Friday, December 30, 2022

Happy New Year From New Tomorrowland!



Welcome to the New Year celebration at Disneyland. These undated images are post-1967 (when “New” Tomorrowland opened); anyone who can ID the group or the year…wow! You get the Virtual Daveland Platinum Star Award!



This stage was located where the Flying Saucer attraction once was, and where the Captain EO theatre would eventually go. Let’s zoom in to this groovy group. When was the last time you saw this much polyester?



I hope you all have a fantastic New Year celebration and I send my best wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2023!

See more Disneyland “New” Tomorrowland photos at my main website.

Thursday, December 29, 2022

Garden of Allah / 8150 update



I have been following the progress of the current mound of dirt on Sunset Boulevard and Crescent Heights, which was once the site of the Garden of Allah Hotel. What treasures/secrets were buried there when the hotel was razed in 1959? Oh, to be able to sift through the soil and see if there are any remnants of the infamous complex where F. Scott Fitzgerald, Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart, and Marlene Dietrich once resided. From my seventh floor vantage point, I don’t see anything…yet. Hard (and sad) to imagine that a Frank Gehry monstrosity will eventually rise up from this lot.



Here’s what Allah looked like back in the 1950’s:



A vintage menu:



Looking at the offerings is like opening a time capsule. You can tell so much about an era/society by what they eat. 

Stay tuned to see how the excavation progresses.

See more Garden of Allah photos at my main website.

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Doo Wop under the Moonlight



When I heard that the Doo Wop Project was coming back to the Moonlight Amphitheatre, it was a no-brainer that I would attend. Other than the venue, I had never really explored Vista. My friend Mona picked urbn (yes, that’s who it’s spelled) pizza for dinner (which also has a location near my house). The mashed potato pizza must be tried to be believed. Afters, cooler temperatures be damned as we got desert at Handel’s ice cream.



Yes, in southern California, we bundle up when it dips below 60 degrees.



The Moonlight Amphitheatre was decked out for the holidays, which paired with the cooler (!) temperatures helped make us all feel festive.



Yup, blankets. I’m sure you east coast readers feel sorry for us.



Once those Doo Wop Project harmonies began, everyone warmed up.



The Fab Five:



Charl before:



And after, as the spirit of Rudolph and the other reindeer took over:



It is so much fun to watch the joyous interactions that these guys exude every time they perform together.



Afterwards, I got to visit with them as they had to swat off the other audience members who were clamoring for autographs. I predict amazing things for Dwayne in the New Year!



The post will end with a little clip from one of my favorite numbers, “Shop Around.”



I need to find out where these guys shop! See more Doo Wop Project photos at my main website.

Thursday, December 22, 2022

Marilyn: Something's Got to Give



One of my Marilyn Monroe obsessions concerns her final and unfinished film, “Something’s Got to Give.” These wardrobe test shots show a slimmed-down star at her peak, alternating between serious, smiling, and sultry.



The outfit shown below was for Ellen Arden’s (Marilyn) reunion with her children after being separated from them for a number of years.



Just in case you wanted to see the United Air Lines Hawaii bag in color:


Presuming his wife dead, Nick Arden (Dean Martin) moves on with his life and remarries. Oops. He finds it difficult to tell his current wife Bianca (Cyd Charisse) that Ellen is still alive, so Marilyn pretends to be a new nanny for the children. Are you following so far? This is the outfit Marilyn wore for that scene:



Just in case you wanted to see the wardrobe slate up close:



Here is Dean Martin and Phil Silvers, who plays an insurance agent in a brief cameo.



From the vintage publicity blurb:

(LA2-May 8) HOLLYWOOD, May 9—COMICS AT PLAY—Funnymen Dean Martin (left) and Phil Silvers pretend to watch the other actors at work as they clowned at the door of Martin’s dressing room between scenes of “Something’s Got to Give,” at Hollywood at 20th Century-Fox studio. Silvers, returning briefly to the studio where he spent eight of his youthful years, is playing a cameo role in the film.



All of the footage Marilyn shot survived and was edited together into a truncated version in 1990. Marilyn sparkles but the film seems overly contrived. Director George Cukor did not seem to have control of the production, often losing his temper with the kids that were portraying Marilyn’s offspring.



The set for the Arden home was an exact recreation of Cukor’s own home, which seems like an odd choice as to the type of home that the Arden family would have inhabited. Monroe was plagued with illness, which forced filming delays. This did not endear her to Cukor or the Fox higher-ups, who were losing their shirts from an out of control budget for Elizabeth Taylor’s “Cleopatra,” filming overseas at the same time. Bitchy Cukor forced the cast and crew to delay Marilyn’s onset birthday celebration until he could get “a full day’s work out of her.”



I adore this photo of Marilyn giving Wally Cox the whammy in between takes of the movie:



Marilyn took her profession quite seriously, as you can see from the detailed notes written on the script:



Monroe was fired on June 8, 1962. Martin refused to continue filming with Lee Remick, who the studio attempted to recast the Monroe role with. For him, it was Marilyn or nobody. Smart man. While Remick was a good actress, she definitely lacked the star wattage that Marilyn exuded.



HOLLYWOOD, June 11—MISS REMICK REPORTS TO THE STUDIO—Actress Lee Remick, who was named to replace Marilyn Monroe in the movie “Something’s Got to Give,” has a big smile for director George Cukor in Hollywood today as he goes over the script with her. Studio officials said Miss Remick was given a copy of the script and is expected to begin filming soon. Meanwhile officials at 20th Century-Fox faced another crisis: If Monroe’s out and Remick’s in, Dean Martin says he’s out too.

