Jay of Chez Jay

Chez Jay on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica only looks like a dive bar, a hideaway joint in plain sight in which to get a drink while everyone else is waiting for a table and nobody bothers you. It's where businessmen, beachcombers and showbiz types share the tight bar. It was where the Hudson Brothers wrote Rendezvous with Bruce Johnston. The place has one of those half-doors with a top half that could be opened while the bottom stays closed. We remember one of our pals walking in, not noticing the lower half was shut and doing a complete flip onto the sawdust floor. It could have been Bob O'Brien or Eames Yates or Nicky. Anyone with a memory out there? It may have gotten a mention in Tabloid Baby. In 1991, Jay's mother Alice, who helped run the place, was run over by a Range Rover driven by Joel Shukovsky, the husband of Diane English the Murphy Brown producer. A celebration of Jay Fiondella will take place on Sunday, December 6th at 2 pm, a good time to drink.