Updates in bold below.

By Mary O’KEEFE

Though the Los Angeles Breakfast Club celebrated its 100th birthday on March 5 the celebration continues. The Club meets at 7 a.m. on Wednesdays at Friendship Auditorium at 3201 Riverside Drive in LA. 

Joanna Linkchorst discovered the Los Angeles Breakfast Club when a friend found a blurb about it on social media. The Club is well-known for its speakers and Joanna’s friend thought this would be a good audience for her to share the history of Rockhaven Sanitarium. Linkchorst is the president of Friends of Rockhaven and a constant voice in support of this woman-owned and -operated historical property at 2713 Honolulu Ave. in Montrose. 

“I gave [the Los Angeles Breakfast Club members] my presentation about Rockhaven,” she said. “Agnes Richards claimed to be a member so I was very excited to check it out.”

Agnes Richards founded Rockhaven in 1924. 

“It was friendly and fun loving. They honored silly old traditions with respect for the idea of ‘No Man Shall Take Himself Too Seriously.’ There was a special placemat with symbols of the Shrine of Friendship and a cryptogram … and personalized ceramic plates,” she said. 

Anyone who visits one of these early morning meetings must leave their preconceived notions of what being a member of a club means. This is not like any other organization … there are songs, stimulating conversation about a variety of topics that range from the film business to gardening and space exploration – with actual rocket scientists and sci-fi writers. CVW was invited to a morning meeting a few weeks ago and the memory is strong of this group of eclectic people who have so much fun just being around each other. 

“It all started back in the fall of 1924 with a grand group of sportsmen that revolved around the officers and directors of the Los Angeles National Horse Show,” according to information provided by historian Rachel Skytt.

The group of riding friends met on Friday mornings at Al Meyer’s Griffith Park Riding Academy. They would ride into Griffith Park where Marco Hellman would meet them with his then-famous chuckwagon and they would have a hearty breakfast. Hellman, the son of a banker who himself was a banker, and his family were early residents of LA. He loved LA and horseback riding. 

Riding horses to a beautiful spot and having a big breakfast and then riding all the way back to the stables with a full stomach was not easy. So Hellman decided to have the breakfast moved to the stables and riders would eat after their ride, which was much easier on the stomach. Hellman added some entertainment to the breakfast by inviting a “group of Mexican artists” to play for the breakfast guests. 

“Then was born an idea in the brain of Maurice DeMond, himself a member of the Horse Show board of directors … He proposed the organization of The Los Angeles Breakfast Club and asked for and received $100 from [each person] present. Within a few weeks the novel idea had captured the imaginations of many of the leading men of the city and the first program of The Los Angeles Breakfast Club was held on March 6, 1925 at Griffith Park Riding Academy,” according to Skytt. 

DeMond was the first president and chairman of The Los Angeles Breakfast Club. 

The next step was to purchase a property for the organization. The property at 3213 Riverside Drive was purchased from a dairy farmer. It was remodeled and a clubhouse was built with a kitchen, lockers and showers. The membership fee during this time was raised from $100 to $500 and members were able to complete construction of the Pavilion of Friendship Auditorium with a seating capacity of 600.  Presently membership dues are $285 annually or $28.50 monthly. 

The Los Angeles Breakfast Club was off and running. Members continued offering an amazing speaker-and-entertainment series with events that featured Sam and Jack Warner [Warner Bros.] and Rin Tin Tin [1920/1930 famous dog actor] and his trainer Lee Duncan. The Christmas meeting included Jack Dempsey, Jackie Coogan, Mack Sennet, Ben Turpin and, of course, Santa Claus. 

Hollywood elite began to join The Los Angeles Breakfast Club including actress Gloria Swanson and Walt Disney among the many, many famous members initiated.

The Los Angeles Breakfast Club has a history of presentations that include Dale Carnegie, Louis B. Mayer and Vin Scully, who presented a program on the LA Dodgers. The history of bringing interesting topics to The Los Angeles Breakfast Club continues with comedian Bruce Vilanch presenting “The Worst TV Shows in History and Other Things I Wrote” on March 19 and artist and cartoonist Gary Baseman who will share “The Last Black Cat: The Art of Gary Baseman” on March 26. 

Speakers from non-profits that are supported by the Los Angeles Breakfast Club Foundation, like 3D Space museum, a poetry library, rescue dog trainers and art spaces, have spoken. Authors of fabulous new books have spoken including LA Magazine Editor Chris Nichols, added Linkchorst.

“But recently we’ve been getting people like Sid Krofft (and [actor] Johnny Whitaker [who] came to see him), Bob Gurr, who returned to be in the audience as an honorary member, and composer of movie music Michael Giacchino, who just became a member. [Speakers have also included] producers from ‘The Simpsons,’ ‘Catdog,’ ‘Batman’ and – I am [so excited that] we are getting Dr. Demento [to speak] on April 2,” Linkchorst said. 

Having an organization that not only lasted but has grown for 100 years is a feat in itself in the ever-changing LA landscape. 

“In 2015 a lady named Lily Holleman, who lived nearby, saw [The Los Angeles Breakfast Club] on the LA Parks sign out in front of Friendship [Auditorium]. When she finally went to see what it was about she immediately fell in love with it, stepped up as president, invited her friends and put it on social media. Once people knew this gem existed it would naturally draw people who would appreciate it,” Linkchorst said. 

She added that it is a bit early to get to Friendship Auditorium but “very few of us are morning people. We come because these people are worth getting up for one morning a week.”

“[Members] all have amazing jobs like musicians, archeologists, art dealers, nurses, LA tour guides, an editor for ABC, documentary maker, writers [and many more],” Linkchorst said. 

For more information visit https://www.labreakfastclub.com. For those who would like to attend, tickets are available on the website but ticket sales close the Monday prior to the Wednesday meeting.