The Hollywood Canteen operated at 1451 North Cahuenga Boulevard in the Los Angeles, California, neighborhood of Hollywood between October 3, 1942 and November 22, 1945, as a club offering food, dancing, and entertainment for enlisted men and women, who were usually on their way overseas during World War II. Even though the majority of visitors were US servicemen, the canteen was open to allied countries as well as women in all branches of service. Their tickets for admission were just their uniforms, and everything at the canteen was free of charge.
Marlene Dietrich (left) and Rita Hayworth serve food to soldiers at the Hollywood Canteen in 1942.
Frank Sinatra (center) performing at the Hollywood Canteen for U.S. servicemen in 1943, accompanied by Harry James (left, standing with sheet music) and his big band.
The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment venue for American and Allied servicemen that operated in the Broadway theatre district of New York City throughout World War II. Founded by the American Theatre Wing (ATW) in 1942, the entertainers were largely unpaid; volunteering their talents as a way of supporting the morale of American troops during the war. Several women in leadership with the ATW played a critical role in establishing the Stage Door Canteen, including actress Nedda Harrigan and ATW co-founders Louise Heims Beck and Antoinette Perry. The canteen opened March 2, 1942 and operated seven nights a week in the previously unoccupied Little Club under the 44th Street Theatre at 216 West 44th Street in Manhattan.
Connie Haines, Maxie Rosenbloom, Ben Lyon, Morton Downey and Joan Blondell waiting to begin a radio broadcast from the Stage Door Canteen (1943)