Peter Morton
Encyclopedia
Peter Morton was the co-founder with Isaac Tigrett
of the Hard Rock Café
, a chain of casual dining restaurants. His father is Arnie Morton
, founder of Morton's
, and his son is Harry Morton, founder of Pink Taco
restaurants. His former stepdaughter was Domino Harvey
, who was the subject of the October 2005 film Domino
starring Keira Knightley
and directed by Tony Scott
. Morton is a graduate of the University of Denver
, where he was a member of the Phi Sigma Delta fraternity.
Morton's first Hard Rock Cafe opened near Hyde Park Corner
in London, England. The chain began global expansion in 1982 when the two agreed to develop their own cafes across the world. Morton (Hard Rock America) opened Hard Rocks in Los Angeles, San Francisco
, Chicago, and Houston
, Las Vegas
; San Diego, La Jolla, and Newport Beach, California
; Sydney and Melbourne, Australia; Honolulu and Maui, Hawaii; among many others.
He is the godfather of film producer Matthew Vaughn
, and introduced him to a Hard Rock Cafe tour. It was through Peter, that Matthew was introduced to Guy Ritchie
and some well known aristocrats in the London area.
In 1995, The Rank Organisation
(now The Rank Group
) acquired the cafes owned by Morton for $410 million, but Morton retained the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas
, Nevada
.
In May 2006, Morton sold the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas to New York-based Morgans Hotel Group
for $770 million. The sale included the rights to the Hard Rock Hotel brand West of the Mississippi River
which includes Texas, California, Australia and Vancouver, British Columbia. W. Edward Scheetz, a Morgans’ executive, described the 11-story, 670-room Hard Rock Hotel as a "trophy property" that will never be replicated in Las Vegas because of land values. The Hard Rock pool alone, ranked #1 of the top 10 hotel pools by Travel Channel, occupies land valued at $50 million.
Morton later founded and remains the owner one of Los Angeles’ quintessential dining power spots — Morton’s (not to be confused with Morton's of Chicago). For almost two decades, the ability to get a table at The Ivy or Morton's has defined the level of importance and clout a person possesses in Hollywood. The restaurant was also the subject of Julia Phillips
' 1991 book, You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again
.
From 2007-summer 2010, Morton dated supermodel Linda Evangelista
. Evangelista already had an infant son named Augustin, from a previous relationship. Evangelista was seen with a diamond ring on her engagement finger in late 2009. In October 2010, it was reported that the two had split in September 2010.
(MOCA) and sits on the board of trustees for the Natural Resources Defense Council
(NRDC).
After Morton made a generous donation to UCLA, the 200 UCLA Medical Plaza building was renamed the Peter Morton Medical Building.
Isaac Tigrett
Isaac Tigrett of Jackson, Tennessee is a businessman best known as founder of Hard Rock Café and House of Blues.Tigrett belonged to a well-to-do business family. He was raised in Tennessee until the age of fifteen...
of the Hard Rock Café
Hard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe is a chain of theme restaurants founded in 1971 by Americans Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll memorabilia, a tradition which expanded to others in the chain. In 2006, Hard Rock was sold to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and...
, a chain of casual dining restaurants. His father is Arnie Morton
Arnie Morton
Arnold "Arnie" Morton was a restaurateur who founded Morton's Restaurant Group/Morton's Steakhouse. He is the father of Peter Morton, owner of Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe; of Michael Morton, head of the N9NE Group, which operates contemporary American steakhouses...
, founder of Morton's
Morton's Restaurant Group
Morton's Restaurant Group, Inc. is the world's largest owner and operator of company-owned upscale restaurants, with locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai and Singapore...
, and his son is Harry Morton, founder of Pink Taco
Pink Taco
Pink Taco is a restaurant in Los Angeles, California. It calls itself a chain, but currently only has one location open after previously having had several locations. It serves Mexican food. The chain has earned notoriety due to its name, which is a slang term for the human vulva...
restaurants. His former stepdaughter was Domino Harvey
Domino Harvey
Domino Harvey was an English bounty hunter, notable within that field for being female and from a privileged background. Though there is speculation as to whether she really was a model, there are in fact photographs which show her involved in what would appear to be modeling-related work...
