• Home
• About us
• Membership
• Join the LFIA
• Board
• Committees
• Newsletter
• News Archive
• Links
• Contact

Los Feliz in the Silent Film Era

Celebrities Listed in the United States Census Data

By Don Seligman

When Colonel Griffith J. Griffith donated the northernmost portion of his large land holdings for a park to the city of Los Angeles in 1898, Los Feliz was considered part of greater Hollywood, with the main paved street called Prospect Avenue.  Developed by recently arrived Kansas industrialist Harvey Henderson Wilcox, large residential lots on Prospect were sold to wealthy newcomers to sunny Southern California.  By 1900, the street was the site of Victorian, Queen Anne and Mission Revival homes, and Wilcox’s wife, Daeida, had bestowed the name “Hollywood” on the area because she liked the sound of it.  By 1903 when Hollywood was incorporated as a municipality, there were only seven residences on Prospect Avenue and 6 along Franklin Avenue within the future Los Feliz boundaries, all between Western and Vermont Avenues.  The area was then miles from any major urban city development, although it was officially annexed to the city of Los Angeles in 1910 in order to insure an adequate water supply.  Along with the annexation except for its most eastern portion, Prospect Avenue’s name was officially changed to Hollywood Boulevard. 

The United States Census data is rich in detail and organized by each individual property.  It gives a remarkable picture of the former times in Los Feliz and includes a wealth of specific information about the individuals living in each residence at the time of each census.  This material shows that Los Feliz experienced very little development until about 1915.  In 1900, there were only 23 properties in our neighborhood of which three were north of Los Feliz Boulevard and three were west of Edgemont Street.  The only property within the Oaks about 1900 was the Immaculate Heart Convent at Western and Franklin. 

Very little growth occurred in the next 10 years.  By 1910 the census included only 104 individuals in 29 residences, of which only six were north of Los Feliz Boulevard.  The first major growth in the area occurred during the next decade.  The 1920 census documents 1,220 individuals living in 332 residences mainly situated east of Vermont and south of Franklin Avenue.

Major development within Los Feliz and the Oaks occurred between 1920 and 1930.  However, the 1,400 homes listed in the 1930 census records still only represent about 25% of the single family or duplex housing in the area today.  Nevertheless, by 1930 all areas of the current traditional boundaries showed some real estate development except for the Los Feliz Estates section.  A relatively high value usually above $15,000 and as high as $500,000 (the De Mille Estate) was estimated for most of the homes in Los Feliz in 1930, a time when the average family home was valued at between $3,000 and $8,000.

Due to the reliable weather conditions and wide variety of open inexpensive landscape, the motion picture industry began to move to California from New York, New Jersey, and Chicago in the early 1900s.   The first to come was the Selig Polyscope Company in 1909, and they established their studio in Edendale.  Next came the Nestor Studios in 1911 at what is today the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Avenue.  In the same year, 15 other independent studio operations settled in the Hollywood region.  In 1913, Cecil B. DeMille and Jesse Lasky opened their first studio facility on the southeast corner of Selma and Vine Streets and produced the first feature film, “The Squaw Man” (1913/1914).  The Fine Arts Studio produced one of the first epic films, D. W. Griffith’s “Intolerance” on land near today’s Sunset and Hillhurst intersection in 1916.

Due to the close proximity of the film studios and the streetcar line that ran down Hollywood Boulevard, it was natural that many of those involved in the movie industry would choose to reside nearby.  This is revealed in the 1920 and 1930 census data which include a multitude of silent film era industry celebrities.

