• Led Zeppelin rented as many as six floors of the hotel in the mid-to-late 1970s for the band members and entourage. Drummer
John Bonham was reported to have driven a motorcycle along the hallways (some say it was tour manager
Richard Cole). In the film
Rock Star the incident was recreated with Chris "Izzy" Cole doing the same. • Room 1015 bears the distinction of being where Rolling Stones guitarist
Keith Richards dropped a TV out the window in 1972. The Who's
Keith Moon was also reported to have dropped a TV out of one of the hotel's windows. In the film
Rock Star the character "A.C.", played by
Jason Bonham, son of Led Zeppelin drummer
John Bonham, throws a TV out the window in rage, after he is told that his wife ran off with
Peter Gabriel. •
Lemmy wrote the song "
Motorhead" on one of the hotel balconies in the middle of the night, using
Roy Wood's Ovation acoustic guitar. • Scenes in the film
Almost Famous which depict the hotel were filmed at the actual hotel. Parts of the hotel were refurbished with exactly the same decor as existed there in the 1970s. • The scene from
Almost Famous in which Russell Hammond cries out, "I am a golden god!" is a reference to
Led Zeppelin singer
Robert Plant, who allegedly said the same thing while looking over
Sunset Strip from one of the hotel's balconies in 1975. • The two-part pilot episode of
The Rockford Files, "Backlash of the Hunter', had a scene where character Sarah Hunter (
Lindsay Wagner) lured the killer of her father into room 1426. • The end-of-tour party scene in the film
This is Spinal Tap was filmed on the roof of the hotel. •
Slipknot Frontman
Corey Taylor attempted suicide by jumping from an eighth floor balcony on November 14, 2003, but was stopped. •
Little Richard lived in room 319 at the hotel through much of the 1980s and 1990s •
Jim Morrison lived there until he was reportedly evicted by management for hanging out a window by his fingertips, dangling over the pavement. • The members of
Blur attempted to make an improvised steam room in a bathroom by turning on the hot taps and blocking any gaps outside. •
Warren Zevon references this place in his song "
Poor Poor Pitiful Me". •
Thin Lizzy's
Phil Lynott and
Scott Gorham were interviewed in room 1024 for 1976 interview. •
Elton John and his entourage stayed at the then-Hyatt House on John's first trip to United States in August 1970. • A lengthy P.O.V. murder sequence in
Kathryn Bigelow's 1995 film
Strange Days, involving the killer climbing from one room to another via the exterior balconies, was filmed at the hotel, which is given the fictional name Sunset Regent. ==References==