Jean Harlow At The Chateau Marmont

On the anniversary of actress Jean Harlow’s untimely passing in 1937 at the age of 26, I thought it appropriate to do a post about the room she inhabited at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood. According to Vanity Fair, she stayed in rooms 32-33 with third husband, Harold Rosson. Harlow expert, Darrell Rooney (co-author of Harlow in Hollywood), adds that Rosson had a house, but it was being rented so they rented this apartment at the Chateau to live in as man and wife, since Rosson refused to live at Harlow’s Beverly Glen residence. Rooney also believes there probably aren’t any photos of the star at the Chateau, as her “time there was marred by appendicitis and a hospital stay.” A photo of Jean, Rosson, and her mother and stepfather (below) is often referred to as having been shot at the Chateau, but it was taken at their private residence instead.



In probably the most reliable book about the history of the hotel, Life at the Marmont (1987) by former owner Raymond Sarlot and Fred Basten, it says this about her stay:

On the afternoon of September 20, 1933, a black Pierce Arrow touring car, its wire wheels reflecting the hot California sun, made its way up Marmont Lane and parked directly in front of the colonnaded entry to Chateau Marmont.…The newlyweds had come to the Marmont, bypassing the revitalized Garden of Allah and nearby Sunset Tower, in search of a honeymoon suite. It was Hal’s choice. He had had a soft spot in his heart for the Marmont ever since he learned of Albert E. Smith’s takeover. It was Smith who had given Rosson his first break in show business, hiring him as a teenage bit player with Vitagraph in 1908.…“Jean and I are going to love this place.” It was fifteen minutes later when Harold Rosson, accompanied by Ann Little [hotel manager], returned to his bride. With one hand,…Rosson jangled the keys to Suite 3BC. He followed the sweep of his arm, pointing to the third floor windows that stretched nearly the entire length of the Marmont’s north-south wing.…Ann Little invited Jean inside, but she declined. “I’ll take a rain check,” Jean sighed, sounding wilted. “I’d better get home [her Beverly Glen Drive residence] before I keel over.” She pulled a small square of chiffon from her handbag and dabbed at her forehead.…It would be a full week before the Rossons took occupancy of 3BC at the Marmont, but Jean didn’t wait that long to acquaint herself with her new surroundings. Less than twenty-four hours after Hal had signed the guest registry, a revitalized Jean appeared at the front desk. She was accompanied by a stately blonde woman and a suavely handsome man who identified themselves as Mr. and Mrs. Bello [her stepfather and mother]. “We’re here to look around,” Jean told Ann Little. “Is my rain check still good?”

While still retaining much of its charm from the 1930s, the Chateau Marmont has had a few renovations over the years. It is extremely difficult to find vintage interior shots of the hotel. As fate would have it, I connected with Dennis Lee Cleven in a Jean Harlow Facebook group, and he graciously supplied me with photos from his 1981 visit to one half of the Harlow honeymoon suite.

I was there way back in 1981 and it was refurbished after that. Apartment 33 is the one which cinematographer Harold Rosson and Jean Harlow lived during their 1933 marriage at The Chateau Marmont at 8221 Sunset Boulevard.

Is it just me or does this 1981 shot from Dennis make anyone think of “Come on knock on my door…” from “Three’s Company”?



How 33’s door looks today:



The living room, 1981:



December 2002:



April 2018:



A peak into the bedroom, circa 1981:



December 2002:



April 2018:



Dennis in the kitchen, 1981:



December 2002, with new tile:



April 2018:



Here’s where things get interesting. The entry hallway, circa 1981:



April 2018. The arches and fire sprinkler match up, but in the 1981 photo, there is a door at the end of the hallway; in 2018, it has been sealed up. This would lend credence to 33 once being connected to 32. Unfortunately, I have not stayed in 32 yet! Bucket list…



A closeup of the now removed door to…?



In my chat with Dennis, he was under the impression that the adjoining room was 34, not 32.

I stayed there in 1981 and I called the front desk and I asked which apartment was hers and he said the one I was in (33). One thing I have asked before is where did that door lead to down the hall? Did it go to a bedroom which is now apartment 34? I found it rather confusing back then and it’s a mystery that I've not solved. 

