HOLLYWOOD HISTORY

Frank Raymond, Jr. circa 1904

By Allan R. Ellenberger

The dark side of Hollywood existed long before the film industry arrived in town.

When Frank Kellogg Raymond made Hollywood his family’s home in 1901, many in town at once thought that his wife Kate was a bit odd. Frank worked in the government print shop in Washington D.C. and would spend one weekend a month with his family in Hollywood. Frank chose a neat little plot of land on the corner of Selma and Las Palmas and hired a contractor to build his family a home. Kate, however, would get involved and submit plans and specifications to several contractors. She promised to pay each of them, but failed to carry out her promises. Legal action was considered, but the idea was discouraged by Pastor Newell of the Presbyterian Church, who made it clear that the woman was mentally erratic and could hardly be held responsible for her actions.

Fourteen-year-old Frank Raymond attended the local Fremont grammar school in Miss Willis’ eighth grade class and was regarded as one of her brightest pupils. His mother did not have many friends in Hollywood. Had it not been for Frank, Jr., who had a large circle of friends and was popular with most everyone in town, she would have lived the life of a recluse.

Kate however, was clearly a brilliant and highly educated woman and had a small but significant library in her home. She was also an accomplished artist, having painted several beautiful pictures which decorated her West Selma Street home.

However there evidently were problems at home and on occasions she made references to her husband who worked in Washington D.C., and with whom she said she could not live. She told neighbors that she came to California on account of Frank’s health but that the real reason was that she and her husband could not agree. What friends she had stated that she never made any definite charges against him, but, from her strange manner and her continual efforts to confide her troubles to someone, the information was not taken too seriously.

Not long after, the Raymond’s separated and Frank returned to Washington D.C. full time and left Kate and Frank Jr. in Hollywood. “We were never able to get along well together,” Raymond later testified. “My wife was always of a high strung nature and always wanted things I could not get for her.”

Several times she confided her problems to the wife of Dr. H.A. Newell, pastor of the Presbyterian Church where Frank attended Sunday school. She said they had little to live on and her husband failed to send enough money to support her in comfort. On occasions she often talked of suicide which horrified Mrs. Newell, who tried to get her to look upon the pleasant side of life. Kate’s Hollywood neighbors believed that she was deranged and referred to her as “that crazy woman.”

In early 1906, Kate and Frank Jr. visited Washington D.C. where she attempted reconciliation with her husband, which was unsuccessful. Upon her return to Hollywood she appeared to be more dejected and Frank also reflected his mothers’ sorrows and illusions.

After returning from the east she volunteered at a rummage sale for the Presbyterian Church where she said she worked hard and sold many items but didn’t take a receipt. Several days later it was whispered at the Ladies Aid society meeting that she had appropriated them. Some used the term kleptomania in connection with her name and others were less kind. The items were valued at less than a dollar.

She evidently proved her innocence and wanted a letter of vindication but the pastor said that she was not a member and such a letter could not be given. It was also stated that it would be an admission that the church was wrong and so Kate may sue them for libel. She appealed to the minister, who she said “shut the door of his home” in her face and would have nothing to do with her even though she begged him to give her a fair hearing.

Kate brooded over this for days. “I had tried so hard and it was an awful shock to me,” she later said. “Every time I looked at my boy his innocent little soul seemed to appeal to me and tell me that the lad’s good intentions would be misunderstood and that he would fare no better than myself among a world of criminals.”

She began to believe that Frank would be better off if she sent him to “his Maker.” She waited and finally the shame of what the women in the church had said about her worked on her conscience and she decided her son should be spared from the consequences of any sin she may have committed.

Within a few days Kate attempted to buy chloroform from the local pharmacy, saying she intended to clean some clothes. The druggist argued with her about the amount she needed and offered to give her a small medicine bottle full instead.

Word quickly spread that Kate was trying to purchase chloroform and a well-known Hollywood resident learned of it and telephoned the drug store and warned the druggist to not sell it to her. When she heard this Kate fainted and fell to the floor. In her disorientation she said:

“I want to take myself and my son out of this wicked world, where he will be away from the temptation to swear and steal and cheat as the other boys do. I want him to leave here as pure as he came into the world.”

Because of this, Frank was summoned from Washington because Kate was about to be examined for insanity, but when she promised to accompany her husband back to Washington, no action was taken. At the last moment she refused to return east with him.

Because the numbering of the streets were changed in Hollywood around 1910, the exact location of the Raymond house is not known, but it was near the intersection of Selma and Las Palmas Avenue (above). The address at the time was 450 West Selma Avenue.  

On Tuesday, April 10, 1906, Kate and Frank Jr. worked around the grounds of the house. Kate told the gardener, Mr. Cranblit, that the next day she would leave him a letter on the doorstep instructing him what was to be done, explaining that she might sleep a little later than usual and did not wish to be awakened.

That evening she wrote two notes. One was addressed to her mother, Martha Cooper who lived in San Diego, and the other to Mrs. Cranbilt, the gardener’s wife.

“My Dear Mother: To you I leave all in this house – what you care to give to Mrs. Cranblit. She lived in a little house in the rear, and has a warm, kind heart. This shock will nearly kill you, too, and our separation will not be for long.

“In this better world we will come to understand things better than we did here, where all the mists will be cleared away. My boy will be safe from other temptations of this wicked world. I ask the forgiveness of any I have ever wronged intentionally. The world is against me and this is the only cowardly act I’ve ever been guilty of doing.”

In her note to Mrs. Cranblit she wrote:

“The God I’ve tried to serve so faithfully has forsaken me, and I cannot leave my boy to this wicked part of the world where he will be considered weak-minded if he does not lie and cheat.”

That evening, Kate waited until Frank went to sleep and then entered his room. He was lying on the lounge with his face turned towards her.  She packed the door and windows with towels then locked the door and turned on the gas. Kate kneeled on the floor beside her son.

The next morning, as Cranblit approached the house he detected the odor of gas. He rushed to the neighbors residences and, with two other men, broke down the rear door. The men were almost knocked to the ground by the amount of gas that rushed out of the kitchen. It was several minutes before they could enter.

Once Cranblit could finally enter the bedroom, he found Frank lying dead on the lounge and Kate, moving slightly, was half way under one of the beds.  Cranblit dragged Kate through the kitchen to the screen porch. Dr. Edwin O. Palmer, Hollywood’s city health officer was notified and a nurse was brought in to attend to Kate until she regained consciousness.

