Monday at the Oasis

As I was walking along South Palm Canyon Drive on a recent trip to the Desert (aka Palm Springs), my attention was focused downward on the sidewalk, looking at the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. I came upon a historic marker that had been unceremoniously spray painted white and decided to read it. I had never heard of the Oasis Hotel before, but I had definitely heard of Lloyd Wright, architect of one of my Hollywood obsessions, the Sowden House, and the son of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. This I had to investigate! As I walked down the corridor I looked up at what I had previously ignored as yet another dilapidated old concrete structure and sure enough, there I saw the hallmarks of the Wright Style!



Interesting concrete blocks and that simplistic Moderne/Art Deco style that I adore.



Apparently this place was a haven for the stars, including Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Humphrey Bogart, and Shirley Temple. Back in the day before the term “Boutique Hotel” had been coined, this 24 guest room hotel was unable to make a profit, despite its claim of having the tower and the first swimming pool.



Here are some vintage shots of what the entire property looked like before it was torn down (other than the 40-foot tower) and replaced by an uninspired strip mall.











A few vintage postcards of the hotel in its heyday:





Although the tower has a Class 1 Historic designation, it looks like it is one “accident” away from being gone-zo.

See more Palm Springs photos at my main website.

Judy Garland and The San Diego Rabbit Hole

One of my very favorite Judy Garland dance numbers is “When The Midnight Choo Choo Leaves For Alabam” with Fred Astaire from Easter Parade. She matches the master step for step, and her joy and exuberance during the entire dance keep your eyes focused on her, not Astaire.



I recall reading many years ago that actor/dancer Bobby Van (part of Garland’s 1958 Town and Country Club engagement) had told Judy that “Alabam” was one of his favorite numbers. Garland proceeded to perform the intricate number without skipping a beat, even though the film had been made over ten years before. I attempted to find the story and looked through all my Garland books (I do have a few!) and could not locate it. I hate when that happens! I couldn’t find the anecdote online, either, but in searching for it, I discovered something else. Garland performed in San Diego July 8-9, 1955 at the Russ Auditorium, located inside the old San Diego High School. Sadly, the building no longer exists. I hate when that happens, too!

Naturally, I went down a rabbit hole, wanting to know more about the Russ Auditorium. In doing so, I found this clip (no sound) showing Judy in rehearsal:



A program for Bill Robinson’s 1946 performance at the Russ:



Ray Charles:



Here’s what the auditorium looked like:



The exterior of the old San Diego High School, affectionately known as “The Old Gray Castle”:



A 1949 photo of my Dad in front of the High School when he was part of the cheerleading squad. Anyone able to figure out which one he is?



Thanks for the rabbit hole, Judy!

UPDATE! Judy expert supreme John Fricke was kind enough to have this info forwarded to me. Apparently my memory is on the fritz; it was Ken Berry, not Bobby Van, who was taught “Alabam” by Judy:

[Ken Berry] shyly approached Judy at a party circa 1963 (after one of the Billy Barnes revues in which he performed and of which she was a fan). He told her how much he loved that “Easter Parade” routine — and how, once a year on Easter, he’d watch the film on TV. Each time, he said, he’d try to memorize a little more of it. Judy asked him if he wanted to learn it, got up from the conversational circle of people with whom they’d been talking, and (fifteen years after the fact) taught him the steps. Decades after that party, when Ken was working on the “Mama’s Family” TV series, there was an episode wherein Mama (Vicki Lawrence) organized a group of senior citizen women into a performing troupe. [The episode was called “Mama’s Girls” and originally aired on February 6, 1988] Their show grew out of meeting at a dance class, earlier in the program, where Vicki and Dorothy Van (playing Cousin Effie) spontaneously lead several others in a spirited “Midnight Choo Choo.” The vocal arrangement and choreography (credited in the show crawl to Ken Berry) was pretty much that of “Easter Parade”!

See more Judy Garland photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Lois Lane and Maureen Robinson

In the 1942 film “Miss Annie Rooney,” Shirley Temple plays a teen from the wrong side of the tracks who catches the interest of a young man (Dickie Moore) who comes from money. Lots of money. He decides to go against his parent’s wishes (Gloria Holden and Jonathan Hale) and invite her to his birthday party. When she arrives, Mother is not pleased that the arrangements for twelve will now have to squeeze in another. AWKWARD! The snooty girls at the party look down on poor Shirley until she teaches the old drizzle-pusses how to dance.



Recognize anyone in these photos?



On the far left is Noel Neill, best known as Lois Lane from the 1950’s “Superman” TV series. The girl on the right in this shot is Shirley’s stand-in, Mary Lou Isleib, who finally got a few seconds of screentime.



Noel with George Reeves, as we best remember her:



On the far right of the previous shot is June Lockhart, wearing a somewhat ill-fitting dress and looking extremely bored.



