The Cotton Club was a famous night club in New York City that operated during and after Prohibition. While the club featured many of the greatest African-American entertainers of the era, such as Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Ethel Waters, it generally denied admission to blacks. During its heyday, it served as a chic meeting spot in the heart of Harlem, featuring regular "Celebrity Nights" on Sundays, at which Jimmy Durante, New York mayor Jimmy Walker and other luminaries would appear. Heavyweight champion Jack Johnson opened the Club Deluxe at 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem in 1920. Owney Madden, a prominent bootlegger and gangster, took over the club in 1923 while imprisoned in Sing Sing and changed its name to the Cotton Club. While the club was closed briefly in 1925 for