The lives of few entertainers have ever matched that of actress/dancer/vaudevillian Valdeo Lord Parker and her mother, Maude. Both performed under many aliases throughout their lives, which requires a lot of reading between the lines to understand who they were and what happened to them. According to U.S. Census records, Valdeo was born in Lincoln, […]
Photos of a teenager named Betty Bradley and her pet deer “Bennie” (sometimes spelled “Benny”) in 1927. Bennie was said to be the former pet of Mexican bandit Pancho Villa, and was given to Bradley as a gift when she visited Mexico with her parents. Villa had died in 1923. In 1926-27, Bennie and Betty appeared together on local radio station KHJ. […]
On the evening of February 5, 1962, Morton “Bud” Harold Thompson Jr., 27, fatally stabbed his mother, Helen Sincere Scheuer, 53, with an ice pick at their small apartment at 11734 1/2 La Maida Ave., North Hollywood. Scheuer, who worked for a Lockheed Martin factory in Burbank, was trying to solve a crossword puzzle at her kitchen table […]
In August of 1934, vaudeville performer Don Dixon was arrested by LAPD after officers found him sleeping in his car. The police suspected him of being intoxicated. Later, Dixon successfully argued in front of a judge that he had fallen asleep inside his car after playing an accordion at a wedding. “I was not drunk, your honor,” Dixon told Judge […]
In the 1950s, Los Angeles was the country music capital of the world. One of its local favorites was Joe Maphis (1921-1986), “The King of the Strings” and star of the TV show “Town Hall Party.” If you’ve never heard Maphis and his band, you’re in for a treat. He was incredible…
Stunt woman Edith Happy (1925-1999) performs her famous hippodrome stand at the Sheriff’s Rodeo at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1958. Happy started her trick riding career in 1943 at the Salinas Rodeo. In 1945, she met her future husband, Don Happy, who taught her stunt work. Edith quickly became a rodeo favorite and later toured […]
11-year-old Eric Henderson (left) and his 9-year-old brother, Lars, train their cap guns on a stewardess in this 1957 publicity photo. The San Fernando Valley boys, touted as the fastest cap gunslingers in the country, appeared on a television show, brandishing their new cap gun models. Following the broadcast, the brothers were challenged by other […]
The life of strongman Arthur Blackmer, aka Arthur Santell (1910-1998), is interesting — if a little sketchy. He was born Ezra Arthur Blackmer Jr. in Orange County on February 2, 1910. He came from a large family, and had three siblings. His father was a ranch hand, who moved around a lot. His mother died when […]
In January 1965, Douglas Arthur, a 22-year-old motorcyclist turned hairstylist, came up with a novel idea. He decided to operate a Rolls Royce beauty salon in Los Angeles. Hoping to attract entertainers and wealthy Beverly Hills socialites on the go, he fitted the backseat with a curling iron, hair dryer, assorted brushes, and hairsprays. He then hired […]
Doctor Newman, a forgotten Hollywood hermit, failed to cult-ivate much of a following in his lifetime. He did, however, make LIFE Magazine in 1938.