Summer of ’86 and The Apple Pan

It was May 1986 and I was on top of the world, or at least it felt that way. I had just graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and was ready to conquer the world. My friend Rob (the guy with the cast on his leg) had gone with me to San Diego for Spring Break and fell in love with Southern California living.



When he got a chance for a summer internship in Los Angeles, he grabbed it, staying at the FIJI (Phi Gamma Delta) house on the UCLA campus.



I crashed there for about a month, fruitlessly attempting to find employment but also enjoying partying and time at the beach. One of my favorite memories was a late-night meal at The Apple Pan restaurant on Pico Boulevard. Back in those days, there were no cellphones for selfies or capturing every moment of one’s life. Instead, you just enjoyed what was going on let the gray matter take care of the memories.



Rob’s Honda was stolen from the FIJI house on his first day there; the day before I flew back to Philly the car was recovered. It obviously looked a little different from when he last saw it.



Flash forward to 2022 and I was perusing Hamburger America, the book about classic joints that served the best burgers across the nation. The Apple Pan on Pico Boulevard near Westwood was listed and it sure did stir up my memories. Knowing how time and especially the recent pandemic had scorched many a business, I vowed to return as quickly as I could before this place potentially bit the dust. I am so glad that I did!



While I had changed during the last 36 years, the outside of The Apple Pan looked about the same.





The stools I recall sitting on with Rob and his buddy are no longer open to the public; instead, customers are directed to sit in a picnic area at the back of the restaurant. I was a bit sad that I was unable to sit inside and watch the burgers being made as I had back in 1986, but times changes everything and I was grateful to have the opportunity to savor one of these burgers again.





The menu:



Melissa (aka “The Colonel’), visiting from New Jersey, posed with our large bag of goodies which only took about 15 minutes to get.



My Hickory Burger and fries were delish.



So was the freshly baked apple pie and ice cream, which came with a little plastic container of apple juice/sauce.



Melissa and Shirley Jean (from Baltimore) would agree; good quality lasts forever!



The food was tasty, but I truly missed the retro experience of enjoying the food inside a true “joint” while eating off china and drinking from a paper cup placed inside a retro metal cupholder. Pandemic: you suck.

See more Apple Pan in Los Angeles photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley Reads Her Script

In this 1936 image, Shirley is shown on the set of “Stowaway,” reading her script with her Chinese language teacher, Bessie Nyi, a UCLA student. Want to see the page she’s reading? Of course you do.



There is enough of the script that’s in focus that I was able to share with my friend Melissa (aka “The Colonel”) and within minutes she sent me screenshots of the script copy that she owns. Sure beats google! The copy that Melissa has ends at different points than the one shown in the vintage photo. The line in her script has been changed to "So I've been told," meaning it's a later revision.





The scene in the photo takes place shortly after playboy Tommy Randall (Robert Young) is assisted by Ching Ching (Shirley) in a Chinese gift shop.



The two hit it off immediately and he takes her to lunch.



Moral of this story: it pays to know people! Thanks again, Colonel!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

64 Years Ago Today…

Sixty-four years ago today James Dean was killed in a car crash as he was driving his Porsche 550 Spyder to a car race in Salinas, California. He is probably best known for playing the title role in “Rebel Without A Cause,” released shortly after his death. His birthplace in Marion, Indiana is marked by a rock and a plaque, as the house has since been torn down.



Dean’s childhood was spent in sunny California until he turned nine. His mother had died of uterine cancer, and his father thought it best for the child to be raised by his Aunt and Uncle back in Fairmount, Indiana. Here’s the farmhouse where he lived:



The High School he attended in Fairmount, where he first got bitten by the acting bug:



…and the stage where it all happened:



After graduation, Dean attended UCLA where he pledged the Sigma Nu fraternity:



He dropped out of school in 1951 and pursued acting full-time, eventually moving to New York City when his career was going nowhere in Hollywood. This is the apartment he lived in:



Want to see his sink?



A classic shot of Dean in NYC:



After studying method acting at the Actors Studio and performing in a few plays and TV shows, Dean returned to Hollywood in 1954 for his first starring role in a motion picture, “East of Eden.” This is probably my favorite Dean movie of the three major motion pictures that he made…and the only one released while he was alive. It is a timeless film that has not become dated, unlike “Rebel” and “Giant” which both seem a bit dramatic and overblown when watched today.



In early 1955, Dean returned to Fairmount for a visit, taking photographer Dennis Stock with him to record the trip. Here’s a shot of him back on the Winslow farm where he was raised.



The last movie he completed before his death was the George Stevens production of the Edna Ferber novel, “Giant.” Here, Dean’s character has passed out at the party given in his honor.



Many of the exterior scenes were shot in Marfa, Texas. Despite having done a Pepsi commercial, Dean is shown drinking a Coke! He is standing next to Bob Hinkle, Rock Hudson's dialogue coach for the movie. He also taught Dean how to operate a lasso for the movie.



The marquee at Grauman’s for “Giant,” which was also released posthumously.



It would have been interesting to see what direction Dean’s career would have taken had he lived. It is a tragedy that he died so young at age twenty-four before his full potential was revealed.

See more James Dean photos at my main website.