, who was the subject of the October 2005 film Domino
Domino (film)
Domino is a 2005 American action film directed by Tony Scott and written by Richard Kelly. It is inspired by the story of Domino Harvey, the English daughter of stage and screen actor Laurence Harvey, who became a bounty hunter working in Los Angeles. The film stars Keira Knightley as Domino and...
starring Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Knightley born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham...
and directed by Tony Scott
Tony Scott
Anthony D. L. "Tony" Scott is an English film director. His films include Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance, Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, Spy Game, Man on Fire, Déjà Vu, The Taking of Pelham 123, and Unstoppable...
. Morton is a graduate of the University of Denver
University of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
, where he was a member of the Phi Sigma Delta fraternity.
Morton's first Hard Rock Cafe opened near Hyde Park Corner
Hyde Park Corner
Hyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge...
in London, England. The chain began global expansion in 1982 when the two agreed to develop their own cafes across the world. Morton (Hard Rock America) opened Hard Rocks in Los Angeles, San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, Chicago, and Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
; San Diego, La Jolla, and Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
; Sydney and Melbourne, Australia; Honolulu and Maui, Hawaii; among many others.
He is the godfather of film producer Matthew Vaughn
Matthew Vaughn
Matthew Vaughn is an English film producer and director known for producing such films as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch and directing the films Layer Cake , Stardust and Kick-Ass...
, and introduced him to a Hard Rock Cafe tour. It was through Peter, that Matthew was introduced to Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie is an English screenwriter and film maker who directed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Revolver, RocknRolla and Sherlock Holmes.-Early life:...
and some well known aristocrats in the London area.
In 1995, The Rank Organisation
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment company formed during 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Plc. It was the largest and most vertically-integrated film company in Britain, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities....
(now The Rank Group
The Rank Group
The Rank Group plc is a European gaming and leisure business. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
) acquired the cafes owned by Morton for $410 million, but Morton retained the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
In May 2006, Morton sold the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas to New York-based Morgans Hotel Group
Morgans Hotel Group
Morgans Hotel Group is a hospitality company that owns & operates boutique hotels as well as acquiring and redeveloping in the United States and Europe....
for $770 million. The sale included the rights to the Hard Rock Hotel brand West of the Mississippi River
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
which includes Texas, California, Australia and Vancouver, British Columbia. W. Edward Scheetz, a Morgans’ executive, described the 11-story, 670-room Hard Rock Hotel as a "trophy property" that will never be replicated in Las Vegas because of land values. The Hard Rock pool alone, ranked #1 of the top 10 hotel pools by Travel Channel, occupies land valued at $50 million.
Morton later founded and remains the owner one of Los Angeles’ quintessential dining power spots — Morton’s (not to be confused with Morton's of Chicago). For almost two decades, the ability to get a table at The Ivy or Morton's has defined the level of importance and clout a person possesses in Hollywood. The restaurant was also the subject of Julia Phillips
Julia Phillips
Julia Phillips was a film producer and author. She is remembered for being the first woman to win an Academy Award as a film's producer, and for a best selling tell-all memoir.-Early life:...
' 1991 book, You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again
You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again
You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again is an autobiography by Julia Phillips, detailing her career as a film producer and disclosing the power games and debauchery of New Hollywood in the 1970s and 1980s...
.
From 2007-summer 2010, Morton dated supermodel Linda Evangelista
Linda Evangelista
Linda Evangelista is a Canadian model. She has been featured on over 600 magazine covers and has garnered work on numerous modeling assignments with companies, most recently with L'Oréal.- Early years :...
. Evangelista already had an infant son named Augustin, from a previous relationship. Evangelista was seen with a diamond ring on her engagement finger in late 2009. In October 2010, it was reported that the two had split in September 2010.
Honors, awards, positions
Morton is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los AngelesMuseum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles is a contemporary art museum with three locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near Walt Disney Concert Hall...
(MOCA) and sits on the board of trustees for the Natural Resources Defense Council
Natural Resources Defense Council
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a New York City-based, non-profit, non-partisan international environmental advocacy group, with offices in Washington DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Beijing...
(NRDC).
After Morton made a generous donation to UCLA, the 200 UCLA Medical Plaza building was renamed the Peter Morton Medical Building.