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West Hollywood, California is the home to the legendary Viper Room nightclub. A hotspot among the local young celebrity crowd, it sits along the famous Sunset Strip at 8852 West Sunset Boulevard.
The club was purchased and re-opened by actor Johnny Depp in 1993 until Depp relinquished his ownership in 2004, as part of the settlement of a lawsuit involving the 2001 disappearance of co-owner Anthony Fox. But during those 11 years, the club became known for being a popular hangout of the Hollywood elite.
On Halloween morning in 1993, shortly after the grand re-opening, actor River Phoenix (Stand By Me) died of a drug overdose , after collapsing on the sidewalk outside the black awning of the Sunset Strip club .
Despite the endless scandals that were to follow the death of River Phoenix the year the venue opened, the nightclub became and still remains a hangout for LA’s most popular young actors and musicians. In the years past, amongst those to frequent the club are stars like Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie, Jared Leto, Lisa Marie Presley, Christina Applegate, Tobey Maguire, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
In the early 2008, the nightclub was purchased by Harry Morton, son of Hard Rock Cafe co-founder Peter Morton, and President and CEO of the Pink Taco franchise. Morton’s plans for the gritty Sunset Strip nightclub are to turn it into a global franchise, with plans to open several live music venues throughout the world, under the same brand, “The Viper Room”.
Originally posted 2011-12-21 17:41:04.