Celebrities Residing in Los Feliz before 1920:

Cecil B. DeMille The DeMille Family: One of the first to move into the area was Cecil B. DeMille who purchased a 1914 estate at 2000 De Mille Drive in 1916 for $27,893 and began to develop the large track of land that was to become Laughlin Park.  Cecil B. DeMille was born on August 12, 1881 in Ashfield, Massachusetts.  He was an actor and general manager in his mother’s theatrical troop in the early part of the 20th century.  In 1913, he formed a film-making partnership with Jesse L. Lasky and Samuel Goldfish (also known as Samuel Goldwyn).  Their first production was “The Squaw Man,” one of the first successful long film productions and it launched his career. 
2000 De Mille Drive with Cecil A major figure in the silent film era, DeMille’s most renowned films in this early period of movie making were “The Virginian” (1914), “The Ten Commandments” (1923), and “The King of Kings” (1927).  DeMille’s successful career continued long into the first decades of the talkies, and he specialized in epic productions.  His last three films that were the most successful releases of their respective years: “Samson and Delilah” (1950), “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952), and “The Ten Commandments” (1956).  His legacy upon his death in 1959 included 34 films that he produced between 1915 and 1956, 75 films that he directed between 1914 and 1956, and several others that he wrote and even acted in.  He received the Academy Award for “The Greatest Show On Earth” (best picture, 1952), and several others were nominated for best picture in their respective years.  In 1953, he received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, the highest accolade a producer can receive.

Cecil B., Katherine, Anthony Quinn,
Constance De Mille (wedding
of Katherine and Anthony) DeMille’s adopted daughter, Katherine DeMille developed an acting career of her own.  She first appeared on film in her father’s “Madam Satan” (1930).  But Katherine did quite well for herself even without her father’s assistance, usually seen in supporting roles.  She was the wife of actor Anthony Quinn for many years, and co-starred with him in “Black Gold” in 1947.  Between 1930 and 1949, she appeared in 27 productions.

William De MilleDeMille’s older brother, William C. De Mille, was initially a playwright and had some success on Broadway between 1905 and 1910.  His first hit, "The Warrens of Virginia," debuted at the Belasco Theatre in 1907 with a cast that included his brother Cecil and also featured the Broadway debut of a young Canadian actress named Mary Pickford. When Cecil moved to California and founded the Lasky Company to make films, William wasn’t immediately convinced that there was a future in the moving picture business.  However, once he saw the success it could be, he moved to California to join his brother.  He was a screenwriter on many of Cecil's early silent films among others (19 films between 1915-1929), and he also directed 37 productions between 1914 and 1932.  He also dabbled in the role of Producer (five films between 1920 and 1934).  William was the father of the famous choreographer, Agnes De Mille, and in 1920 the William De Mille family lived at 4821 Hollywood Blvd.  He also served as the second president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Julia Faye began her acting career in “The Lamb” (1915), which also introduced Douglas Fairbanks Sr.  Although she was not considered a great actress, Cecil B. DeMille took her under his wing.  She eventually became his mistress, and he built two homes for her.  The first (listed in the 1920 census) was at 2450 Glendower Avenue, and the second (in the 1930 census) was at 2338 Observatory Avenue.   She had major roles in most of his epic films during the 1920s, and she appeared in his films into the 1930s until their relationship dissolved.  By the 1940s, when she was financially hard up, DeMille continued to support her with small parts in his films and kept her on his payroll at Paramount.  Her last film was “The Buccaneer” (1958), which was the last film that DeMille produced.  By then she had appeared in nearly 100 films over her lifetime.

Other Actors and Actresses of Note:  

Gladys Brockwell (nee Gladys Lindeman) had her first acting role when she was three, and worked continuously in the theater until 1913, when she started her movie career at age 20.  Residing at 2045 Dracena Drive, she had already appeared in 21 feature films before signing with Fox Studios in 1916. 
Brockwell residence at
2045 Dracena Drive
(no longer existing) Her popularity grew steadily, and she starred in such silent films as “Oliver Twist” (1922), “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1923), and “Seventh Heaven” (1927).  She successfully transitioned to talking films in 1928, starring in the first 100% talkie “Lights of New York” when tragedy struck.  She died in an automobile accident on July 2, 1929, when her car plunged over a 75 foot cliff in Calabasas, California.  Amazingly, she had appeared in 78 films during her brief 16 year career.

