Holden and The Derby

In the above photo, actor William Holden and then-wife Brenda Marshall are dining at the Brown Derby restaurant with Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Bracken. Bracken’s wife was actress Connie Nickerson. They were one of those rare Hollywood couples who said, “Til death do us part” and meant it! The Brackens were married for 63 years; Connie preceded Eddie by about three months. The photo was not dated, but Holden and Marshall were married in 1941; they lasted until 1971. What was the occasion of this group dinner? From what I can tell, Holden and Bracken made two films together: “The Fleet’s In” (1942):



…and “Young and Willing” (1943):



Holden’s hair and sideburns don’t match either still, so who knows. What I would deduce is that Holden and Marshall dropped by, since the place settings are only for two. Want to see Bracken’s dinner? I’m wondering what the gadget is in his left hand. Anyone?



Holden became forever associated with the Brown Derby restaurant thanks to one of the most famous “I Love Lucy” episodes, “L.A. at Last!”, which first aired February 7, 1955.



Below is a behind-the-scenes still of Holden, Lucy, and Eve Arden, who were all part of the Brown Derby restaurant scene, which was actually filmed on a soundstage at Desilu.



Below, director Bill Asher gets a kiss from Lucy while Holden flashes his million dollar smile. Asher is probably best known as producer and director for “Bewitched,” which starred his then wife, Elizabeth Montgomery.



See more vintage and contemporary Hollywood photos at my main website.

Fundraiser at the DeFore's, 1951

As luck would have it, I stumbled upon a batch of images that turned out to include Don DeFore ("Hazel" and Disneyland's Silver Banjo Restaurant) in them. His son Ron was able to explain their context:

These are from a fundraiser my Dad produced for the Village Church in Brentwood circa 1951. It was held at our house and had an old fashioned theme. Here’s another photo from that same event (see first black and white shot below). The local TV station covered the event, which included Eddie Bracken and a number of other celebrities.

A vintage publicity caption from July 25, 1951 provides some further info:

When the Village Church of Westwood, California needed funds for some new additions the Film Folk of the congregation decided to put on a Gay Ninetees box lunch social and entertainment to raise the money…Actor Don DeFore, one of the active members of the congregation, donated his home in Brentwood for the occasion and the rest of the film folk and congregation donated the box lunches which were auctioned off…the purchasers of the lunches then had the privilege of dining with the actresses who donated the luncheon. Tony Caruso, Don DeFore, and John Bromfield furnished some of the entertainment.



This closeup of the first image shows Don and his wife:



A detailed view showing actor/comedian Eddie Bracken:



He is best known to today's audiences for his cameo as Roy Wally of Wally World fame in the Chevy Chase comedy "Vacation":



The Village Church of Brentwood was built in 1946. Those not aware of this church may have at least seen the large cross which was lighted at night and visible for a mile along the 405 freeway.



DeFore and is wife are at left again in this image; I am sure there are a number of other celebrities that my readers would be able to identify. Many look familiar but I couldn't begin to name them.



I believe this last shot showing Ozzie and Harriet is from the same event.



See more Don DeFore/Silver Banjo photos on my main website.