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Irwin Held

Irwin Held (July 1, 1925 – June 17, 2013) was an American restaurateur, known for being a longtime owner of Barney's Beanery, a famous West Hollywood "beer-and-burger" restaurant, holding the establishment from 1970 to 1999. Held was born in The Bronx, New York in 1925, and following service in the Marines, he moved to Los Angeles in 1950. He took ownership of Barney's Beanery in 1970, two years after the death of its founder John Anthony. Held faced picketing and protest over his continued display of a sign over the bar that read “Fagots Stay Out”, purportedly posted by Anthony following a police raid of the restaurant's bathrooms in the 1940s. The introduction of an anti-discrimination ordinance in 1985 finally forced the reluctant Held to remove the sign under threat of fine. The restaurant was also famous for attracting rock musicians and stars including Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin. Held sold the restaurant in 1999, and died in 2013 of natural causes, survived by two daughters, a son and four grandchildren.

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Article summary

Irwin Held (July 1, 1925 – June 17, 2013) was an American restaurateur, known for being a longtime owner of Barney's Beanery, a famous West Hollywood "beer-and-burger" restaurant, holding the establishment from 1970 to 1999. Held was born in The Bronx, New York in 1925, and following service in the Marines, he moved to Los Angeles in 1950. He took ownership of Barney's Beanery in 1970, two years after the death of its founder John Anthony. Held faced picketing and protest over his continued display of a sign over the bar that read “Fagots Stay Out”, purportedly posted by Anthony following a police raid of the restaurant's bathrooms in the 1940s. The introduction of an anti-discrimination ordinance in 1985 finally forced the reluctant Held to remove the sign under threat of fine. The restaurant was also famous for attracting rock musicians and stars including Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin. Held sold the restaurant in 1999, and died in 2013 of natural causes, survived by two daughters, a son and four grandchildren.

Key claims

  1. date of birth: 1925 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. date of death: 2013 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of birth is "1925". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the date of death is "2013". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  5. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1350288738

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.