Starting in 1928 , Gus Arnheim led the Cocoanut Grove Orchestra . Six to seven songs were sung each night . There was a two-hour broadcast of the orchestra on the radio . The names of the hotel and its nightclub quickly became synonymous with glamour ; " Cocoanut Grove " would become a trendy name for bars and clubs across the United States . During the 1930s the Cocoanut Grove was frequented by celebrities of cinema such as Norma Shearer and Irving Thalberg , Errol Flynn , Jean Harlow , Clark Gable and Carole Lombard , Katharine Hepburn , Spencer Tracy , Cary Grant , Jimmy Stewart , Marlene Dietrich , Lana Turner , John Wayne , Henry Fonda , Lucille Ball , Ginger Rogers , Gary Cooper , Loretta Young , and countless others . On February 29 , 1940 , the 1939 Academy Awards Ceremony was held in the Cocoanut Grove , with Bob Hope hosting
1939 Academy Awards Ceremony
12th Academy Awards
Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles)