Last Call

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Woody Allen outside Elaine's.

Wow, it's a black-and-white kinda week on Pacific Standard, huh? ...But the trend continues because tonight is curtains for Elaine's, the restaurant on New York's Upper East Side where for 48 years everyone who was anyone came.

Liza Minnelli, Andy Warhol and Bianca Jagger at Elaine's, 1978.
Photo by Ron Galella.

Gay and Nan Talese at Elaine's.

Photo by Jessica Burstein.

Frank Sinatra and Elaine ... at Elaine's.

Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi and Lorne Michaels
in the kitchen at Elaine's, 1975.
Photo by Jonathan Becker.

Sean Penn and Madonna at Elaine's, 1984.
(Seeing these two together makes me feel old.)
Photo by Ron Galella.

George Plimpton, Jared Paul Stern and Cameron Richardson at Elaine's, 1999.

Photo by Larry Fink.

Interior at Elaine's.
Photo by Olivier Zahm.

Olivier Zahm.

We were not among that crowd, but it's one of those places - like the Oyster Bar, or Bemelmans, or The Central - that just feels good to have around. I'm sad to see it go.

Elaine Kaufman, who died on Dec. 3 of last year at age 81,
tossing a garbage can lid at Ron Galella.

Tom Carney, bartender at Elaine's.

Elaine's.

Find Elaine Kaufman's NY Times obit and an accompanying slide show here.