Category Archives: Hollywood Heights

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — The Three Lives Of Villa Aurora

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Cats have nine lives. People often experience second or third acts in their lives or careers. Some homes have multiple lives as well, like Villa Aurora, which has experienced three diverse lives, … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Pickford Headlines 1933 Rose Parade

Photo: Mary Pickford in the 1933 Rose Parade. Courtesy of Mary Mallory Note: This is a 2012 post with a slight update. The 136th Rose Parade is Wednesday. Tomorrow sees the 124th annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena,  welcoming … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: The Story of ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’

Mary Mallory looks at the history of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Altadena’s Lovely Christmas Tree Lane

Christmas Tree Lane in a vintage postcard, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2012. Nothing says Christmas like the sight of beautiful outdoor twinkling lights lending a bit of romanticism and happiness to the holiday … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood and Poinsettias

In this installment of Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory looks at the history of the poinsettia plant. Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘White Christmas’ Soothes the Home Front in 1942

Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale in “Holiday Inn.” Note: This is an encore post from 2015. Recognized today as one of the top selling singles and pieces of sheet music of all time, Irving Berlin’s “White … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Tote DuCrow–Character Actor of the Silent Screen

Tote DuCrow in Camera, 1922. The early decades of cinema brought many enterprising, colorful character actors to the screen, those looking and appearing real on film. Not as physically attractive or full of charisma, they brought striking personas and authenticity … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Lillian St. Cyr, ‘Indian Princess’ of Early Films

Lillian St. Cyr, who took the name Princess Red Wing (frequently rendered as Redwing), Moving Picture World, 1912. Note: This is an encore post from 2021. Throughout much of her life, Lillian Margaret St. Cyr felt caught between two worlds … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Samuel Fuller’s ‘Power of the Press’

In an age when most of the mainstream media shills for ratings, spectacle, and train wrecks, taking a look back at vintage films can often provide a sad window into how little history changes unless a determined, freedom-loving press like … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘Your Girl and Mine’ Promotes Women’s Suffrage

“Your Girl and Mine,” Moving Picture World. Note: This is an encore post from 2015. From the 1840s on, many women in the United States fought to vote. Considered merely chattel, like slaves, women were forced to endure horrible marriages, … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Dr. Caligari and the Rise of American Nationalism

Note: This is an encore post from 2022. Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, described by film critic Roger Ebert as the “first true horror film,” still wows audiences more than 100 years after creation due to its high … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Henry Armetta, Excitable Support

Henry Armetta, courtesy of Mary Mallory. In many films of the 1930s and 1940s, what audiences remember most are the one-of-a-kind supporting players, with vibrant personalities, colorful ways of talking, recognizable tics and dramatic looks. Many of these people came … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Vice Raid and Early TV in Hollywood’s Biggest Storehouse

The Hollywood Storage Building as seen in Google Earth. Note: This is an encore post from 2021. Originally Los Angeles’ tallest building when opened in 1926, the Hollywood Storage Building at the southwest corner of Highland Avenue and Santa Monica … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Fiesta de las Flores

President William McKinley and First Lady Ida McKinley at La Fiesta de las Flores, 1901. Though founded September 4, 1781 the tiny pueblo of Los Angeles featured little assets to lure large numbers of migrants westward looking to call it … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Helen Holmes, The Railroad Girl

In the mid-1910s, action-packed serials starring adventurous heroines thrilled audiences of young women dreaming of independence and agency. At the same time, women in the United States campaigned for the right to vote, eager to shape public policy and take … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Warner Bros. Celebrates Batman Day

First appearing in 1939’s Detective Comics #27 on March 30, 1939, Batman has grown into a Super Hero and an iconic emblem of justice employing just his intellect, athletic skill, and technological savvy and superiority. To celebrate the 85th Anniversary … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — The First Motion Picture Electrical Parade

Harold Lloyd’s float in the electrical parade, courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Long before the Walt Disney Co. began presenting an electrical parade at its parks, Los Angeles offered electrical parades as part … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Myrtle Gonzalez – Early Latina Movie Star

An autographed photo of Myrtle Gonzalez by the Martel-Carruthers studio, inscribed to Jean Herscholt, listed on EBay at $250 Note: This is an encore post from 2021.  Mostly forgotten today because of her untimely death in the 1918 influenza epidemic, … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: May Brotherton, Queen of Film Editing

May Brotherton in the Balboa Day Book, 1916. Women were integral to motion picture production from its very beginning. Working behind the scenes, they dominated the dirty work of cutting and assembly of film and negative for decades. Quick and … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Rah! Rah! Hollywood Celebrates Pennants

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Hollywood has always been creative in promoting its films and personalities to the public. Employing posters, lobby cards, window cards and photographs, silent film production companies hyped upcoming films. With the success … Continue reading

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