Saturday, April 17, 2010

Peter Bogdanovich and Cybill Shepherd Home


I always enjoy flipping through old magazines and now, flipping through electronic archives of old magazines. I recently came across this People magazine article from 1974, on the hot young couple of the time, Peter Bogdanovich and Cybill Shepherd. The article is about the two playing house in their new home in Bel Air, a home once owned by Kay Gable (Clark's fifth wife).


Bogdanovich met Shepherd when he cast her in his 1971 film, The Last Picture Show. Ironically, Bogdanvoich was at a Ralph's grocery store in California when his then wife, Polly Platt, pointed out a model on the cover of Glamour magazine. Platt thought she would be perfect for the part of Jacy. Bogdanovich did cast Shepherd, and an affair began during filming. Eventually, Bogdanovich and Platt would divorce. Jump ahead 3 years after The Last Picture Show, and Bogdanovich and Shepherd were living together, although not married.


Of course, we now know the relationship between Bogdanovich and Shepherd would not last either, but it's interesting to see how in love they were at the time. My favorite part in the article is when Shepherd says, "Peter was so romantic. When he walked into the living room and saw the tile, he said, 'As Valentino used to say, there is nothing like tile for tangoing.'" And the two tangoed.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Every Which Way But Loose - Film Locations

(c) Warner Bros. Entertainment

One of Clint Eastwood's most successful films at the box office is one you might not first suspect. The screwball comedy meets western, Every Which Way But Loose, was Eastwood's highest grossing film up to that point in his career, beating out his previous films like the Dirty Harry series and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. It's a fun film and if you live in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, it's also an interesting look at the area during the late 1970s.

Here are just a few locations from the film located in the Valley:

One of the main locations in Every Which Way But Loose is the the Palomino Club. It's at this country western bar that Philo Beddoe (Eastwood) meets aspiring singer Lynn Halsey-Taylor (Sondra Locke). The Palomino was a real country western nightclub located in North Hollywood, that attracted some of the biggest names in country music during the 50s and 60s, including Johnny Cash, Buck Owens and Willie Nelson. By the 1970s the club started letting some rock acts perform, but was still primarly a western bar. The club ultimately closed in 1995 and now the building is a banquet hall.


The Palomino as seen in Every Which Way But Loose


6907 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood -
Former site of the Palomino nightclub.


 
The Palomino as seen in Every Which Way But Loose


Eastwood and Locke at the Palomino Club

Throughout the film we see Eastwood going around the San Fernando Valley and he is often running into members of a motorcycle gang. During one encounter with two bikers, we see Eastwood in his truck with his pet orangutan in the passenger seat stopped at a red light. Behind them you can see the Burbank breakfast joint, The Corner Cottage. The Corner Cottage is located at 310 S. Victory Blvd, Burbank, CA.


Corner Cottage as seen in Every Which Way But Loose

Corner Cottage, Burbank, CA (April 2010)

The two bikers make fun of the orangutan and in turn the orangutan gives the bikers the finger. This results in a chase scene. At the same intersection of as The Corner Cottage we see the start of the chase.

 Corner of Victory & Verdugo, Burbank, CA

Corner of Victory & Verdugo, Burbank, CA (April 2010)

The chase continues around town. At one point they turn onto Alameda Avenue from Willow Street, right in front of St. Joseph hospital in Burbank.

Every Which Way But Loose - chase seen at Willow & Alameda, Burbank, CA

Alameda  and Willow, Burbank, CA (April 2010)

The building on the right is the Fotokem Industries building. Also nearby are the Disney Studios lot and the NBC studios lot.


Monday, April 5, 2010

Lucille Ball's First Hollywood Home

Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball was working as a model and studying acting in New York, when at the age of 22, she landed a part in the 1933 RKO film, Roman Scandals. The part was small, just a chorus girl role, but it brought her out to Hollywood to appear in the Eddie Cantor vehicle - and that was just the beginning for Lucy.

That small role led to a contract with RKO and meant that Lucy wasn't going back to New York anytime soon. Instead, she convinced her brother, mother, and grandfather to leave New York and join her in California. Lucy rented a home for all of them in West Hollywood, at 1344 North Ogdon Drive.

Lucy's First Home - 1344 N. Ogdon Drive, West Hollywood, CA

Lucy stayed in this home for several years before moving out into her own apartment. Her family continued to live in the home after she left and it was this same home that her grandfather, Fred Hunt, held Communist Party meetings. Lucy would later be called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Although her grandfather was a Communist, Lucy tended to be more conservative.

The house is located between Sunset Boulevard and Fountain Avenue. The Samuel Goldwyn Studios and the RKO lot where Lucy worked during the early part of her career are both under 3 miles from the home - so Lucy didn't have much of a commute.

If you plan to swing by Lucy's old Hollywood home, load up on breakfast first at The Griddle, located just around the corner on Sunset. They have the most amazing pancakes I have ever seen and tasted! And although you won't see Lucy, it is a good place to spot stars getting their breakfast.

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