Forever Friday

My adventures with Jersey Girl Melissa, aka “The Colonel,” weren't just limited to Shirley. We also paid a visit to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery to see the relatively recent “reburial” site of Judy Garland. But first, let's pay our respects to Mickey Rooney, Judy’s on-screen partner.



Right near by was the final replacing of Toto. Or was it? Here's the inscription:

This monument is dedicated to the memory of the beloved Toto from the 1939 film, “The Wizard of Oz.” Owner and Trainer Carl Spitz buried the Cairn Terrier on his ranch in Studio City. The 1958 construction of the Ventura Freeway destroyed her resting place.

Damn freeways! They ruin everything.



Here lies Irene Guadagno, aka “Mama Irene”: Not only was she perfect, she was Italian.



The crypt of Silent Screen idol Rudolph Valentino in the Cathedral Mausoleum:



One of the many beautiful stained glass windows that brightens up this otherwise dreary building.



And then we arrived at our main destination…



The Judy Garland Pavilion:



Judy’s family had her moved from New York to Hollywood so that the entire family could "rest" together.



Apparently Judy’s financial woes continue to plague her in the after-life; her fans just want to help.



For somewhere around $25k, you can buy a shelf with a view of Judy.



I wonder if Judy's kids get any of that money?

See more Hollywood Forever photos at my main website.

Dinner at Dan’s

When Jersey Girl Melissa (aka “The Colonel”) comes to California, it’s a no-brainer that she needs to experience old-school Italian at Dan Tana’s restaurant on the border of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. The minute you walk in, you expect to see Frank and Dino sitting at the bar. If you don’t know who Frank and Dino are, then you’re at the wrong blog.

We arrived quite a bit early and the place was packed; our table was not ready yet. Time to make lemonade, so Melissa and I trekked down the street to see which watering hole we were going to pony up to. The Abbey? Nope.



How about Pump? Made famous by “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” this place is probably better known for its drama than its food and beverage.



Melissa and I cozied up to the bar and received our cocktails quickly. Our night had officially begun!



Were we in Rome?



Back to Dan Tana’s...

We enjoyed the food and atmosphere too much to take a ton o' pics. However, I did manage to snap dessert: Spumoni ice cream. You can’t get this stuff in many places, and Dan’s is particularly tasty.



Avoiding the paparazzi (aka me), Melissa covers up with her cheesecake dessert.



See more Dan Tana’s photos at my main website.

Astro Jets and Rocket Jets

The first image for today is from February 1958 and shows the Astro Jet attraction in Tomorrowland. Zooming in we can also see the Flight Circle attraction and some of the model planes waiting to be flown around the arena.



The area where the construction is going on would be the future home of the Flying Saucer attraction, which would open in 1961. Not sure what the digging would have been for at this point.



Moving ahead about 12 years, the Astro Jet attraction became the Rocket Jets, and were moved high atop the PeopleMover queue:



Today, this little hub of "activity" is about as dead as could be.



See more Disneyland Astro Jet photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley on Location, Pt. 4

In the 1934 movie “Bright Eyes,” this American Airlines plane taxis up and down the runway. You know, just like regular planes today that make you sit on the tarmac for an hour or so. Who is the person in the cockpit of the plane? It’s Temple Tuesday...who do you think?



Excited about her Christmas Party, Shirley sings her signature song “On The Good Ship Lollipop.” Looks like she had too much sugar in this one.



As viewers of the movie know (and those who read this blog a few weeks ago), Shirley’s mom goes off to that big Christmas Party in the sky. Here, James Dunn’s character gets the sad news delivered by his ex, played by Judith Allen.



These scenes were shot at the Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale, California.



I am happy to report that the building still exists and has been restored beautifully by the Disney Corporation. It was originally built in 1928 and used as an airport until 1959. It has been owned since 1997 by Disney as a part of its Grand Central Creative Campus. Three hangars also remain standing. The location of the single concrete 3,800-foot runway has been preserved, but is now a public street.





Yes - the tower still exists!



A detailed shot of the Art Deco carvings:



A side view of the building:



To end today’s post, here’s a vintage publicity still from “Bright Eyes” with accompanying blurb:



PLENTY OF INTERFERENCE - - Football players of All-American caliber were brought together by the filming of “Bright Eyes,” newest Shirley Temple picture. Left to right, Aaron Rosenberg, former Southern California guard; Paul Schwegler, former University of Washington tackle; Fred Crawford, former Duke University tackle; Director David Butler, holding Shirley Temple, and James Dunn, ready to charge through with the pigskin.

Gotta’ zoom in for a closeup of Shirley!



After our successful Shirley Temple film location tour, Melissa (aka “The Colonel”) and I celebrated with lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel:



We stayed retro by eating at the Fountain Coffee Room. This place is a step out of time. In a good way!





