Mini Biography of Lillian Miles (1907 -1972) Lillian Miles, famous for her manic piano playing in Reefer Madness (1936), came to Hollywood in 1931 to try her luck in films. Her background isn’t terribly exciting. She was born Lillian Bradley in Oskaloosa, Iowa, in 1907. As a young performer, she toured with musical theater stock […]
The Eddie “Rochester” Anderson home in the 1950s and today. Its address was originally 1932 W. 37th Street. Following Anderson’s death in 1977 (of heart failure at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills), the address changed to 1932 Rochester Circle in his memory.
A short while ago, I visited the historic Aztec Hotel, an odd 1920s Mayan revival building designed by architect Robert Stacy-Judd. The 1925 building is located in Monrovia, California. While there, I met artist Jorge D’Soria, who recently returned to the hotel to repaint the lobby ceiling. Jorge once lived at the Aztec from 2006 to 2009. While […]
“The movie fans will learn that success – permanent success – isn’t a question of luck and a good-looking face. People laugh when you talk about ideals in this business. They think you are crazy. They say the public doesn’t want good pictures. How do they know? Have they ever tried making them?” […]
“In real life, to be called ‘melodramatic’ is to be criticized. The term suggests behavior which is hysterical and exaggerated. A woman may receive the news of her husband’s death by throwing up her arms and screaming, or she may sit quite still and say nothing. The first is melodramatic. But it may well happen […]
“Hollywood adores bunk and hooey. It’s expected of us. After all, the secret of success lies in finding out what people want and then giving it to them.” – Bette Davis Source: Laura Ellsworth Fitch (1935) Photographer: Elmer Fryer “Baby Jane”…a childhood photo. Hell’s House (1932). With Pat O’Brien. “In my view, […]
Anne Shirley‘s Wilted Salad recipe INGREDIENTS: Loose leaves from a head of lettuce (Recipe doesn’t specify what kind of lettuce, so I recommend something like Romaine, which can be cooked). 3 strips of bacon. (Again, the exact number is my guess, so you can play around with this number all you want.) .5 cup of […]
“I told the cameraman the other day that my eyes hurt me when I am under the lights and he said that if a person has eye trouble, especially near-sightedness, their eyes usually photograph much better than ordinary healthy ones. So perhaps I ought not to complain if they hurt a little now and then. […]
Photos of Los Angelenos taken in the 1920s. Above photo: A family portrait in Los Angeles, circa 1924. Office workers in Glendale, CA, c. 1922. Two women reading on the porch on July 4, 1923. Swinging near Eagle Rock, c. 1923. This family portrait was supposedly taken in Los Angeles in […]
“Start every day with a smile, and get it over with.” — W.C. Fields Photo: Poppy (1936) “The world is getting to be such a dangerous place, a man is lucky to get out of it alive.” — W.C. Fields. “I’m beginning to understand those animals you read about, […]