The Secret History of FRISCO
Join us on a cinematic journey through the last wild years when San Francisco was still wide-open. The cops ran the town in the Thirties and Bones Remmer ran the town in the Forties.
Battles raged between the factions of dark and light in the hidden realms of San Francisco’s power elite, behind the headlines, from the celestial dominions of Nob Hill eateries and private clubs down to the nether depths of the dive bars in the heart of the Tenderloin, up to the Barbary Coast and jazz joints of North Beach and over to the banks and brokerages in the Financial District …
FRISCO will bring alive that wild and bygone era of the Cool Grey City of Love that seduced the world.
The Secret History of FRISCO
Bonus Episode 3—When Sally Stanford Kicked Humphrey Bogart Out Of Her Flagship Pleasure Palace At 1144 Pine Street In 1941
This bonus episode of "The Secret History of Frisco" podcast delves into the scandalous lives intertwined with San Francisco's notorious madam, Sally Stanford. Born Mabel Busby in 1903, Stanford's early life of poverty and a wrongful imprisonment for cashing stolen checks fueled her determination to achieve financial independence. By 21, she opened her first brothel in San Francisco's Tenderloin, adopting the name Sally Stanford and quickly expanding her empire to multiple locations across the city. Her autobiography, "The Lady of the House," paints a vivid picture of a "live-and-let-live" San Francisco, where her establishments thrived.
The podcast highlights her flagship brothel at 1144 Pine Street, a "fortress" she acquired in 1941, designed by Stanford White. This lavish establishment, frequented by the city's elite and wartime contractors, became a hub of clandestine activity, with rumors suggesting even the early details of the United Nations were hammered out in her living room.
The episode then introduces two legendary Hollywood figures and their connections to Stanford. Humphrey Bogart, despite his public image as a "tough and rugged good guy," is revealed by Stanford as a "foul-mouthed, pugnacious drunk" who was eventually "eighty-sixed" from her establishment due to his boorish behavior towards her girls. This account significantly diminishes his heroic luster in the host's eyes.
In contrast, Errol Flynn—a "swashbuckling scalawag"—was a beloved figure at Sally's. After decking a Marine at Finnochio's, a famous North Beach nightclub known for its female impersonators, Flynn sought refuge at Stanford's Pine Street house for two weeks in late 1945. Stanford recounts his charm and the fact that he "tested all of the talent, including both shifts, twice," going through the place "like a dose of salts." Despite his personal struggles and "screwy beliefs," Flynn's uninhibited nature and courage captivated Stanford and her girls.
The episode concludes by bidding adieu to Bogart and Flynn, promising more tales of the formidable Sally Stanford in future installments of "The Secret History of Frisco."