“I would rather sleep in a bathroom than in another hotel.”
– Billy Wilder
The late great director, shown between Cecil B. DeMille & Gloria Swanson, uttered that famous quote when he was told that The Chateau Marmont, his favorite hotel, was completely full. I know exactly what he means. To me, The Chateau Marmont is like Shangri La. Tucked away in a hillside of West Hollywood, it began its life as a swank apartment building.
Driving by on Sunset Boulevard, you might not even notice it for the trees, billboards, and cars zooming by.
At night, the entrance is much clearer, with this classic neon sign guiding the way.
Come back as I take you inside the fabled hotel on my next post.
See more Chateau Marmont photos on my Chateau Marmont web page.
In Shangri-La, people lived almost forever. John Belushi died in Chateau Marmont.
ReplyDeleteI know it's not the Chateau's fault, but that will forever be my first association with the place, and what always springs to mind whenever I drive or walk past it. My second association with it isn't much of a help either; it's where Myra Breckenridge lived, both in the great novel and in the appalling movie.
Douglas - if you ever have the opportunity to stay there (even for a night), I guarantee you will forget both of those!
ReplyDeleteYou DID say you were taking us on a tour inside, right???
ReplyDeleteOh, I undestand what it's like. I have been inside. (30 years ago, I worked a block away from it.) Prior to John dying there, Myra Breckenridge (which is one of my absolute top favorie novels, no matter how terrible the movie) and the fact that Boris Karloff had lived there for a while were my primary associations with it.
ReplyDeleteBut nothing will ever erase the trauma of the Day We Lost John Belushi there for me. (Not the hotel's fault. John's fault. I know that.) When I found out John had died I was at work in a bank a few blocks down Sunset Blvd. from there. I closed out and went home, too depressed to work more, and waiting on customers while sobbing just depressed them also.