…David Keim, chief code enforcement officer at the City’s Dept. of Building and Safety, for invoking the ‘scorched-earth’ ordinance in response to the April leveling of the last Victorian house on Bunker Hill by Geoff Palmer of G.H. Palmer Associates. Bravo!, too, for Councilman Ed Reyes who made the Motion in City Council calling for the city to bring charges against Palmer.
…the gentleman who called Kay Tornborg many months ago to inquire about
a gas station that he thought was at the corner of Hollywood Blvd. and Laurel
Canyon. Would he please call again? New information has surfaced.
Please call (323)874-4005 or (323)467-0287 (home)
According to the front page of the Old Riverside Foundation News, “Crimes against vintage homes are occurring at an alarming rate. The desirability of owning one of these treasures has led to a growing market for genuine items with which to restore a special house. Prices for these hard-to-find articles are commanding a premium, making vacant houses (as well as occupied homes) prime targets for burglers.”
Diana Serra Cary, aka Baby Peggy, worked her magic again on those who gathered
for the season’s first Evening at the Barn on Sept. 17th. Her topic was
not so much her own extraordinary tale of being a child star in Hollywood of
the ’20s, but rather her newest book, Jackie Coogan, The World’s
Boy King. His story and hers have many similarities and she has utilized her
unique vantage point to illuminate Coogan’s remarkable and misfortune-filled
life. An energetic and straight-forward speaker, she capped her delightful evening
with a showing of clips from Coogan’s The Kid and Oliver Twist, and her
The Legal Assistant. The scene of her getting tossed from a second-story window
and hopping up like the Roadrunner will live in memory for some time.
The posse parked their guns at the door on October 15th to hear Bob Birchard’s
painstakingly-researched and entertaining talk on the life, loves and career
of the incomparable Tom Mix. He exploded the myth of Mix’ “official”
biography (NOT born in Texas, didn’t serve in the war, etc.) and screened
some Mix short features as well as one 15 minute segment of the now-lost Fighting
for Gold (Fox, 1919). To the uninitiated it may come as a surprise that a number
of Mix films feature bears, stemming from his days as a circus performer!
A tantalizing tidbit surfaced from the Q&A afterwards: Mix’ Hollywood
cottage (he later owned a LARGE home) still stands (but maybe not for long?),
occupied and in fairly good repair, just off the corner of Bronson Avenue and
Carlton Way.
On September 2, the wonderful souls who serve as volunteers for Hollywood
Heritage were treated to a barbeque dinner in the formal gardens at Wattles
Mansion. Hosts Stephen Sylvester and Kay Tornborg greeted the volunteers, making
sure that everyone got their special acknowledgement for work well done. The
many varied tasks in which our volunteers participate include docenting at the
Hollywood Heritage Museum, pruning and general gardening at Wattles gardens,
publicity, office work, etc. If you’d like to get involved, please contact
Kay Tornborg at (323) 874-4005.