Perkins at the Piano

This 1954 image shows actor Anthony Perkins (best known as Norman Bates in “Psycho”) tinkling the ivories at the Chateau Marmont hotel in Hollywood.



There is still a piano in the lobby restaurant at the hotel, in approximately the same spot.



This detailed shot reveals that it could actually be the very same piano; the ledge was added more recently, but the piano itself seems to have the same styling.



Sohmer & Company was founded in New York City in 1872, creating the first modern baby grand pianos.



The Sohmer family sold off the company in 1982 to Pratt, Read & Co., the largest American manufacturer of piano actions and keyboards, and moved to their facilities in Ivoryton, Connecticut. It appears that the company folded/went bankrupt some time in the 1980s/1990s. Samick Music Corporation, a Korean based piano manufacturer, now holds the rights to the Sohmer name, but no longer produces Sohmer-branded pianos.

UPDATE: The Chateau tells me it is not the same piano. Sigh…

See Chateau Marmont more photos at my main website.

Marmont Monday: The Man Behind the Lane

My oasis of the west, the Chateau Marmont Hotel. Ever wondered where the name came from? The word “Chateau” is pretty simple; it’s French for fancy home. If you want to get technical, the noun is…:

a large French country house or castle, often giving its name to wine made in its neighborhood

I’m not aware of any wine being made here, but Attorney Fred Horowitz was inspired by the Chateau Amboise (seen on his recent trip to France) and decided that his apartment complex was going to be modeled after it. It also happens to be where Leonardo da Vinci is buried. Designed by his brother-in-law (a positive example of nepotism), Arnold A. Weitzman, the corner of Marmont Lane and Sunset Boulevard was the location where this seven-story Chateau would be built. “Chateau Horowitz” didn’t seem to have the same amount of appeal as “Chateau Marmont,” so the Attorney decided to name it after the street instead. Want to know where the name of the street came from? First, I’ll tell you the oft told legend. See this guy below chewing on his pipe, silent screen star Percy Marmont:



The British actor had a modestly successful career. Witzel of Hollywood took this moody black and white photo of Percy.



For a little more about Witzel, I found this on the National Portrait Gallery of Australia website:

Witzel Studios was founded in Los Angeles by photographer Albert Walter Witzel (1879–1929) in 1909 and within a few years had become one of the city’s foremost portrait studios. The rise of the business paralleled the emergence of the film industry following its relocation from the east coast, and Witzel was soon in demand from Hollywood studios seeking to create interest in movies by circulating promo shots of their stars. Distinguished by moody lighting and dramatic poses and settings, Witzel’s photos soon set the tone for Hollywood studio photography and from the mid-1910s they featured frequently in fan magazines like Photoplay, becoming an important promotional and publicity tool. Witzel occasionally worked on assignment for the big picture studios, photographing many silent film luminaries including Theda Bara and Charlie Chaplin. Witzel’s business began to decline in the 1920s, by which time the relentless publicity machine had resulted in movie studios employing their own teams of photographers. Witzel Studios folded following Albert Witzel’s death in 1929.

I have often wondered why the Lane was named after Percy Marmont, a now unknown British actor who I assumed must have been traveling in the right social circles at the right time.



And then on the Instagram account LA Street Names I read this:

Marmont Lane was named in 1921 on a tract owned by a dozen investors, none of whom were Percy Marmont. The man himself wouldn’t become a (semi) movie star or even move to Hollywood until late 1923, so there’s zero chance that he inspired this street name. “Marmont” is most likely a portmanteau of mar and monte – Spanish for “sea” and “mountain” – alluding to its hilly views of the Pacific, although two of the tract’s owners were Paul and Zida Marlay, for whom nearby Marlay Drive is named, so the “Mar” might be for them.

Regardless, the address of the Hotel is Sunset Boulevard, but you have to turn onto Marmont Lane to get to it. Go figure.



The Marmont name can be seen on the exterior:



Don’t think that Fred didn’t leave his mark on the apartment building (which converted to a hotel in 1931). See the “H” on the exterior of the wall of Room 54?



Let me zoom in a little closer for you:



And there you have it. The story behind the name. Or at least as much as I could dig up.

See more Chateau Marmont photos at my main website.

1 out of 3 at the Hollywood Hotel

Three hopeful starlets can be seen in this 1937 photo taken on the porch of the Hollywood Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard, but only one achieved stardom. Can you guess which one?



If you guessed the girl in the center, you’d be correct, as she’s Lana Turner, who played the part of Cora, the femme fatale in “The Postman Always Rings Twice” (1946).



If you’re not familiar with the Hollywood Hotel, it’s another historic landmark that bit the dust for the sake of “progress.” Here’s a color image from 1954:



It was located next door to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre; you can see the corner of it on the right side of this shot from 1951:



Now you see it, now you don’t, in this 1956 view:



Breaks my heart.



See more Hollywood photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

This press photo dates from April 1952. The attached caption:

HAPPY BRIDE: Shirley Temple’s first appearance back in Hollywood following her honeymoon with groom Charles Black was at the Brown Derby, when she lunched with her father, George Temple. Note Shirley’s magnificent diamond star choker, not to mention her blazing marquise diamond engagement ring.