“Where is my boy—my little Frank,” Kate asked.

Neighbors who had gathered at the house did not speak of her son’s death, instead telling her that he had been taken away. They assured her that her mother was on her way to Los Angeles.

“I do not wish to see my mother,” Kate screamed. “Don’t allow her to come into this house. I never wish to see her again in my life. My only regret is that I did not kill myself.”

When her mother did arrive later that night, she was met by her son, John Cooper, who took her directly to Hollywood. Cooper put the blame directly on his sister. Her inability to live with her husband was on account of her actions and treatment of him, and was due to her mental condition. Mrs. Cooper claimed her daughter was a victim of acute melancholia and was given to illusions.

When Frank Raymond was wired of what had happened, the initial report was that both his wife and son were dead. “Mrs. Raymond killed herself and little boy last night. Wire instructions or come on,” read the telegram. Raymond left Washington that night by train for Hollywood.

When the news of Frank’s death became known, it affected his classmates at Fremont grammar school. Out of respect for the dead boy the flag was lowered to half-mast and was kept there until Frank’s burial.

In the meantime, Kate was taken to the county hospital and placed under arrest. When she was informed that her son was dead, she rejoiced and repeated: “I am glad he is dead. It is better for him. He is beyond wickedness now. I will kill myself when I have an opportunity. It will come, I am certain. They cannot prevent my killing myself. It is best for all concerned.” Over the next week Kate was closely watched, day and night, after trying to commit suicide by strangling herself in her bedclothes.

On April 15, 1906 Frank Raymond arrived in Los Angeles. He visited the morgue to view his son’s body, but said little to the attendants at Pierce Brothers morgue. He spoke to Coroner Trout and although he had not lived with his wife for several years he refrained from saying anything bitter about her. However he inferred that he believed his wife was insane for some time, and that criminal action should not be taken against her for the murder of his son.

The citizens of Hollywood were divided over her guilt. Nearly everyone who knew her believed that she was insane but there were others who said she should be charged with murder and be punished for her act. A former neighbor, J.G. Gunsolus and his wife believed that she was not insane when she turned on the gas and killed her son. Kate had often spoken to Mrs. Gunsolus about her family problems and had threatened to take her own life on several occasions.

The following day the inquest was held at the Pierce Brothers where Frank Raymond was asked only a few questions. Kate’s mother told the jury that her daughter had been mentally unsound since the birth of her son.  Other witnesses described the manner in which young Frank was put to death and told how they found the body lying on a little cot, while his unconscious mother was in a kneeling position by the bedside. Other Hollywood residents described Kate as erratic, peculiar and probably insane.

The coroner’s jury took two minutes to find Kate Raymond insane.  Frank Raymond sat close to his son’s body as the verdict was read. “We find that Frank Raymond came to his death through asphyxiation during the temporary insanity of his mother, Mrs. Kate B. Raymond,” the verdict read. It was suggested that Kate would, in all probability, be examined before an insanity commission in the superior court and sent to an asylum.

That afternoon, the funeral of Frank Raymond Jr. was held in the chapel of Hollywood Cemetery.

The grave of fourteen-year-old murder victim, Frank Raymond at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Bottom center of photo is the tombstone of Frank Raymond. The grave is located in the far north eastern section of Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

 Afterward, Raymond paid a visit to his wife at the county hospital.

The following day Kate appeared before the board of insanity commissioners. When her case was called, she went forward, slowly unwrapped the white veil from her face and smiled at the men who were about to try her. “I killed little Frank you know,” she told the shocked men. “I just killed him that was all. Now that I have sent his sweet, sinless soul to the protecting arms of the Maker, I am willing, only too willing, that my soul should be lost forever. I gave up my hope of the hereafter in order that he might be spared, and do you think I am unhappy that it is so?”

Kate was committed to the Southern California State Hospital in San Bernardino, California. Frank Raymond divorced his wife and later remarried. He eventually became the private secretary for Congressman Thomas F. Ryan of Topeka, Kansas. Raymond died in January 1914 and was buried at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington D.C.

Kate was released from the asylum in early 1910 and took a ship to San Francisco and found a job as a waitress in a restaurant on Sixth Street. On the boat she met a man and got involved in a scheme with him, posing as persons of wealth. They checked into the St. Francis Hotel and cashed a bad check for $75. Her accomplice was arrested.  

For two years Kate roamed around California. Finally on June 8, 1912, the body of Kate Raymond was found on a Santa Barbara beach. While she was washed up by the waves, there was no water found in her lungs. It was believed that she first took poison. The two paragraph newspaper report told of her earlier attempts at suicide and the death of her son. The headline read: “Finally Succeeds.”

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HOLLYWOOD HISTORY

Hollywood folk join forces in attack on holiday turkeys

Premieres, parties and sports vie for attention of Thanksgiving merrymakers

By Marshall Kester

Los Angeles Times

November 29, 1936

Theresa and Tom Turkey certainly took a beating under the carving hands of prominent film folk on Thursday. Abetted by tart cranberry sauce and tasty chestnut dressing, the roast gobblers sacrificed all that the idols of the world might wear a series of benign, well-fed expressions.

Thanksgiving dinners this year followed closely on the heels of a most busy, appetite-inducing twenty four hours. The highly successful Lloyds of London premiere and The Helpers party Wednesday night, together with exciting USC-UCLA pigskin parade on Thursday, were incentive for many ladle gatherings. Now we are in the midst of tapering off for a week on turkey has—something the Pilgrims didn’t anticipate.

Lovely Jeanette MacDonald and her mother, Mrs. Anna MacDonald, held forth in their Hancock Park home with plenty of turkey and trimmings for Mr. and Mrs. John Mack Brown, Dr. Lawrence Singleton, Mrs. Lela Rogers, Ginger Rogers, Mary Brian, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hargreaves (Helen Ferguson), Virginia Reid, Grace Adele Newell, Georges Jomier, Robert Marlow, and her fiancé, Gene Raymond.

Anita Louise and her mother, Mrs. Ann Beresford, have leased the Rod La Rocque mansion in Hollywood. Here they co-hostessed a Thanksgiving party for Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Walser, Mrs. Pauline Miller, David Blankenhorn, John Blankenhorn and George Blankenhorn, Thomas Beck, Eloise Lewis, Marie Rouse, Mr. And Mrs. Sheridan and Mr. Dryden.

