DingBats!!MR. T -- How Special was this place? It was the place for a few years. Very violent. I went there twice in the mid-70's before MR T, while passing through. Interesting Place!!

I can't remember the year but I was there for kiddy disco on Sundays, my mom and her best friend drinking and hitting on men/fathers while me and my buds tried out our latest YMCA disco class moves. I'm surprised other places like Faces and Xanadu haven't been written up.

Thats true had a great kiddy disco the only one in Chicago. By the way the Faces DJ is still spinning at Jillys in Chicago, last time my wife and i were ther the owner and the DJ rememberd us from the Dingbat days. All the DJs would go to Sundays or the Baton 2 gay discos after work to compare what worked on the dance floor.

JFord DJ Dingbats

I am trying to find photos of Dingbats before it was converted into a different bar. Does anyone have? Or know where I can find? Thank you.

I have some pictures of the dance floor and the DJ booth. I also have a menu signed by Mr. T when it was also a resterant. I have the origanal Harmon Carden 300watt amps from the booth, last time I was at the current pub they have some stuff in the back room. Jon Ford

Jon,

I wish you would upload any pictures you have. If you need help, let me know, I'm in the 'hood.

I was going to ask what's a good night at Jilly's, but they're apparently closed for remodeling. At least I visited within the past 10 years, and at least there's still Disco Wednesdays at Berlin.

I will up load I need to find them, was not aware that Jillys was closed, I was going up the 9th on Nov and was going to go by

I was a bartender in the late seventies early eighties the club was located on the corner of ontario and fairbanks.you had to go down the stairs to get into the club the doors were manned or should i say the bouncers were mrT Calvin Hollins the same guy who owned that club where all those people got tramppled and John Bytoy who was also in business with calvin and mr T they all owned a rib joint in oak park i believe it was. calvin also had a partnership with ron briskman in dingbats at the time. when i was employed there ms cindy (big jewish girl )was the coat check she was hilarious could bust any bodies balls should have been a comedian,ms charles was one of the dj's and of course ther was peter they both could really rock the house get them out on the floor i know they always kept me and ms jimmy and ms tom and of course miss Diana I think we were the only two real females that were bartenders!the others were drag queens after work thats why we some of the waitress corrine,anne would end up at carols after work or our days off to see them perform it was great occasionaly mr T would take a buch of us out to breakfast after work to the oaktree on the corner of oak and rush i believe it's been so many years since i have even thought about those days they were exciting and adveturous i never made so many slow gin fizzs and pina coladas in my life especially on ladies night and they would be free when the red light would go on oh my god it was like as the saying goes you never saw so many bugs come out of the wall that was the saying amongest us bartenders we loved it because we were the fastes because if you weren't you can't even imagine what would have happened there would have been riots!
Unfortunately I didn't want to bring anything into my marriage of my past so i didn't keep that part of my life when i got married such as pictures and such from mrT and all the autographs from groups like EarthWind and Fire Freeda Payne And Irene mohika dj i think she was wgci at that time I also worked those sunday kiddy bars that was fun also serving the virgin drinks the kids were the best
they just thought they were being so grown up they probably are now. God bless

the only lady bartender i remember was Leona who work the front bar, you must of come later on. Ron's original partner was a young gay guy, i can't remember his name, he came up with Dingbats and the logo as it was also a resterant for lunch and supper hoping the holiday inn across the street would provide clients it did not. Later when Ron came out of the closet all hell broke lose, as he was married with kids living the good life his wife was from a promenate jewish family.

Ron's 1st disco was behind marshell fields on wabash it was a hamburger joint during the day and one of chicago's hotest disco at night featuring mean erni green and his disco machine The drug of choice for the dance floor was anel nitrate popers as they would be all over the floor in the mournings. I would come in a 10:00am so the kitchen could start, get some coffee sit in the midle of the dance floor and put on 3 times a lady, that would start my day.

it ended at 4:00am we had a cyanide safe in the office, it had a cyanide bottle in the door that should break if you broke in the safe, I think it was colored water so it was never tested. The DJ booth was glass enclosed you went to the right behind the speaker to get in, we had 2 Harmon Cardin 300 watt citation 16's, 2 technic 1200 direct drives and tape player standard mixer very simple stuff all set behind the DJ, the speakers were made 4 in all set on the floor on the dance floor 5, 15" cerwins 2 mid ranges an 1 21" folding horns with super tweeters. it could rock the house.I loved it when drunk girls broke in and attack me.

