50 Million Served, Circa 1965

A few years back, I was contacted by a gentleman who shared his story of a magical day at Disneyland back in 1965. Can you believe it took me over two years to finally publish it? Here goes:

“My mother, Mary Adams, was the 50,000,000 guest at Disneyland on August 12, 1965. Here are two pictures of our family at the front gate that day. I hope it adds to your good work. I am the blond boy, Bruce Adams.



“We are regular visitors and have wonderful memories of Disneyland. I believe there isn't a lot of information on our amazing day due to the loss of Walt Disney a year later. The pictures here are from an album that was given to us. The photographer was Mario and our Guide’s name was Donna Partin. This six year old had a HUGE crush on Donna! Coincidentally, I was born on December 5th, the same day as Walt Disney. Typically, my wife and I will spend December 5th at the happiest place on earth. We have an amazing life-long gift of love for all things Disney.”

Bruce also generously shared these two vintage newspaper articles covering his family’s good fortune on that day in 1965:



I am blown away by the generosity of Park employees to the Adams family. Is anything of this scale still done today when the Park reaches attendance milestones?



Here is a previously posted color (and blurry) shot showing the festivities as seen from the Monorail:



Thanks to Bruce and all the many people who have been kind enough to share their stories with me and my readers!

See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesdays: Temple and Harlow

One wouldn’t think that there would be very much to link curly haired moppet Shirley Temple and screen siren Jean Harlow other than the oft-told tale that Shirley lost the part of Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” when a trade between Temple, Harlow, and Clark Gable went south due to Harlow’s premature death on June 7, 1937 at age 26. Even though Shirley herself repeated this story in her autobiography, the chances of it being for the same movie that MGM released in 1939 are slim to none, as in 1937 MGM didn’t even own the rights to “Oz.” But that’s another story than the one I am telling today, which is about a verifiable connection between Shirley and Jean: both of their mothers hired the same artist to paint their daughters. Gertrude Temple hired Piles Tino Costa first in 1936 for the tidy sum of $1200 (today’s equivalent of approximately $18,000); including the frame. Good luck getting that today! Here is the “contract” that she sent to the artist:



I was able to see this painting in person at the Santa Monica History Museum when it was put on display just before it was sold as part of the Love, Shirley Temple auction in 2015. The Child Star is shown with her dog, Corky, and a canary in a cage in the oil painting that measured a large 58" x 46".



Here is Shirley posing with the artist:



The descriptive copy from the auction catalog:

Her presence is signified by classic ringlet curls, smiling expression, and fingertip-length skirt hem. Her shoes are shown scuffed at the toes indicating their dancing purpose, and alongside sits her beloved Scottie named Corky and a bird cage whose canary resident is tethered on a leash. Signed in lower corner "P. Costa 1936".…Costa, the Russian-born portrait painter, immigrated to the United States in 1929 at the age of 38. He was commissioned for portraits of Presidents Hoover and FDR, as well as portraits of General MacArthur, the Prince of Wales, and King Christian of Denmark. In 1935 he moved to California, and among his works during that era is this portrait of Shirley Temple.

Presale estimate was $5000; the gavel went down at $23,000. Gertrude Temple made a fairly good investment, but not stupendous.

The brown velvet dress with lace collar that she wore for the painting was also part of the auction:



Many photos exist of the painting as it hung in the home where Shirley grew up in Brentwood on Rockingham Avenue:



A year after Costa painted the portrait of Shirley, he was commissioned by Jean Harlow’s mother to paint one of her late daughter. Here’s the final product, titled “Farewell to Earth,” which measures a gargantuan 80" x 52":



Lost for years, the piece was photographed in black and white in the 1930s, and that was all that existed of it until it resurfaced recently at a Bonham’s auction in November 2016. It has been inventoried in both the National Portrait Gallery and the New York Public Library's Prints and Photographs online catalogs.

