In this 1946 Life magazine article you see Steve Crane arriving with Lila Leeds. She had just been in The Show Off with Red Skelton, another regular at Donn’s parties. He was 10 years Donn’s junior and would go on about ten years later to be a competitor/copycat. With help from his dear friend Sunny Sund, he opened his Beverly Hills Luau to much success, and then on to the Kon Tiki chain. And like Donn’s Hollywood location, it was a hot spot for celebrities. Lila went on to get caught with pot along with Robert Mitchum in 1948 and never worked again. Robert was mostly unphased.
Here’s Crane 1946 with Linda Christian. She would be in the last Tarzan movie in a couple of years with Johnny Weissmuller, another guest at this party.
Colorized version.