THE COPACABANA

1940 – 2020

On May 26, 2020 it was announced that the legendary Copacabana in New York City has closed.

The club was originally named for a neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, known for its crescent-shaped beach, one of the most famous in the world.

The Club was popularized in song, screen, stage, and television. “It looked like what everybody’s idea of what ‘I Love Lucy’ was.”  ~ Johnny Mathis, singer

On “I Love Lucy” Ricky’s nightclub, The Tropicana, had decor that was influenced by The Copacabana, although its name was derived by the infamous Havana nightspot.

The Copacabana was mentioned in the very first aired episode “The Girls Want To Go To A Nightclub” (ILL S1;E1) in 1951; the Copacabana was that nightclub!  Sadly, the girls end up celebrating Fred and Ethel’s anniversary at Madison Square Garden, instead.

ETHEL: “It was going to be the Copacabana.”
LUCY (wistfully): “Gee…the Copacabana!”

The Copacabana had Brazilian decor and Latin-themed orchestras, although the menu featured Chinese food! The club was also known for its chorus line of Copacabana Girls, who had pink hair and elaborate sequined costumes, mink panties and brassieres, and fruited turbans, not unlike the one Lucy wore in “Be A Pal” (ILL S1;E2).

In that episode, Lucy is impersonates Carmen Miranda, who starred in the 1947 film Copacabana featuring Groucho Marx and the world-famous Copa Girls.

In 1952′s “The Mustache” (ILL S1;E29), Ricky shows a talent scout his scrapbooks and brags that, in addition to appearing on Broadway, he has played the Copacabana. Desi Arnaz used his real life credits for Ricky’s.

Arnaz performed at the Copacabana in the summer of 1946 to coincide with his new film Cuban Pete.

Las Vegas’s Sands Hotel named their lounge the Copa Room in honor of the New York nightspot. In 1958′s “Lucy Hunts Uranium” (LDCH S1;E3) Ricky Ricardo headlines at the Sands’ Copa Room. The tie-in was not doubt thanks to the Sands General Manager Jack “Mr. Entertainment” Entratter (1914-71), who was previously the manager of the Copacabana.

Entratter designed the Copa Room to replicate the Brazilian decor at the NYC club and also imported the Copa Girls to Nevada. In real life, Desi Arnaz also performed there. It was demolished with the hotel in 1996. In 1981, Sands Atlantic City also opened a Copa Room. The New Jersey location closed in 2006.

The original Copacabana was mentioned again in a 1964 episode of “The Lucy Show” when Lucy Carmichael’s new torch singer tenant (Roberta Schaeffer) auditions for a job at the Copa with Lucy, Viv, and Mr. Mooney as back-up!

In real life, Lucy and Desi were often spotted at the Copacabana during its first years of business.

In 2012, a second official Copacabana was opened in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but quickly closed a few months later.

Like the iconic Brown Derby restaurant in California, which also figured into the “Lucy” legacy, The Copa operated in several locations over the years.

• It first opened on November 10, 1940, at 10 East 60th Street.
• In 1992,  the club moved  from its original location of over 50 years to 617 West 57th Street.
•  In 2001, the club was forced to move for a third time to West 34th Street and Eleventh Avenue on the west side of Manhattan, when its landlord terminated its lease early to build office towers on the site.
• On January 20, 2007, the club announced that it would have to move by July 1 because its current location was condemned due to the construction of the extension of the IRT subway. From late 2007 until the club reopened in 2011, the club was sharing space with the Columbus 72 nightclub, which shares the same owners.
• On July 12, 2011, the club re-opened to the public in Times Square at 268 West 47th Street.
• Although its final location is now “closed for good” – owners announced their hopes to re-open yet again at a yet-to-be-determined location in 2021.

This collectors plate from the Hamilton Collection was titled Night at the Copa, although the moment depicted is from “The Diet” (ILL S1;E3) in 1951.