Distinctly Montana Magazine

for its fun and music. Initially catering to a black clientele, early in World War II Leo LaMar successfully broadened its base to a multiracial crowd under the theme, "All are wel- come." Segregated Great Falls during wartime was a city ready for an interracial nightclub where all were welcome. There never was a dull mo- ment at the Ozark Club. all night playing at the Ozark with the doors locked and the music continuing until morning light. The Ozark's traveling musicians, singers, and exotic dancers were often on the Great Northern "chitlin' circuit" out of Detroit. Some of these entertainers were on their way up and would later achieve fame. Top musicians Oscar Dennard, Stan Turrentine, and many others played with the band. Young Red Foxx practiced his early comic A 1962 fire destroyed the original Ozark Club. s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s ss s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s Leo LaMar Within the black community, the Ozark Club and Leo LaMar vied for leadership with the long-established Union Bethel A. M. E. Church through civic activities as head of the local NAACP and sponsor of a black Boy Scout Troop. Leo cultivated the chief of police and other leaders in the white community by operating the lively nightclub that was emerging as the jazz capital of Montana. LaMar's strategy for the Ozark Club's success rested on an exceptional entertainment package anchored by a tal- ented house band. The key element became tenor saxman Bob Mabane, who came up through Kansas City early in the be-bop jazz era. Mabane joined the Jay McShann band in 1940 as McShann was achieving national fame. Mabane sat side-by-side with young Charlie "Bird" Parker until the band disbanded in 1942. In 1948, Bob Mabane arrived in Great Falls to lead the Ozark house band, the Ozark Boys. Mabane remained in Great Falls leading and playing sax until the O-Club closed in 1962. Ozark Club entertainment included the Ozark Boys, vocalists, exotic dancers, and comedians. Black celebri- ties, sports figures, and traveling bands knew they were welcome. Sergeant Joe Louis visited the Club in 1945. Pop Gates and the Harlem Globetrotters spent their off-court hours at the Ozark during their annual visits to Great Falls. Teenage June Elliott, whose mother prepared snacks at the club, remembers the night Leo LaMar arranged with the Chief of Police for Lionel Hampton and his band to spend routines. Infamous striptease artist, Miss Wiggles, "the Wiggleinest woman in the West," brought down the house with her contortions in dancing upside down on a chair stripped to pasties and g-string. During the 1950s the Ozark Club was flying high and attracting an interracial crowd of patrons that included servicemen, couples and singles, traveling salesmen, and visitors out for a good time. Patrons climbed a narrow, dark staircase leading upstairs to the club. There in a dim and smoky room, Leo held court, a fixture at the bar on one end, and the band at the other end. Leader Bob Mabane at- tracted the musical talent to keep the Ozark Boys one of the finest small dance bands west of the Mississippi. Gambling quietly went on in a back room. Leo's wife, Bea, ran her "gravy train" prostitution ring at the nearby LaMar Hotel. Leo LaMar was a power in the Great Falls community. But by 1957 dark clouds began to form. That year news- paper headlines broke revealing sordid details of the LaMar Hotel operations. Leo, Jr.'s spectacular death with four friends in an early morning car-truck crash in June 1961 was a devas- tating blow to his father. Leo LaMar's heart attack and death one year later in June 1962 marked the end of an era, and the impending demise of the Ozark Club. Three weeks later, a late night fire forced emergency evacuation of about 50 staff and patrons, as the Ozark Club burned to the ground. Rumors swirled that the fire was not accidental. Leo LaMar was gone, his famed Ozark Club was gone, but this was not the end of the story. Fortunately for poster- 46 DISTINCTLY MONTANA • AUTUMN 2011

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