Samuel De Grasse was 37 years old when he began a film career in 1912 that included romantic leads and dignified characters like Senator Sumner in Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation” (1915).  Soon after, he became famous as the versatile villain typified by his roles in such films as “Robin Hood” (1922) and “The Black Pirate” (1926) where he co-starred with Douglas Fairbanks Jr.  His film career, which included 107 films between 1912 and 1930, ended shortly after talkies began.  He was married to actress Ada Fuller Golden who had a brief career in film, appearing in 5 productions in 1919 and 1920.  They lived at 1729 Winona Blvd. (1920 census) and at 5031 Franklin Avenue (1930 census).

Florence Turner (with Buster Keaton)Florence Turner began appearing on the stage in 1888 at the age of three, and was an experienced actress when she began working at Vitagraph Studios in 1906 as the “Vitagraph Girl.”  In this capacity, she became one of the first film stars.  She starred with many of the most prominent leading men of her day, including Wallace Reid and Buster Keaton.  She and her friend and director, Larry Trimble, went to England in 1913 to perform in music halls, where she became the first movie screen star to found her own production company, Turner Films.  By 1913, she was the top box office celebrity.  By 1920 she had returned to California and was living at 2043 Hillhurst Avenue.  Gradually her popularity waned, and she was relegated to secondary roles, only appearing as an extra or in bit parts, usually in MGM films.  By the time of her death in 1946, she had appeared in more than 160 films between 1907 and 1943.

Spottiswoode AitkenSpottiswoode Aitken began acting on the legitimate stage in Britain at age 17 in 1886 and emigrated to the United States in 1901.  Armed with some 25 years of acting experience, he began working in film at the Biograph Film Studio in New York in 1910.  He soon became known as D. W. Griffith's leading character man and is remembered as Dr. Cameron in “The Birth of a Nation.”  He also starred in Griffith’s “Intolerance” (1916).  Living at 5533 Hollywood Blvd. in 1920, he had been featured in over 90 films before he was forced to retire due to ill health in 1927.

Priscilla Dean was born into an actor family and made her theatrical debut as a child together with her parents. 
Priscilla DeanShe began in film in 1906 when 10 years old, starring in a series of one-reel films for Biograph Studios in the Bronx, New York for D.W. Griffiths.  In 1911, she moved to Universal Pictures and became one of the leading comedic stars of the early cinema industry.  Her roll in “the Gray Ghost” (1917) catapulted her to super-stardom, and she built her home at 5611 Hollywood Blvd. as a colonial mansion showplace. 
Dean mansion at
5611 Hollywood Blvd. Her career ended with the advent of talkies, and thereafter she was only hired by small independent studios.  She retired from the movie business after only four sound films, having been featured in over 60 films.

Kathlyn Williams Kathlyn Williams was born in Montana in 1888, and was educated at Wesleyan University at Helena.  She received her first dramatic training at the Empire School of Acting, in New York City where she was the leading lady in several productions over four years.  She began her film career with the Biograph Company in 1910 in “All Is Not Gold.” Her first major starring role was later that year in "The Fire Chief's Daughter" with the Selig Polyscope Company, and she continued to star for them in no less than 200 productions over the next 6 years. 
Williams home at 1746 Morgan Place
(no longer exists) The film effort that made Miss Williams a household word was the series “The Adventures of Kathlyn.”  After six years of leads and a heightening reputation at Selig's, she went to the Morosco studio and thereafter she worked for Famous Players-Lasky Corporation from 1917 until 1923.  In private life Kathlyn Williams was the wife of Charles F. Eyton, general manager of the Lasky studio in Hollywood and later head of Paramount.  They lived at 1746 Morgan Place (today Grammercy Place) in 1920.  In the 1920s she was relegated more to character parts, and only appeared in six talkies between 1929 and 1935.  She divorced Eyton in 1931, but maintained an active social life after her film career ended, being financially very secure.  She died from a heart attack on September 23, 1960.