Glenda Farrell turned on a fancy feast at her home for her family and a few close friends. Imbibing portions of the glorified fowl were Glenda’s father, Charles Farrell, Gene and Dick Farrell, Jerry Hopper, and the hostess’ young son, Tommy Farrell.  Drew Eberson took Glenda to the football game before setting down to the turkey.

Sue and Chester Morris spread a real family dinner for their youngsters, Brooks and Cynthia; his mother and sister, Mrs. William Morris and Miss Willy Morris, and his brother and sister-in-law, Mr. And Mrs. Adrian Morris. Mr. and Mrs. Cedric Gibbons (Dolores Del Rio) enjoyed a quiet but thorough dinner with their mother, Mrs. J.L. Asunsolo.

Eloise and Pat O’Brien invited their respective families to come join their festive banquet and Brian Donlevy hosted a big dinner for his fiancée, Marjorie Lane; her mother, Mrs. E. W. Lane, and brothers Jack and Bob Lane. Mr. and Mrs. John Monk Saunders carved a golden-brown bird at a quiet dinner with their young daughter, Susan Cary Saunders. Doris Dudley’s turkey was shattered by Fritz Lang, her aunt and two cousins of Pasadena.

Down at Palm Springs, the Ralph Bellamy’s turned on the main course and all the extras for his father and mother, Mr. And Mrs. Rexford Bellamy, and sister and brother-in-law. Joby and Dick Arlen seated at their heavily laden board their young son Ricky; Dick’s sister, Mrs. Edward B. Lilly, Joby’s father and brother, Joseph Ralston and E. A. Ralston.

Marsha Hunt celebrated with a double incentive for the party. She had just completed her biggest picture at the same time her new home in Westwood was ready for occupancy. Guests on hand for a buffet supper, dancing and games were Eleanore Whitney, Mary Carlisle, June Martel, John Howard, Lee Bowman, Johnny Downs and Robert Cummings.

Well, the turkeys have had their day—at their own expense!

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HOLLYWOOD HISTORY

‘Fatty’ Arbuckle and Hollywood’s first scandal

By Jude Sheerin

BBC News, Washington

Guests to San Francisco’s Westin St Francis Hotel still ask to see the room where an infamous bootleg-booze-soused party took place 90 years ago.

The management are happy to show visitors the suite, if it’s unoccupied, but they don’t know exactly what happened in there on Labor Day in 1921 – no-one does.

One thing is clear: In Room 1219 that afternoon, an actress by the name of Virginia Rappe was screaming in agony on a bed.

Later that week she was dead.

And the man charged with her death was Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, Hollywood’s first one-million-dollar star.

Click here to continue reading…

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By Allan R. Ellenberger

For the first time in its history, emissaries from leading Hollywood organizations took part in observance of Memorial Day 1929, which included the unveiling of a marble replica of Antonio Canova’s sculptural masterpiece, “Cupid and Psyche, or Love’s Triumph Over Death,” in plaisance before the memorial chapel of Hollywood Cemetery.

The ceremonies would be conducted under the auspices of Hollywood Post, No. 43, of the American Legion, with other organizations participating including such groups as Hollywood First Presbyterian Church, Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, Hollywood and Fairfax High School Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), Hollywood Bowl Association, Veterans of Foreign Wars, G.A.R. and the Hollywood Police Department.

Above, the ‘Cupid and Psyche’ replica on display at Lake Como 

where the Hollywood Forever replica was carved.

The exact replica of “Cupid and Psyche,” carved from Italian marble, was ordered by Hollywood Cemetery’s manager, Frank Heron and was carved at Lake Como, Italy at a cost of approximately $25,000. Another replica carved by a student of Canova’s still rests in Lake Como and was the inspiration for the Hollywood Cemetery reproduction.

Canova’s original called ‘Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss,’ first commissioned in 1787, was donated to the Louvre Museum in Paris in 1824 by Joachim Murat; Prince Yusupov, a Russian nobleman who originally acquired the piece in Rome in 1796, gave a later version (created in 1796) to the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.

Above, the original Canova statue at the Louvre

Art representatives in Europe assured Frank Heron that few experts could tell the difference between the original and the replica being sent to Hollywood. The statue is reputed to be the only marble replica of the masterpiece in the United States. There were three copies of “Cupid and Psyche” in America but they were made of plaster – at the Metropolitan, Chicago and Carnegie Museums. The statue reached New York City on May 9, 1929 and arrived in Hollywood two weeks later.

On Thursday, May 30, 1929, Hollywood’s first Memorial Day parade assembled at the Legion Stadium on El Centro and, with a police escort and the Hollywood Legion band leading, proceeded down El Centro to Sunset Boulevard, west on Sunset to Vine, south to Santa Monica and east on Santa Monica to Hollywood Cemetery where Memorial Day services were conducted.

Dr. H. M. Cook, world traveler, was master of ceremonies. The principal feature of the exercises was the unveiling of the marble replica of “Cupid and Psyche,” in front of the Chapel of the Pines followed by addresses from Judge Rosenkranz and Mrs. Leland Atherton Irish, the military salute to the dead and decorating of soldiers’ graves. More than 300 veterans of all wars were buried in Hollywood Cemetery at the time.

The United Daughters of the Confederacy, under the direction of Mrs. Thomas Jefferson Douglas, conducted a service at the Confederate plot. A brief address was delivered by W. E. Edmondson, retired chaplain of the United States Navy and of the American Legion of California.

On Monday, May 30, 2011, the statue will celebrate 82 years at its present location.

It’s rumored that when Jean Harlow died in 1937, her fiancé William Powell considered purchasing the statue for her final resting place but decided on Forest Lawn in Glendale instead.

I have no idea if the statue is still available for purchase or the asking price if it is, however it certainly would make a beautiful and historic permanent residence.

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HOLLYWOOD HISTORY

Margaret W. Rowen: Hollywood’s prophetess of doom

By Allan R. Ellenberger

If you haven’t already heard, it’s been prophesied that the end of the world will occur on Saturday, May 21 according to evangelist Harold Camping, an 89-year-old evangelist who owns Family Radio, a vast international network of Christian radio stations. Camping has been predicting the end of the world for the past two years; however a similar prediction went unrealized in the mid-1990s. Camping and his followers say that at 6 p.m. on May 21, in each time zone, the ground will quake, graves will open and many of the dead will ascend to heaven. Two hundred million of the ‘saved’ — dead or alive — will float up. Those left behind will be doomed to live among destruction and disease for five months before God annihilates the Earth on October 21.