Some twenty years later, June would play the smartest sexiest space mom ever, Dr. Maureen Robinson, in “Lost in Space,” shown here with TV husband Guy Williams.



NOBODY made science (and silver lame) look as appealing as June!



See more teenage Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Grandfather Goes to Disneyland

What Shirley Temple fan doesn’t love the classic 1937 “Heidi”? The relationship between Heidi and The Grandfather is key to the charm of the movie. Actor Jean Hersholt is wonderful as the gruff and bitter hermit who gets thawed out by his charming granddaughter (Shirley) who comes to live with him. With the unkempt white hair and long beard, Hersholt could have had a side gig at Macy’s as Santa Claus.

Born in Copenhagen in 1886, Hersholt was also known as a humanitarian. In 1938, he became president of the Motion Picture Relief Fund, which helped provide medical care for industry employees suffering from hard times. The fund also resulted in the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital. From 1945-1949, Hersholt served as President to the Academy, who honored him shortly after his 1956 death by establishing the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, an honorary Oscar given to an “individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.” Winners have included Danny Kaye, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Harry Belafonte, and Debbie Reynolds.

Looking a little different without the beard, Jean attended the Opening Day festivities at Disneyland on July 17, 1955. He is pictured here at the Main Street Train Station:



In this Nat Dallinger photo, the caption reads:

JEAN HERSHOLT points out thing of interest to his 3-year-old grandson, Greg, at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. Hersholt was one of the many screen personalities attending the preview of America’s newest wonderland.

How do I know the location of the photo? Do you really need to ask? Here’s another shot from my collection taken the same day with Art Linkletter. You can match up the columns, just like I did!



Based on what I found through good old Google, it would appear that Gregg’s father, Greg, became a radio broadcaster in 1973, working at KIRO FM in Seattle from 1984-2010. He was the son of Jean and his wife, Via. Hersholt was also the paternal half-uncle of actor Leslie “Naked Gun” Nielsen. Final image for today shows Jean being escorted out of the Park for unruly behavior:



Just kidding. Of course it’s another still from “Heidi.”

See more Disneyland Opening Day photos at my main website.

Vampira and the Pink Teacup

Recently, I finished a book on Maila Nurmi, best known as Vampira, the ghoulish hostess who introduced less-than-stellar horror movies to late-night TV audiences from 1954-1955 on LA’s KABC-TV. Written by her niece, Sandra Niemi, Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pain of the Real Vampira, Maila Nurmi, was an intriguing book that I could not put down. One portion that will resonate with many of my readers was Maila’s attendance at Disneyland on Opening Day, July 17, 1955:

That spring, Disneyland’s ubiquitous grand opening posters had wallpapered all of Southern California, advertising for a July 17th opening. The excitement was electrifying. An invitation-only dedication ceremony was scheduled the day before opening day. Before she was fired [from her gig as hostess of “The Vampira Show”], Maila was given two tickets to the once-in-a-lifetime celebration, one of which she gave to Jack [Simmons].

Below is a shot of Maila (out of costume) with Simmons standing on the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Crescent Heights, outside their favorite coffee shop haunt, Googies:



Jack arrived at Malia’s door for the Disneyland event with a jaw swollen up like a blowfish. He had a toothache. Maila, who’d waited too long to be denied this occasion, insisted she had a surefire fix. She brought out a glass of whiskey and told Jack to take a sip and hold it against the offending tooth, then spit it out. Before leaving for the amusement park, she used an empty perfume bottle as a flask, in case Jack needed more painkillers. The day was a scorcher. Upon arrival at Disneyland, Maila and Jack joined the crowd to wade through the gates. Then they were herded to Main Street for the dedication, to endure a stream of speeches by local dignitaries. The crowd assembled in front of the podium. The heat was inescapable and the men on the dais stripped off their suit jackets before launching into their speeches.

 

The hot sun began to melt the new asphalt, and Maila’s high heels stuck to the sticky morass. Jack, suffering greatly both from the heat and his toothache, sipped from his homemade flask. Just as the ceremony began, Jack passed out. The crowd parted and two men carried him off on a stretcher. He woke up on a cot in the infirmary with Maila in a chair beside him. Reeking of alcohol, an attendant determined Jack was drunk, and both he and Maila were unceremoniously escorted out of the park.

I find it fascinating to think that somewhere in the crowd below, Maila Nurmi watched the festivities of Opening Day. Somebody, please find me a photo of her! Of course, she was not quite as recognizable outside of her TV show costume.