Wallace Reid Wallace Reid, the son of actors, made his stage debut in 1892 playing a little girl with his parents in “Slaves of Gold” at age 4.  After school and some odd jobs, Reid began working with the Selig Polyscope Film Company in 1910 in a variety of tasks before gaining notice as an actor in 1915 in D.W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation.”  He was soon firmly established as Paramount’s top leading male, usually playing an all-American type.  Some of his most memorable roles were in Cecil B. DeMille productions.  To ease the pain from an unfortunate accident while filming in 1919, he became addicted to morphine and alcohol.  He died in 1923 at the age of 31, with a legacy of over 65 films, mostly as the leading man.

Reid was survived by his wife, actress
Dorothy DavenportDorothy Davenport who was born in 1895.  Educated in Virginia, she was one of the very first screen players to arrive in Hollywood. Appearing in Universal pictures, she met Wallace Reid, and the popular players married in 1913. With the arrival of a son she retired to the privacy of their home at 1822 Morgan Place (today Grammercy Place).  After Wallace’s death, she returned to the screen appearing in her own productions that propagandized against the drug trade and other social evils.  She was considered to be one of the most beautiful screen stars and was very sporty.  In 1938, she gave up producing for screenwriting, and was active in writing screenplays until the mid-1950s.  She never remarried.

Billy Bletcher with
Walt Disney (left)J. William (usually credited as “Billy”) Bletcher was born in 1894.  He was a comic actor and had a long career that began in 1913 at the Vitagraph Studios in Brooklyn, New York.  He married actress Arlyn (Arline) Roberts and they moved to Hollywood in 1917, living at 1721 ½ Winona Blvd.  He began his work in California working for Mack Sennett, and his career took off in the early 1920s.  He was featured as Spanky’s father in the “Our Gang” series, provided voices for many Disney cartoon characters, and was a Munchkin in “The Wizard of Oz”.  By his retirement from film in 1971, he had amazingly appeared in well over 300 film productions.  Billy’s wife, Arline had worked in vaudeville and on Broadway as a Ziegfield girl before marrying.  She also joined Mack Sennett’s ensemble in Hollywood in 1917 after arriving there with her husband.  Although she was not as successful as Billy, she worked steadily and was a regular on the popular TV “Wagon Train” series.  She continued to act in films until 1978.

Film Production Notables: Producer/Writer Isidore Bernstein, a relative of Carl Laemmle, was born in New York City.  In partnership with Laemmle, he built the sprawling Universal City studio complex in 1915, and he was involved in producing while running the studio with Laemmle until 1922, residing then at 5107 Harold Way.  Originally a writer, he spent the rest of his career in film as a screenwriter, scripting 47 movies between 1923 and 1938, often in association with Pacific Studios, Hal Roach and King Vidor. After Laemmle lost the studio ownership in 1936, Bernstein retired from the film industry and became a production manager for an oil tool company.  Bernstein, along with a handful of others, founded Temple Israel in Hollywood in 1926.

Hungarian-born Producer William Fox (nee William Fried) grew up in New York City after his family emigrated to the United States and made a great deal of money early in the 20th century.  With his substantial profits, he bought a nickelodeon and increased the sales by hiring live acts to entertain the audience between movies.  He then set up his own film exchange, the Greater New York Rental Company, after winning a long legal battle against the monopolistic practices of the Motion Pictures Patent Company.  He started his career as a producer with Box Office Attractions in 1913, eventually bringing his theatrical, exchange and studio operations together into the Fox Film Corporation in 1914.  While residing at 2069 Hillhurst Avenue, he maintained one of the most successful and prolific studios in Hollywood by capitalizing on some big stars like Tom Mix and Theda Bara.  He also developed a large chain of movie theaters that totaled more than 1,000 by 1927.  Fox bought the Movietone sound-on-film process in 1927 which enabled his studio to transition smoothly into talkies.  He also pioneered the wide-screen film process.  He continued to expand his empire until the Wall Street crash when he experienced extreme financial difficulties.  He was subsequently ousted from the Fox company in 1930 and he was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1936, one year after his old studio merged with 20th Century.  Though well off financially due to his many patents, Fox remained a “persona non-grata” in Hollywood until his death in 1952 in New York City.

