Forgotten Hollywood

Manny P. here…

“`Before there were malls and Amazon, holiday shoppers flocked to downtown and suburban retail districts, where shops and department stores lined busy streets. To attract the business, retailers in these districts banded together to transform these public spaces into flashy winter wonderlands.

“`Hollywood boasted one of the most elaborate Yuletide displays. Each November, beginning in 1928, extravagant holiday decorations transformed a mile stretch of Hollywood Blvd., between Vine and La Brea, into Santa Claus Lane.

“`The brainchild of businessman Harry Blaine of the Hollywood Boulevard Association, which promoted the area as the world’s largest department store. Santa Claus Lane attracted folks, luring them from downtown’s retail district with daily processions featuring a reindeer-drawn sleigh, and brightly decorated Christmas trees.

“`The first year, a 100 living firs were dug up from the forest near Big Bear, and placed along Hollywood Blvd. in wooden planters.  The trees lit the path for a nightly parade. Joined on his sleigh by a silver screen star, Santa Claus greeted the crowds with a team of six live reindeer pulling him down the boulevard. After New Year’s Day, the trees were planted on the grounds of the Hollywood Bowl.

“`In later years, metallic decorations replaced the living trees. Drawings of film stars smiled at shoppers from the center of tin wreaths hung from lamp posts. Whimsical, shiny toy Christmas trees blinked with colorful lights. Organizers boasted  Hollywood Blvd. was the most brightly lit street in the nation.

“`To complete the wintertime transformation,  Hollywood Blvd. took on a new name. For one month, signs at intersections read Santa Claus Lane, and merchants updated their addresses to reflect the temporary name change.

“`Though the elaborate decorations are no more,  Santa Claus Lane gave birth to a Tinseltown tradition. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce turned the Santa Claus procession into an annual extravaganza; renamed the Hollywood Christmas Parade in 1931. Grand marshal Gene Autry memorably rode on horseback just paces in front of the parade’s main star, singing Here Comes Santa Claus. It became a major hit.

“`Happy Holidays!!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`A mega-producer engages with a beautiful blonde actress for an afternoon meeting. It turns out to be a ruse, which includes the executive to unzip his pants and force the budding star on the couch.  She will not cooperate with any of this encounter and storms out of the office. The year was 1943. The parties involved… Producer Darryl F. Zanuck and Judy Holliday (below).

“`Holliday helped pave the way to this current moment by standing up to sexist, entitled bullies. She was not the first. However, Judy’s story will be told in a new production entitled Smart Blonde; a reference to Holliday’s IQ of 172.  The project screenwriter Willy Holtzman acquired the rights to share her personal life from her son Jonathan Oppenheim. He optioned it to producer Gene Kirkwood. Holtzman is an executive producer of the film and Kirkwood will finance and shop it.

“`No director is attached. Yet, given the subject matter, it seems fitting for a woman to helm the project. It wouldn’t feel right if only men collaborated on a tale about a woman standing up for herself and fighting sexual harassment, no matter the professional cost.

“`Holliday won an Oscar in 1951 for Born Yesterday, an adaptation of the Broadway play. She also appeared in  Adam’s Rib, Bells are Ringing, and It Should Happen to You. An early champion was Katharine Hepburn. She spoke before the House Un-American Activities Committee, testifying about her communist connections in 1952. Judy died of breast cancer, two weeks before her 44th birthday in 1965.

“`I was inspired to write this blog by today’s reveal by Time Magazine that the 2017 Person of the Year are The Silence Breakers; people who have globally shared collective experiences of sexual harassment and assault. TIME got this selection right in my humble estimation.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Archaeologists working in sand dunes on the central California coast have just unearthed an intact plaster sphinx part of an Egyptian movie set built over ninety years ago for Cecil B DeMille’s epic movie The Ten Commandments. The 300-pound sphinx is the second recovered from the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes.

“`Dunes Center Executive Director Doug Jenzen told a Santa Barbara television news station it’s unlike other items found in previous discoveries because most of it is preserved with the original paint intact. The set of the 1923 movie included 20-plus sphinxes. After filming, DeMille ordered everything buried in the dunes, about 175 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

“`They lay undisturbed for decades before recovery efforts began. The newly recovered sphinx is expected to go on display at the dunes-area museum next summer.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`On December 2nd, I am making my annual pilgrimage to Hollywood Heritage Museum  for an Afternoon with the Authors. There will be plenty of opportunities to pick up gifts, and avoid the holiday crowds between 12p-4p. Here are the details:

“`Stop by and pick up autographed copies of my Forgotten Hollywood Book Series. The Hollywood Heritage Museum is right across the street from the Hollywood Bowl.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`As an Orange County, California resident, I am always delighted to be part of the fabric of neighboring locales. Here are some recent inclusions:

~ My Forgotten Hollywood Book Series are available for purchase at The Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton. This is one of those wonderfully upscale locations that can be visited by any Southern California resident. On a small scale, it resembles what the Hearst Castle represents in Northern California.

“`Commissioned at an original cost of $35,000, the Muckenthaler home was built by Walter and Adella Muckenthaler in 1924 on a hill in Fullerton. The 18-room, 8.5-acre mansion was donated to the city in 1965 by Harold Muckenthaler, who wished to see his childhood home used as a cultural center for the public.

“`In 1999, the Muckenthaler was offered a designation by the National Register  of Historic Places. In its 52nd season, the Muck offers over sixty performances, gallery exhibits, fests, and additional special events; and art education classes, serving more than 41,000 people every year.

~   ~   ~ 

~ If you reside in O.C., let me invite you to the 23rd Annual Tamale Festival in Placentia on December 6th from 4p-9p.  I will be manning a booth with my Forgotten Hollywood Book Series to autograph; plus, other cinema-related goodies that would make wonderful holiday gifts for loved ones.

“`The street fest is located along the 100-200 block of Santa Fe Ave.  It’s a family-friendly event, which includes food booths, neighborhood shops, and live entertainment. Stop on by!!

Until next time>                               “never forget”