Headline act on night of Beverly Hills Supper Club fire recounts event 40 years later
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- Опубликовано: 18 дек 2024
- CINCINNATI (WKRC) - People still talk about the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire even after 40 years.
One person who doesn't is John Davidson. He was the headline act that night.
Davidson is now performing again in Cincinnati, this time in the national tour of “Finding Neverland.”
John Davidson's career has ranged from hosting his own talk show and game shows like "Hollywood Squares", concerts and performing a lot of theater.
At 75-years-old, he has two roles in the musical "Finding Neverland" playing at the Aronoff through Sunday. "In my mind, I’m at the peak of my career, I've been doing show business 50 years,” said Davidson.
Davidson plays Charles Frohman, the theater producer who thought playwright J.M. Barrie was taking too big a risk with a fantasy project called “Peter Pan.” Then in a fantasy sequence I play Captain Hook, that's really fun because I go crazy, chew up the scene, I do something different every night,” said Davidson.
Davidson has fond memories of Cincinnati, such as being on the Bob Braun Show, but there is the night he usually doesn't talk about. The Beverly Hills Supper Club fire. He was the headline act. He always drew a crowd. "I was one of the lucky ones, got out through a door that was put in the year before,” said Davidson.
Davidson escaped through the back-door entrance to the dressing rooms. He was seen holding an exit door as others escaped. His musical director died in the fire.
He and band members searched makeshift morgues to find his body. "It changed my life, and so many lives,” said Davidson. “It made me reevaluate the value of life how fragile we all are. It was a terrible night.”
Davidson did not perform that night, but the comedy team of “Teter and McDonald” was on stage when the fire broke out.
Jim Teter used presidential dummies in his act. He donated them to the Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell which houses the world's largest collection of ventriloquist dummies. "Jim was on stage doing Carter. It was 1977, Carter was president,” said Davidson.
Teeter made it out. "All these dummies were lying out on the grass as well as other bodies. It was such a tragic night. Affected so many people,” said Davidson.
Davidson says certain scenes in "Finding Neverland" take him back to that night in 1977. "I think about that often during the show that those people from Beverly Hills Club are in Neverland,” said Davidson.
"Finding Neverland" runs through Sunday, Nov. 18 at the Aronoff Center.
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It is nice that he was willing to talk about his experiences after so many years of not wanting to do so. Certainly a horrible experience to have had.
@archona54 Bitter much?
John's a class act all the way.
I remember, I was just a young girl when that fire happened; and I remember John never did anything to take advantage of the notoriety that came with his surviving that fire.
The only time I recall him doing much of anything related to that kind of promotion... was for a special fund raising concert he did, benefiting the victims of the fire. Aside from that... he didn't like to talk about it, and wouldn't talk about the fire very much at all.
In Pennsylvania?
Big thank you to John Davidson for talking about the fire. Many people find it impossible to talk about catastrophic moments in their lives, and being a public figure does not make it any easier. That he has found a way to talk about it, is a testament to his character and ongoing growth as a person. Time does not dull the pain, but for some of us the pain can occur less frequently as the old grey matter makes room for other memories. Healing is a beautiful thing.
A very good friend of mine attended the night of the fire. She got out alive, thank God, but had a hard time dealing with the lose of life.
How was the food?
@@Youngstown529 Is that seriously all you care about?
@@musicnerd72 You aren't very bright are you?
The fire was a horrible tragedy. Hard to comprehend from afar. Some of my cousins were there and managed to escape but one of them was badly trampled & injured. A doctor recognized her and prioritized her life saving treatment. Everyone was traumatized by this.
I was a nurse at Good Sam hospital in Cincinnati, the night of the Beverly Hills supper clib. We were told to free up 5 beds so we moved 5 patients out of our unit that would have been moved out in the morning anyway. When we heard that the 5 potential victims we would have admitted, it was though we mourned as if we knew them.
They had died.
They had died.
We mourned as of we knew them.
Isn't that the way it is for us, though? As a nurse, the death of any patient, we have our own grief process. We mourn that loss. I held a tiny woman in my arms as she died, I literally felt angels take her from me. It wasn't her body, but her soul and spirit the angel took, but I could feel and sense it. There was a beautiful smell of flowers, like a roomful of fragrant flowers, during those minutes. I never understood that until reading my Bible one day- the presence of the Lord it says, is like a "beautiful odor", or smell. We are told to be absent in this body is to be present with the Lord. He and his angels came to claim her that night, I am sure of it.
@@sweettina2 wow. I am in tears. I work in healthcare as well and a person has to be spiritually attuned to be able to discern something like that. Thank you for sharing and reminding me we are never alone. God Bless You and keep you safe.
I love this Guy! He helped out so many people that terrible night!
“What a horrible tragedy......
....so anyway, c’mon out and see Finding Neverland and forget about the thought of your own fragile mortality. Back to you, Bill”
My former BF's parents were a fixture at the supper club, close friends to the Schillings. A few years ago I toured the armory-really puts things in perspective. AFter getting close to them, its much more emotional to me now
John Davidson looks very well , he has aged well ! This must have weighed on his mind so much, knowing that people that were there and there to see Him only , had perished in this horrible fire !! Luv Ya !!
gosh, he still looks like he did in 1980 , he is truly timeless. He is such a good speaker and has a voice that's of endless beauty. How does this man do it? His voice is identical.
