SUNSET STRIPPED
Reports are The Viper Room has been sold, possibly closing for good… who’s next?

NME — The Viper Room, a legendary Los Angeles rock club, has been sold and could be closing its doors for good.

The club, which is located on the city’s Sunset Strip, was once owned by Johnny Depp and was where River Phoenix died in 1993.

According to the LA Business Journal, the 250-capacity venue was sold off along with three other properties on Sunset Strip in a real estate deal worth $80 million (£62 million). Jim Cooper, a director at REM Finance Inc. who represent the buyer said: “There’s not a development plan in place. They’re looking to see what the highest and best use would be.”

It has been reported that the Viper Room could be demolished and replaced with luxury apartments or a hotel.

The club was part-owned by Depp until 2004 when he turned control over to Amanda Fox, the daughter of his missing business partner Anthony Fox, as Stereogum reports. Three years earlier, he had fallen out with Anthony Fox, who sued the actor but disappeared before a jury in the case could deliver a verdict. Fox’s vehicle was later found by police but he never was.

The Viper Room’s last owner was Harry Morton, son of Hard Rock Cafe founder Peter Morton, who bought it in 2008 and planned to open similar clubs in Las Vegas, Miami, Portland, Seattle, New York, London, and Tokyo.

Meanwhile, Depp recently spoke about his battle with depression and his financial struggles. Speaking to Rolling Stone, the actor said: “I was as low as I believe I could have gotten..the next step [for me] was, ‘You’re going to arrive somewhere with your eyes open and you’re going to leave there with your eyes closed. I couldn’t take the pain every day.”

 
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The above story courtesy of NME