Edwin Carewe (nee James J. Fox) was a “Jack of all trades” in the film industry throughout his career.  He began acting in his teen years, and started in the movie industry in 1914 with Lubin studios, moving in the same year into directing, mainly for the Rolfe-Metro and First National studios.  Residing at 1859 North Western Avenue, he directed more than 60 films between 1915 and 1934, among them “Ramona” (1928) and “Evangeline” (1929).  He also was involved in production and produced 14 films between 1920 and 1931, writing screenplays for four of these between 1914 and 1927.  He was credited with discovering Gary Cooper, Delores Del Rio, and Francis X. Bushman.  He was not successful in the transition to sound and ended his film career in 1934. 

Celebrities Moving to Los Feliz between 1920 and 1930:

Actors and Actresses:

Lawrence Gray was born in San Francisco in 1898 and lived with his parents at 5112 Ambrose Avenue in 1930 while working in films as a popular leading man.  He had first started working as a production superintendent at Paramount Studios when friends (including Bebe Daniels) pushed him into acting.  He had his big break in 1925 when he starred in “The Dressmaker From Paris,” and he was one of those who successfully transitioned into talking films.  During his career (1925-1936), he appeared in 45 films, opposite such female stars as Marion Davies, Joan Crawford, and Louise Brooks.  After 1936, he was involved in production and acted as a liaison between American and Mexican film companies

Ben Alexander in “Dragnet”
with Jack Webb (left)Ben Alexander was born in 1911 and appeared in vaudeville at a very early age.  He created the title role in Booth Tarkington’s play "Penrod" as a child actor and made his film debut at the age of 5 in “Each Pearl A Tear” (1916).  He also starred opposite Lillian Gish in D.W. Griffith’s World War I movie, “Hearts of the World” (1918).  One of his most famous roles was the tragic amputation victim Kemmerick in “All Quiet on the Western Front” (1930), when he was living at 1971 Catalina Avenue.  He left his movie career in 1941 for another busy one as a radio actor and announcer after having been featured in 60 films.  He resumed acting in 1953 appearing as Officer Frank Smith in the wildly popular television series, “Dragnet” (1953-59), and later in 1966 in the ABC cop series, “Felony Squad.”

Spanish actor, Antonio Moreno (original name: Antonio Garride Monteagudo) emigrated to the United States when he was 14 years old in 1901.  He moved to California in 1912 and began acting in films in 1915. By the end of his very successful career, he had appeared in 91 films.  By 1920, he had become one of the biggest stars in Vitagraph Studios, and was known for his beefy handsome look.  In the early 1920s, he joined Jesse Lasky’s company, and was one of its most successful players. 
A. Moreno and
Daisy CanfieldIn 1926, he starred opposite Greta Garbo in “The Temptress”, and also starred with Clara Bow in the big hit, “It.”  Moreno married American heiress Daisy Canfield Danziger in 1923, a relationship that ended tragically with her death in an automobile accident 10 years later.  Together they rented a massive mansion at 1978 De Mille Drive across the street from Cecil B. DeMille’s home.  His career was energized by the demand for Latin Lover types after Rudolph Valentino’s entry into film. 
Moreno/Canfield mansion After talkies began, he starred in Spanish-language versions of Hollywood hit films.  He continued with a lucrative and busy professional life as a character actor after his career as a romantic leading man waned, appearing in such prominent films as “Notorious” (1946), “Thunder Bay” (1953), and “The Searchers” (1955).  He retired from film in the late 1950s and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (at 6651 Hollywood Blvd.).

