Earl Grant
performed there for many summers, usually in July. He also attended
the infamous garden parties thrown by my Grandmother, Vie Moore, of Vie’s
Restaurant on Union St.
Ian Alexander,
May 2010
Dusty Springfield and Leslie
Randall - Image courtesy of Rob Frith, Neptoon Records
Employess Bidding Isy Farewell
- 1971
By the time it closed in 1976, Isy’s Supper
Club was one of the last clubs associated with a bygone glamour.
Rock and roll had overtaken it, but Isy’s
had become a symbol of a kind of Rat Pack snazz, a fast American style,
a holdout for entertainment no longer deemed cool.
Along with another holdout, The Cave, Isy’s
contributed to Vancouver's status as a swinging city.
At least that was the aura. Isy Walters
had built the club's reputation from 1959 on a history that mixed sophistication
with adventurism.
It had house bands led by the top local
jazz musicians, such as Fraser MacPherson and Bobby Hales, and stood apart
from the seedier, certainly earthier, East End clubs. It was more high
end, classier.
It imported the stars of the day with a
Las Vegas slant and floor show appeal.
Also known as Isy’s Strip City, the club
regularly featured strip tease acts and, by 1972, the girls not only were
topless but bottomless, with Vancouver a pioneer in this regard north of
San Francisco.
When it re-opened, the location at 1125
West Georgia was called Outlaws. It was a rock club but, beneath
the surface, still was Isy’s.
Larry Warcup, February 2013
F.O.G., End of the Line, The Stoways
I just clicked on this site and it bought
back so many memories. I worked there as PR for four years and met
the majority of acts you have listed.
I am in touch with Richie's daughters and
ex wife. Ritchie has been running state fairs for a very long
time but is now retired.
Jackie Begley, December 2013
I started working as a waitress at Isy's
in 1968 when Isy had just sold the club (for a brief time) to Joe Akitt.
Isy was there at the time, getting Joe familiarized with the club.
Very shortly thereafter, Joe could not keep the club going so Isy took
it back. I then became Isy's secretary and promo representative until
Isy sold the club to Danny Baceda. I became Danny's secretary and
then became overseeing Manager of Old Can's, the Cave and Isy's while Danny
and Frank Hook owned it.
Danny lost Isy's and the Cave back to Isy
and Ken Stauffer, and then the Receiver General closed Oil Can's.
Because Isy had his club back and Oil Can's was closed I stayed with Isy
until he passed away in the club on a Saturday afternoon. Jack Card
and I continued to run Isy's and the exotic dancers while Isy's estate
was being settled, which took almost two years. Jack Card bought
Isy's and Jack and I became partners in the agency that booked the dancers.
And the history continued....
There are hundreds of stories that I could
share, but not sure if anyone is interested any more. What I can
say is that those were the best years of my life and I am honored to have
been a part of the lives of so many people in the entertainment history
of Vancouver.
Jeannie Runnalls, April 2015
I knew Isy very well, and was a guest in
his home many times, and in many respects considered him to be a 2nd father
to me. I have fond memories of people who worked there, including
Jack Card, Jeannie, Cyrca (spelling?) and her husband who tended bar, and
my memory fails me on other names. The maitre'd and his wife who
worked the coatroom, the lady who played piano in the upstairs bar, and
so on. Great times and great memories.
Gordon Sharpe, March 2016
