Johnny Tsunami
Well-known member
108 years ago today. A man destined to be a godfather of tiki, was born in a sleepy little town in the Indiana countryside. Along with being an actor, and marrying Lana Turner (twice),
He opened one of the hippest tiki themed nighclubs in tinsel town. The Luau.
While Don Beech and Trader Vic were doing their thing, Stephen launched the Kon Tiki chain, in Sheraton Hotels across the country. While his name is often overlooked, in the world of tiki, his influence was far reaching, and artifacts from those nightclubs, still bring a nice price on ebay, to this day.
After just recently learning about this, even thou we have lived here over 30 years, I decided that this day needed to be remembered. So I took some advice, and a bottle of Pussers Navy Rum (something that might have been sitting on his bar back in the day), and we poured one out, and left a couple of swizzles from Frankies tiki bar, on his headstone.
It was a great day, warm, sunny, and tiki. Happy Birthday Stephen.
He opened one of the hippest tiki themed nighclubs in tinsel town. The Luau.
While Don Beech and Trader Vic were doing their thing, Stephen launched the Kon Tiki chain, in Sheraton Hotels across the country. While his name is often overlooked, in the world of tiki, his influence was far reaching, and artifacts from those nightclubs, still bring a nice price on ebay, to this day.
After just recently learning about this, even thou we have lived here over 30 years, I decided that this day needed to be remembered. So I took some advice, and a bottle of Pussers Navy Rum (something that might have been sitting on his bar back in the day), and we poured one out, and left a couple of swizzles from Frankies tiki bar, on his headstone.
It was a great day, warm, sunny, and tiki. Happy Birthday Stephen.