That’s not the end of the Disneyland story for Maila, though. She returned with actor Lewis Arquette, father to David, Richmond, Alexis, Patricia, and Rosanna Arquette. Apparently Maila was…

hell-bent on riding the teacup ride at Disneyland. And not just any teacup but the pink one, which was featured in all of the ads around town. And so Maila and Michael drove to the new Disneyland park in his convertible. Upon arrival, Maila made a beeline for the teacup ride, only to be met by bitter disappointment. No pink teacups. And so, she declared, to all within earshot, that Disney’s promotional posters were fraudulent. After her loud protestations culminated in the offer of a free ride, Maila accepted a spin in another cup, albeit an inferior white one with only a pink rim.

The December 1955 photo below would seem to back up the story, as it appears that there is a white cup with red designs, but not a pink one.



While the story might make one think that Maila was a pill, the truth of it was that she was a very kind nurturing soul who found herself constantly taken advantage of throughout her life. After getting pawed over and discarded by agents, photographers, and producers when she arrived in Hollywood, it is no wonder that such a sensitive artistic soul would be outraged that Disneyland did not feature what they advertised!

I had the pleasure of meeting her in person twice, during the annual heavenly birthday celebration for James Dean held at artist/sculptor Kenneth Kendall’s Hollywood home. From February 1997:



and again in 2003, seated next to actor Dennis Christopher.



I wish I had known more of her story when I met her, as she was a truly fascinating person that I would love to have talked with more. There will be future posts here about her, as Maila’s life touched upon many topics that I am obsessed with!



See more Disneyland Mad Tea Party photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley Does The Minuet

The 1937 Shirley Temple film “Heidi” has a dream sequence where Shirley performs a Minuet with her peers, decked out in an elegant 17th century costume by Gwen Wakeling.



With a powdered wig, this ensemble was apparently deemed worthy of a photo shoot with the master  himself, George Hurrell:



I’m not a huge fan of colorization, but decided to take a stab at it with this publicity shot:



How did I know what colors to select? By using Shirley’s original costume as reference, which I photographed at the Santa Monica History Museum back in 2015:



Want to see the shoes she wore? Of course you do!



This ensemble sold for $11,000 at the 2015 Theriault’s Love, Shirley Temple auction. From the catalog description: 

Styled in the late 17th century manner of the French court, the ball gown has a skirt of four tiers of fine Alencon lace with appliqued paillettes, centered by green silk panniers supported by hidden hoops, and with a matching low-necked bodice having lace center panel. The gown is decorated with garlands of pink silk rose buds, delicate blue flowers and lace edging, and accessorized by a pair of green silk and kidskin dancing slippers. For this scene in the 1937 film "Heidi" a unique coiffure in the powdered upswept fashion of Marie Antoinette was also designed for Shirley. The listed costume designer for this film was Gwen Wakeling.

The way the description is written casts a little doubt as to whether Wakeling herself designed this ensemble. It was definitely not the normal Shirley Temple outfit, however, Wakeling was more than capable to create something this ornate. With credits as diverse as “The Grapes of Wrath,” “Samson and Delilah,” and “I Dream of Jeannie,” this talented woman could do it all!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Hoover Dam, January 1959

While I find the Hoover Dam extremely cool, it has never been on my bucket list of “must sees,” although I suppose if I ever find myself in Vegas again, I would probably attempt to detour over to view it. Still, I have a fairly decent collection of vintage images of this historic landmark that was named after President Herbert Hoover. It seems that many who traveled to Disneyland back in the day also stopped by the Dam. These January 1959 images are shown in sequential order. Duh. As if I could present them in any other way.



I would be curious to hear from readers if this area today still looks about the same.



I wonder if the structure itself is still sound or how much repair work has had to be done over the years?







Looking at these makes me feel a little stupid for never having gone here, as its 1930s art deco stylings are right up my alley.





See more vintage Hoover Dam photos at my main website.

When Tomorrowland Had A Tomorrow

Remember when Disneyland’s Tomorrowland actually was about “tomorrow”? I know, it’s been a long time. These images from August 1970 are a reminder to those futuristic times. The PeopleMover was Walt’s idea of how to solve the congestion/transportation problems that existed in cities.



All of these images were shot from the Skyway and give a great overview of Tomorrowland. This was also the time period that the Astro Jets/Astro Orbiter sat high above the PeopleMover station and gave an even more thrilling spin to guests.



Nothing says “tomorrow” like the Rolly Crump designed stage below:



This one from February 1971 shows Lou Styles playing in Tomorrowland on the Rolly Crump designed stage:





Back to 1970…look at the little boy craning his head out of the Monorail. Yes…once it was possible to be excited about the future. Rocket to the Moon…PeopleMover…Carousel of Progress…wow!!



I’m sure it boils down to profits and money, but I still can’t understand why a corporation as large and as influential as Disney can’t partner with NASA or other innovative organizations to drum some life into Tomorrowland show that innovation (not Innovention!) is still alive and well.

See more Disneyland Tomorrowland photos at my main website.