The Story Behind the Legend
The Story Behind the Legend
About Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce
A native New Yorker, Kane grew up a Broadway fanatic, “second acting” shows by sneaking in with the smokers after intermission when he couldn’t afford the price of a ticket.
After several film roles, among them Born on the Fourth of July and Bound to name a few, and numerous television guest-star appearances, Kane wrote a screenplay which HBO bought, produced, and aired as the HBO Original Movie No Alibi.
Having spent many years in the Hollywood arena as a successful actor and screenwriter, Kane partnered with many luminaries when he segued into nightlife, including Sting, David Bowie, Steven Soderbergh, Elon Musk, and Johnny Depp, to name a few.
Kane took a left turn in 1997 and put all his savings into buying a bar on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood opposite Paramount Studios, which he gutted, redesigned, and opened as the eponymously named Kane. “I didn’t just want a cookie-cutter club,” explains Kane, “I wanted high concept.” Kane was one part 60’s Vegas Rat Pack, one part 70’s Superfly cool. A female, Cleopatra Jones type DJ played nothing but funk, flanked by two Go-Go dancers. The intimate venue, a kind of sweaty house of soul, drew an A-list crowd of celebrities lined up around the block.
Three years later, Kane opened Deep on the iconic corner of Hollywood and Vine, an homage to early idol, All That Jazz and Cabaret director/choreographer Bob Fosse. Kane quickly became known as an innovative entrepreneur with his finger on the pulse of nightlife, so much so that Rolling Stone Magazine dubbed him “The-Trendsetter.” Explains Kane, “With Deep, I wanted to push-the-envelope in terms of sexuality, voyeurism and decadence.” Deep had a Plexiglas box over the dance floor where dancers performed overhead and two Amsterdam Red-Light District style rooms hidden behind large gold-framed two-way mirrors. When the lights in the rooms came on, the mirrors seemed to vanish, and the astonished crowd voyeuristically watched a stylized ménage à trois behind the glass. Director Steven Soderbergh, a partner with Kane on Deep, featured the club prominently in his film “Ocean’s 11,” starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney.
Ivan Kane redefined burlesque and put it back on the map in 2002, creating a cultural zeitgeist when Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce was launched in Hollywood, enhancing the experience by adding a live band to its Classic show. Kane also introduced Rock n Roll burlesque to L.A. … an audacious, in-your-face burlesque extravaganza with an over-the-top light show, six dancers and a live rock concert with original vocals, turning up the volume to eleven and leaving everyone spent as confetti dropped over the packed, cheering crowd. The show was featured in a live performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
The rest is history … with Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce Burlesque Nightclub completely transforming what nightlife could be and inspiring scores of imitators.
Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino came knocking, so Kane opened a branch of Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce in Las Vegas. Increasing the size of the original club but keeping the design intimate, the Vegas Forty Deuce quickly established itself as the must-see club in Vegas. Of the Sin City venue, Vegas Magazine said “Ivan Kane has almost single-handedly made nightlife sexy.”
The Vegas opening prompted a Bravo reality show appropriately named Forty Deuce, launching the series with the following teaser, “For those in the know, there is a burlesque club tucked away in the parking lot of a car repair shop in Hollywood called Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce. Forty Deuce shadows its owner, nightlife visionary Ivan Kane, as he opens a spin-off club in Las Vegas’ celebrated Mandalay Bay. The show also follows Kane around the world as he searches for dancers that can achieve the level of excellence his burlesque demands.” The show brought Forty Deuce to international attention when it gained cult status in London on the BBC. The reality show was Directed by Zalman King (Nine 1/2 Weeks, Red Shoe Diaries) and Executive Produced by Kane.
Ivan Kane’s Café Was in Hollywood, a smoky, sexy, supper club and cabaret, was celebrity driven, hipster heavy and bohemian chic. Defining a new beat generation, guests dined on bistro fare, hung at the bar sipping absinthe or sat on the grand staircase leading nowhere listening to Jeff Goldblum and his orchestra play jazz on the rotating turntable in an exclusive weekly residency.
Determined to introduce a new standard of nightlife and entertainment to the East Coast Gaming Industry, Kane rebranded Forty Deuce exclusively for Revel Casino in Atlantic City, a brand-new 2.5-billion-dollar Resort and Casino. When Ivan Kane’s Royal Jelly Burlesque Nightclub opened, it took the Forty Deuce experience to the next level. Royal Jelly featured DJs, Dancing and of course Kane’s famous Burlesque shows in a sprawling, tricked out, eight-million-dollar venue, including a circular catwalk designed by Cirque du Soleil that descended from the ceiling.
Kane brought the magic back to the east coast with his next nightlife experience, Ivan Kane’s Kiss Kiss a Go-Go at Tropicana Resort and Casino, taking patrons on a “trip down the rabbit hole” into the neon-fueled nights of Bangkok.
Known for its high- profile clientele and celebrity investors, Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce maintains a singular place in the nightlife arena, residing comfortably outside the box of conventional nightclubs. To ensure the nightclub experience goes beyond the barrier of predictability, Forty Deuce excites, inspires and surprises through a one-of-a-kind fusion of exceptional talent, extraordinary production values and seductive design, with the more traditional nightclub components of DJs and dancing.
In 2019, Kane opened a mid-west flagship of Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce at Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio, adding an authentic New York Pizzeria downstairs and a Forty Deuce Speakeasy entered through a walk-in refrigerator in the Pizzeria kitchen.
Ivan Kane’s latest project is the Broadway bound original Musical Comedy What … And Give Up Show Business? The musical, written by Kane, is, loosely based on his life as a burlesque impresario.
Now Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce is back in Vegas, reinventing its infamous Burlesque Nightclub experience yet again at its former home in Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. This is Forty Deuce Redux, with brand-new shows in an immersive experience with next level lights and sound.
“The club king, Ivan Kane, is at the vanguard of the scene.”The London Daily Telegraph
“Ivan Kane has almost single-handedly made nightlife sexy.” Vegas Magazine
“The trendsetter is Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce!” Rolling Stone Magazine
“Burlesque reinvented, as only Ivan Kane can do.”The Los Angeles Times
