There were only four golden years enjoyed by William R. Wilkerson’s original Cafe Trocadero (8610 W. Sunset Blvd**., West Hollywood, CA) — the spring of 1934 to May 1938, when Wilkerson sold the place to Nola Hahn.
Over the next nine years the “Troc” opened and closed under several shifty owners. By the time Clark Gable and his new Lincoln Continental posed for this shot on Sunset Plaza Drive in the fall of ‘46, the “Troc” was in its final year of operation. It shuttered in ‘47.
The Hucksters, Gable’s first significant post-war film, opened on 7.17.47. Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr co-starred.
** Chin-Chin West currently occupies the lot at 8610 W. Sunset (the address is actually 8618 W. Sunset Blvd).
