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| Props used in film, Porky's, Miami 1982 State Archives of Florida |
By Jane Feehan
Stories abound about the man, Donald K. Baines and his South
Florida bar, Porky’s Hide Away. They can’t all be told here.
The man and his bar probably helped stoke the party image of
Fort Lauderdale. The first mention found about Ohio native Baines, known as Porky
to his friends, patrons, and law enforcement, was a legal notice posted in the Fort
Lauderdale News, March 4,1955 to “engage in business under the name Jean and
Porky’s Hide Away Restaurant.” It was no family restaurant, though Jean, or
Wilma Jean, was his wife. The business was located at the 3900 block of North Federal
Highway in Oakland Park, adjacent to Fort Lauderdale (now site of LA Fitness).
Three weeks later, Porky’s Hide Away (with or without the
hyphen) was advertising Sunday jam sessions starting at 4 pm. A month later the
ads included liquor offerings: beer at 45 cents, whiskey for 60 and cocktails
at 75 cents. The 300-seat venue featured an open-air, screened-in dance floor.
Endearing himself to the party crowd, Porky offered to buy the first barrel of
beer for patrons arriving early. He was guided either by hope or really knew
his patrons.
By 1956 and 1957, Porky’s was frequently mentioned in Fort Lauderdale News entertainment columns. Baines lined up famous acts one after the other. The Hurricanes, an all-Black dance band from Las Vegas headlined for a few nights. Famous dance orchestra leader Johnny Long made it there as did Flip Wilson, Jackie Wilson, Freddy Bell and the Bell Boys, Don Ho and world-famous jazz drummer Gene Krupa.
It was the age of classic rock ‘n roll. From 4 pm to 4 am, Baines
featured Twist contests (a popular dance then), limbo competitions and probably
the area’s first bikini contests—prefiguring those at Fort Lauderdale’s beach bars
like the Candy Store and others a decade or two later. In 1961 Porky opened
Calypso Village behind or replaced Porky’s Hideaway.
Just as ubiquitous as advertisements for Porky’s enterprises
were stories about his scrapes with the law. The first incident, though not a
run in with the law, was about an after-hours robbery at the bar in 1957. Porky,
with the assistance or guard of the Oakland Park Police, had moved a drawer
with $1,500 cash and traveler’s checks to an upstairs apartment. He then went
for coffee with friends and returned 15 minutes later to discover a break in
and the $1,500 missing.
The files on Donald Porky Baines offer much more, including:
1960 – Baines was accused in 1960 and acquitted in 1961 of
forging a traveler’s check.
1965 – A patron sued Baines for having been beaten up by two
others at Porky’s. The matter was settled out of court.
1965 – Baines was accused of alleged tax evasion
1966 – Porky allegedly involved in several incidents of
assault
1967 – He was accused and acquitted of receiving stolen
property, an adding machine and electric typewriter stolen from Fort Lauderdale
City Hall.
1968 – Baines was sentenced to five years in prison for six
charges of excise tax evasion. He was released on appeal and was told to sell
his business by October 1 that year or lose his liquor license and to never
again use the name, “Porky’s.” He opened
another club, the Palace.
1968 - While out on appeal for tax evasion charges, Baines,
42, was found behind Porky’s with an apparent self-inflicted gun shot to the
head in June. He recovered.
1968 – Baines was also accused of allegedly showing pornographic
movies and allegedly employing a convicted felon (liquor license provision).
Donald Baines, who kept a “pet” lion in a cage behind Porky’s
and drove a pink car, closed Porky’s in 1967. He opened again under the name “The
Palace” to the chagrin of Kings Park Condominium, next door, who registered multiple
complaints about noise from Porky’s.
Porky Baines had beaten all raps through legal technicalities and loopholes. But his luck ran out in 1972 when he was convicted of robbery conspiracy on a home in Coconut Isle on the Las Olas Isles.
His appeal was denied and he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Porky’s home at the 5700 block of 19th Avenue (Fort Lauderdale?) was seized by the government for a tax bill.
While working as handyman for his attorney, Arthur B. Parkhurst,
Baines committed suicide in a truck after leaving a note reading: “I can’t make
it anymore.” He was about 47. Quite a
fall from the big-name acts, pet lion and pink car. Some said it was a stormy life. It was one with
a big impact on Fort Lauderdale’s party reputation.
About the movie, Porky’s
The 1982 film, Porky's, was written and directed by Bob Clark and loosely based on Porky or his bar. Clark’s inspiration was reportedly his high school antics at Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport, Florida and at Fort Lauderdale High School. It was filmed in Miami at Miami Senior High and at Greynolds Park.
Porky’s, marketed as a “lowbrow coming of age story,”
was the fifth highest grossing film that year. Perhaps the huge success of Animal
House, similar in genre and released in 1978, set high expectations. Reviews
were more positive after its release than they are today. However, film critics Siskel and Ebert ranked
it as one of the worst movies that year. Sequels Porky’s II and Revenge
of Porky were not as successful.
Sources:
Fort Lauderdale News, March 4, 1955
Fort Lauderdale News, March 19, 1955
Fort Lauderdale News, April 22, 1955
Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 24, 1956
Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 6, 1957
Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 22, 1959
Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 5, 1960
Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 14, 1961
Fort Lauderdale News, March 2, 1961
Fort Lauderdale News, June 23, 1962
Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 25, 1965
Fort Lauderdale News, April 6, 1967
Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 29, 1957
Fort Lauderdale News, Aug. 10, 1966
Fort Lauderdale News, Sept. 18, 1967
Fort Lauderdale News, March 8, 1968
Fort Lauderdale News, March 29, 1968
Fort Lauderdale News, June 2, 1968
Fort Lauderdale News, September 20, 1972
Fort Lauderdale News, Sept. 30, 2013
Wikipedia
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