Dan Tana, who opened the iconic West Hollywood celebrity hangout Dan Tana’s restaurant in 1964 and ran it until selling in 2009, died Saturday in Belgrade, Serbia. He was 90.
The restaurant released a statement, saying, “The great Dan Tana has passed on. We all know that he created a very magical place. Our beloved little yellow house will forever feel his presence.
“Dan started out working for La Scala and The Villa Capri in the 1950s. It was working for those classic eateries that encouraged him to open his own! And he did just that. He was always proud of where he came from and what he accomplished, a former soccer star from Yugoslavia.
“Dan had wonderful stories about Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, James Dean, Frank Sinatra, and Sammy Davis. In fact Robert Urich’s character was named after Dan Tana on the classic TV show, “Vega$.”
“Today Dan Tana’s is owned by his dear friend Sonja Perencevic who’s kept it exactly the same since 1964.
“This man is a legend, and as you know a legend never dies.”
Born Dobrivoje Tanasijević near Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Tana played soccer as a teenager and became a professional soccer player in Canada before deciding to move to Hollywood. He began taking acting lessons with Jeff Corey, whose students included Natalie Wood, Kim Novak and Angie Dickinson.
After Americanizing his name, Tana debuted onscreen in 1957’s “The Enemy Below.” He went on to appear in such series as “The Untouchables,” “Rin Tin Tin” and “Peter Gunn.”
While looking for acting work, he started out washing dishes at Patsy D’Amore’s Villa Capri in Hollywood, then moved on to become maitre d’ at La Scala in Beverly Hills.
He launched Dan Tana’s in 1964 when he took over Dominick’s hamburger stand, housed in a 1929 bungalow on Santa Monica Boulevard, changed the menu to New York Italian cuisine and decided to keep it open later than most restaurants at the time. Though Dan Tana’s didn’t immediately take off as a celebrity hangout, a glowing L.A. Times review helped draw attention to the restaurant, and within a few years it became a magnet for actors and studio executives who appreciate its privacy.
A favorite of Variety columnist Army Archerd, the restaurant drew loyal diners including Johnny Carson, John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Jack Nicholson and Harry Dean Stanton, as well as numerous musicians who played at the nearby Troubadour.
The veal cutlet alla George Clooney was named after the frequent patron, and Dabney Coleman ate the New York steak bearing his name multiple times a week for many decades, often dining with the likes of Sean Penn or Al Pacino.
Tana continued to be involved in soccer, becoming manager of the Los Angeles Toros in the ’60s, chairman of the English team Brentford and running soccer clubs in Belgrade.
Tana sold the restaurant to Sonja Perencevic in 2009 and retired to Belgrade.