
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 17, 1991                   TAG: 9103170106
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: D-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIF.                                LENGTH: Short

NIGHTCLUB OWNER BILL GAZZARRI DIES

Bill Gazzarri, whose Sunset Strip nightclub helped launch famed rock 'n' roll acts that include the Doors and Sonny and Cher, died Wednesday at age 67.

Gazzarri died in his sleep at his West Hollywood home, family and friends said Friday.

Doctors speculated Gazzarri suffered a stroke in his sleep that led to a fatal heart attack, longtime friend Joe Seide said.

Gazzarri's began as a family restaurant in the early 1960s and moved to the Sunset Strip in 1963. He didn't like the loud new music at first, but later became a rock 'n' roll critic for MTV, Seide said.

The nightclub furthered the early careers of such stars as Jim Morrison and the Doors, Sonny Bono and Cher, Van Halen and David Lee Roth, Poison and Guns 'N Roses. - Associated Press

by CNB