Whether Camping’s prophesy will be fulfilled is still to be determined. However few are aware that Hollywood once had its own prophet – or prophetess, who also predicted the end of the world.

In 1923, Margaret W. Rowen, a prophet in the Reformed Seventh Day Adventist Church, prophesied that the world would end on Friday, February 6, 1925 and that Christ, coming to earth a second time, would call the faithful to assemble on a hill near Hollywood.

Rowen became an Adventist in 1912. She claimed to receive her first vision on June 22, 1916 which she shared with members of a prayer group at her South Side Los Angeles Church, gaining a small following. Several church leaders, especially Dr. Bert E. Fullmer, supported her. In 1918, church investigators had concluded her visions were not of heavenly origin. The following year Rowen, Fullmer and at least two other ministers were excommunicated.

In 1920, a document was found in the files of Adventist’s church cofounder, Ellen G. White, dated August 10, 1911 and was assumed to be written by White that announced Rowen as a succeeding prophetess. At its peak, the Rowenite movement had around 1,000 followers. Afterward, Rowen gave several false predictions, however this did not prevent her from trying again. In November 1923, Rowen announced that the world would end on February 6, 1925, and convinced a group of followers to accept her assertions.

In late January 1925, it was announced that 144,000 of the chosen would be guided by a light and would assemble on a hill and be saved. Some of Rowen’s followers reportedly sold their property and was making ready for the end. Those who did not find it convenient to come to California prepared for the end wherever they were. From her Hollywood home at 1112 Gower Street, Rowen denied that she had told her followers to sell their property and come to California.

“The righteous who have the attributes of Christ in their daily lives will see Jesus and be caught up with him for 1,000 years,” said Rowen on January 30. “When we received the message we broadcast it by telegraph, by cable and had an airplane distribute handbills making the announcement.”

Rowen said that at the time of her vision, other Adventists in Denmark, Sweden, Italy and India also had the same revelation. She said she had been called on the telephone by four persons. They told her they also heard a voice announcing the coming of Christ on February 6, 1925.

The Seventh Day Adventist Church flatly repudiated Rowen’s claims declaring that they “do not now teach nor have they ever taught that the date can be set for the end of the world as it is entirely contrary to the doctrines of the church.”

On February 4, Rowen’s associate, Dr. Bert E. Fullmer, who lived in the other half of her house on Gower, and recently assumed the mantle of spokesman of the Rowenite cult was called on by the Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Los Angeles. He said he had received various complaints about the management of the earth’s demise and was duty-bound to conduct an investigation.

It was rumored that Rowen left Los Angeles early that morning for an unrevealed destination. Threats had been made against her by telephone and letter. Fullmer admitted she was gone and knew her whereabouts, but declined to name the location or the specific reasons for her departure.

On February 6 – the day of reckoning – Rowen and approximately 100 of her followers gathered at a secret meeting place on a hill between Hollywood and Pasadena to await the sign of the second coming of Christ, which was predicted for midnight. A veil of drizzling mist hid the hill tops where Rowen’s cult was assembled. Reportedly, they awaited the appearance of a black cloud which would be invisible to the unbeliever. They believed that the elect would be transported to a mountain near San Diego to watch the fire and pestilence ravage the earth. The elect would then start on a seven day trip to heaven, stopping at various planets for food and to gather other souls.

At midnight a reporter rang the door bell of Rowen’s Gower Street home where lights were burning. Instantly the lights went out. That was the only sign that uninvited observers were able to reach in connection with the proclaimed hour of fulfillment.

When the Second Coming failed to materialize according to Rowen’s prediction, her close associates worked on an explanation of why the big event was a failure. Rowen was in seclusion and there were growing rumors that she had left Los Angeles and was not expected to return. Fullmer was sequestered at his home and was said to be ill. Rowen’s followers were divided on the ill-advised prophecy. Some were disappointed in having failed to see the sign of the second resurrection of Christ, the heavenly searchlight, and the beginning of the doom of the earth. Others still expressed faith in the divine origin of Rowen’s visions and were content in the belief that the second coming was at hand.

On February 26, Rowan and Fullmer came out of hiding and appeared before the city’s chief investigator and denied any fraudulent dealings with members of her church or that she had influenced any of them to dispose of personal effects to make donations to her cause. “I have not been in hiding,” Rowen told the investigators, “but have simply tried to avoid the annoyances which may people have attempted to heap upon me.”

She denied that her followers had been diminished or had lost faith in her leadership.

“There was no miscalculation in the date,” Rowen claimed. “But we did not predict that the world would end on February 6. We were simply misquoted. The coming of Christ does not mean the end of the world. The earth is now the home of the saved. What we meant was that Jesus would return to earth on a cloud from heaven.”

Nothing came of the investigation and it was a year until Rowen was heard of again. She and Fullmer had a falling out and he went public admitting that he had planted the 1920 fraudulent document describing Rowen as a prophetess in the Ellen G. White archives. In the March 1926 issue of a church periodical, he presented his conclusion that Rowen was a fraud. In response, she and two of her followers conspired to murder him. They lured Fullmer to an auto camp in North Hollywood on February 27, 1926 and assaulted him with a piece of gas pipe and a hypodermic needle containing a solution of morphine.

Rowen and her cohorts were sentenced to prison terms for “assault with a deadly weapon, with intent to do great bodily harm.” Before they could proceed with another trial for attempted murder, Fullmer died. Rowen served a one-year sentence in San Quentin State Prison, by which time her movement had fallen apart. When Rowen was released from prison, she fled from parole, and disappeared from public life. It is thought that she may have spent a number of years in Florida before she returned to the Los Angeles area under a pseudonym. She is believed to have died in the late 1940s or 1950s. 

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HOLLYWOOD HISTORY

A Star is Born — Charlie Chaplin’s

By Allan R. Ellenberger

This year marks the 5oth anniversary of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The idea for the Walk of Fame, which is world famous, goes back to 1953 when E. M. Stuart, who served as the volunteer president of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce proposed the idea. Stuart described the Walk as a means to “maintain the glory of a community whose name means glamour and excitement in the four corners of the world.” A committee was appointed to begin fleshing out the idea. In 1960, 1,550 honorees were selected by committees representing the four branches of the entertainment industry at that time, and were laid out on the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard and two blocks of Vine Street – everyone that is, except for comedian Charlie Chaplin.

