Category Archives: San Fernando Valley

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Mack Sennett and Studio City’s Central Motion Picture District

Posted on April 15, 2013 by

  Eighty-five years ago, the Mack Sennett Studio opened at 4024 N. Radford in Studio City. The studio functioned as a magnet in hopes of drawing other film production companies and studios to the surrounding land owned by Central Motion … Continue reading →

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Posted in 1927, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Board of Supervisors Plan Toll Road to San Fernando Valley

Posted on April 9, 2013 by

Read the entire April 4, 1863, issue, from the Huntington Library, scanned by USC. April 4, 1863: Most of this issue of the Star is devoted to the Civil War and virulent criticism of the North, Abolitionists, President Lincoln, etc. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1863, Animals, Civil War, San Fernando Valley, Transportation | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Studio City’s La Fonda Wayside Inn

Posted on February 25, 2013 by

The bread-and-butter businesses of most municipalities are those providing goods and services, with restaurants near the top of the list. Running a restaurant is extremely difficult, because costs are high, profit margins are low and public tastes can often be … Continue reading →

Posted in 1927, Food and Drink, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: There Is a Lake in Toluca Lake

Posted on January 7, 2013 by

Photo: Janet Blair sits on the little platform off the banks of the Lakeside Golf Club. Courtesy of Mary Mallory Surrounded by homes and the Lakeside Golf Club, Toluca Lake is all but obscured from view by the public. Like … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Campo de Cahuenga, California’s Birthplace

Posted on November 26, 2012 by

A luminaria festival will be held at Campo de Cahuenga Dec. 2 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is free. Driving south down Lankershim Boulevard from Toluca Lake into Universal City, it’s hard to miss the skyscrapers, soundstages, and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1847, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Celebrity Politicians: Hollywood’s Honorary Mayors, Part I

Posted on November 5, 2012 by

Photo: Hugh Herbert, honorary mayor of Studio City, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Tomorrow is election day. Elections and politics are important to everyone, be they Joe Citizen or Joseph Kennedy. Over the years, celebrities have entered the political arena, some … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Politics, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Little Brown Church in the Valley

Posted on October 15, 2012 by

Photo: Republic Studios President Herbert Yates marries Vera Hruba Ralston in 1952. Courtesy of Mary Mallory. Originally ranch land that helped support the city of Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley sometimes seemed slower and a tad more old fashioned … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Religion, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Keaton Sons Change Names to Talmadge

Posted on June 30, 2012 by

July 2, 1942: Buster Keaton’s sons Robert, 18, and James, 20, legally change their last names to Talmadge after a petition to the court by Keaton’s ex-wife Natalie Talmadge. Lee Gilcrease, 29, kills his wife, Ethel, and commits suicide in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, San Fernando Valley, Suicide | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Hollywood Country Club

Posted on May 21, 2012 by

With the name Hollywood Country Club, one would assume that a golfing club so named would be located in the actual city or hills of Hollywood, California. While a club by that name was twice attempted to be organized, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Parks, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Eaton’s Rancho

Posted on February 13, 2012 by

The area of Los Angeles now known as Studio City was mainly farm and ranch land up into the late 1920s, when investors founded the Studio City Business District and decided to try and create a film industry in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Food and Drink, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Hugh Herbert

Posted on October 24, 2011 by

March 13, 1952: Hugh Herbert dies at the age of 66. Per an ad in the July 27, 1937, Daily Variety, “Public Screwball No. 1 to the film audiences of the world is a rubber-faced flibber-jibbett who began his career … Continue reading →

Posted in 1952, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Obituaries, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Studio City Nightlife

Posted on September 12, 2011 by

Feb. 10, 1940: Ching Howe is opening in the Valley. Photo: The 11380 block of Ventura Boulevard. Credit: Google street view. Studio City seemed to blossom into an entertainment-related town after the opening of the Mack Sennett Studios in 1928.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Food and Drink, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music, Nightclubs, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Cinecon, Part 2

Posted on September 6, 2011 by

March 29, 1945: “Practically Yours” opens in Los Angeles. Following is the second half of my Cinecon review, covering Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Plenty of popular character actors appeared in the films, some making multiple appearances throughout the festival.  Railroads, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Mystery Photo, New York, San Fernando Valley, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Filming in Studio City

Posted on August 22, 2011 by

Photo: Mack Sennett and John A. Waldron with plans for new project. Credit: Los Angeles Times, June 26, 1927 North Hollywood really began growing in the mid-1920s, when farmers and ranchers began subdividing property. Syndicates were formed to buy land … Continue reading →

Posted in 1927, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Location Sleuth: Lasky Mesa

Posted on August 18, 2011 by

Photo: “Charge of the Light Brigade,” filmed at Lasky Mesa. James Curtis’ interview with Dick Lane touched on a filming location known as Lasky Mesa. Films shot there include “Rose of the Rancho” 1914, “The Thundering Herd” (1925), “The Charge … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, History, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Location Sleuth, Parks, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Van Nuys Plane Crash Kills 2 – Aug. 11, 1941

Posted on August 11, 2011 by

Aug. 11, 1941: Walter P. Palmer and William S. Raney are killed when their plane goes into a spin during a flying lesson and crashes into a bean field at Woodley Avenue and Oxnard Street in Van Nuys, which is … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler, Lee Shippey, Politics, San Fernando Valley, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Fred Hartsook

Posted on August 1, 2011 by

Photo: Child in sailor suit by Hartsook studios, for sale on EBay. Bidding starts at $74.95. Patience is a prerequisite for being a stills photographer, and it is also important for those who dairy farm. Both require long waiting periods … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930, Brain Trust, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Photography, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Another Good Story Ruined – Mulholland and the Valley ‘Conspiracy’

Posted on July 9, 2011 by

My L.A. Times colleague Elaine Woo has a first-rate obituary on Catherine Mulholland, author of “William Mulholland and the Rise of Los Angeles.” One reason Mulholland took on the biography was to provide what she viewed as a more balanced … Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, Another Good Story Ruined, Books and Authors, Film, History, Hollywood, Obituaries, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

From the Stacks: ‘The Big Picture’

Posted on June 29, 2011 by

I picked up “The Big Picture,” Melba Levick and Stanley Young’s 1988 book about Los Angeles murals, not realizing what a terribly sad book it would be. As Young notes: “Most artists are aware that, exposed as it is to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1988, Architecture, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Downtown, From the Stacks, Hollywood, Latinos, Photography, Preservation, San Fernando Valley, Sports, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

LAPD End of Watch, June 15, 1920

Posted on June 15, 2011 by

Dec. 23, 1915: LAPD motorcycle officers take delivery of 37 new Indian motorcycles, capable of 75 mph. The daily NewsWatch of the Los Angeles Police Protective League always honors the anniversaries of LAPD officers killed in the line of duty. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1911, 1915, 1920, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Obituaries, San Fernando Valley, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , | Leave a comment