I felt the only system better in the city was at the phoenix on broadway when it was small, that club rocked no plastic disco queens there. anouther fun place was the hang up, with there bose 901's a good disco sound. One of our customers had a apartment in Mcclure court next door, a lot of us would crash there, it would be full of dingbat workers and regular I never meet the owner but several of us had keys and a open invitation, I would like to know who owned it.

I was full on Disco and still have all the original dingbat 12" disk from dogs of war days. here is a bit of history I will never forget when i started the evening with berry white, the only time i would talk on the mike was to start the evening at 11:00 somethimg like this " good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the inter galatic space patrol taking you on trip threw space and time heaven and earth super grovalistic profuncafication at its finist so set back and relax and let our music machine take over you feet and our music take over your soul Dingbats and ccontemperay yet sofisticated place to boogy....

Anyways back to Dingbat's there was so much stuff going on there If I think about it I could probably write a book on it um um um the things that used to go down there I am so glad that some one must have had me in their prayers and was watching out for me because so many of the things that went down in that club Thank God the bouncers were so good they would be their in a flash whenever some one hassled me I really trusted them

I must have had a bag on my head or something because I partied at Dingbat's for a few years and don't recall any of the danger that's being talked about here.
I also went to that club on Wabash, across from Field's and again, all I did was drink and dance. Don't remember any trouble. As a matter of fact, I went to just about all of the clubs between 1973-1985 and I just don't remember anything but good music and great times.
Anybody remember The Rhinocerous on Dearborn? That was the very first disco I went to. And how about Club Fusion?

While doing my MBA internship in the summer of 1979, I thought Dingbat's was the place. I thoroughly enjoyed the music and dancing that summer and seeing Mr T at the door. I can still hear "Ring My Bell" everytime I visit Chicago.
DB from Indy

I met an Ice Capades skater by the name of Randy Goss at Dingbats in early '77. He was in his 20's then. Does anyone remember him or know what happened to him? He was a very handsome guy with dark hair.

I went on my first date with my wife on August 11, 2004 (25 years ago). We went there for my wife's friend's 21st birthday party. I was the only white person in there. I never dance so much in my life. My wife and her friend is from the Philippines.

I don't remember any violence at Dingbats at all. Maybe Mr. T cleaned it all out...

A girlfriend took me there one day right after work. There was a piano bar. There was a young Black woman singing whose name I can't remember for the life of me--was it Claudette or Odete or Odesa? The club impressed me. I noticed a sign on the wall that mentioned dancing later in the evening. I was used to going to dance bars on the south side (Green Bunny) but to find one this far north was fantastic. I came back late one evening--and wound up coming back frequently.

Won a few of the dance contests I must say. Had bunches of fun and always had a safe and fun time--emphasis on safe. This is one of the clubs that made me migrate north in terms of dance clubs. I was on public transportation and the clubs/areas up north were safer to navigate for me. Yeah, I remember Mr. T glaring at everyone--including me!!

I'm awful with dates...but I can remember leaving Dingbats one night and picking up my usual newspaper to ride on the train. Elvis had just died. (Yeah, south sider that liked Elvis--mostly his earlier songs and movies.) I think I actually shed a tear on the way home (and I don't blame it all on the the a-a-a-a-alcohol).

I think I sort of migrated to The Happy Medium and The River's Edge (and there was one other club over in the Kinzie area...) eventually. Dingbats wasn't quite as exciting to me towards the end. And the first time I went to The Happy Medium, it was like finding long, lost members of my (dance) family.

re: The oaktree--I remember eating there after hours too, but not until I started going to The Happy Medium which was a couple of blocks away. We would all walk there (still drenched in perspiration) for some food before going home. Ahhh, memories...

The club that evrybody is talking about behind Marshall Fields that Ron Briskman also owned was "The Hideout". The house DJ was "Disco Billy"

Also, the other club on Kinzie was called "The Golden Fork"

If you are really old school you might remember that before it was Dingbats it was called Tenemant Square, and before that it was the Chez Paris'

The hideout is correct i, thank you I assume you would also know the hang up and the BBC where Mr t won the boncer contest. I was at Dingbats working the door and then DJ up until Mr T I dont remember any violance. I was there 7 days a week until 4:00am. We also help a couple of Disco parties, one at the park paladian and one at a dowtown hotel that they shut us down for to many people.

Does anyone remember me, I was the pregnant cashier at the Hideout until the day they CLOSED!!!!!!!!!!!

does anyone remember Robin and Reggie, that gave dance lessons at Dingbats. Ms cyn I must know you I DJ and then ran Dingbats for Ron for 2 years. Were you there before Mr T or only later on. Linda Clifford (if you could see me now) use to come in all the time.