Marmont Monday with Myron/Myra

Vintage interior shots of the Chateau Marmont hotel are not easy to come by; this color image shows film critic/actor (debatable on that one!) Rex Reed in the 1970 film “Myra Breckinridge.” Reed played Myron Breckinridge, who became a transgendered woman (Myra) played by Raquel Welch. To say that casting was interesting for the film is an understatement. A few scenes from the camp classic (based on a novel by Gore Vidal) took place in the hotel’s Penthouse, aka Room 64. This shot from the movie includes Farrah Fawcett and Raquel Welch; just outside the sliding glass door is the balcony that overlooks Sunset Boulevard.

The first time I was able to get a look at the room for myself was on Christmas Eve, 2002.

In 2015, I spent a few nights there, too. By that time, it had been redecorated and the furniture reupholstered.

The framing around the fireplace visible in the “Myra” shot and the white tile in front of it are gone; whether the brick is original or a replacement is not known.

Looking at the end table in the 1970 “Myra” shot, you can see a copy of Motion Picture magazine.

With a little digging, I was able to find a better shot of the original cover from May 1924, featuring silent screen star Barbara La Marr, one of the first tabloid sensations known as “The Girl Who Is Too Beautiful.” She died at the age of 29 in 1926. Louis B. Mayer of MGM fame renamed actress Hedwig Kiesler after Barbara and she became better known as Hedy Lamarr.

See more vintage and contemporary Chateau Marmont photos at my main website.

That’s What I Want For Christmas

This is definitely a different holiday season than those experienced in years past. Many are separated from family members and friends because of the pandemic. Today’s post shows photos from my first white Christmas, circa 1966. My brothers wore a different kind of mask back then. Mom bundled us up like the Michelin Man so that we could brave the cold weather that our San Diego family had not yet grown accustomed to.

I’m not sure which department store this was, but most likely it was Wanamaker’s or Gimbels.

So many details to look at here! In the background is a brand new sled, which would not have been practical for us when we lived in San Diego. For Philadelphia and the hill in our backyard: perfect! I still remember that game, Bop the Beetle; if you weren’t careful, the mouth would clamp down hard on your hand. Ouch!

My Fisher-Price school bus is in the foreground. I put a lot of miles on that toy! In the background is the Hot Wheels racetrack that we were also given that year.

It’s now been a year since I have been able to see my mom in person; she’s still on the East Coast. My Christmas wish this year is that things clear so that we can all travel to those that we care about. While Zoom and other programs provide a virtual connection, nothing replaces a hug or an in-person visit.

My Christmas portrait with Willis from last year.

While I know that some of my readers don’t celebrate Christmas, I still hope that they can enjoy the spirit of the season, which is universal no matter what religion you do or don’t subscribe to. Let’s be grateful for blessings, be kind to others, and do our best to spend time with those that we care about (whether in-person or virtually). This once-a-year reminder is a good start to what we all hope is a better year. I will leave you with one of my favorite holiday songs, “Ave Maria,” sung by the incomparable Karen Carpenter. Yes, I love her voice and I’m a geek. Deal with it.

See more Daveland photos at my main website.

Keelboat Celebration!

This week, Bryan Carlson reached out to me to send a graphic in honor of the Keel Boat Anniversary. What’s a Keel Boat you ask? With this YouTube video, you can… re-live the glory days of the most, um, . . . actually, second, uh no, . . . more like one of the top five most popular vehicles to ever traverse the Rivers of America at Disneyland - the Mike Fink Keel Boats. Former skippers re-enact their spiel while showcasing the vistas of their backyards.

As a special treat, here are some vintage images from the Daveland archives showcasing the beloved Keel Boats, starting off with this Summer/Fall 1956 image:

Undated 1950’s:

Wonder what these trucks were there for?

An early color view:

June 1964:

A corner of the Keel Boat shows up in this one showcasing the Fowler’s Inn area:

Final one for today is this beautiful sunset view:

A passenger train and both Keel Boats? Sheer heaven!

See more vintage Disneyland Keel Boat photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Flagg Day!