I’d like to solve it, too! I need to see logistically where 32 and 34 are situated in relation to room 33. Stay tuned!

UPDATE: Dennis just found a shot of the bathroom from his 1981 visit:



From my stay in 2002:



My 2015 stay:



And my most recent visit to this room in 2018:



See more Chateau Marmont room photos at my main website.

Led Zeppelin at the Chateau

This 1969 vintage photograph by Jay Thompson from my collection features the legendary band, Led Zeppelin, during their visit to the Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard. From left to right: Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham. One of the notorious legends about the Chateau is that Bonham (the drummer) drove a Harley motorcycle (his 25th birthday present) through the hallway of the hotel. Having been born in 1948, Bonham’s 25th birthday would have been in 1973. The photos from the Chateau were 1969. Oops. Here’s the fire escape as it looks today where the above photo was taken:





Thompson stood on the fire escape steps to capture this one, available from Globe Photos:



I stood at the top of the steps. Sorry. I get dizzy.



Another shot of the English rock band just hanging outside one of the hotel’s windows:



From faroutmagazine:

Legend has it Bonham rode a Harley Davidson right through the lobby of the hotel in an insane stunt he would repeat on a further two occasions while staying at the Continental Hyatt House Hotel and the Andaz West Hollywood.

Whilst Bonham was performing his trademark stunt, Robert Plant allegedly shouted: “I am a golden god!” from one of the hotel’s balconies which would be a scene repeated by character Russell Hammond in “Almost Famous.” The 2000 film was based on the hedonistic exploits of 1970s rock legends such as Led Zeppelin and the scene showcasing an inebriated rockstar riding a motorcycle through a hotel hallway was based on Zeppelin’s famous stay at the Chateau Marmont.

Bonham completely destroyed the hotel lobby’s carpet—which they kept in the state he had left it in to mark his legacy. However, when the hotel was purchased by Andre Balazs in 1990, the first thing he would do was replace the Bonham tire marks.

According to their former tour manager Richard Cole in the documentary “Sunset Strip,” when a hotel employee told them how envious he was that they could smash the rooms up, they told him to pick a room of his choice, vent his frustrations to his heart’s content which they would add to their bill and let the hotel worker live out their rockstar fantasy.

Here’s a color shot from the same 1969 shoot, also available from Globe Photos:



The same area circa April 2002; the mural above the fountain is still there, but it appears that the wings that were once painted below the fountain are long gone.



The same fountain as it looks today:



See more Chateau Marmont photos at my main website.

La Toque at The Chateau Marmont

This 1987 image of the Sunset Boulevard side of the Chateau Marmont provides views of things you can’t really see anymore. Compare to this April 2021 shot, minus the shrubbery and palm:



The backside of the neon entrance sign, circa 1987:



And as it looked in January 2011. Based on the side panel, you can see that the box is identical; it has just been decoratively painted over.



Another 1987 image, this time a wide shot of Sunset Boulevard:



The (almost) identical view from March 2016:



In the 1987 shot, you can actually see the side gate that takes you to the poolside cottages:



This June 2012 shot displays what you see when you enter the “secret” Chateau Marmont gate from Sunset Boulevard that takes you directly to the poolside cottages. The back of Buddha awaits your arrival:



The 1987 sign at the edge of the Chateau Marmont property advertises La Toque restaurant:



La Toque operated from 1979 - 1994, with Ken Frank as the Chef & Owner and Henri Fiser Co-owner/Partner. La Toque is now located in Napa, California. Based upon what I dug up, La Toque was Frank’s first restaurant when he was only 23. He opened a new version of the same eatery in the Napa Valley 1998. I found this vintage image of La Toque when it was on Sunset Boulevard, before it was replaced by Bar Marmont:



While the façade of Bar Marmont looks very different, you can see the drain spout on the upper right of the building next door is the same in this November 2014 photo:



See more Chateau Marmont photos at my main website.

Monday with Musso & Frank

It had been seven years since my last visit to the oldest restaurant in Hollywood, Musso & Frank Grill. Would it disappoint? Had it been tarnished by the pandemic like so many other places that allowed their customer service and quality to slip in order to recoup the losses?



