Collection is open for research.
Gift of Georgene Amato, care of Mike Kendig, August 2023 (RL2023-051).
George Amato opened Amato's Supper Club in March 1948 in a restaurant space on top of the Broadway Theater in downtown Portland, Oregon. In 1953, the club moved to a new space on the corner of SW Main and Broadway. Amato's was a popular nightclub venue that featured performances by national and local singers, dancers, comedians, and musicians. The Amatos sold the club in 1959.
George Amato was an entrepreneur and restaurateur based in Portland and Astoria, Oregon. He was born in Portland in 1904. His parents were Sicilian immigrants who operated a market garden in southeast Portland. After graduating from Benson High School in 1924, Amato worked as a garage mechanic for the Huston and Francis Ford agencies. He later opened his own garage on SE 11th and Taylor Street. Other business ventures included bowling alleys in Portland and Astoria, flea markets in Portland, and several restaurants and nightclubs, including the Palace of the Pacific nightclub in Astoria, and Amato's Supper Club and Beef and Bird Restaurant in Portland.
George Amato married Mary Roberta Luciana in Vancouver, Washington, in 1934. Mary Amato was born in Portland in 1912 to immigrants from central Italy. She worked as a business partner with George Amato in their multiple business ventures. The couple had one daughter, Georgene May Amato, who was born in 1935. Mary Amato died in 1985, and George Amato died in 1998.
Sources: "Entrepreneur in Portland, Astoria dies," by Ken Hamburg, The Oregonian, January 7, 1998, page E08; "For years, life was a cabaret for Mary, George Amato," by Ann Sullivan, The Oregonian, September 13, 1984, page B4; "Club hostess Amato dies at 71," The Oregonian, April 16, 1985, page D16.
Amato's Supper Club photographs, Org. Lot 1434, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Collection consists of 43 photographs and promotional posters related to Amato's Supper Club in Portland, Oregon. Most of the photographs depict performers and guests at Amato's, including Louis Armstrong, Harry Belafonte, Walter Brennan, Nat King Cole, Johnnie Ray, Jimmy Stewart, Arthur Lee Simpkins, and Sophie Tucker. Many of the photographs are autographed by the performers. Many of these photographs also feature George, Mary, and Georgene Amato and local political figures including Portland Mayor Terry Schrunk. Twenty-five of the items in the collection are promotional posters advertising performances and featuring photographs of the performers. Other photographs in the collection include a photograph of George Amato and his siblings as children circa 1915, and a photograph of the family drag fishing boat in Astoria in 1942. Most of the photographs were taken by staff photographers for Amato's Supper Club. Outside photographers are indicated on the backs of the prints when known.
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.