John Hemmer Archive

Lou Walters’ World Famous Latin Quarter nightclub was internationally known in its day. Walters, the impresario of its three locations, was known to host some of the most lavish live productions in the business where the everyday guy and gal rubbed elbows with famous clientele over dinner and cocktails, while taking in the biggest headliners live on stage. But it’s singer John Hemmer, along with dancers Janie Thomas Freed, Chickee James Kulp and their community, who have ensured the Latin Quarter’s legacy by keeping their collective together. Working during the height of the nightclub era in the mid-20th century, their stories detail a cultural history like no other.