As far as the food and drink go, the answer is a resoundingly positive “no”; you can expect the same delicious food that patrons have been experiencing since it opened in 1919.



The atmosphere has not changed, either. You can still expect to see the historic murals, the phone booths where gossip columnists phoned in their stories, and the signature red leather booths.



This is where all the news was first broken:



The wedge salad was out of this world; just the right balance of iceberg lettuce and tasty toppings:



The Chicken Parmesan was tender and delicious; definitely one of the best I have ever had.



I tried the new signature desert, the Club 1919 Sundae, named after the year the restaurant was founded. It’s the Musso and Frank take on Bananas Foster, made with California ice cream. It’s all in the details.



Note the anniversary drink stirrer, celebrating the 100 year anniversary (well, technically 103 years, but the pandemic obviously screwed everything up).



The one disappointment had to do with the staff. Our waiter had been there for six years, but I can’t say that’s a positive thing. Perhaps Josh was having a bad night. He forgot to bring my cocktail; once reminded, he rushed off to get it and promptly brought it back without an apology. At the end of the meal (with no checking in after our dinners were served), he hastily dumped a complimentary dessert in front of me saying it was for forgetting my drink. While it was nice to have the free dessert, his lack of service during the meal was not customary for the Musso & Frank I experienced in the past. One other sour note came from General Manager, Andrea Scuto. I walked Melissa (aka “The Colonel”) to the restroom so she wouldn’t get lost. The previous time I was at Musso & Frank in 2015, I took pictures of the architectural details (as I so often do). The Manager on duty at the time came up to me and offered to give me a tour around while I took my photos and even explained many of the historic details that I would have missed had he not done so. That was not the case with Scuto. He told me in no uncertain terms that I should not be taking photos as it was not allowed. While I understand the policy (to protect certain guests from “paparazzi”), I am also aware that there are many ways to deliver the same message and his tone with me (a paying guest) was extremely rude and accusatory. Anyone with two eyes could see my camera was aimed at the top of the phone booth and nowhere near any patrons. As I continued to stand near the phone booth, waiting for Melissa to return from the restroom, he paced by a few times to make sure I wasn’t taking pictures, eyes glaring at my camera. Next thing I knew he was whispering to another Manager and not very subtly motioning towards me. As soon as Melissa returned, I walked over to the other Manager and let him know how rude Scuto had been. He was very apologetic and when we were finished our meal, checked in at our table to see how the meal was and then toured us around the restaurant, showing us some of the banquet rooms and discussing the history of the restaurant. THAT’S how you do customer service. Would I go back? Of course. The overall experience was very good; you can’t judge a place on two bad apples.

See more Musso & Frank photos at my main website.

Monday at the Marmont

As you can see I made it back, despite all the stories about my favorite hotel (and possibly place) on earth being converted to a private club at the end of 2020. Chatting with a friend one night who was also “got” this place, he asked if it was still open. Huh...what a novel question. I decided to email them and next thing you know, I was on my way up to Sunset Boulevard for a mini Chateau vacation. This would be the fourth time staying in Room 34; no complaints about that, as it’s one of my favorites.



The view from my room:



Looks like Kurt and Goldie have been busy. I guess since they’re in the same household it’s ok to make movies.

Willis hadn’t been to the Chateau in two years...he was way overdue.



He does love sleeping there…but he missed the cashmere blankets that once graced the end of each bed. Probably one of the pandemic cutbacks.



Like many of the other areas of the hotel, the pool looked great albeit empty. Just the way I like it!





Willis obeyed the rules and marveled at the calm and beauty of the pool.



Fortunately the bolognese was still on the menu:



The chocolate mousse was a new one for me, and well worth the calories (I don’t want to know).



I can’t put it into words, but late nights/early mornings are my favorite time at the hotel when it is quiet and I can wander around by myself. There’s just something about these fabled walls that keep bringing me back.





The staff didn’t seem to have any new information about the potential conversion and whether it was going to happen or not, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed that Willis and I can return.



See more Chateau Marmont photos at my main website.