Yeah right!!!
I recognized him; his voice especially. The face becomes the road map of where we've been and the things we've seen as we, if fortunate, age.
It's a good idea whenever you go to an unfamiliar place to scope out the exits.
wow, i would never have recognized him....
hippy chic I agree. He was a real good looking guy back in the 70’s but I wouldn’t know it was him if he walked by me today. Looks like he had some bad plastic surgery done. Oh the process of aging doesn’t do any of us favors.
There is a point when he smiles and his dimples come out that you see his forty year younger self again.
@@OpheliaSees once i know it is him, i am like, Oh yea, i see it. but if he walked by me, i wouldnt have recognized him. not that he isnt still a nice looking man, its just that i agree with above Dugan Fry's comment. he has had some very bad plastic surgery done :(
@@michelemichele5204 he is a beautiful person and looks much like he did --- how horrible to talk about plastic surgery not knowing if he's truly had it. he also has that sweet reflective voice.
@@harpoon_bakery162 he did you ignorant boob! jeez, get with the program. it is not rocket science to see bad bad plastic surgery.... lol
I was very lucky to see John Davidson a year before this tragedy. He’s a man of Great class.
I read a book on the Hartford CT circus fire which occurred in 1944. 167 dead, most of them children, and over 700 injured. The comedian Charles Nelson Reilly, then 13, was there but escaped unhurt. He never was able to be in a theater audience again.
He hosted Pyramid in 1991
The night this happened I was at a disco in Pennsylvania; they played for the first time Donna Summer’s new song “I Feel Love” which was years later used in the movie American Hustle. Very creative song, Memorial Day weekend, young and having fun but interesting how I remember that night distinctly. I also recall that Monday, the actual holiday, was cool and cloudy. The fire was the major news story of course and my mother thought John Davidson was sexy though I was vague about him. Sometimes memories are on a whim but once you have them, they remain.
Davidson seems like a classy guy. Whereas many of today’s “celebrities” would’ve escaped, got out there cell phones and started exploiting the situation for Likes and self promotion. Imagine Cardi B in this situation?!?! Gross
Do you always condem people you don't know, for things that you dream up in your imagination?
Horrific tragedy and story! I happened to eat there in 1970 when I was 21 with my roommate from Cincinnati, Ohio. I grew up in northeastern NJ and we along with another young women from Cincinnati lived on the upper East Side of Manhattan where we worked. I flew to OH to meet her parents who took us to the club for dinner! I heard about this decades later but this is the first time seeing the terrible photos and devastation! Though they built a new building, it's never a good idea to rebuild on a site where many deaths and tragedy occured, bad negative spiritual karmic energy! Wouldn't be surprised if they had problems with the electrical wiring again in spite of the latest upgrades and regulations! They needed to do a spiritual cleansing of that area which could be still haunted by the souls who tragically died. Just like haunted Gettysburg, PA where many souls died during the Civil War, the energies still exist there after that great tragedy! May those who lost their lives rest in peace!
I was a kid living in Erlanger, KY and I remember watching the horror unfold on the news, it is a night I'll never forget.
I was going on 9 years old and I felt it was all bad when I faced the Kentucky direction from the west end in Cincinnati being a block away from interstate I-75, I notice the brightness from the fire reflecting off the sky that night looking that far away, and the crazy part about it at the same time I heard the song burn baby burn (Disco inferno) playing from some one,s apartment.
My aunt and uncle had dinner at the club 2 nights before the fire. A little off topic but Cinci had another tragedy in '79 when the Who were playing at a concert and 11 people died when they were trampled.
I'll never forget that.
Happened the night before my birthday. Didn't feel much like celebrating that day.
I'm glad he still is spunky. Good for him
I saw John Davidson just a year before.
Wow how the years of age can and do change a person with the age process. I’m sure John Davidson is a great ice guy seeing him here I wouldn’t have know it was him . I remember the John Davidson of the ‘70s & 80s . Young handsome with his clean cut looks and brow hair. Such a handsome man. I honestly don’t recognize him at all in this video. The Beverly Hills Supper Club fire was a horrific terrible fire. The whole place burned like a Roman Candle.
I too remember him growing up back then, mostly from the tv show That's Incredible. Great memories growing up back then
I saw Finding Neverland. Also read the biography of the author of Peter Pan. I tried out for Peter Pan when Sandy Duncan was in the Broadway version. Davidson has spiritually.
He lost his Musical Arranger in that fire. Story I heard was the Arranger went back inside to get the arrangements and did not make it out in time. Was that his own idea or was he persuaded to go back and do so? Not trying to be a devil's advocate but that would be a hard thing to live with if someone worked for me and well, I don't want to think about it like that necessarily or make any assumptions either. I also though could see why one would not want to talk about it either. Place went up like a dried out forest with the materials and type of wiring used. They say, it lit up like a Christmas Tree.
If you read the most recent books about the fire, it's almost convincing that this was arson done by the mob. Not faulty wiring.
