08)
Closing dateDecember 21, 1974 (1974-12-21)
OwnerAl Siegel

According to an article written by Windsor Star writer Julie Kotsis, celebrities like Frankie Avalon, Sammy Davis Jr. and Sonny and Cher played golf at the nearby Woodall Golf Centre when they wanted to relax during their time away from performing on stage at the Elmwood Casino.[7]

During Queen Elizabeth II’s Royal Tour of Canada in 1959, her entourage visited the Elmwood. It is unknown if the Queen herself was there.[8]

As reported in the Windsor Star, the Elmwood Casino “opened in the early 1940s and enjoyed a great run for almost 30 years.”[9] Due to serious financial problems, Al Siegel voluntarily filed for bankruptcy. He closed the doors of the historic hometown hangout in December 1974. (Siegel was also one of the founders of Windsor Raceway.)[10]

A Windsor Public Library article mentioned that the Brentwood Recovery Home opened (in 1984) in “the old Elmwood Casino” building. Prior to Brentwood occupying the premises, it “had been closed for years and was in great despair with windows smashed, electrical stripped and entire walls missing.”[11] (Dave Battagello stated in a Windsor Star article that Brentwood is “one of the largest addiction treatment facilities in southwestern Ontario.” He also stated that “Brentwood launched operations in the 1970s in a variety of locations under the leadership of Father Paul Charbonneau.”[12])

Jack Madden’s Ambassadors
Louis Armstrong with Elmwood band leader Jack Madden, 1950s

Music for dancing and accompaniment for some of the performers at the Elmwood was supplied by The Ambassadors, the in-house orchestra that was led by the longtime orchestra leader Jack Madden, “the man behind the music at the Elmwood.”[13][14][15][16] During his four years of service in the Canadian army (World War II), “Madden wrote, produced and directed one of the most successful wartime shows — Fun Fatigues.” The show was presented to “200,000 Canadian troops” stationed in “France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.” Madden stated, “‘We were never more than a mile or a mile and a half from the shooting.’” In addition to entertaining troops overseas during the war, Madden’s “band also played at army bases across Canada.” When the war ended, “he organized his own orchestra and rapidly gained popularity with his suave, smooth music.”[17] Madden, originally from Toronto, married his wife Phyllis and moved to Windsor also after the war was over. The Windsor Star stated that “he first came to the Windsor area in 1935 with Rex Battle’s All Canadian Dance Band which was booked on Bob-Lo Island.” Madden “replaced Glenn Miller in the Ray Noble band in 1938 when it toured the British Isles.” (Miller left Noble's band to start his own.) Madden has also performed with Andre Kostelanetz, Paul Whiteman, Luigi Romanelli and Percy Faith.[18] During the summer of 1947, Madden performed at Chateau Lake Louise. Madden passed away in September 1990, at 77 years of age.[19]

Trumpeter Harry Gozzard was a member of the Elmwood Casino orchestra during the latter part of his musical career.[20]

Memorable engagements
Autographed Sammy Davis Jr. photo given to a member of the Elmwood Casino orchestra. Ticket reproduction of an actual ticket from 1972 show.

Sammy Davis Jr. performed at the Elmwood several times during his career. Whenever he did, he would rent out the entire sixth floor at the historic Gotham Hotel, as was mentioned in Earnest H. Borden's book Detroit’s Paradise Valley. BlackPast mentioned in an article that Davis was on Gotham's “guest list” of “prominent African Americans.”[21] The Gotham was known as a safe and upscale hotel for African Americans.[22] In her book, The Chosen One, singer Holly Carroll mentioned an interesting incident that she experienced while attending a Sammy Davis Jr. show at the Elmwood in 1972. She stated that “I still have the piece of chocolate that he threw to me after singing his hit song at that time, The Candy Man.”[23] Ironically, it rose the top of the Billboard charts the very day that Sammy Davis Jr. was performing and singing that song at the “Detroit-Windsor” Elmwood Casino. According to an article in MOJO, the last hit Sammy Davis Jr. ever had was the song Hello Detroit.[24]

