The Viper Room is a legendary nightclub located on the lively Sunset Strip in the neighborhood of West Hollywood. It was opened in 1993 and was partially owned by actor Johnny Depp. The other owner was Sal Jenco, who we saw in the movie Jump Street alongside Depp. The club became known primarily as a gathering place for Hollywood’s young elite, but it also gained infamy as the site where actor River Phoenix died of a drug overdose on Halloween night in 1993.

Though it is known mainly as a live music venue, The Viper Room also features a lower level beneath the stage and audience area, which houses a large bar.

Originally, from 1921 to 1940, the venue was a grocery store. In the 1940s it was transformed into a nightclub called “Cotton Club“, unrelated to the original Harlem establishment. It was soon succeeded by “The Greenwich Village Inn”, “Rue Angel”, and finally “The Last Call” during the 1940s. From 1951 to 1969, it was a bar named “The Melody Lounge”. In the 1980s, it became a jazz club known as “The Central”. The nightclub was on the brink of closure before Chuck E. Weiss, who had performed there for years, suggested to Depp that they revitalize the place and rebrand it as “The Viper Room”. Tom Waits was also involved in the venue’s renovation.

Despite the tragedy of Phoenix’s death in the same year it opened, the club became and remained a hotspot for Hollywood’s most popular young actors and musicians. Regulars included Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Marie Presley, Jared Leto, Christina Applegate, Angelina Jolie, Rosario Dawson, Tobey Maguire, Drew Barrymore, and Leonardo DiCaprio. Adam Duritz, the lead singer of Counting Crows, served as a bartender at The Viper Room in late 1994 and early 1995 to escape his rising fame. Johnny Cash performed at the venue, premiering material that would later appear on ‘American Recordings‘ (2004). In 1997, The Viper Room was also the site of some of the first solo performances by John Frusciante. The Pussycat Dolls performed there from 1995 to 2001. On Depp’s request, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played on the club’s opening night.

In film, The Viper Room has been a regular character: in the 1983 movie ‘Valley Girl‘, the building (then housing a nightclub called The Central) was used for scenes featuring the new wave band, the Plimsouls. In Oliver Stone‘s ‘The Doors‘ (1991), the building stood in for the London Fog venue, also located in West Hollywood. London Fog was a lesser-known nightclub situated midway down the same block from the [Whisky a Go Go](https://megustalosangeles.com/whisky-a-go-go-el-templo-del-rock-and-roll-en-la/ “Whisky a Go Go”) where The Doors played their early gigs in 1966.

In the 2003 sequel to ‘Charlie’s Angels‘, the club is seen in the “Pink Panther Dance” scene, though the venue’s name was changed to “The Treasure Chest” in the film.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa7DMJ_86qk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa7DMJ_86qk)

Scenes from the 2005 film ‘Be Cool‘, starring John Travolta, were also shot at the club, though only the exterior was ultimately used.

The Viper Room also features in the 2004 documentary ‘DiG!‘ when members of the band Brian Jonestown Massacre started fighting on stage during a performance.

Throughout its history, The Viper Room has seen several changes in ownership but continues to be a landmark Los Angeles venue for a variety of music genres, including metal, punk rock, and alternative rock. Since its stellar openi