Raymond Griffith has earned the fifth place among silent comedy film stars after Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, and Langdon.  His prodigious talent propelled him into well respected comedy features throughout the 1920s as a contract player at Famous Players-Lasky/Paramount Studios, with a career that was much busier than the other famous cinema comedians of the time.  Griffith's character was markedly different from any other comedian's at the time; his costume was usually a top hat and tuxedo, and his grinning characters were very cunning. Every situation was another game where he had to try to figure out how to save his skin.  According to his official 1927 Paramount biography, he was fifteen months old when he made his stage debut, playing a baby in his parents' stage company. When he was seven years old, he starred as Little Lord Fauntleroy. He even played "the little girl" in a production when he was eight.  Due to diphtheria as a child, his vocal chords were damaged permanently.   After a stint in the army, Griffith started his film career in 1915 at Vitagraph in New York in Lehrman Knock-Out Comedies (L-KO). In March of 1916, he left L-KO and went to Mack Sennett's studios at Triangle.  Soon after, Griffith appeared in one comedy for Fox., before returning to Triangle where he made over a dozen additional one-reel comedies. For a while in 1918, Griffith became a gagman, writer, and assistant director for Mack Sennett, and he worked on many shorts and features at Sennett until 1921.  In 1922, Griffith moved to Marshall Neilan's independent studio where he played one of the leads with Priscilla Dean in a serious drama called “White Tiger.”  In 1923, Griffith wrote several succesful screenplays for Douglas MacLean Productions/Associated Exhibitors, and he began working under contract at Paramount the following year. 

Griffith married the stage actress Bertha Mann in 1928, and they lived at 5230 Linwood Drive in Laughlin Park.  She had appeared in at least one silent film, “The Blindness of Divorce” (Fox, 1918), and she would appear in several talkies in the early 1930s.   Talking films doomed Griffith’s acting film career because his damaged vocal chords only allowed him to speak in a hoarse whisper.  But he made one final film that turned out to be his best-remembered role.  In “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Universal, 1930) he played Gerard Duval, a French soldier in the foxhole. In a poignant scene, he is killed by Lew Ayres' character Paul Baumer. As Duval lays dying, Baumer realizes the horror of the war. Griffith's wordless cameo performance was a highlight of the movie that won the Academy Award for best picture of 1930.  After he left acting, Griffith became well known as a "script doctor," and he produced several films at Warner Brothers and 20th Century/Fox.  Griffith has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6100 Hollywood Boulevard.

Elinor FairElinor Fair was born in 1903 and began acting in Vaudeville.  She started in films in 1918 and was known as a talented actress who could assume many different kinds of roles.  She was married to cowboy star, William “Hoppalong Cassidy” Boyd in the late 1920s and she had an apartment at 4643 Los Feliz Blvd. in 1930.  After the silent film era ended, Elinor Fair was relegated to minor roles and she retired from film in 1934.  During her career, she had appeared in 45 films.

Philo McCullough Philo McCullough was born in 1893 in San Bernardino, California and began his movie career at the Selig Company in 1912 specializing in light comedic parts.  He tried directing in 1921 in “Maid of the West”, but found his true niche as a mustachioed, oily-haired villain.  He appeared opposite nearly every other prominent actor in the 1920s but was given only small parts after the talkies began.  In 1930 he rented an apartment at 4643 Los Feliz Blvd.  He remained active in film until 1953, having appeared in an astounding 220 films by that point.  He returned briefly to film in 1969 for his valedictory role in “They Shoot Horses Don’t They?” 

Adolphe Menjou Adolphe Menjou, debonair and sophisticated, was born in 1890 and moved to New York in 1911 where he worked in films as an extra and in supporting roles.  His breakout leading role was in Charlie Chaplin’s “A Woman of Paris” (1923) which established his screen presence as a dapper man of the world.  He played this persona in more than 100 films, first in the leading roles and later as a character actor.  He received a Best Actor nomination for his work in “The Front Page” (1931), and was known as one of the best-dressed men in Hollywood.  His first wife (1928-1933) was Kathryn Carver, also an actress who appeared in nine films between 1925 and 1929, and they built a home together at 2612 Nottingham Avenue.  Menjou appeared in over 130 films over his long career (1916 to 1955).  He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6822 Hollywood Boulevard.

