Dan Tana’s celebrates its 60th birthday this year and the restaurant is known for being a ‘home away from home’ for many Los Angelenos who appreciate its good food and hospitality.

Restaurateur and founder Dan Tana was born to Serbian parents in Belgrade in 1935 as Dobrivoje Tanasijević. A talented footballer, he played for teams in Yugoslavia and Canada before finding his way to the Californian league football team Yugoslavian American.

He Americanized his name and began taking acting lessons in 1956 to improve his thick accent, finding himself among a group of other young hopefuls, such as young Natalie Wood, Kim Novak and Angie Dickinson, at acting coach Jeff Corey’s classes in Malibu.

He made his cinematic debut as a Nazi torpedo engineer in the 1957 film The Enemy Below starring Curt Jurgens and Robert Mitchum.  He also appeared in the films The Untouchables, Rin Tin Tin and Peter Gunn.

With only sporadic acting gigs, he worked in a tuna fish cannery and took on dishwashing and busboy jobs at the restaurant Villa Capri to support himself. He ran a nightclub called Peppermint West that catered to youngsters looking to partake in the dance craze called the Twist and also worked at La Scala restaurant.

In 1964, at the age of 29, he made a gamble on his future and took over Dominick’s restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood for the sum of $30,000, paying the total off over three years. He changed the concept at the 1920s bungalow to a New York-City style Italian restaurant and bar and the rest, as they say, is history.

Within two years, it was one of Hollywood’s favorite hangouts and was frequented by industry insiders and stars over the years such as Jack Nicolson, John Wayne and Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

With its location next to the Troubadour club, the restaurant stayed open late for stars such as Elton John, Van Morrison and the Mammas and Papas. The Eagles' guitarist Glenn Frey and drummer Don Henley were said to have been inspired into writing their 1975 hit 'Lyin’ Eyes’ after eating at Dan Tana's and observing the many beautiful women in the restaurant who were with much older, wealthy men.

In 1973, Tana felt football calling him and moved to London where he became chairman of Brentford FC and helped the club get promotion. He resigned from the post in 2002.

Now in his 90s, the Serbian/American businessman splits his time between Hollywood and his vacation home in Croatia and Dan Tana’s continues to flourish.

Courtesy Bob Reiss