Overview

• The restaurant’s staff announced on Facebook that Tana died at 90, calling him a legend whose spirit will forever inhabit its “little yellow house.”
• Since opening Dan Tana’s in 1964, the late-night Italian eatery has hosted generations of Hollywood figures, from Marilyn Monroe anecdotes to regulars like Jack Nicholson and Cameron Diaz.
• Tana sold the restaurant to Sonja Perencevic in 2009, and she has maintained its original menu, late-night hours and vintage décor unchanged.
• A former Yugoslav soccer player turned maitre d’ at La Scala and Villa Capri, Tana drew on his early acting roles—including 1957’s The Enemy Below—to launch his namesake venue.
• The restaurant’s storied lore inspired the TV character Dan Tanna on Vega$ and cemented its status as a symbol of Hollywood’s golden era.