Chaplin’s name was in the original list nominated for inclusion in the walk back in 1956, but Hollywood property owners objected to Chaplin, charging his moral and leftwing leanings tended to discredit him and the entertainment industry. His star was not included.

In 1952 Chaplin had left Hollywood on a visit to England and while aboard ship in the Atlantic, was notified that his reentry permit had been revoked. Atty. Gen. James P. McGranery said the action had been prompted by “public charges” associating Chaplin with communism and “grave moral charges.” The comedian would have to appear at a hearing to prove his “moral worth” before he could return. Chaplin, who was still a British subject, declined to go through such a hearing. “Since the end of the last world war,” Chaplin said, “I have been the object of lies and propaganda by powerful reactionary groups who, by their influence and by the aid of America’s yellow press, have created an unhealthy atmosphere in which liberal-minded individuals can be singled out and persecuted. Under these conditions I find it virtually impossible to continue my motion-picture work, and I have therefore given up my residence in the United States.” Chaplin and his family moved to a mansion overlooking Lake Geneva near the Swiss village of Vevey.

That government ruling was widely and correctly interpreted as a shabby cover to bar Chaplin from the country for political reasons. While he never belonged to a political party, he was sympathetic to liberal and some radical causes. Worse, he was outspoken. And some of his films, which ridiculed aspects of American society, were denounced as “left-wing propaganda.”

In August 1960, a superior court judge refused to issue an order compelling the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the Hollywood Improvement Association to show cause why they should not be directed to include Chaplin’s name on the Walk of Fame. The court acted on a petition filed by Charles Chaplin, Jr., who contended that omission of his father’s name from the Hollywood Boulevard sidewalk project was malicious. Chaplin Jr. himself demanded $400,000 damages on the complaint that the decision of the two Hollywood organizations libeled him and injured his career. His suit was eventually dismissed.

After the reentry prohibition against Chaplin was dropped years later, the actor remained in Switzerland. As the years passed, both Chaplin and the times changed and, in an interview in London in 1962, he said: “What happened to me, I can’t condemn or criticize the country for that. There are many admirable things about American and its system, too. I have no ill feelings. I carry no hate. My only enemy is time.”

By the early days of 1972, the officials, including an attorney general of the United States, who were outraged at Chaplin’s radically-tinged politics, were now gone. It was rumored that Chaplin would return to the United States for the first time in twenty years to receive a special Academy Award voted to him. If Chaplin decided to return, he would have to apply to the U.S. Consulate in Geneva for an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa. The U.S. State Department would then rule on the application.

Possibly because of Chaplin’s promising return, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s Executive Committee voted on whether to approve a star for the actor and voted 5 to 4 against it. After that vote, Chamber president, A. Ronald Button ordered an advisory poll of chamber membership that responded 3 to 1 in favor of installing a Chaplin star. Based on that, the Chambers directors went against their Executive Committees recommendation and voted 30 to 3 in favor of adding Chaplin’s name to the sidewalk honor. The decision still had to be approved by the Los Angeles City Council, but Button said it had always approved the directors’ recommendations in the past. “I can’t imagine them opposing the star,” he said. Eventually the city council approved Chaplin’s star, 11 to 3. The three dissenting councilmen never spoke publicly in opposition, but privately complained that since the comedian earned his money here he should not have left the country to live in Switzerland.

At the time there were eighty names previously approved that had not yet been inserted because the funds were not available. This was before the days when a star had to be paid for by fans. Instead each star’s installation was funded by the Chamber which, at the time, cost between $900 and $1,000. However, one unnamed board member offered to pay for the installation of Chaplin’s star. At that time it was not known where or when the installation would take place.

Soon it was announced that after an exile of two decades, Chaplin would return to the United States and be honored with a special award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Before leaving Switzerland for New York, Chaplin received anonymous death threats, most by telephone saying they were going to kill him. “He expected to be shot over here,” said William Jordan, whose private detective firm was hired by the Academy to guard Chaplin during his four-day visit to Los Angeles. “That was his line. He said, ‘They killed Mr. Kennedy.’ I can’t give you the exact number but there were at least a dozen. They were coming into the Music Center – site of the Oscar presentation – and they called his hotel.” Sometimes they specified they were going to blow him up or shoot him. Sometimes they didn’t specify how it would be done.

On April 7, 1972, the 82 year-old Chaplin and his wife Oona arrived at Los Angeles International Airport. Photographers, cameramen and reporters lined a walkway that extended from the plane to a waiting car. Finally, after a quick flurry of activity, Chaplin appeared at the top of the terminal stairs. He was short, almost portly. His white hair was wispy in the breeze. As he reached the base of the stairs he looked up and smiled at the row of waiting reporters. There were no cheers, no applause. He waved, and his words were barely audible. “How does it feel to be back, Mr. Chaplin?” a reporter asked. “Very strange,” was his reply.

Oona and Charles Chaplin on their arrival in Los Angeles in 1972

Only two representatives from Hollywood awaited him at the end of the walkway – Daniel Taradash, president of the Academy and Howard W. Koch, a member of the board of governors and the Academy’s treasurer. “This is the happiest moment in the history of Hollywood,” Taradash told Chaplin. The comedian, perhaps unable to hear amidst the commotion, shook his hand but reportedly said nothing. Chaplin was taken to the Beverly Hills Hotel, passing Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios in Culver City and 20th Century-Fox en route. His car did not stop or slow down. Chaplin made no public appearances, interviews or tours while he was in Los Angeles and turned down many of the private invitations he received.

During Chaplin’s arrival that morning, a statue of him was unveiled at the Hollywood Visitors and Information Center at Hollywood and Vine to commemorate his return. Almost immediately bomb threats and complaints poured in forcing the removal of the statue the following day to the Artisan’s Patio at 6727 Hollywood Boulevard, where it went on public display. Letters from across the country were received expressing bitterness towards Chaplin and Hollywood’s welcome after twenty years. “I am tired, tired to death of these insane Revolutionary Zionists of which Charlie Chaplin is one of the very worst,” wrote one critic. There were several defenders – by far the minority – among the letter writers, and one expressed a common sentiment: “His political beliefs of whatever persuasion should not be allowed to obscure his comic genius.”