For now, that concludes this little Temple Tuesday series. Hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned...there could be more locations uncovered in the future!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Moonlight Monday

Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista, that is. The occasion was to see The Doo Wop Project’s Christmas Concert. Dominic Scaglione, Jr. who I met in NYC this summer was one of the singers. The concert featured oldies and Christmas classics alike, spreading joy through the audience despite the chilly temperatures. Well, chilly for the woosies who live here in Southern California.

Charlton Brown, the Tony award nominee for playing Smokey Robinson in “Motown The Musical,” welcomed a friend up to the stage. He is also a San Diego native.







The weather did not cooperate for the show. Rain began to pour down after intermission. Are we really in San Diego? I want my sunshine tax back.



The gang squeezed out a few more tunes before the show had the plug pulled on it for the rain.



Dominic welcomed us backstage, where it was much drier.



Dominic and Charl:



I highly recommend seeing if The Doo Wop Project is coming to a venue near you. The guys are all super talented and the music is fantastic.

See more Doo Wop Project photos at my main website.

Helter Skelter Tour

My friend and fellow Shirley Temple admirer Melissa’s (aka “The Colonel”) trip to Hollywood wasn’t all about Shirley. No...we took a bit of a detour and checked out the Helter Skelter tour given by Scott Michaels. If you were alive during the 60s, “Helter Skelter” needs no explanation. It was the name of a song by the Beatles and also a term referring to an apocalyptic war arising from racial tensions between blacks and whites used by the criminally brainwashing Charles Manson. The brutal murders committed by Manson’s gang spread fear throughout Los Angeles and caused many a window to be sealed by metal bars.

Our tour began at the Dearly Departed Office/Museum on Santa Monica Boulevard. Candles honoring famous dead legends could be found on the shelf.



A road marker from the site where James Dean fatally crashed his Porsche:



Our tour guide, Scott:



While those who thrived in the 80s may remember this location as the exterior used in “Melrose Place,” those who lived during the 60s might remember it better as the place where Rose LaBianca’s daughter, Suzan Struthers/, lived. Years later, Suzan testified for the parole of Tex Watson, the man who killed her parents. Not for any of the other Manson-zombies...just Tex. BTW: Tex lived about 200 feet away from Suzan’s “Melrose Place” apartment; coincidence?



The wall in front of the LaBianca home where it all happened:



At the time of the murders, photo from The Manson Blog:



Along the way we passed the 1930 Cedars of Lebanon Hospital on Fountain Avenue, located near the Paramount Studios lot. This is the place where Marilyn Monroe had her appendix removed in 1952. Apparently she taped a note to her abdomen asking the doctor to cut as little as possible: "I know it seems vain…please do whatever you can to prevent large scars." Once, when Elizabeth Taylor was staying on the fifth floor, Richard Burton had Chasen's send over dinner as well as a pair of the restaurant's tuxedoed violinists to play. Now THAT’S love!



Cedars is also the birthplace of Manson disciple and murderer Patricia Krenwinkel (thanks Scott for sending this!):



In 1976, The Cedars of Lebanon Hospital moved out of this building into a new hospital complex near Beverly Hills, becoming Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Today the old Cedars of Lebanon building is now the Church of Scientology. Yikes.



The El Coyote Mexican Restaurant, location of Sharon Tate’s last meal before being brutally murdered along with her unborn baby by the Manson gang. At the time of the murders, the restaurant staff could recall very little about Tate’s visit; today they know exactly which booth she sat in.



A rest stop at the Farmers Market located in the Grove Shopping Center on Fairfax.



In the Taschen bookstore, Melissa snapped me next to the recently released Disneyland coffee table book, “Walt Disney's Disneyland” that Taschen published:



See my name in the credits?



The CBS studios are located next door:



Back to the tour. The Chateau Marmont hotel on Sunset; my favorite spot as well as the former home to Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski.



Room 54 is where the couple lived from February 1968 until February 1969, when the pregnant Sharon wanted to move into a house. “If it weren’t for the baby, we would stay. But I want my little boy or girl to be born in a house, not in a hotel.”



The couple posed for photographer Terry O’Neill on November 3, 1968; the photo is not labeled as being shot at the Marmont, but the distinctive window hardware certainly looks right:



Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, where Tate was murdered along with her friend and former lover Jay Sebring, a noted hairstylist; Polanski's friend and aspiring screenwriter Wojciech Frykowski; and Frykowski's lover Abigail Folger, heiress to the Folger coffee fortune.



The home that Tate and Polanski rented is no longer there; it was replaced by this monstrosity:



An alternate view of Benedict Canyon:



The tour was pretty damn amazing. The amount of information that Michaels has amassed is incredible. As you can imagine, given the subject, this tour is not for the faint of heart. It does take you back to the 1960s and provides a vivid depiction of what the times were like and how the Manson murders changed things forever. Highly recommended.

See more Helter Skelter tour photos at my main website.