On Saturday, January 1, 1976, at 8:30 p.m., Parviz Hejazi ended his life by consuming more than 150 sleeping pills. He was just over 40 years old, at the height of his career, managing a thriving cabaret and planning new films.
The reasons behind his suicide remain a subject of speculation. Some point to the pressures of managing large entertainment businesses in an increasingly competitive and morally scrutinized environment. Others cite financial or personal struggles. Regardless of the cause, his death shocked Tehran’s cultural circles, which had seen him as a rising force in both cinema and music.
The Legacy of Baccarat and the Cabaret Culture
Even after his death, the memory of Baccarat lived on. For many, it represented a golden era of Tehran’s nightlife, where music, glamour, and creativity flourished. The cabaret scene, however, was short-lived. Just three years later, with the outbreak of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, cabarets and nightclubs were shut down, and many artists fled the country or abandoned their careers.
The Hejazi brothers’ contributions remain part of the cultural memory of T