Another year later, in October 1952, it would appear that Shirley had acquired a matching pair of earrings:

NEW YORK, Oct. 22 — MAMA SHIRLEY STEPS OUT — Shirley Temple, the one-time baby sweetheart of the screen, spends an evening on the town with her husband, Navy Commander Charles Black, during a visit to New York from their Bethesda, Md., home. Shirley, retired from the screen since her second marriage, recently recovered from a series of complications following the birth of a son.

 

Director Mitchell Leisen fastens the choker on Shirley for the premiere episode of “Shirley Temple’s Storybook,” January 12, 1958. As the show’s hostess, Shirley had to look her best — and she most certainly did!

Wowza...that’s a lot of carats!

Shirley can be seen wearing the diamond choker and earring set in this publicity shot for “Shirley Temple’s Storybook.” John Raitt, who starred in the 1958 Rumpelstiltskin episode, poses alongside Shirley.

GOR-GEOUS!

I was unable to find any other shots of her wearing this stunning set of star jewelry after 1958, and none of it surfaced in the 2015 Love, Shirley Temple auction. Anybody know the whereabouts of it?

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Movie Palace in 3D!

Our Disneyland 3D photographer also took a detour to the famed Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The hands must have been a little shaky here though.



William Lundigan? Of all the movie stars they could have photographed they chose this guy? To each their own, I guess. He was in “Love Nest” with Marilyn Monroe.



See more Grauman’s photos at my main website.

Christmas at the Hollywood Hotel

It’s Christmas, 1954 at the Hollywood Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard. Hard to believe that only two years later, this huge historic hotel would be nothing but rubble.



This previously posted shot of Grumman’s from 1951 shows you the location of where it once stood.



Zooming in you can see the corner of the building:



And then in December 1956: GONZO!



Nothing lasts forever, especially in Hollywood!

See more photos at my main website.

The Earl Carroll Theatre

This 1950’s vintage shot shows the Earl Carroll Theatre on Sunset Boulevard. Built in 1938, it was designed in the Moderne style by architect Gordon Kaufmann and known for the 20-foot-high neon head caricature of entertainer Beryl Wallace, one of Earl Carroll's "most beautiful girls in the world." The sign survived until 1968 when it was removed. Here’s a previously published shot from 1954 that shows a wider view of Sunset Boulevard where the Theatre was located. The Palladium on the left-hand side is still in business.



The Earl Carroll Theatre opened with a lavish revue called “Broadway to Hollywood” featuring sixty showgirls. Hollywood’s biggest stars turned up for the occasion, including Marlene Dietrich, Edgar Bergen, Claudette Colbert, Errol Flynn, and Betty Grable.

The façade also showcased a “Wall of Fame,” on which were mounted more than a hundred individual blocks autographed by Hollywood celebrities from the 1930s and 1940s. Note “Blessings Joan Crawford” towards the center. I wonder what happened to these concrete gems?



Here’s a detailed view of the vintage auto:



The theater was sold after the deaths of Earl Carroll and Beryl Wallace on June 17, 1948 in a United Airlines flight crash. From 1997-2017, the building was home to the Nickelodeon cable channel.



In 2016, the Los Angeles City Council designated the building an Historic-Cultural Monument and also approved a proposal to construct a new mixed-use building on the western portion of the site of the theater building. The project will retain the historic building and incorporate new construction on the adjacent surface parking lot. The new development will be seven stories tall. Just what LA needs...more development. Yikes.

See more photos at my main website.

Movie Studio Monday

Today’s post takes you on a tour of some of the biggest movie studios in Hollywood. These first two vintage shots from the 1950’s show Paramount Studios, beginning with a view of the Bronson Gate.



Here’s one I shot back in 2006 showing the Melrose Gate at Paramount. BTW: it's located on Melrose.



This Universal image from July 1974 just SCREAMS 70’s. The entrance signage could only exist in that decade. I think I smell polyester, too.



A September 1965 shot of the Universal City Studio Tours Tram. Universal is not only a studio; it’s a city, too! I wonder if Harry Potter is the mayor?



This shot was taken during the 1965 tour. A great overview of the backlot.



Here’s one I snapped in 2004, showing the Bates home. I believe Mother is in the window.



Welcome to Warner Brothers! Here’s the Gate 2 entrance:



Two images I took back in 2004 showing the backlot:





Let’s hop on over to Burbank to see the Disney Studio, featured in this June 1941 image with Walt surveying his property. I wonder if he’d still want his name associated with the current company?



The iconic street sign at the studio, with actor Farley Granger surrounded by two lovely ladies. Farley better watch that cig so that he doesn’t burn the lady on his right!



A 1958 shot of the Disney backlot which no longer exists:



How the animation building looked when I visited it a number of years ago. Almost like time stood still here.



Leo the Lion from MGM no longer roars here in Culver City. Sony & Columbia kicked him out years ago. However, many of the iconic buildings still exist from yesteryear, including the original front gate:



The Thalberg Building:



Stage 15, the largest on the lot and the fourth largest in the world:



...and the interior of Stage 15, which is where portions of “The Wizard of Oz” were filmed:



And finally, one 1954 image of RKO Studios:



You'll have to wait until Temple Tuesday for Fox Studios!

See more Hollywood photos at my main website.