In earlier locations, many entertainers, such as Danny Thomas, Pat Cooper, and the comedy team of Martin and Lewis, made their New York debuts at the Copacabana.

The nightclub was used as a setting in the films Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Tootsie, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Carlito's Way, The French Connection, Martin and Lewis, Green Book, Beyond the Sea, The Irishman, and One Night in Miami.

Proser (1904–1973), a native Englishman, was a well-connected nightclub owner and press agent whose various clients included Walt Disney, Maria Montez, Mary Pickford, and the Ziegfeld Follies.

[7][8] As early as 1945 it also featured performances of "sweet" big-band music by Shep Fields and his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra which were broadcast live on the WOR Radio Network.

In July 1965, the Supremes made their debut there, resulting in Motown Records booking the Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, and Marvin Gaye to perform at the Copa over the next few years.

During the performance, a group of apparently intoxicated bowlers started to interfere with Davis' act, even hurling racial slurs at him.

One of the bowlers, a Bronx deli owner, ended up with a concussion and a broken jaw, and sued Bauer for aggravated assault; the case was thrown out for insufficient evidence.

[15] It was closed for three years[16] in 1973 after Jules Podell died; after it reopened in 1976, at the height of the disco era, it operated as a discothèque.

[20] In November 2010, the club owners were granted permission to allow dancing by restaurant patrons as well as the general public, not limited to private parties and catered events.

[24] A second Copacabana—the first outside New York—was readied for a grand opening in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on September 13, 2012, in the historic Las Olas District at 219 S. Andrews Avenue.