Category Archives: Hollywood Heights

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Alhambra Promoted Through Song

One of the all-time greatest booster campaigns led to explosive growth in the city of Los Angeles in the early 20th century. Advertisements, brochures, postcards, sheet music, all boasted of the uniqueness of this unknown urban oasis. Publicists preached the … Continue reading

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

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

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — Nelson Evans, Hollywood’s Early Forgotten Portrait Photographer

Photo: Nelson Evans Unlike the theatrical world, the early motion picture industry was slow in recognizing the importance of photographs to help publicize and sell its films. While Broadway producers hired great New York portrait studios like Sarony, White, Lumiere, … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – The Cahuenga Building

From its days as an elegant bank building to its abandoned and forgotten existence in the 1980s and 1990s, the former Security Trust and Savings Bank at Hollywood Boulevard and Cahuenga Boulevard has served as both a local institution and … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Celebrity Politicians: Hollywood’s Honorary Mayors, Part I

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

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Apartment Buildings and Celebrity Connections – Part I

People moved to Hollywood in droves in the 1920s, lured by the exploding motion picture industry, and by gorgeous advertisements placed in magazines and newspapers around the country. Construction of apartment buildings surged to meet demand, especially those offering elegant … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Hollywood Boosts Itself With a Song

  Hollywood Boulevard came into existence in 1910, when Prospect Avenue saw its name changed to Hollywood Boulevard. This was Hollywood’s main street, full of stores, churches and theaters. As the town grew, and especially when movie studios moved to … Continue reading

Posted in 1929, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Music | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

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

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 , , , , | 4 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Buster Keaton’s ‘The Italian Villa’

Buster Keaton seemed to have it all in the mid-1920s. His career was riding high, as the public loved his film comedies, making him one of America’s top film personalities. He had a beautiful wife, Natalie Talmadge, and two lovely … Continue reading

Posted in 1926, Architecture, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | 5 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Erich von Stroheim’s ‘Paprika’

A copy of Erich von Stroheim’s “Paprika” inscribed to Hugo Ballin has been listed on EBay as Buy It Now for $1,250. Famed director/actor Erich von Stroheim faced financial disaster in the mid-1930s. After directing such visual powerhouses as “Foolish … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Philippe de Lacy and ‘Cinerama Holiday’

Child stars often face harsh realities as they age. The public doesn’t find them as cute, roles stop coming, and life can become cruel. For every talented child actor that goes on to a successful career as an adult like … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Gypsy Rose Lee and ‘The G-String Murders’

Photo: Barbara Stanwyck in “Lady of Burlesque.” This post has been corrected. See note below for details. While being tops in your field can be exciting, an ambitious or intellectually curious person always looks for new ways to grow. This … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Keystone Anniversary

Photo: “The Water Nymph” via archive.org Today is the day that the Keystone Film Company started business, and it released its first film, a pair of “split-reelers” called “Cohen Collects a Debt” and “The Water Nymph” starring Mabel Normand.

Posted in 1912, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Bert Longworth and ‘Hold Still, Hollywood’

In the last forty years, movie collectors and photography connoisseurs have recognized the art and value of Hollywood still photography, most particularly in the gloriously lit and composed portraits of glamorous stars. For decades, however, many people, including industryites, failed … Continue reading

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Photography | 8 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Brand Library

“Aerodrome Replacing Country-House Garage,” Illustrated London News, Oct. 29, 1921, Courtesy of Mary Mallory Unique thematic architectural homes stand out all around the Los Angeles area, like Yamashiro and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Barnsdall, Freeman, and Storer residences, just to name … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Film, Hollywood Heights, Libraries, Location Sleuth, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 48th Annual Cinecon Part 2

Photo: “Palace of Silents,” a documentary on the Silent Movie Theater. Cinecon 48 featured several surprises. The Nicholas Sisters opened the festival by performing with their relatives, and Bert Wheeler’s granddaughter made an appearance. Another excellent surprise on Saturday was … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: 48th Annual Cincecon

Photo: Harold Lloyd in “Hot Water,” shown at Cinecon. The 48th Annual Cinecon Film Festival is almost over in Hollywood. Once again, the festival features classic silent and sound films, many of which have not been seen in theatres since … Continue reading

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Nirvana Apartments

A few months ago, a friend and I were walking up Orange Drive from the El Capitan Theatre to the Hollywood Heritage Museum and noticed a striking Japanese looking apartment building at 1775 N. Orange Drive. It featured a pagoda-style … Continue reading

Posted in 1925, Architecture, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments

Coming Attractions: Mary Mallory Signs ‘Hollywoodland’

Mary Mallory, who writes Hollywood Heights for the L.A. Daily Mirror, will be signing copies of her book “Hollywoodland” on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Costco at 1051 Burbank Blvd. in Burbank. All profits from the … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Books and Authors, Coming Attractions, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Next Week on the L.A. Daily Mirror

Coming up next week: In addition Mary Mallory’s Hollywood Heights column and Eve Golden’s Queen of the Dead…. Eve has a special post that I think you’re going to adore: She’s working on a biography of John Gilbert and has … Continue reading

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