LOS ANGELES — A celebration of life was held July 27 for Jewel Thais-Williams, the LGBTQ activist and original owner of L.A.’s landmark Jewel’s Catch One nightclub who died on July 7 at age 86.

The event was held at the club, now known as Catch One, at 4067 W. Pico Blvd., two blocks east of Crenshaw Boulevard.

Thais-Williams opened the club in 1973 and owned it until 2015. Under her ownership, Catch One featured performances by the likes of Sammy Davis Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, Sylvester, Weather Girls, Luther Vandross, Donna Summer, Whoopi Goldberg and Rick James.

Catch One was a community center for Los Angeles’ Black, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. It became known as the “unofficial Studio 54 of the West Coast” and T

See Full Page