Trivia

Claimed to have been born Prince Michael Dimitri Alexandrovich Obolensky-Romanoff, nephew of Tsar Nicholas II. Everyone in Hollywood knew he wasn't, but, in a town full of pretenders, it hardly mattered, and "Prince Michael" enjoyed great success as a restaurateur.

Was a pallbearer at Errol Flynn's funeral along with Raoul Walsh, Mickey Rooney, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Jack Oakie, and Otto Reichow October 19, 1959 at the Church of the Recessional at Forest Lawn, Glendale, CA.

From 1941 to 1962, Mike Romanoff's Beverly Hills restaurant Romanoff's was considered the top spot for international cuisine in Hollywood, and was frequented by many movie stars. Its menu introduced such delicacies as foie gras, frog's legs and turtle soup to the region.

Changed his name to Harry F. Gerguson some time after 1900.

Immigrated to New York City at age 10

Director Alfred Hitchcock was a regular of Romanoff's in the 1940s, to the point of having his own booth marked with a nameplate. One evening Hitchcock appeared to doze off after a huge meal, and host Mike Romanoff scornfully made jokes about the director's gluttony to the other guests. But Hitchcock - who had suspected Romanoff of bad-mouthing him - was only pretending to be asleep, and heard every word. He paid his check and never returned.

As a host Romanoff was known for his eccentric and sometimes off-putting manners, such as allowing his two bulldogs to dine with him at his table. He was a staunch Republican and anti-communist, and during the McCarthy era he handed out political pamphlets along with the menus. By the early 1960s his eatery was in decline, so he closed shop and retired to Palm Springs, CA.

In 1959 he opened a second restaurant, Romanoff's On the Rocks, in Palm Springs, CA. It closed in 1962, the same year Romanoff shuttered his original Beverly Hills eatery.