It was a party  to end all parties. Dozens of people gathered at one of the Sunset Strip’s oldest bars – its only British-themed tavern – to mourn the coming loss of a treasured institution. Former regulars flew in from across the country and overseas to dine and drink at the Cock ‘n Bull one last time. 

“Did I say party?” film and television director Richard Bare, a longtime Cock ‘n Bull mainstay, remembered. “It was more like a wake. It was so crowded that [we] were literally pushed against the wall.”

For decades the Cock ‘n Bull, at 9170 Sunset Boulevard, had been a gathering place for a roster of bold-faced names – ex-pat British screen royalty, Hollywood stars, producers and directors.

Established in 1937, by 1968 it was the oldest restaurant on the Strip. By the time it closed 19 years later, the Cock ‘n Bull had been in business a half century. (By comparison to today, the Whisky is marking its 59th year in 2023.)

As is traditional at wakes, there was food and drink. Lots of drink. Old-timers swapped stories. They laughed, some cried – and all mourned the end of a bar and restaurant that was regularly named one of the best places in Los Angeles. The Cock ‘n Bull was also the setting of a historic moment in cocktail culture. It was the birthplace of the Moscow Mule.

The tavern’s British vibe was authentic. It was founded by brothers Jack and Percy Morgan, sons of a wealthy ex-pat Briton and his American wife who had raised their boys in a Tudor mansion in the Bay Area. But Jack and Percy were gone now, and Jack’s son John Jr. and daughter Joan, who had inherited the restaurant in the 1970s, were ready to retire. They had decided to sell.

The end came on Saturday, October 22, 1987, the 50th anniversary of the day the Cock ‘n Bull opened.