Threats were also leveled at the dedication of Chaplin’s Walk of Fame bronze star ceremony which was scheduled for the following Monday morning – the same day Chaplin would receive his special Oscar. Anonymous telephone threats that the star would be ripped up or defaced were received. One letter writer said: “The only star I would give Charlie Chaplin is a red star… I am against putting Chaplin’s name on any of our streets. He never donated a dime or time to anything in America. I say don’t let him enter these United States again. Russians can have him with my compliments.”

The following Monday morning, fans and several armed guards, gathered at the northwest corner of Hollywood Boulevard and McCadden Place as the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce officials uttered words of benediction over Chaplin’s star. Chaplin’s 12 year-old granddaughter, Susan Maree Chaplin, unveiled the star in her famous grandfather’s absence. The dedication ceremony was attended by many Hollywood oddities including “Alice of Hollyweird,” with her singing dogs; Albert Ciremele, a Chaplin impersonator, and “Aunt Pollu,” sweeping up the street with a gold-speckled mop. Also attending were several Keystone Cops, only one of whom, Eddie LeVeque, was an original. In the crowd were several old, white-haired women passing out a sheet of paper purporting to show “Charlie Chaplin’s Red Record.” To anyone who would listen, they would rail on about Chaplin’s political philosophy.

The Chamber of Commerce hired private detectives to guard Chaplin’s star until the actor returned to Switzerland. One guard commented that some person’s walking by had made derogatory remarks but “most of the people are pro-Chaplin.”

Charlie Chaplin’s Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (above and below) as it looks today at 6755 Hollywood Boulevard

That evening, Chaplin and Oona were accompanied by private bodyguards and driven to the Music Center where he received his special Oscar for “the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century.” Stepping onto the stage of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Chaplin received the longest standing ovation in Academy Award history, lasting a full five minutes. Filled with emotion, Chaplin told the captivated audience: “Oh, thank you so much. This is an emotional moment for me, and words seem so futile, so feeble. I can only say that… thank you for the honor of inviting me here, and, oh, you’re wonderful, sweet people. Thank you.”

Chaplin after accepting his honorary Oscar

Before he returned home to Switzerland, Chaplin met with Tim Durant, an old friend, confidant, roommate and sportsman. According to Durant, Chaplin was bewildered by the Los Angeles he came back to as an old, uncertain, rheumy-eyed man. Chaplin would look out, but didn’t seem to recognize the beaches at Santa Monica, where in the old days Marion Davies would hire a bus and run down to the beach at night and light a fire and hunt grunion with Charlie and Douglas Fairbanks and Rudolph Valentino till dawn. One day he turned to Durant to shake his hand, and tears came to his eyes. “Tim, we were pals, weren’t we?” Chaplin asked. “And we did have fun, didn’t we? And it’s all gone now, isn’t it?”

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HOLLYWOOD HISTORY

After fire, Universal Studios reopens backlot

Producer Steven Spielberg center, crosses a street with a building facade after a dedication ceremony for Universal Studios newly rebult New York Street backlot locations, at the studio in Universal City, Calif., Thursday, May 27, 2010. A fixture in Hollywood for decades, New York Street, which consists of 13 city blocks of buildings has been the setting of commercials, television shows and feature films. The shooting location burned in an accidental fire on June 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) (Reed Saxon, AP / May 27, 2010)

Beginning yesterday, visitors to Universal Studios Hollywood can see the new New York Street backlot, which replaces the famous location ruined in a fire two years ago.

A fixture in Hollywood for decades, the backlot is primarily designed to let filmmakers shoot New York, London, Paris and other places without actually having to leave Los Angeles. Visitors can catch a view of the newly rebuilt four acres on Universal’s behind-the-scenes studio tours by tram.

The Universal Studios back lot fire two years ago recalls blazes that have occured there since the studio moved to that location in 1915. All the major studios have had fires at one time or another but Universal seems to have had more than their fair share. What follows is a brief history of fires at Universal over the years.

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Historic fires at Universal Studios

by Allan R. Ellenberger  

March 25, 1913

Before Universal moved to their present location, their studio was at Gower Street and Sunset Boulevard. Very early in the morning, the studio was totally destroyed by a fire that began in the film storehouse and was believed to have been caused by spontaneous combustion.

Several outdoor stages, dressing rooms, outbuildings, offices, scenery storeroom and other buildings, all made of wood, were burned to the ground. For a time the Hollywood branch office of the Sunset Telephone Company and near-by residences were threatened.

September 29, 1917

A fire started from an unknown origin in the dry grass and spread to a two-story building on one of the western streets just a short distance from the wardrobe building. Members of the Universal fire department and most every able bodied man fought to extinguish the flames. Sparks from the burning buildings were carried to one of the stages and set fire to a number of the overhead diffusers. Actors helped to put them out.

Sparks also fell on the roof of the new electric light studio, which was constructed only a few weeks earlier, but a group of men quickly put it out. For a while, it was feared that the $4,000,000 studio would be seriously damaged, however, the loss was estimated at $10,000.

Not to waste the opportunity, several cameramen trained their cameras upon the fire scenes which would be placed in stock for use in future films.

June 3, 1919

A stubborn fire aided by a strong wind blowing into the San Fernando Valley was intent to destroy everything on the Universal back lot (back ranch). However, being in an unincorporated district, the nearby Hollywood fire station declared Universal City to be beyond its jurisdiction. Actor Harry Carey, who was filming scenes for Rider of the Law (1919) gathered several of his fellow cowboy actors to help fight the fire. They hauled a hose from the studio to the crest of one of the hills where there was a huge water tank and sprayed the hillsides from there. The blaze destroyed sets and equipment on three of the hills and damage was set at $5,000 and might have amounted to more had not Carey and the other men acted so quickly.

May 25, 1922

A short-circuited electric wire, which whipped through an open doorway of a cutting room, ignited more than 100,000 feet of film. The huge coils of film flared up instantly with flames sweeping through the room, endangering near-by buildings. Padlocked metal boxes of film exploded with the heat, showering the vicinity with steel splinters that embedded themselves in the walls.

The explosion, smoke and fire that followed caused a near-panic among the hundreds of studio employees. Actress Priscilla Dean rushed up a flight of stairs to the burning room, intent on saving the film of her picture, Under Two Flags, (1922) which was just being completed. She tripped on a flowing oriental robe (part of her costume) she was wearing and sprained her ankle.

