“Forgotten Hollywood”- A Visit to the Historic Wilshire Ebell…
Manny P. here…
The historic Ebell of Los Angeles is the site of my next booksigning. The Wilshire Rotary Club of Los Angeles is having their weekly lunch meeting on Wednesday, May 16th at this iconic spot.
The Ebell of Los Angeles is a women’s club with a clubhouse building and the renowned 1,270-seat Wilshire Ebell Theatre. The complex has operated since 1927.
Remarkable appearances at the Ebell include the final press conference by Amelia Earhardt, before attempting her 1937 around-the-world flight in which she subsequently vanished; and where Judy Garland was discovered while performing as Baby Frances Gumm in the 1930s. She was singing to MGM producers George Sidney and Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who happened to be in the audience. They later met the 13-year-old backstage at the Ebell, determined to bring her to the attention of studio mogul Louis B. Mayer. A number of scenes from The Artist were also recently filmed at this location.
The Wilshire Ebell was declared a Los Angeles Cultural Historic Monument in 1982. In 1994, the locale was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It’s also been designated an Official American Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Wednesday’s fellowship allows Rotarians in the area the chance to tie Hollywood history with Americana, and the Rotary International’s vast relationship with our national story. Service Above Self and the Goal to Eradicate Polio actually relate to cherished tales I plan on sharing in this unique journey through Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History.
The Ebell of Los Angeles is located at 743 S. Lucerne Blvd. along the outskirts of Hollywood (of course).
Until next time> “never forget”
This entry was posted on Monday, May 14th, 2012 at 12:01 am and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
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