The Copacabana

The Copacabana is a New York City nightclub that has operated from multiple addresses over the decades. At its earlier locations, it served as the New York debut venue for entertainers including Danny Thomas, Pat Cooper, and the comedy duo Martin and Lewis. Barry Manilow’s 1978 song “Copacabana” takes its name and setting from the club. The nightclub has appeared as a setting in the films Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Tootsie, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Carlito’s Way, Lonely Boy, The French Connection, Martin and Lewis, Green Book, Beyond the Sea, The Irishman, and One Night in Miami. It has also been featured in several plays, including Barry Manilow’s Copacabana. The 1947 musical film Copacabana, starring Groucho Marx and Carmen Miranda, is set there, as is the made-for-television film based on the Manilow song, in which Manilow himself starred.

The club opened on November 10, 1940, at 10 East 60th Street, named after the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. Although Monte Proser held the lease, he had a powerful partner: mob boss Frank Costello. Proser, a well-connected English-born nightclub owner and press agent, had worked with clients such as Walt Disney, Maria Montez, Mary Pickford, and the Ziegfeld Follies. Costello placed Jules Podell at the club to oversee his interests; Podell had a police record and would not have been an acceptable front man. The club faced tax problems and a racketeering investigation in 1944, but by 1948 the pressure had eased, Proser was out, and Podell was the official owner.

The Copacabana featured Brazilian decor and Latin-themed orchestras, while its menu offered Chinese food. It was also known for its chorus line, the “Copacabana Girls.” As early as 1945, the club hosted live broadcasts of “sweet” big-band music by Shep Fields and his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra on the WOR Radio Network.

Podell originally enforced a strict “no blacks” policy. In 1944, Harry Belafonte, then a U.S. Navy member, was denied entry with a date. Eventually, Podell was persuaded to change the policy, and Belafonte returned in the 1950s as a headliner. Sammy Davis Jr. shattered attendance records with his run in May 1964, and Sam Cooke performed there on July 8, 1964, resulting in the LP Sam Cooke at the Copa. In July 1965, the Supremes made their debut there, leading Motown Records to book the Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, and Marvin Gaye for performances over the following years. The Supremes also recorded The Supremes at the Copa, a live album that peaked at number 11. Marvin Gaye and the Temptations each recorded live albums there as well. In 2012, the Supremes released The Supremes: Live at the Copa Expanded Edition, featuring the original repertoire.

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were frequent performers and gave their last show together at the club on July 25, 1956, as seen in the TV movie Martin and Lewis (2002).

The club gained notoriety on May 16, 1957, when members of the New York Yankees—Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Hank Bauer, Yogi Berra, Johnny Kucks, and Billy Martin, along with the wives of all but Martin—arrived to celebrate Martin’s birthday. Sammy Davis Jr. was the headliner. During his act, a group of apparently intoxicated brawlers interfered, hurling racial slurs at Davis. This angered the Yankees, especially Martin, whose roommate was Elston Howard, the first black player on the team. A fight erupted and made newspaper headlines. Several Yankees were fined. One of the brawlers, a Bronx deli owner, ended up with a concussion and a broken jaw and sued Bauer for aggravated assault; the case was dismissed for insufficient evidence. Martin was later traded to the Kansas City Athletics, with the incident cited as a main cause.

Until 1972, mafioso Joe Gallo operated the venue. After Jules Podell died in 1973, the club closed for three years. It reopened in 1976, during the disco era, as a discothèque. Barry Manilow’s 1978 hit “Copacabana (At The Copa)” referred to the club; the song later became the basis for a made-for-television film starring Manilow. As of February 2021, it was not known how much of that film used the club as an actual location.

In 1992, owner Peter Dorn moved the club from its original location to 617 West 57th Street. Dorn stated that the landlord, Nicola Biase, “did not like Hispanics,” which was the reason for the move. In 2001, the club was forced to move a third time, to 560 West 34th Street and Eleventh Avenue, when its landlord terminated the lease early to build office towers. Since then, it has presented mostly hip-hop and salsa acts.

On January 20, 2007, the club announced it would have to move by July 1 because its current location was condemned due to the extension of the 7 line of the New York City Subway and the construction of the now-cancelled World Product Center. June 30, 2007, was the last night the club was open, with El Gran Combo performing. From late 2007 until the club reopened in 2011, it shared space with the Columbus 72 nightclub, which shares the same owners.