Film Production Notables:

Delmer Daves directing Gary CooperWriter/Director Delmer Daves was born in 1904 in San Francisco, and first studied civil engineering and law at Stanford University.  While working as a prop boy on “The Covered Wagon” (1923), he became fascinated by the native Americans working in that film, and he then gave up his law career to live in Arizona among the Navajo and Hopi.  After studying acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, he appeared in three early talkies (1929-30) while residing at 2250 Berendo Street.  He then turned to screenwriting, and by 1965, he had scripted 44 screenplays, among them “The Petrified Forest” (1936), “The Farmer’s Daughter” (1940), “Stage Door Canteen” (1943), “Dark Passage” (1947), and “Youngblood Hawke” (1964).  In 1944, he began a distinguished directing career that continued until 1965 (22 films in all.  In 1951, he formed his own production company, Double-D Productions, culminating a long career that specialized in combat dramas and westerns.  His most successful film was the 1959 movie, “A Summer Place.”

Charles Wakefield Cadman Composer Charles Wakefield Cadman was born in 1881, and in 1904, he began composing organ pieces and ballads.  But it was an interest in American Indian lore than really launched his career.  A prime mover in the American folk movement, he toured the country between 1909 and 1916, giving music-talks on Amerindian music, finally settling in Los Angeles where he devoted himself to opera.  During his career, he composed more than 300 songs, six operas, and four operettas.  “Shanewis", the first work on an American theme to be performed at the Metropolitan Opera, was staged during the 1918-19 season, and the Chicago Civic Opera produced "A Witch of Salem" in 1926.  He lived at 2220 Canyon Drive in 1930, but later moved to San Diego where he became a leading musical celebrity.  Most of his compositions after this were symphonic.  Following his mother's death in 1938, Cadman moved back to Los Angeles, where he was involved with the early days of the Hollywood Bowl. 

Composer and Director Victor L. Schertzinger was born in 1880 and he studied music at Brown University and the University of Brussels.  He first became well known as a concert violinist and then as a symphony conductor.  His first association with the movie industry was in 1916 when he was hired to compose the score for the film “Civilization.”   He was a top director during the silent film era, and he continued with a successful career into the talkies while living in his home at 4120 Cromwell Avenue.  He was especially associated with early musicals, and composed many of the hit tunes of that period.  By the time of his untimely death in 1941, he had directed 87 films between 1917 and 1941, written the screenplays for five (1918-1937), and composed the musical scores for 13 (1916-1935).  At the end of his life, he was the principal director of the Bing Crosby-Bob Hope-Dorothy Lamour Road pictures.

Director Erle C. Kenton began in film as a Keystone Kop with Mack Sennett in 1914, and slowly worked his way up the ladder.  After several successful ventures as Assistant Director, he finally directed his first film in 1920.  He worked throughout the silent film era, mainly in comedies, and adapted quickly to the new demands of talking films.  He also ventured into the horror film genre, but comedy was his forte.  He directed Abbott and Costello in several of their films, and ended his career in television in such series as “Topper” and “Amos ‘N Andy.”  He directed 75 films during his long career and lived at 2027 Edgemont Avenue in 1930.

Writer/Director Rupert Hughes was born in 1872 and grew up on the Iowa banks of the Mississippi in a creative family that included his brother Howard Hughes.  His writings and novels became famous throughout the world by 1912, and he also eventually gained fame as a motion picture director.  When motion picture producers began looking for eminent authors to provide screen material, Hughes was one of the first of the popular writers to be recruited, and he adapted several of his past successes into screenplays.  In the latter part of 1919 Hughes entered into contract with the Goldwyn organization.  His acclaimed 60-year career included an output that totaled more than 60 novels, countless short stories, articles, poems, plays, nonfiction historic books (including a three-volume biography of George Washington) and nearly 50 silent and sound motion pictures that carried his name as writer and/or director.  In the 1920s, he was known as Hollywood’s highest paid author.  Hughes was the brother of billionaire Howard Hughes, and his other siblings also gained fame in their arts and music endeavors.  Hughes wrote many books about music early in his career (including a two-volume music encyclopedia in 1903) and was considered an excellent musician himself.   He married Patterson Dial (his third wife) in 1924.  She was an actress who had appeared in nearly a dozen films, and was also a writer of short stories for magazines.  Through the years, she also assisted her husband in many writing projects.  Hughes and Patterson lived in a mansion they built at 4751 Los Feliz Boulevard in an “Arabian Nights” style until 1950.

