Talk:Peppermint Lounge

NY Times stories
There was a ref to the bitterqueen blog with some details from NY Times stories and a comment. The site now appears to be password protected but I was able to extract the following from the Internet Archive. I've reffed the first one in the article. It's obvious the article was very much based on this description in its original form. Wwwhatsup (talk) 01:46, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

A December 28, 1965 article (“Peppermint Lounge Goes Dark; May Lose Liquor Permit Today”) from the New York Times states:

The Peppermint Lounge, which became internationally known as the original citadel of the twist, was dark and deserted last night. It is scheduled to lose its liquor license today as a result of a series of charges filed against the owners by the State Liquor Authority. The lounge, at 128 West 45th Street, just east of Times Square, spearheaded the start of the twist craze here four years ago, and eager crowds were soon storming the unpretentious front door to cavort amid celebrities on the jammed dance floor. * * * One of the charges against the lounge was that the owners of record included an “undisclosed person” who took part in the lounge’s direction and derived profits from it, Mr. [Thomas F.] Ring [Deputy Commissioner of the State Liquor Authority] said. The owners of record are Ralph Saggese and Orlando Grippo, but an actual owner is Sam Konwiser, who is listed on the payroll as manager, according to the S.L.A. official. The lounge is listed legally as the 128 Restaurant, Inc.

A July 3, 1968 article (“37 Indicted Here In Investigation of Police Payoffs”) by John Sibley from the New York Times states:

An elaborate system of “protection” payoffs to the police by gamblers and nightclub operators led to the indictment yesterday of 37 men, including 19 present and former policemen. The announcement of the indictments by District Attorney Frank S. Hogan culminated an investigation that began in 1960. More than 1,000 policemen testified before four grand juries during the eight-yeat inquiry. * * * Among the nightclubs mentioned in the indictment as being involved in the defendants’ payoff schemes were the Peppermint Lounge at 128 West 45th Street, which popularized the Twist, and the Roundtable at 151 East 50th Street, an entertainment spot that features comedians and belly dancers. The manager of the Peppermint Lounge said last night that the present owners had no connection with the club four years ago.

BQ NOTE: The Peppermint Lounge was owned by Genovese capo Matty  "the Horse" Ianniello who controlled many gay bars, strip clubs and other nightlife establishments in Manhattan, including the drag queen bar Gilded Grape at 719 Eighth Avenue which operated from the early 1970s until 1977. The 128 West 45th Street property later was home to Ianniello's GG Barnum's Room -- opening on July 20, 1978 -- which was a hot spot for transexuals, drag queens and gay men; the "GG" was a reference to his beloved Gilded Grape where he reportedly was fond of flirting with the young drag queens. After the closure of GG Barnum's Room, Ianniello turned the space again into The Peppermint Lounge but this time as a rock club. Matty Ianniello and several of his closest associates were convicted of a cash skimming operation involving several of their establishments in 1985.

Pop Network
An anon editor removed the entire references inserted the following:


 * The Peppermint Lounge hired The Pop Network, a state of the art production company which became known for The Pop Show. The Village Voice wrote that The Peppermint Lounge was the place to go see rock video's, According to Pop Network's John Richard VP of Programming the company installed $70,000 worth of equipment including three three quarter inch decks, 18 monitors, an Ikegami HL-77a camera and a separate audio system. The Pop Network also video taped all the bands who played at the venue during that period.
 * Source: Billboard Magazine, The Village Voice.
 * Source: Billboard Magazine, The Village Voice.

I've reverted, as the style is bad, and it's not sufficiently referenced. However, since both Billboard and the VV have available archives online, it could be researched and rewritten. Wwwhatsup (talk) 08:20, 19 November 2011 (UTC)