At a loss of four cents a foot, more than 185,000 feet of film was destroyed including Under Two Flags and the footage for five other productions.

Tod Browning, who directed Under Two Flags, was about to leave for his home when the fire started. Irving Thalberg, director-general of the studio; Julius Bernhein, Leo McCarey and Arthur Ripley (film editor), all made an effort to reach the cutting room but were forced back by the flames.

Thalberg estimated that the property damage from the fire and the loss of film would come to more than a half-million dollars.

December 23, 1922

Just seven months later another fire ravaged the studio under similar circumstances when an electric lamp short circuited and ignited more than a million feet of film. An explosion shook the building, knocking down a woman standing fifty feet from the source. Fortunately the fire was prevented from spreading to the adjoining scenic shop where large amounts of paint, chemicals and inflammable materials were stored.

The fire broke out at 3:50 pm, and was battled by fire-fighting apparatus on the premises. Special effects man, Edward Bush and actor Norman Kerry, who was still dressed in his Austrian costume from Merry-Go-Round (1923), rushed into the building ahead of the fireman. However, both were overcome by fumes from the burning film and were carried out unconscious. They were attended to at the Universal City Emergency Hospital. Actors Herbert Rawlinson and Art Acord were among those who also aided in fighting the flames.

The studio was not seriously damaged but a total of 1,100,000 feet of film was destroyed. This included footage for between thirty-five and forty films which was being edited including One of Three (1923) from the Yorke Norroy film series starring Roy Stewart. It was estimated to cost approximately $250,000 to reshoot the pictures. The destroyed film was valued at about $100,000.

February 26, 1923

A “prop” fire became a genuine blaze and damaged a cabin set and singed every actor in the filming of an episode of The Phantom Fortune (1923) serial. William Desmond suffered slight burns and minor lacerations when he dragged Cathleen Calhoun from the burning cabin with her costume ablaze. Esther Ralston suffered scorched hands, arms and back. Robert F. Hill, the director, was burned about the neck and ears. Cameraman, “Buddy” Harris had his right hand severely burned. Three electricians and a property man also sustained minor injuries.

The fire was caused by flares used to simulate flames that ignited the woodwork of the set. All the injured were given emergency treatment at the studio hospital and then taken home.

Universal Film Corporation, 1924 (LAPL)

August 27, 1925

A fire broke out on the set of The Midnight Sun (1926) starring Laura La Plante and Pat O’Malley. Five hundred extras were thrown into a panic, many of them trampled under foot and two injured slightly when a gigantic set representing the interior of the Petrograd Imperial Ballet was swept by fire.

The cause of the blaze was a sputtering overhead-arc light which came in contact with a huge drapery, part of the decorations imported from Paris for the production. Three days of shooting had to be reshot because of the destruction of the draperies which could not be duplicated. The estimated damage to the set was $15,000.

April 8, 1927

A fire started in the editing room when a lamp burned out and a spark flew into a stack of film. The fire, which threatened to spread, was confined to the single building, but the building was destroyed.

Many thousands of feet of film had to be reshot. Among the films destroyed was Reginald Denney’s Fast and Furious (1927). The loss due to the fire was estimated at $10,000.

January 7, 1931

A blaze started in a frame structure used for cutting short-length films. The cutters narrowly escaped when the room burst into flames. They were slightly overcome by fumes generated by the burning film, but were revived in the studio infirmary. The studio fire department confined the fire to the one building. Damage was placed at $10,000 to the film and $5,000 to the building.

October 25, 1932

A brush fire broke out in the woodlands behind Universal and swept through fifteen acres of land and destoyed two film sets valued at $10,000. While the main stages and sets were not in danger, the sets destroyed were used in Frankenstein (1931) and the William Wyler film, A House Divided (1931).

September 8, 1937

A brush fire fanned by a stiff breeze burned over twenty-two acres on the Universal back lot destroying three houses used as a motion-picture set. A score of wild animals caged near a jungle set and several hillside residences were also in danger of the blaze.

One of the destroyed houses was an old type Spanish ranch that had been used in hundreds of western films. The other two were a part of what was known as the Swiss Village and were originally built in 1922 for a John Barrymore picture.

The wild animals included Universal’s famous black panther, the trained chimpanzee “Skippy,” and numerous lions, leopards and other animals. The collection was valued at $50,000.

The estimated damage to the back lot was $10,000.

December 23, 1954

A fire broke out on the set of One Desire (1955) starring Anne Baxter and Rock Hudson. The script called for Baxter to throw a book at Hudson, and knock over a kerosene lamp. She did and the flames swept up the drapes, however members of the crew were unable to contain the blaze as it whipped to the ceiling of the sound stage. The heat opened sprinklers over an adjacent stage and caused damage to other sets prepared for the same film.

Universal back lot during the 1957 fire 

September 25, 1957

An acre of permanent street-scene sets was destroyed by a fire that broke out on Universal’s back lot shortly before 5 pm. None of the street scenes involved in the fire was in use. A complete theater set on “New York Street,” a landmark for twenty years, was consumed in the fire. The heat melted and twisted the steel girder frame of the building that had been used in numerous films. The last film to use the set was the remake of My Man Godfrey (1957) starring David Niven. The damage was estimated at $500,000.

May 15, 1967

A fire started in a barn on the “Laramie Street” set and spread north and east over twelve acres of movie and television sets. At times, flames leaped more than 100-feet into the air. The “European,” “Denver” and “Laramie” streets were burned to the ground by the fire which roared out of control for more than an hour.

Wind-blown sparks showered upon nearby Warner Bros. Studios causing at least one minor fire on the roof of the old casting building. Embers were carried as far as NBC Studios, two miles away and across the river to the Lakeside golf course.

The “European” set was originally built in 1930 for filming of All Quiet on the Western Front and had been used for countless films since. The destroyed “Laramie” set was used for the television show Laredo and the “Denver” street for The Virginian series.

The total estimated damage was set at $1 million.

The famous Courthouse Square set at Universal that once again escaped destruction. (Universal Studios)

November 6, 1990

A spectacular fire ravaged four acres of the Universal back lot and destroyed the New York Street; an adjacent alley set; Brownstone Street; a portion of the Courthouse Square where Back to the Future was filmed and the Dick Tracy Building. Also heavily damaged was the King Kong and Earthquake exhibits on the studio tour.