Fox backed down on their decision and hired Monroe back, agreeing to her demand that Cukor be replaced by Jean Negulesco. I’ll bet nobody from the film celebrated Cukor’s July 7 birthday! Moral of the story: don’t f$%^ with Marilyn Monroe! Filming was slated to begin again in October, with the substandard script getting an overhaul in the meantime. Marilyn’s unexpected death on August 4, 1962, obviously ended that.

See more Marilyn “Something's Got To Give” photos at my main website.

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Temple Tuesday: Shirley at the Holidays



I started this post when it was still Tuesday, so I'm keeping the title, dagnabbit! Here is a presentation of Shirley Temple Christmas photos to kick you all into the holiday spirit, starting off with a still from “Bright Eyes” (1934). Shirley’s character is ready for her Christmas party and all her aviator buddies are on hand with lots of gifts for her.



These two images are from 1935 and show her dressed as Santa. One of the most famous and oft-told Shirley quotes has to do with Father Christmas:

I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.



A color shot of her wearing a velvet coat from “Heidi” (1937):



In “Heidi,” Shirley leads the singing of “Silent Night” with her friend Klara (Marcia Mae Jones) and Klara’s father, Herr Sesemann (Sidney Blackmer):



Who could resist giving to the Salvation Army when Shirley is ringing the bell?



Shirley puts the finishing touches on a very tall snowman!



On Christmas Eve, 1939, Shirley did a radio broadcast on CBS of “The Blue Bird.” Is that a mistletoe corsage?!?



For this 1939 publicity still, Shirley appears to be giving a sermon:



In the same 1939 Christmas series, Shirley comes down the stairs to discover the wonders of what might be under her tree:





In this 1941 photo, Shirley is shown celebrating Christmas at her Rockingham home:



I hope you enjoyed this chronological assortment of Shirley Christmas images. See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Monday, December 19, 2022

Bedford Falls: Behind the Scenes, Pt. 2



One of my favorite scenes in Frank Capra’s “It’s A Wonderful Life” is where George Bailey (James Stewart) reconnects with Mary Hatch (Donna Reed) at a dance held at Bedford Falls High School. George is tall and gangly, and not comfortable doing the latest dance craze, The Charleston. Still, his feelings for Mary overcome his shyness and he gives it a whirl. Unbeknownst to both of them, George’s rival (played by “Our Gang”’s Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer) has turned the key that opens up the floor of the basketball court, revealing the pool beneath them. The rest of the dancers see the situation and begin laughing and yelling; George thinks they are cheering them on. As you can guess, the lovestruck duo fall into the pool. This scene has the perfect mixture of sweetness, comedy, and dramatic tension.

Beverly Hills High School’s “Swim-Gym” was designed as a New Deal project by Stiles O. Clements. While the main buildings of Beverly Hills High School were built in 1927, the unique “Swim-Gym” was designed by Clements and built by the WPA in 1939. The gym, now known as the Konheim Athletic Building, contains a basketball court that can be opened to access a 25-yard swimming pool below. The gym has also appeared in Shirley Temple’s “The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer” (1947) and “Clueless” (1995).



Here are two images that show Reed and Stewart rehearsing The Charleston. I’m sure it didn’t take long for Stewart to have to remove his sweater, as both of them look like they are putting their all into the rehearsal.



This shot shows the two leads relaxing at the piano during a break; not sure who the guy in the middle is [NOTE: Daveland reader Darryl has ID'ed him as Liberty Films co-founder Samuel J. Briskin]:



Want to see this scene? Here you go:



See more “It's A Wonderful Life” photos at my main website.

Friday, December 16, 2022

GTG For The Last-Minute Shopper



It’s that time of year that stresses so many of us out: LAST-MINUTE SHOPPING! It can happen to the best of us; you forget one person on your list and EEK! Well dear readers, I have the answer! Shannon Laskey’s Going to Guides Etsy Shop is the one-stop shop for all you Disney Park fanatics out there. Today’s post features some of the coolest items you’ll find there: IF YOU HURRY! Yes, some items could be limited in stock.

1. Silhouette Studio Ornament Each silhouette in the window is an image of an actual vintage silhouette (spotted on EBay) made at Disneyland’s Silhouette Studio. Comes in handsome red box!

2) Postcard Pals Packs Check out this NEW Modern Disneyland Postcard set and the Vintage Postcard set (featuring some shots from the Daveland collection):





3) All Aboard Fandana This seems like a good one for Christmas since it’s red! Shannon knows of at least two Cast Members who wear this to work! This photo by Brent Cox shows off the Fandana nicely:



Check out what Cast Member Mark Gonzales is wearing in this photo from the OC Register:



4) Haunted Glow Fandana This is Shannon’s newest Fandana (and my favorite!) and first to be themed to Magic Kingdom and first to glow in the dark!





5) I Like Disneyland sticker People LOVE this! Shannon has a bumper sticker size and a mini size that can be chosen in a Mix n’ Match 4 stickers set.



And then for BOOKS, Shannon’s shipping them until this Tuesday if people want to order directly. Amazon has them in stock too, though quantities are low.



Happy Shopping!

See more Disneyland photos at my main website.