The Lakers’ Forum Club represented ‘the good life’ on steroids.
The “Showtime” Lakers of the 1980s had some of the best basketball players in the world–players like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. But things were going on behind the scenes, too, during that time–a VIP lounge where season ticket holders and others could hang out. It was The Forum Club–a private club with a full-service bar.
Courtesy: Jocks and Stiletto Jill
A guard would make sure that only ‘guests with the right credentials’ could get in. Jerry Buss, the Lakers’ owner at the time, had a private table for him and other invitees, including a lot of young, attractive women–some of them ‘groupies,’ who would often stand close to the door as players arrived after a game. Laker Michael Cooper once said: “You had to get there before Magic if you wanted to hang out with the groupies. If Magic was there, all bets were off. He had the first pick.”
Word around the league and city was that The Forum Club was the place to be. While it operated, the Club served as host to Hollywood executives, actors, and writers–replete with a chance to rub shoulders with the elite. NBA teams of the time loved playing in LA–in large part because of what would happen after games at The Forum.
Everyone was living the high life, including (for some) using drugs. Cocaine was the most popular drug of the day, and it was passed around liberally. Players’ wives weren’t allowed in the club. What happened there was a secret until one spouse–Mark Landsberger’s wife–asked, “What goes on there?” Landsberger answered honestly, and that was the beginning of the end.
With power comes responsibility, so it goes. Because of that, The Forum Club became a thing of the past.
