Sunset Strip clubs owner

LOS ANGELES — Mario Maglieri, the Hollywood entrepreneur who doubled as a godfather figure to generations of rock stars from the Doors’ Jim Morrison to Guns ’N Roses’ Axl Rose, has died at age 93.

Maglieri died Thursday morning “surrounded by loved ones,” his family said in a statement. No cause of death was given.

For decades he operated two of Hollywood’s most venerable and legendary Sunset Strip nightclubs — the Whiskey A Go Go and the Rainbow Bar & Grill.

“Rest In Peace Mario Maglieri King of The Sunset Strip,” the marquee over the Whiskey proclaimed Friday.

It was at the Whiskey that the Doors found a following as the house band in the 1960s. Over the years Led Zeppelin, the Police, Van Halen and literally hundreds of other acts spanning generations have played there.

The Beatles dropped by for a visit during their first U.S. tour in 1964. George Harrison, annoyed by a paparazzi, threw a drink at him, hitting actress Mamie Van Doren instead.

At the Rainbow, Maglieri would keep many of his musicians in booze and food, occasionally having to throw one or more of them out when they caused too much trouble.

“The rowdiest? Oh, Guns N’ Roses! I had to put them out I don’t know how many times,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 1993. “They’re good guys, but they get out of hand.”

He is survived by his wife, Scarlett; a son, Mikeal; and three grandchildren.