Director Robert F. McGowan was born in 1882, and after many careers and an injury that left him with a small disability, he decided to try film making in Hollywood in 1913.  After many unsuccessful ventures, he hit the jackpot directing the “Our Gang” series in the 1920s in partnership with Hal Roach who became his closest friend.  Eventually, he and Roach would produce 88 silent one-reel “Our Gang” short films.  McGowan directed the series until 1933 while living in his home at 1928 North Western Avenue.  By 1936, he had mainly retired from film making, although he did take on some light assignments as late as 1946.

 

Prominent Non-Film Industry Residents:

Frank Wood, President of Shell Oil Company in California, built a home at 2015 De Mille Drive that was later the residence of W. C. Fields and Lily Tomlin.

Grocery Store Executive Elmer Ralphs, grandson of the Walter Ralphs who founded Ralphs Brothers Grocers in 1873, lived at 4941 Finley Avenue in 1930 while preparing to move into a newly built home at 2401 Nottingham Avenue. 

Newspaper Publisher Harry Chandler, the second publisher of the Los Angeles Times, lived at 2330 Hillhurst Avenue.  He was also a major property developer in Los Angeles, at one time owning most of the San Fernando Valley.  He saw a similar opportunity in the Hollywood Hills, and he teamed up with movie director Mack Sennett to develop the “Hollywoodland” development.  Eventually, the 50-foot-tall sign that was lit by 4,000 light bulbs and erected to promote the real estate development became the Hollywood sign.  He remained publisher of the Los Angeles Times until 1944 when he passed away in Los Angeles.

His son,  Norman Chandler, then became the third publisher of the newspaper and built a home at 2520 Nottingham Avenue in 1930.  Under his tenure, the LA Times became the largest circulation newspaper in Los Angeles with more lines of advertising than any other American newspaper.  His wife, Dorothy, was instrumental in founding the Music Center of Los Angeles (inaugurated in 1965).

Franklin S. Wade, the President of the Southern Gas Company (later known as Southern California Gas Company) lived at 2026 Hobart Avenue at the time of the 1930 census.  The company is now the largest gas utility in the United States.

Living at 2177 East Live Oak Drive, David Pontina was the President of the Pacific Electric Railroad in 1930, the mass transit system in Southern California using streetcars, light rail, and buses to connect cities in  Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties.  Established in 1901 by Henry Huntington, the famous “red cars” operated until 1961.  At its peak, the Pacific Electric Railway was huge with 1,150 miles of track and 900 rail cars. 

Jack DempseyBoxer and Property Developer William Harrison Dempsey, better known as Jack, gained fame in 1919 as the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, a status that he held until 1926 when he lost to Gene Tunney.  He was one of the 1920s top five sports stars (along with Babe Ruth, Bill Tilden, Red Grange, and Bobby Jones).  He married Estelle Taylor, a Hollywood star, in 1925, and appeared in some films at that time. 
Dempsey home in 1920s
at 5254 Los Feliz Blvd. He continued to box until 1926 when he retired with a record of 62 wins, six losses, eight draws, five no decisions and one no contest.  He had 50 knockouts, and is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.  After boxing, he remained in Los Angeles and became a prominent property developer in Los Feliz, residing at 5254 Los Feliz Boulevard (now 2047 Laughlin Park Drive).

Alvin N. Dunn, President of the Dunn-Edwards Paint Company founded in Los Angeles in 1925 and today the largest employee-owned paint manufacturer in the United States, resided at 2408 Nottingham Avenue in 1930. 

 

Author Don Seligman is an expert on Los Feliz history. An abreviated version of this article appeared in the Los Feliz Observer (Winter 2007). Don plans to develop the neighborhood's early Hollywood history into a book.

Home About us Membership Join the LFIA Board Committees Newsletter News Archive Links Contact