Young comedian Bob Newhart's act didn't go over very well during a one-week engagement at the Elmwood. He stated in a Mister Kelly's interview in 2017 that he “‘never got a laugh.’” Even though his comedic performances didn't bring the house down, Newhart still managed to speak well of the Elmwood audiences, stating, “They were very polite...Canadians...very nice.”[25] In David Steinberg's book, Inside Comedy, Newhart stated that poor performance at the Elmwood “‘almost drove me back to accounting.’” Shortly after the Elmwood engagement, he had another gig in Winnipeg that “went well.” That ray of hope persuaded him to “‘stay in the business.’”[26]

Autographed photos of Ann-Margret, Tony Bennett and Patti Page, given to a member of the Elmwood Casino orchestra

On April 15, 2019, Cher made a surprise appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[27] Her primary reason for doing so was “to promote The Cher Show, a Broadway musical about her life and career,” stated Dan Savoie in a 519magazine article.[28] During the impromptu interview, Jimmy Fallon asked Cher if there were any parts of her career that she disliked. Cher immediately replied with a rousing response, stating, “Yeah, umm, yeah...!”[29] She then proceeded to talk a few moments about the tough time that she and Sonny were going through back in the late 1960s. Cher stated that “Sonny and I were really famous and our career just went off a hill. We had no money and we had no job and we owed the government $278,000. We just got in a car and headed towards Windsor, Ontario and started our life again.” They went to Windsor due to the fact that they were booked for a three-week engagement (September 1969) at the Elmwood Casino. Since they “were broke-ass broke,” Sonny and Cher “stayed in a seedy motel eating in their room.” A defining moment happened during that engagement at the Elmwood that started to turn things around for them. Savoie stated that “they slowly developed an act that would change everything.” The “act” was Cher would wear a gown and Bono would wear a tuxedo. Cher stated that, at first, “the people hated us...I finally got so pissed off I turned around – like sometimes you do – and started to make the band laugh. And the band will laugh at anything.” Soon after their Elmwood engagement, they took the new comedic concept to Vegas. It was a success.[30]

Newspaper ads for some of the many entertainers who performed at the Elmwood Casino

Minsky's Burlesque, “‘a musical revue produced by the famed Harold Minsky,’” performed at the Elmwood many years ago. Jane Briggeman stated in her book, BURLESQUE A Final Tribute: Legends Recipes & Minsky’s Files, that “‘Fifteen of the most beautiful dancers and showgirls around have the stage at the Elmwood Casino starting Thursday, April 26.’”[31]

In an Orlando Sentinel article titled, MEMORIES OF PROM NIGHT(MARES), Jean Patteson mentioned short stories of people who had experienced extraordinarily unusual proms. A prom in particular that was related to a Minsky’s Burlesque performance at the Elmwood Casino was one that a man named Pete Darby, “an Orlando man who graduated from a Michigan high school in 1973,” experienced. According to Patteson, “Pete Darby’s prom started out fine — but its ending was X-rated.” “‘Our parents had arranged a surprise after-prom party at the Elmwood Casino,’” Darby stated. Well, when they arrived to the nightclub, Sammy Davis Jr., who was scheduled to perform that night, “‘had canceled.’” Minsky’s Burlesque revue performed instead, which was a dramatically different performance than a Sammy Davis Jr. one. “The misadventure was reported in Darby’s hometown newspaper the next day,” stated Patteson. The story was appropriately headlined, “‘It's bumps, grinds for prom party.’”[32]

Notable performers

Recognized as one of the top entertainment venues in the world at the time, many of the “who's who” of singers, musicians, comedians, actors and actresses performed at the Elmwood.[33][34][35][36]