The New York Street set was used in the films The Sting (1973), and Dick Tracy (1990), among others. Beside the Back to the Future films, the Courthouse Square set was used in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). The fire was set by a studio guard who was later sentenced to four years in prison. Damage was estimated at $25 million.

Ironically, this is in the same area that was destroyed in Sunday’s fire. This time, however, the King Kong exhibit was completely destroyed. Investigators have determined that this fire was caused by workers repairing a roof on the New York Street set.

September 6, 1997

Improperly stored chemicals were blamed for a fire that destroyed the northern side of Courthouse Square. Once again this building was spared.

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 HOLLYWOOD HISTORY

 Senator Cornelius Cole tells of his friend, Abraham Lincoln

Hollywood history is more than celluloid and movie stars. The town also has connections to some of our country’s history. One of the early residents of Hollywood was Senator Cornelius Cole, who named several Hollywood streets for family members and memories of his youth. Cole knew, and was friends with Abraham Lincoln. He sat on the platform listening as Lincoln gave the famous Gettysburg Address, and was one of the last people to visit him at the White House on the day he was assassinated. What follows is Cole’s personal memories of our 16th president.

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By Cornelius Cole

The first time I ever met Abraham Lincoln was in 1863, toward the close of the Civil War. It was in Washington, whither I had hurried from California to see if I could be of any use to my country. My first meeting with Lincoln did not especially impress me with this wonderful American, but later I came to know him better and the more I saw of him the greater grew my admiration and respect for him as a man and friend, and as the possessor of rare genius as a statesman and leader of men.

At that time I had been a resident of California for nearly fifteen years as I had left my native home in New York and made my way across the plains in 1849 when gold was discovered in California. I was one of the fortunate ones in that rush for treasures and after working awhile at placer mining, which was hard labor, I went to San Francisco with all the gold I could carry.

There seems to be a lasting impression about the gold fields of California in ’49 that is absolutely erroneous. I have been asked about the “lawlessness that was rampant” there.

For my part, I never saw any. The men who got to the diggings first, when I was there, were honest, hard-working fellows, who minded their own business and respected the rights of others.

When the war of the Secession began we men living in California organized troops and I joined but never got into the regular service. As I said before, I went to Washington in 1863 to see if there was not something of service I could do. I got as far as the lines at Fredericksburg, but that was the extent of my experience in the war. I next came to Washington as a Congressman and I saw Lincoln again and soon fell under the charm of his extraordinary personality. Later still, as a member of the House, I was so fortunate as to become well acquainted with him and Mrs. Cole and I were on terms of great intimacywith the president and Mrs. Lincoln.

What a man he was! Courageous and patient, strong and tender, thoughtful yet merry — determined, yet forgiving, and quick to pardon.

Some have talked about Lincoln’s “ungainly” figure and his “ugliness” of features. Let me, who knew him intimately, tell you as emphatically as I can that Abraham Lincoln was not ugly.

He was no boor, nor uncouth. He was courteous in the extreme and always had the right word to say in the right place. In his gentle, respectful way he was quite gallant with some of the ladies who attended the White House functions and they all admired him greatly.

Mrs. Cole and I were among those invited one evening to a dinner at the White House, a very fashionable event, and where, as a matter of course, we all wore our best clothes and white gloves. As the evening drew to a close and Mrs. Cole and I were about to say goodnight to the President, she discovered she had lost one of her gloves and asked me to look around the room for it. As I started to do so President Lincoln detained me with his kindly hand and said with a smile:

“Never mind hunting for the glove, Mr. Cole. I’ll look for it myself after the others have gone and I’ll keep it as a souvenir.”

That didn’t sound like the awkward words of an uncouth clown, did it? No, sir; he was polished and elegant at all times.

I was in Gettysburg on that memorable day when he delivered the address in the battlefield dedicating part of the ground as a national cemetery. I sat on the little platform that had been erected, being quite near Lincoln, and heard those memorable words of his. He had a fine speaking voice, rather high pitched but very pleasant and expressive. When he stopped, the crowd sat motionless, absolutely still, and I suppose Mr. Lincoln thought that his speech was a failure. But it was a solemn occassion and the crowd was inclined to be quietly respectful.

I saw Lincoln on the afternoon before the tragic evening when he was assassinated in Ford’s Theater. I was leaving Washington at the time and called to say goodbye to the President. I read of his death the following day.

Monument on the family plot of Cornelius Cole at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

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HOLLYWOOD HISTORY

 Hollywood real estate in the early days

By Allan R. Ellenberger

The above real estate ad appeared in the Los Angeles Times on December 21, 1902. Some of the street names have changed since then — Prospect Avenue is now Hollywood Boulevard and Hartford Avenue is now Bronson and Warner Avenue was renamed Van Ness.

The property in that area was once part of the G. W. Warner estate. Van Ness was at one time Warner Avenue and Carlton and Harold Ways were named for Warner’s two sons; those two street names still survive.

The prices ranged from $800 to $1,575 per lot. The latter price was asked for the corners of Van Ness and Hollywood Boulevard. The corner of Sunset and Wilton Place (then Lemona Avenue) sold for $1,300 as did the corner of  Bronson and Hollywood.

Just 25 years later, the value climbed to where one foot in the vicinity, on Hollywood Boulevard, was then worth five times as much as the entire seventy-five foot lot was in 1902.

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HOLLYWOOD NEWS

Hollywood sign supporters get 16 more days to reaise funds to buy nearby land

Preservationists fighting to protect 138-acres of land near the Hollywood sign have been granted a reprieve.

They will have 16 more days to raise the $12.5 million needed to purchase the land from a group of Chicago investors. The deadline for the sale was Wednesday, but the owners agreed to extend it until April 30, according to Los Angeles City Council Member Tom LaBonge.

The owners, Fox River Financial Resources Inc., bought the land from Howard Hughes’ estate in 2002 for $1.7 million. They put it up for sale two years ago. The property is zoned to build four luxury homes.

LaBonge said $11 million has already been raised, and $1.5 million is still needed to purchase land. Two donors stepped forward Wednesday to help the effort.

Philanthropist Aileen Getty and the Tiffany & Co. Foundation said they would donate a $500,000 matching grant if the community raised $1 million. Getty and the Tiffany Foundation each previously donated $1 million to the campaign.

Over the weekend, supporters held a fundraiser at Lake Hollywood Park.

– Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times

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