My understanding is that Doug Herro, the music director in question, went back in on his own volition. John and Doug had worked together for quite a while and were friends. So I seriously doubt anyone would've 'urged' Doug to go back in, for what is, essentially, pieces of paper.
Doug was talented enough to put the arrangements together again from scratch if he had to. I guess in that moment, he looked at the situation and thought he could duck in real quick, grab the arrangements, and duck back out...
That's not totally unusual... I've gone to fires where people have died from going back in 'real quick to do something', like grab a pet, or some heirloom, or a family member... and the smoke dropped them, and then I'd find them when I got there.
This is why we, as firefighters, tell people, "If you get out, STAY OUT..."
If you want an idea of how fast Beverly Hills escalated from annoying fire, to horrendous disaster... just look up "The Station Nightclub Fire" here on RUclips... there's actual news footage of the moment the fire started and spread, and the calamity that ensued from there. Even with a lightning fast fire department response, in the space of 10 minutes, a lot of people died fast. What happened there, is eerily similar to what happened in the Cabaret Room at Beverly Hills.
A musical arranger writes the sheet music: it is his baby. It's entirely possible in 1977, that the sheet music on the stands was the original hand drawn score, not a copy... and yes... like the customers who did not want to loose their tables... he was unable to let go of his work and accept the imminent danger of the fire. He was not the first to make this mistake and he is not the last. Most people are not good at assessing risks at short notice.
He's still working this tragedy in his mind & soul! He cannot forget those people! Bless you John 🙏 ♥️ Those people are in Heaven!
John Davidson is a first class guy. There has never been one second when he handled the situation in anything other than a first class manner. Peace to Mr. Davidson and all those impacted.
This feels.....cold. The reporter described most of the events, not him, and it's attached to a giant promotion for his show. If he wanted to talk about it how about a half hour special detached from him begging for money. Sickening.
I agree..and did notice it right away..promoting his career took away from his experience of a very tragic time..
He still looks genuinely shaken by the tragedy. He lost a friend that day too.
TRAGIC! May they all RIP!!
Could not stand Davidson when I was a kid and he had that talk show where he'd sing. I used to make fun of him and make my mom laugh. He had Mister Rogers on once and told him that he sometimes finds himself watching the show as an adult. Mister Rogers' response was classic, he was all "You do?" Mister Rogers was basically calling Davidson out for BS. But Davidson doesn't seem like a bad guy though. We have the same birthday Dec 13th. Glad he made it out alive. Also, he was on a very fun Love American Style episode that I actually did like him in even back in the day. Wish they'd put all those out instead of just season 1.
Mister Rogers is the man.
Hey!! I find myself watching Mr. Rogers sometimes as an adult. He's free therapy. It's nice to hear someone tell you you're fine just the way you are.
@@justinestes6400 I agree. I'm probably being too hard on Davidson with that one. But it just felt like he was pandering and Mister R himself wasn't buying it from what I remember. lol I wish I could find that interview.
Wow. Thats John Davidson???
I was just a baby at the time that happened.
My grandparents were there that night but left early fortunately.
This information about this is interesting
I grew up with him on hollywood squares such a sad story
I haven't seen this guy for many years. He's old. So am I.
I'm glad the ventriloquist doll collection was saved that night. Those are priceless.
No, they're just plain creepy.
Complete Dinner and Show $13.95.
Adjusted for 2021 today that's $59.33
He probably had some degree of PTSD after the fire.
John Davidson is now an atheist after his experience that changed his life
Sad...should be the other way around.
I was there. I chose to pray for dead. And i pray for the families to carry on. I was there to meet anchor man , Nick Clooney, WKRC channel 12 News. To offer him a job in a larger market Los Angeles California.
Eventually he took the job. My wife and i took in the entertainment if Beverly His supper club. Fort Wright Kentucky.
Thank you
What???
He only talked to them to promote his show what a ruse
I guess traveling bands and performers have to request fire marshals current reports…smh
Ok I like this guy and I remember him from back in the day but tying the Horrific fire to a shameless plug of his play seems a little cheap. “Will you come on the air and talk about that horrible night?” “Sure but only if I get to plug my musical!”
Roller Girl that was cheep and made me not like him
You may want to look him up. Even if this was tacky .... he has handled it with class for years. Get over it.
He should talk about it
I see Rob Braun is still dyeing that solid gray hair of his.
It’s sad that he was raised by two ministers and chose to be atheist. After a great God spared him at the Beverly Hills Supper Club. I would think he would be indebted to God for sparing him. It’s just sad. I’ve lost a lot of respect over that.
It's not too late for him to wake up. Hopefully he will.
Save the dummies!
🤣
I was there that night. It was fun.
This is a serious matter. Go troll somewhere else.
Grow up punk 😒
@@Sammy-mp9xn I agree...total punk and a jerk. Thank you, for your response
@@ceceliaclarke8427 no problem 👍
More of a loser than a punk...punk is too nice of a term.
ruclips.net/video/2dKSJvYS1-0/видео.htmlsi=F_D26ULfh36ay_md
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT REALLY HAPPENED.