Here’s a youtube video that talks about the recovery of the painting. It was found in an abandoned home in Harrisonville, MO. A renowned chemist, Dr. James D. Idol, bequeathed his niece's his estate and they discovered this amongst the broken glass and animal poop almost 50 years later!



All I can say is that it’s a miracle it has survived!

To end this post I show a painting I did of Jean back in the 90s:



See more Shirley Temple 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.

Vintage Canal Street

Two vintage views of Canal Street in New Orleans for today. The first one is from July 5, 1957. Looks like the photographer was standing at the corner of Canal and Bourbon. Note to self: next time in New Orleans, take the same picture!



Moving ahead to April 1964, it’s obvious that time has passed with the typical 60’s remodels of some of the storefronts. How about that honeycomb panel overhaul for the building at right? That’s modernization for you!



Of course I had to zoom into the streetcar:



See more New Orleans photos at my main website.

2018 Reflection

Like any other year, 2018 had its ups and downs. It was an amazing year for Daveland with the usual travel (I keep saying I'm going to slow down) and growth opportunities for my photography. Here goes my Reader’s Digest version of the last year.

In an attempt to get back into shape, I ramped up my running, completing a few short ones and doing my first half marathon in over a year. While my time was not impressive, it still felt good to be back in the game.



It seemed like a good year for love as I did one surprise engagement shoot:



And two weddings:





So much for “I don’t shoot weddings!”

I climbed to the top of the California Tower to observe some incredible views of Balboa Park:



A number of shots from my vintage collection were included in the Taschen published book by Chris Nichols' titled “Walt Disney's Disneyland.”



Here I am seeing the book at the Taschen store:



...and the actual image from my collection featured on the two-page spread:



As the official Going To Guides photographer, my work was included in Shannon Laskey’s DCA update book. Here are a few of the images:



How about this blast from the past?







The biggest thrill was running into Shannon at the Chateau Marmont of all places!



My shot of a Frank Lloyd Wright home in Marion, Indiana made the cover of Indiana Preservation magazine:



A number of my photos were purchased over the year as well, including these from New Orleans:



Indianapolis:



and Santa Rosa:



Favorite trips included New York City where I met the bestie, Christy, and also got to lunch with super talented artist and Gene Marshall creator Mel Odom:



I also did my best to recreate a classic James Dean shot. I don’t think modeling is in my future. I can hear Mr. Mackey now: “Smoking is bad!”





Shooting with Broadway and film dancer/actor Julius Anthony on the steps of St. Thomas Church was another highlight of NYC:



A visit to the actual house used in “A Christmas Story” when I visited Cleveland:



My first trip to Miami yielded a magazine cover from one of my shoots:



The late Shirley Temple’s 90th birthday provided the opportunity to meet her daughter Susan:



...and son Charlie:



They had come to Santa Monica to celebrate the reunion of Shirley’s scepter, crown, and gown from the dream sequence of 1939’s “The Little Princess.” Members of Shirley’s Army (including Melissa, aka “The Colonel”) pose proudly by the display at the Santa Monica History Museum:



Melissa’s return to California in November gave us the opportunity to visit some of the locations used in Shirley’s films:



Of course there were a number of visits to my favorite place on earth, the Chateau Marmont, where I got to stay where it all began back in 2001, Room 16:



Actress (and friend) Amanda Kruger visited for breakfast and a few photos during this particular stay:



Willis continues to enjoy his visits to the Chateau, which is his hotel of choice:



A home in the Hollywood hills provided the perfect backdrop for my last photo shoot of the year:



What’s in store for 2019? With three trips already on the docket, I know there will be posts about those as well as the usual vintage shots that I collect along the way. It’s been two years since my last visit to Disneyland, and chances are slim that 2019 will see my return. As my mom says though, “Never say never!”

I have really enjoyed exploring other things that this wonderful universe has to offer. Thanks for the visits, comments, and continued encouragement! See you on the next post!

View more of my photography at my main website.