The Purple Onion is a celebrated cellar club in the North Beach area of San Francisco, located at 140 Columbus Avenue (between Jackson and Pacific). With an intimate, 80-person setting, the club was a popular influence in local music and entertainment during the Beat era.

Notable entertainers who either got their starts or played the club in the 1950s and 1960s include Maya Angelou, Jim Nabors, Bob Newhart, Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, Phyllis Diller (who made her stand-up debut here), the Kingston Trio, and the Smothers Brothers (then a trio)--who recorded their first album, The Smothers Brothers at the Purple Onion there. Richard Pryor also performed at The Purple Onion. The last entertainer to appear at the "old" Purple Onion was singer and comedian Scott Hughes.

The Purple Onion originally opened in 1952 under the management of Keith Rockwell. Rockwell’s sister and brother-in-law, Virginia “Ginnie” and Irving “Bud” Steinhoff would frequently work weekends at the club until 1960 when they took over management. Bud Steinhoff managed the Purple Onion until his death in November 1983.

2012-06-25 01:05:41
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