Spago is a Los Angeles restaurant that the diary places at the intersection of celebrity, publicity, and social life. In two visits, it serves both as the setting for an Academy Awards party where Andy Warhol became an attraction in his own right and as the starting point for an evening that continued elsewhere.

Setting and Social Role

The diary identifies Spago by its position on Sunset above Tower Records and records visits there amid the crowded network of parties, press, and celebrity encounters that surrounded Warhol. Its role in these entries is specific: it is a place to dine and gather, but also a waypoint in evenings when one social setting quickly gave way to another.

The Academy Awards Party

At Swifty Lazar’s Academy Awards party at Spago, Warhol arrived after drinks with Jon Gould at the Beverly Hills and a costly taxi ride to the Bel Air. Heavy traffic made the trip to the restaurant slow. Once there, Warhol signed about 800 autographs while members of the press, including Susan Mulcahy and Barbara Howar, were present. The gathering drew a parade of well-known guests: Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart came, followed by Faye Dunaway and Raquel Welch, among others. The scene makes Spago more than a backdrop to celebrity attendance: Warhol’s autograph signing turned him into one of the evening’s public attractions.

Dinner Before a Second Party

On another occasion, Warhol went to Spago for dinner, where Gene Kelly was dining with his son. Kelly’s son said he would see the group later at Brad Branson’s party; the diary notes that dinner cost $300. The party was not at Spago: afterward, Warhol and his companions traveled to Branson’s gathering on Crenshaw Avenue. That event had two floors and a garden area, and was being run like a club, with friends’ names on the list. Spago’s part in the evening was therefore the meal and the encounter that anticipated the next gathering, rather than the party itself.