Trip to NOHO

In going through my photos, I realized I never posted the shots I took on my one and only "visit" to North Hollywood for a photo shoot two years ago. How about that entry sign? There's a lot of stuff going on there!

I immediately zoomed in on the El Portal Theatre.



Wish it had been a night shoot; I really need to return to capture this neon when it's all lit.



Did you know the Beatles movie "A Hard Day's Night" played here in 1964? More than a thousand screaming fans lined up to watch it here.



Beatles aside, I was in Art Deco heaven.



Looking above, I also fell in love with the plaster details:





My shoot was at a nearby junkyard with actor David Brackett.



Very different vibe.



More North Hollywood photos at my main website.

Mardi Gras Madness

The last time I was in New Orleans was pre-Katrina in June 2003. I've been to the French Quarter three times; in the near future it should be four. I cannot wait! In honor of today's Mardi Gras (aka Fat Tuesday) celebration, I am posting a few shots from Mardi Gras World, where most of the amazing floats for the big parade are put together.



I was in town for the HOW Design Conference, and one of the perks was an event that took place right smack dab in the middle of the studio. It was a blast to be able to walk around and see all of the gigantic floats up close while listening to a live band.



I swear I wasn't trying to feel up Mighty Mouse's knee; it was just a comfortable place to rest my arm.



It was pretty cool seeing all of the huge parade heads looming overhead and trying to identify who they were supposed to be.



This Louis Armstrong figure was a no-brainer.



All of the brightly-colored creations were a Technicolor dream for me.





Even the Fab Four were there:



You could almost hear Tarzan's call:



Mardi Gras World even had photo ops:



Jessica Rabbit needing a bit of a paint touch-up. I wonder if Disney's legal team just looks the other way for this kind of thing?



Our tour guide:



Let's take a closer look at the studio behind him:



even closer:



A Marilyn that definitely looks better from far away:



I hope you all have an amazing Mardi Gras celebration today, wherever you are located!



See more Daveland vintage & current New Orleans photos at my main website.

Happy 85th Birthday, Shirley Temple Black!

Shirley Temple Black has crammed a lot of living into her 85 years: an actress, a singer, a dancer, a wife, a mother, AND a diplomat. Starting out in 1932 as the female lead in a series of extremely politically incorrect movie shorts called "Baby Burlesks," Shirley learned quickly how to steal a scene.



Her big breakthrough came in 1934 when she sang the hit song "Baby Take A Bow" in the otherwise forgettable Fox Film "Stand Up And Cheer." For a country weary from the Depression and on the brink of war, Shirley was a real shot in the arm.



It wasn't long before the talented tot was immortalized in the cement of Grauman's Chinese Theater's forecourt.



Her roles as a child star are still memorable, whether she was the goody-two-shoes counterpart to Jane Withers' brattiness...



or attempting to charm President Lincoln into pardoning her father...



or teaching a cripple how to walk...



Here she attempts to impress the judge and jury in a courtroom with her dance skills. Whatever it was, Shirley Temple put a smile on the face of this nation throughout the 1930's.



She began 1939 by handing out the Oscar(s) to Walt Disney for his achievement with "Snow White."



1939 also saw the release of her first all-Technicolor motion picture, "The Little Princess."



One year later, her super career faltered when "The Blue Bird" failed to register with the American public. Nobody wanted to see Shirley as a brat.



The 1940's saw a small resurgence in her career in a number of prestige pictures, such as "Since You Went Away" with Claudette Colbert and Jennifer Jones:



and "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy.



Sadly though, her career ended before 1950 thanks to a number of duds that attempted to make money by using the marquee value of Shirley's name. "That Hagen Girl" with Ronald Reagan was one of the most laughable.



In the late 1950's, Shirley found new fame on television, presenting a series of classic fairy tales. She was a more than lovely hostess:



Some of the screenplays featured Shirley as well, including "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" with Boris Karloff:



One of my favorite (and oddest) photos of Shirley is this one of her from 1964 with The Beatles.



By the 1960's, Shirley gave up her acting career and became a politician, earning a newfound respect thanks to her commitment and hard work. She was also one of the first women to come forward and encourage others by sharing the story of her breast cancer experience. Besides her stints as a diplomat (in Ghana and Prague), Shirley still appeared in the public eye to share stories about her Hollywood days. Here she is in 1978 with Jane Withers:



In 1989 she made best-seller lists with the publication of her autobiography, "Child Star."



She has supposedly finished part two of her autobiography, detailing the rest of her life, but has yet to get it published. I can only imagine the stories she has tell about her days in Washington. Last photo for today shows Shirley with Liza Minnelli, Milton Berle, and Jack Haley, Jr. In the background on the right you can see Eva Marie Saint.



So raise your Shirley Temple in salute to Shirley Temple Black - Happy 85th to a true American Princess!

See more Shirley Temple Black photos on my Shirley web page.

Screen Gem Saturdays: Shirley Temple and The Beatles

Shirley Temple Black had visited the Beatles in their dressing room backstage at a San Francisco concert on August 19, 1964 at The Cow Palace. Shirley is shown here with her daughter, Lori, in a photo that was taken by Shirley's husband, Charles Black. This concert marked the start of the Beatles North American tour. Initially, George Harrison didn't want anything to do with posing with Shirley, but was coaxed into coming out. Paul was apparently the one that had invited Shirley and her 10 year old daughter backstage in the first place. Besides Shirley, the backstage guests also included Joan Baez and Derek Taylor. According to the website beatlemania.ca:

The Beatles landed at San Francisco International Airport at 6:24 p.m. with 9,000 screaming teenagers in the reception room. The show began at 8:00 p.m with 17,130 people in attendance. Backstage, the Beatles held a press conference, and even had a picture of them taken with child star Shirley Temple. At 9:20 p.m The Beatles took the stage dressed in dark blue suits. Jelly beans were being pelted at them while they were performing. This would become a ritual at every concert due to George Harrison talking about Ringo stealing his "jelly babies" which were softer candies than jelly beans. The show was stopped twice because of the hail of jelly beans. On this night, they performed 10 numbers in thirty minutes before being transported by ambulance (their limousine was besieged by Beatles' fans) to the airport and their next concert in Las Vegas.

When the Beatles requested her permission to use Shirley's image on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, she was the only celebrity who insisted upon hearing the album before granting permission.



Years later, Lori played the Cow Palace as a bassist with the seminal metal-grunge Seattle band the Melvins supporting Rush in 1994 on their Counterparts tour. The Cow Palace is still in operation.

To see more Shirley Temple photos, visit my Shirley Temple web page.