Joe Zelli
Joe Zelli (Rome 1889 – Copake, New York 1971) ran celebrated nightclubs in Paris and New York City from the 1910s to the 1930s. His most famous club, and his major claim to fame, was The Royal Box, which was located at 16bis rue Fontaine, Paris, and opened in 1922 and closed in 1932. It had a balcony with an American bar and "royal boxes". The Royal Box is considered the first ever nightclub in the world, with opening hours from midnight until dawn. It was the nocturnal home to many members of "The Lost Generation," scores of expatriates who flocked to Paris after the First World War. Notable clients of The Royal Box included Ernest Hemingway, Cole Porter, Buster Keaton and Louise Brooks. The Royal Box orchestra was the prominent jazz orchestra in Paris at the time and included Sidney Bechet and Eugene Bullard as bandleader. Zelli returned to the U.S. and later owned other clubs as well, but none as successful as The Royal Box. A caricaturist named Zito drew guests to the nightclub over a period of four years, making a celebrity wall downstairs. This is said to be the inspiration for the caricatures at Sardi's in New York. Notes 

1889 births
1971 deaths
Italian emigrants to the United States