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Those
of you who've visited Rick's, literally and vitrually,
can appreciate the fine decorative and architectural
details that make Rick's such a special place.
When I found the house I took one look and said, "This is it." I could see in the arches, columns
and balustrades as structures similar to the film.
But who, other than another American, would be
able to take the structure and add magical creative
details to go beyond celluloid and make a legendary
myth a reality. So I turned to my friend Bill
Willis for advice and counsel. Bill has lived
in Marrakech since the 60's and through his use
of Morocco's artisanal techniques in palatial,
oppulent settings and designs, has built an international
reputation. I was lucky, as Bill loved the film
"Casablanca," and the idea of actually creating
a real Rick's Café excited him and he agreed to
help. I have hundreds of anecdotes about working
with Bill on this project - I'll share two for
now. One of the first things we agreed upon was
there had to be a beaded lamp on each table, like
the film. In the movie you see the lamps on the
tables, and even the cords in some cases.but here
we were going to have tables in the middle of
rooms and not always near a wall socket. One day
I said to him, "Bill, I have a bit of a worry
about the table lamps." Reading my mind, he cut
me off and said, "Don't worry my dear.we'll use
batteries." Well these lamps are still a work
in progress, but we are using flashlights in the
battery-powered lamps and hope to eventually use
LED lights in flashlight holders. The lamp, by
the way is a Marrakech artisanat rendition of
a lamp Bill had with him when he first arrived
in Morocco and we're really pleased with them.
The
other anecdote takes place a bit further into
the project. Bill's trips to Casablanca were not
numerous, thus very intense, and usually fraught
with a bad hotel experience the night before.
Plus Bill was creating some very special elements,
making me quite excited and pleased. The sub-contractors
were not quite as happy, certainly weren't perfectionists,
and tended to resist "pushing the envelope". Bill
designed lovely palms behind the bar, intending
they be carved from wood. Finding this would be
an extraordinary long and expensive process, it
was suggested the palms be made of plaster. Our
plasterer made a small model and mounted it on
the concrete wall, for Bill to approve on a visit.
Bill had not liked the idea of plaster, finding
it too fragile. He and his assistant Soulimane
and I were standing looking at the sample, when
Bill got a mischievous smile on his face. |
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He asked Soulimane to hand
him a piece of wood from the floor, and we both
knew what was going to happen. He casually tossed
the piece of wood at the palm, and of course the
frond chipped off.and back to the drawing boards
it was. The palms were eventually made with polyester
(we didn't tell Bill until they were done) and
painted with a special gold paint.and they are
incredible. There are many, many more stories,
but you get the idea. He's a genius and I decided
early on to back him 100%. His last visit to the
"chantier" had been in September and we opened
March 1. Friends of his from Marrakech would visit
and we'd send pictures back to Bill. I'd call
him from time to time to tell him how happy I
was and how everyone was raving about the place.
We'd talk about him visiting, but the days, weeks
and months went by. Finally, while talking to
him on his birthday in August he said he was ready
to make the trip. All of a sudden I was petrified.
What if he didn't like the palms? And what would
he say about my lamp purchases and the lampshades
I'd commissioned in Casablanca? And the food..I'd
just fired the chef and was putting a lot of energy
into revising the menu. As usual I got too busy
to really obsess about it, and when he walked
in the door I could see that he was pleased. And
he loved the palms, the lights, the lampshades.
What did he comment on - put Mauritanian reed
mats in the VIP room instead of carpets, reduce
the height of the banquettes and he chided me
for wearing a blouse under my tuxedo jacket! I
felt like I'd passed my PhD oral exam! We have
a "We've been there" picture
of Bill, Soulimane and me at the bar. Bill
said he looked austere - I said it was his fault
for not smiling! He came for lunch the next day
and we passed the "light of day" test too. It
was a great thrill to work with Bill and really
gratifying to see his inspiration in every nook
and cranny - he's put his soul into this as I
have.
K.K. |
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