The Latest Arcadia Book Chronicles the Entertainment Capital’s Heyday

Arcadia Publishing first approached California historian Marc Wanamaker as a supplier of images in the early 2000s.   ’By 2004, I was supplying a lot of pictures for many different books,’ Wanamaker tells the Palisadian-Post. ‘When they finally approached me for photos for a postcard book on movie studios, that was the last straw! So I talked to the editor and he said, ‘Why don’t you do some books with us on the subjects you want?” Four books later, ‘Hollywood 1940”2008’ (Arcadia Publishing), a compilation of vintage images and informative captions, courtesy of Wanamaker, captures every aspect of the world’s entertainment capital, from the glamorous to the mundane, from the residential to the presidential. Hollywood, of course, has evolved over the seven decades covered in Wanamaker’s book, which, for the most part, is a story told via its architecture. ‘I do not have a lot of people in my book,’ Wanamaker says. ‘It’s more about historical sites. The only place we really have people is in the restaurants and theaters.’ In ‘Hollywood,’ you’ll find all of the usual suspects”Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Brown Derby restaurant”but much more interesting to Wanamaker are images of the less obvious locations ‘which have never been printed, published or seen before.’ Those rarities include Castillo del Lago (circa 1960), which, in recent years, Madonna moved into but quickly abandoned under the claim that it was haunted; the French Village (photographed in 1939), a themed apartment building which used to exist on Highland Avenue; and the long-standing Universal News Agency newsstand (1947) at Las Palmas, which was shuttered just before ‘Hollywood’ reached the book stores last month. ‘There’s a lot of discovery in this book,’ Wanamaker says. ‘I was always finding something new.’ Arcadia Publishing’s ‘Images of America’ series occupies a unique niche in the historical-book market. Established in 1993, the South Carolina-based company today boasts a catalog of more than 5,000 titles with hundreds of new releases every year. Arcadia chronicles local history across all 50 states. For California, Arcadia has produced books as diverse as the people who populate our state: ‘Filipinos in Los Angeles,’ ‘Italians in Los Angeles,’ ‘Mexican Americans in Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach,’ ‘Early Amusement Parks of Orange County,’ ‘West Adams,’ ‘Pico Rivera’ and ‘The Port of Los Angeles.’ Other themes have focused on Chinatown, Angels Flight, Pacific Electric Red Cars, Dodger Stadium and the movie studios. Last year saw the release of ‘Brentwood’ (see ‘Brentwood: Then and Now,’ April 16, 2008, in our archives) and this summer will welcome a big surprise. But first, there’s Arcadia’s latest, in which Wanamaker brings back the glamour and sparkle of the entertainment capital of the world, from its heyday to present day. Despite the suggestion of the book’s title, Wanamaker has shunned presenting his material chronologically. Instead, he offers 10 diverse chapters, including ‘Parks and Recreations,’ ‘Film Studios,’ ‘Residences,’ ‘Hotels and Motels,’ ‘Restaurants and Nightclubs,’ ‘Radio and Television.’ Key landmarks turn up”Schwab’s Pharmacy (circa 1949), the Roosevelt Hotel (circa 1950), and Sunset and Vine, as does the 1941 premiere of ‘Citizen Kane’ at the original El Capitan Theater. Tiki freaks can enjoy the 1941 shot of Don the Beachcomber (home of such cocktails as Don’s Zombies and the Shark Tooth), while other images capture such local institutions as KTLA Studios over the decades. Elegant, old-Hollywood apartment towers, such as the El Royale on North Rossmore Avenue (once home to George Raft) and the Spanish Colonial-style Lido on Yucca Street (both pictured in 1944), underscore some of the distinctive architecture lingering in Hollywood today. Wanamaker, author of two Arcadia volumes on Beverly Hills and a pre-1940 Hollywood edition, has been archiving local history since 1971 and is based at Raleigh Studios, across from Paramount Pictures on Melrose Avenue, in the heart of Hollywood. ‘Bison Archives is a professional research library in Southern California and a specialty on the entertainment industry,’ he says of the niche company he founded. In ‘Hollywood,’ there’s a 1966 photo of the Whiskey-a-Go-Go on the Strip that dates back to when The Doors were the club’s house band. ‘I took that photo,’ Wanamaker reveals, fessing up to a previous career as a musician. ‘I was the road manager for Canned Heat. We did several concerts with the Doors. I got to know all three Doors. All except Jim Morrison. No one got to know Jim Morrison. He was too out there. He did not relate to people.’ Wanamaker says he befriended Ringo Starr and George Harrison. Evidently, not only does Hollywood’s topography change over the decades, but so do the careers of the people who study it. Wanamaker’s book ends on an interesting (and bittersweet) note with the chapter ‘Hollywood Redevelopment,’ stuffed with mid-1990s to 2000s shots of locations preserved, revamped and/or reopened, such as the Hollywood Boulevard at Edgemont (damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake) and the Avalon, which ABC originally bought for ‘The Jerry Lewis Show,’ starring the comedy legend who served as Pacific Palisades’ second honorary mayor in 1953. Robert Nudelman, Wanamaker’s ‘Early Hollywood’ co-author, was supposed to shoot recent photos for this chapter. He died as work on ‘Hollywood’ began, so Wanamaker hit the streets with his digital camera. Sure, places such as the Ambassador Hotel and the Mocambo will never again grace Los Angeles with their class and glamour. But at least Wanamaker has preserved their memories on paper for us. He’ll next deliver Arcadia’s books on Westwood (late 2009) and the San Fernando Valley (2010). Marc Wanamaker will sign copies of ‘Hollywood 1940-2008’ and conduct a slideshow presentation on Tuesday, June 9, 7 p.m., at Larry Edmunds Bookshop, 6644 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Contact: 323-463-3273. Visit Wanamaker’s Web site: www.bisonarchives.com

Little money, lots of imagination. This describes soprano recording artist Linda Jackson, who is launching the first production of the newly formed Los Angeles Metropolitan Opera ‘La Boh’me’ right here in her own community. The fully costumed opera will be presented on Friday, May 29 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, May 31, 3 p.m., in Tauxe Hall at the United Methodist Church, 801 Via de la Paz. Palisades resident Jackson, who sings the title role of Mimi, the consumptive flower girl in love with Rodolfo (tenor Gabriel Reoyo-Pazos), is eagerly awaiting the opening night of a dream come true. Moving seamlessly from popular music and gospel to classical and opera, Jackson has been mastering the grand opera repertoire. Over the last several years, she sang the principal roles of Donna Anna in ‘Don Giovanni’ the Countess in ‘Le Nozze di Figaro,’ Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus and the title role in Carmen. ‘When I told my stepmother Joy Jackson, a community leader in her own right in Atlanta, Georgia, about my plans to start an opera company,’ Jackson recalls, ‘she said, ‘Where is your theater? You need to find where, then the community will help you.’ She was right.’ Jackson dropped preconceived ideas of how it should be done”like forming a board of directors, searching for a performing space somewhere in the city”and trusted. With her shoestring budget but lots of talented friends and solid community support, she set a date. It was also fortunate that the Methodist church, where she teaches the children’s choir, had just remodeled Tauxe Hall, adding a five-ft. thrust apron to the raised stage, upgraded lighting, and a state-of-the-art sound system. The choice of the opera was easy. ‘I polled my students at the Santa Monica Emeritus College Opera Appreciation class, and they all wanted ‘La Boh’me,” says Jackson, who sees her job with the new company as providing an introduction to opera that is more accessible to beginning audiences. ‘We hope that we are providing a stepping stone”an in-between place”that leads to more appreciation and further study.’ Casting, too, fell into Jackson’s lap, in a manner of speaking. Tenor Reoyo-Pazos, who has appeared extensively in opera and oratorio in California, Florida and Spain, was eager to participate in Jackson’s project. ‘He said, ‘Linda, whatever opera you choose, I already have the cast,” Jackson recalls. As stage manager and set designer, Kirk Smith, who has a solid background as a soloist and as a director, thoroughly researched the libretto and decided to set the action in the early 1960s. ‘The action will still be in Paris,’ Smith explains, but updated to 1963. The flamboyancy of that period lends itself theatrically. Eschewing the wan, good-girl image of Mimi, Smith sees her in the Jean Shrimpton/Elizabeth Taylor mode, with the cinched waists, and slip dresses. The men”including the poet Rodolfo, the painter Marcello, and the philosopher Colline’bohemians all, will sport facial hair, mustaches and Van Dykes. Marcello will be a pop artist, Smith explains. Musetta, simply described as a singer at the Caf’ Mumus, will be dressed in a hot-pink outfit. Smith intends to use the stage as the bohemians’ garret. He has also blocked action in the audience space, allowing for the actors to climb up the stairs to the garret. Puccini’s opera in four acts essentially focuses on the love between Mimi and Rodolfo. They fall for each other, but complications arise, leading to Rodolfo leaving her because of her flirtatious behavior. As the consumptive Mimi declines in health, Rodolfo feels guilty and reunites with her for a brief moment before she dies. The opera will be sung in Italian with English super-titles, and it will be recorded by a Palisadian, audio designer Mark Schaffer. The company was co-founded by Ella Lee, who has been cited in Kurt Pahlan’s book, ‘Great Singers from the Seventeenth Century to the Present Day,’ as one of the world-class singers from the United States to gain prominence in European opera. Known as a dramatic soprano, she has sung the role of Aida more than 500 times. She has sung in hundreds of performances of Tosca, Ill Trovatore, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. ‘She is our artistic director and invaluable to me,’ Jackson says, who reported that Lee, who is Jackson’s voice coach, ‘passed my Mimi with an A,’ adding that her voice was just right for the role. ‘Many times, younger girls are chosen over voice,’ Jackson explains. ‘Mimi is the soprano’s dream role, but you need a hefty voice, and at times, I am going to let the dramatic voice soar.’ Jackson also appreciates Lee’s experience with opera companies, particularly Opera Pasadena, of which she is the founder and artistic director. ‘She knows cases of how it has been done before, having received advice and courage from her mentor Friedeland Wagner, whose grandfather was Richard Wagner,’ she says.   ’La Boh’me,’ with music director Galina Barskaya, also features Gabriel Manro as Marcello, Diana Briscoe as Musetta, David Hodgson as Shaunard, Herve Blanquart as Colline and Stanley Hunter singing the parts of Benoit and Alcindoro. For tickets ($20, general admission; $10, seniors), visit losangelesmet.com or call 310-459-9127. Doors for will-call open at 7:30 p.m. and 2:20 p.m.

  For those looking for a multicultural event good for the whole family, Young Angels’ production of Rhythm & Moves is set for Saturday, May 23 at 2 p.m. at St. Eugene School, 9521 S. Hass Avenue.   Congolese band, Balobi Bandeko, tap legend Mark Goodman and Frit & Frat hip hop will provide the rhythm, served up with food from Veronica’s Fufuland and Flossie’s Southern Cuisine.   St. Eugene School in Inglewood saw the ABC’s on the wall as one student after another was told by their families that there was not enough money to pay even a reduced tuition next year. The largely Nigerian congregation wanted to help the kids and share their cultural heritage. Young Angels of America, a Palisades-based group of high school kids, helped turn the dream into a reality.   Young Angels of America is a community service organization that teaches affluent kids about event production and philanthropy. The group of teenagers decided to sponsor the event and approached African radio guru, Nnamdi Moweta of KPFK. They asked him to come to the rescue, and he did. For tickets ($20 online; $25 at the door, students, $15), visit steugeneschool.org.