References
  1. "Elmwood Casino". Newspapers.com. The Windsor Star. July 22, 1950. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  2. "City of Jazz". University of Windsor. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  3. "Elmwood Casino was located on Dougall Avenue in Windsor, Ont". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  4. "What ever happened to...? Contest to measure memories". University of Windsor. July 3, 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  5. Raskin, Danny (January 12, 1996). "Many Years Of Detroit Visits Haven't Slowed Comedian Jack Carter". The Jewish News (Detroit). Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  6. "Famous Final Scenes". Windsor Star. February 9, 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2023 – via PressReader.
  7. Kotsis, Julie (April 1, 2016). "Woodall Golf Centre co-owner had a passion for the game and helping others". Windsor Star. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  8. Gozzard, George (September 8, 2023). "Guest column: Uncovering my father's most interesting life". The Windsor Star. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  9. "What Did Sammy Davis Jr. Think?". Windsor Star. April 3, 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  10. Sanders, Russ (June 17, 2015). "Goodbye old friend". Windsor Star. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  11. "Father Paul A. Charbonneau". Windsor Public Library. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  12. Battagello, Dave (October 2, 2020). "Brentwood Recovery, new board in place, poised for new direction". Windsor Star. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  13. "James Melton Featured At the Elmwood Casino". The Detroit Jewish News. August 7, 1953. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  14. "Windsor Gets Big Detroit Trade; Books U.S. Acts". Billboard. January 26, 1952. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  15. "Elmwood Is Newest Nightclub in Windsor". The Detroit Jewish News. November 28, 1947. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  16. "Jack Madden". No. June 10, 1966. The Detroit Jewish News. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  17. "New Features At Elmwood". The Windsor Star. November 29, 1947.
  18. "New Maestro". The Windsor Star. November 15, 1947.
  19. Stewart, Mark (September 18, 1990). "Elmwood Casino 'fill-in' bandleader dies at 77". The Windsor Star. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  20. Gozzard, George (July 21, 2023). "One Of The Boys In The Band: Discovering My Dad". All About Jazz. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  21. Stephens, Ronald J. (March 7, 2014). "Gotham Hotel, Detroit, Michigan (1943-1963)". BlackPast.org. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  22. Borden, Ernest H. (2003). Detroit's Paradise Valley. Arcadia. p. 51. ISBN 0738531553. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  23. Carrol, Holly (November 9, 2011). The Chosen One. Xlibris. ISBN 978-1465386205. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  24. Dellar, Fred (September 6, 2022). "MOJO Time Machine: Sammy Davis Jr Strikes Candy Man Gold". MOJO. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  25. Marienthal, David (March 28, 2017). "That time Bob Newhart Was Bigger Than Rock and Roll". Mister Kelly's. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  26. Steinberg, David (July 13, 2021). Inside Comedy. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 149. ISBN 978-0525520580. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  27. "Singer and actor Cher restarted career in Windsor, Ont. with Sonny". CBC News. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  28. Savoie, Dan (April 16, 2019). "Cher Discusses Windsor's Elmwood Casino on The Tonight Show". 519magazine. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  29. "Video: Cher Gives Shout Out To Windsor While Promoting Broadway Show". iHeart Radio. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  30. "Cher and The Cher Show Broadway Cast Share a Preview of the Broadway Musical". NBC. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  31. Briggeman, Jane (August 3, 2021). BURLESQUE A Final Tribute: Legends Recipes & Minsky's Files. Bear Manor Media. ISBN 9781629337722. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  32. Patteson, Jean (April 30, 1993). "Memories Of Prom Night(Mares)". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  33. "Elmwood Hotel". Windsor Star. April 2, 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  34. Schechter, Scott (2004). The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook. Kensington Publishing Corporation. p. 163. ISBN 0806526114. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  35. Cohen, Irwin (September 29, 2016). "Glimpses of 50 Years Past". The Detroit Jewish News. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  36. Humphreys, Adrian (2011). The Weasel. Wiley. ISBN 978-0470952313. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
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