In 1941, Shirley Temple starred in “Kathleen,” her one and only movie for Louis B. Mayer and MGM. In the photo and lobby card shown here, she wears a cute nautical themed outfit.

The same outfit can be seen in this charcoal sketch that famed artist James Montgomery Flagg (1877-1960) drew of Shirley for the film’s publicity.

Flagg had also drawn Shirley in 1936 for this Photoplay magazine cover:

Here, the artist sketches actress Norma Shearer, wearing one of her costumes from “Romeo and Juliet” (1936):

The final illustration also made the cover of Photoplay:

Flagg's charcoal sketches were on the cover of Photoplay magazine from 1936-1938. Here’s another one of his pieces showing blonde bombshell Jean Harlow:

Flagg is probably best known for his “I WANT YOU” World War One recruitment poster:

It was Flagg’s famous drawing that put a face to “Uncle Sam,” which was originally featured on the July 6, 1916 cover of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper with the headline “What are you doing for preparedness?” The words “I Want You” were added in February 1917.

See more Shirley Temple “Kathleen” photos at my main website.

Summer of ’85

When a reader reached out to inquire purchasing my 1985 shots of Club Diego’s in Pacific Beach, it brought back a lot of memories for me. I was on summer break from college and went out to San Diego with my dad and his wife. I had just turned 21 and Club Diego’s was the place to go! Neon signs, huge dance floor, and the best 80’s music (or at least in my opinion!).

I looked at the other shots I took on my point and shoot camera; while the quality may not be great, I am sure glad I have them. While buildings come and go quickly at the beach, this restaurant/bar obviously still had its original vintage bones, as well as a cool neon sign. Saska’s is still in business; it opened in 1951 as the High Tide Bar.

Dad and I did the usual touristy things, including a visit to Sea World (I LOVED those board shorts!)…

and the Wild Animal Park, where I was part of the bird show. No, it didn’t crap on my hair. Apologies for the short-shorts, but OP (Ocean Pacific) was IN!

Lahaina Beach House was my favorite place to grab a lunch and beverage when I was surfboarding all day or catching the rays.

The Giant Dipper Roller Coast at Mission Beach has been around since 1925:

The Plunge swimming facility has been around since 1925 as well; my dad would tell me stories about swimming here when he was a kid. The boardwalk area around it had recently been renovated when I was there that summer.

No trip to San Diego was complete without a visit to the legendary Hotel del Coronado:

I was all about learning more about my dad and HIS favorite haunts back in the day; he took me on a tour of his alma mater, San Diego State University:

And there’s a snapshot of my Summer of 1985 vacation!

See more vintage and contemporary San Diego photos at my main website.

The Return of Fandana Friday!

The mail yielded an expected bundle of joy...and an unexpected one, too. When I checked out Shannon Laskey’s Etsy store, I noticed she had Haunted Mansion fandanas…in the appropriate purple color! HAD to get one. If I have to mask, at least it can be fun and stylish! When the package arrived, Shannon had written “Why is this so lumpy?!” in her cool signature handwriting. PS: I LOVE getting packages from Shannon; to say she makes packaging fun and creative is an understatement. This lady radiates joy!

Inside was the fandana, and it was just as cool as I thought it would be!

Shannon adds plenty of little extras and stories with her products:

Just look at the inspection tag; she knows her Disneyland stuff backwards and forwards! I will have so much fun looking over every little Mansion detail captured on this fandana.

Back to lumpy…Shannon also included (as a bonus to me) this Park Pair Up card game. As she explained:

When we went into shelter-in-place mode in March I started creating this card game and it debuted on Black Friday in my Etsy Store.

As the saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make a cool card game!

The premise: pair up cards inspired by the happiest and most magical theme parks! But, not so fast, there are Tricky cards along the way. Try to foil your opponents and be the first one to reach 150 points. Do that you’ll win the Magic Key to the Kingdom!

Not sure you can handle the brainpower to figure out a new game? Shannon has you covered with a youtube instructional video (she covers ALL the bases).

And yes, there’s an actual Magic Key that comes with the set!

 

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