Plymouth gets a flavour of Hollywood’s golden age

For five weeks from April 27, the Peninsula Arts Gallery will host an exhibition which features a recreation of a Los Angeles coffee house, complete with authentic entertainment and a working vintage espresso machine. The exhibition has been coordinated by Fine Art lecturer Dr Anya Lewin, whose father Max ran the Sunset Strip coffee house Chez Paulette, renowned as a bohemian hangout for actors, directors, writers and flamenco guitarists. He emigrated with his family from Berlin just before the Second World War, but his cafe was so popular with the stars that it was chosen to appear in hit detective show 77 Sunset Strip, with Max playing himself as the genial owner. Its celebrity clientele included screen icons Jack Nicholson, James Dean, Rita Heyworth, Marlene Dietrich, Dennis Hopper, Bobby Darin, and Marlon Brando, who helped keep the place open in 1958 by constantly coming in until it was known as the hip place to be. Dr Lewin was born after her father closed his café in 1964, but his tales about it always fascinated her and she is now hoping to bring some of that star-studded Hollywood atmosphere to Plymouth. “My father was a great story-teller, and while I grew up hearing about the Chez Paulette, you could never be sure about all the tales he told,” she said. “My father said he first met Marlon Brando while working in the art department at Paramount Studios, and that he (Brando) persuaded him to keep the café open.