Don the Beachcomber
ActingBorn 1907-02-22 · New Orleans, Louisiana, USADied 1989-06-07
Biography
Donn Beach (born Ernest Raymond Gantt; February 22, 1907 – June 7, 1989) was an American adventurer, businessman, and World War II veteran who was the 'founding father' of tiki culture. He is known for opening the first prototypical tiki bar, Don’s Beachcomber, during 1930s Hollywood, which was expanded to a chain of dozens of restaurants throughout the United States. He later built the International Market Place and additional establishments in what was then the Territory of Hawaii. He married three times.
