The early years

Thanks to its geographic location and its proximity to the entertainment industry, Studio City has long served as the home for eclectic restaurants and nightclubs providing a wide array of amusements and atmosphere and featuring diverse decor and clientele. Several film industry professionals operated their own niteries, such as screen villain Jack La Rue and Academy Award winning cinematographer James Wong Howe.

The parcel at 11502 Ventura Boulevard has been a hotspot for nightlife since 1936, when it was home to Rex’s White Cabin, which served food and had dancing, according to historian Mary Mallory. The Everglades premiered at the Cabin in December 1939, featuring singing star, Beth Williams, accompanied by Harry Powell and his Gladesmen, per the December 7, 1939, Van Nuys News. The club offered dinner featuring such exotic cuisine as Chicken a la Maryland and dancing. In 1941, Zomba Cafe, an upscale burlesque theater, opened its doors.

The Zomba Cafe, an upscale burlesque club, provided colorful entertainment to men looking for an “afternoon delight." B-girls performed on raised and separate platforms as well as in choreographed numbers. Comedians emceed, injecting some humor and energy into proceedings. Atmosphere and decorations carried an African and safari theme, suggesting erotic pleasures. A blurb in the September 5, 1942 issue of Variety stated, “Unusual atmosphere at the Zomba Cafe, 11502 Ventura Blvd. Radio’s Jimmy Jackson greets you with a song”. Also, orchestra leader Eugene Jackson (formerly of Our Gang Comedies), gives you some great entertainment (Jackson played Farina’s older brother, “Pineapple,” on Our Gang Comedies).

The club presented all kinds of wild events and promotions to lure in clientele. They annually hosted the “Top Stripper” competition. They added wrestling in 1950, but that didn’t prove very popular. In 1961, Zomba offered old fashioned burlesque, but that didn’t lead to packed houses either. The club featured topless Watusi dancers late in 1965-1967. Ads in the Van Nuys Valley News mention they serve steaks and burlesque to complement the cocktails and dancing. Owner and comedienne Mrs. Nell Shannon began featuring comics in 1968, hiring Carol Abbott as the first headliner.

According to the gossip columns. randy Mickey Rooney supposedly offered a ring to one of the striptease dancers in 1952. 

In 1953, proprietress Shannon won a court case against professional model Connie Cezon, who sued after discovering an eight-foot-tall semi-nude photograph of herself displayed outside the club, one which she had never entered. She had, however, signed a release giving the photographer who made the picture permission to use it any way he wanted.

Having gained a measure of fame even as its business was winding down, the Zomba Cafe’s neon sign appears in a location shot for the film satire, “The Loved One,” the screen adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s takeoff on the funeral business. A scene follows in what is purported to be the club. A production code censor suggested revising the film scene featuring the stripper, to hide so much skin and other objectionable movements.

Sometime in 1968 the Zomba Cafe closed, soon replaced by a seriously happening spot, Oil Can Harry’s, the first gay bar and nightclub in the valley.

Then came Oil Can Harry’s

Oil Can Harry's was a historic nightclub located in Studio City, California and a hub for the LGBTQ+ community since its inception in 1968. As one of the first LGBTQ+ nightclubs to open in the San Fernando Valley, it quickly gained a reputation as a safe haven for those who felt excluded from mainstream society. A popular spot for locals and celebrities alike; an iconic destination for those seeking a welcoming environment to socialize, dance, and express themselves. 

Over the years, Oil Can Harry's hosted many notable musical acts, including jazz greats like Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie, as well as rock icons like The Doors and Van Halen. More recently, Lady Gaga and the sisters Haim appeared there. Known for its lively dance floor, it was filled with patrons grooving to live music or DJs spinning the latest hits. In addition to its musical offerings, Oil Can Harry's was famous for its mechanical bull. Many a visitor tried their luck on that bull set right smack dab in the middle of the dance floor.

The venue's name comes from the 1940s cartoon character "Oil Can Harry."

The club has hosted numerous drag shows, dance parties, tea dances and other events that have become part of the LGBTQ+ community's cultural fabric. Many performers who got their start at Oil Can Harry's went on to become major figures in the entertainment industry. Through the decades Oil Can Harry’s remained a prominent watering hole for the country-western subculture of the LGBTQ+ community. As described in the ONE archive, “Oil Can Harry’s was a place customers could call their own regardless of interests in country-western, rodeo, disco, or leather. Oil Can Harry’s provided a secure space for queer patrons to mingle, dance, perform, and fundraise throughout some of the most formative periods of LGBTQ+ history.”

Today, Oil Can Harry's is remembered as a historic landmark in Studio City's nightlife scene.