The real life of a star. Mom and this costume. There had to be more.

Excellent fact finding, Noir Noir

. . .but I don't see anyone on the lists that is associated with USC Medical School. :shrug:


I have a couple of questions for you, noirishers.

Are there more letters after 'Leonard', or are the squiggles fancy calligraphy?

Do you agree the first two initials are J. J. ?

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/6...922/kouCAd.jpg
detail


I still believe this gentleman is the one associated with USC.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/6...923/bxSl3I.jpg
detail

Original photograph HERE
.

Composition in Brown.

"1972 kodachrome Photo Slide 1950s or 60s Thunderbird car Los Angeles County"...eBay

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...921/14BBRI.jpg

A perfect match!

hmm...do you think the owner of the apartment building is also the owner of the Thunderbird..and he bought the car to match the building?

Or...did he already own the Thunderbird so he painted the apartment to match his car?

Or...Does the Thunderbird have nothing to do with the apartment building?





...NOTE THAT IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME....(wreath on the door & four plastic candles by the tree/plant on the right)

https://live.staticflickr.com/7328/2...e3484c_c_d.jpg
flickr

A very rare 1942 Cadillac registered in California. Los Angeles.

I don't think that's an apartment building, I think it's a fugly single family residence.

E_R, I believe the squiggles after the name are the abbreviation for Jr.

Just curious...
 

CBD, Do you know what building is behind the rare '42 Cadillac?

No I do not...does anyone?:shrug:

notes on pre-tunnel view south on Hill St. to Court St. homes
 

The Gillette place would've been to left off the frame in the front portion- Years later the corner home replaced by a small grocery shop---

There's a period at the end of the name which suggests it's "Jr." for Junior.


With that in mind, a quick scan of old USC related material on their library site throws up the name "A. T. Leonard Jr." in an alumni magazine from 1926.
That fits nicely as a possibility but the search facility on the site is not co-operating with me to narrow it down. :shrug:

Noir_Noir Posteth:

Well deciphered! I agree, A.T. must be our man.

Cheers,

Earl

Here's a youtube video explaining how they light the torch at USC games and other events, the torch is controlled from a room within the peristyle, directly under the torch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IyxjKZUs2s

At least it was before the recent renovation, probably still is. Although I hope they would add some controls or communication between the new press box and the torch controls, with all the $$$ spent on the renovation!

:preview:

I knew you minions noirishers would figure it out! ;)

I'm a bit embarressed that 'JR.' didn't occur to me.... It seems kinda' obvious, now. :duh:

.

:DDecipherments always do, after they've been finished. :D

Cheers,

Earl

.

"The Family Tucker", Los Angeles


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800...923/HJStzr.jpg
Curt J / flickr

Carl J. writes. . .

"My aunt and uncle, Dorothy and Wilbur Haskell, who lived in Los Angeles, California, were among the very few original purchasers of a Tucker Automobile. Dorothy was my Mom's older sister. Her husband, Wilbur Haskell was a masonry contractor, who had done well in business, even during the Depression, and was able to afford things that he wanted. He saw a new Tucker in a showroom, not far from his home. He went into the dealership and paid in full for "the first one that came in", but that didn't happen. When it became apparent that it was not going to happen, Wilbur returned to the dealership and demanded either his money back, or the keys to "that car", the one in the showroom. He got the car. The Haskells kept the Tucker until 1959, when they either sold it or traded it in on another car."



Let's take a closer look at Aunt Dorothy and the Tucker.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/102...924/rmYc8N.jpg
detail


Carl J. continues. . . .

"I recently contacted Mr. Mike Schutta, Automotive Historian, Secretary of the Tucker Automobile Club. I told him what I knew, and sent him scans of the photo. His reply was fascinating to say the least. Mr. Schutta told me that there were only a couple of the cars that he did not have the complete history of. One of them was a turquoise car that was Tucker #1009. The earliest known history on that car, was when it appeared on a car lot in March of 1959, just five miles from my aunt & uncle's home. Mr. Schutta further states that it was almost certainly sold new by Southwest Tucker, located at 2021 Wellington Road, which was five to six miles from the Haskell's home.


"After it appeared on the car lot in 1959, it remained there until 1962, when it was purchased by a young man who lived just three miles from Dorothy and Wilbur. From there, it traveled about 45 miles, to Ontario, California, where it remained for a few years. In the early 1970's it was owned by a man in Frankfort, Indiana. In 1987 it was purchased by Movie Producer George Lucas, who produced the "Tucker" movie in 1988. Lucas continues to own the car."
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wow. That's really interesting, Carl.



.

My dad, who went to USC in the early '50s, told me long ago that a very old hunchback lives in the peristyle and is the keeper of the torch. He has been up there since the '32 games according to pop.

delete

Photoshopped
 

Interesting photo and story about the Tucker! After the movie came out, I bought one of those Franklin Mint (I believe) scale models of the car, which happened to also be turquoise. I saw one at a traveling Smithsonian exhibition in Los Angeles once, about 20 some years ago. There's a picture of me with it somewhere.

Beautiful Yvonne !
 

The house on top nearly center (higher roof on the photograph) was still there in 1949. We see it in Criss Cross when Yvonne De Carlo parks her convertible car in front of it.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/3...922/fnDxXX.jpg
.

Excellent color adjustment, santamonicadesign....:cheers:


Martin Pal, by any chance, does the center headlight on your model swivel?
Yes, by all means, let's see that photograph.

.

re: Criss Cross (1949)


For NLA newcomers, here's the house AlvaroLegido is talking about.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/8...924/3PVxqP.jpg
silentlocations

nadeau, you'll definitely want to see John Bingston's blog, silentlocations

And here it is again in the older photograph.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/RYlY1V.jpg
Nadeau's photograph HERE

.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....wL._SX900_.jpg

This is the one I have. The middle headlight doesn't move but all 4 doors open revealing the leather interior seats. The steering wheel moves the front wheels. Both the front and back lids open. The engine is in the back if you recall. In the front (trunk) is a spare tire and some suitcases.

Finding that photo may be problematic, but you never know!

P.S.: Happy Thanksgiving everyone! In all the years I've been in Los Angeles, I cannot recall a rainy Thanksgiving! It is today. It's usually quite warm and dry. (I'm not complaining!)

.
A 'mystery' bar. Found at liveauctioneers


"Bar with actors in Hollywood CA."

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...921/d2WGEd.jpg
liveauctioneers

I love everything about this photograph. It's like a bohemian time capsule.

The cluster of people in the corner are havin' a good ol' time. lol......Actually, everyone in the place is having a good time!

note the very cool arcade game. (I want it)



A sparse description is written on the reverse.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/8...921/gQ8y67.jpg

If only the name of the bar had been included.





But there are some clues:

If you look closely at the mantel behind the bar you can see rustic looking mule carts laden with bottles of beer. (there's a stagecoach too)

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...921/lIkDoZ.jpg
detail

I'm guessing the guy on the far right is a writer. ;)







And there are more mule carts on the left side of the bar. (#4 is actually the stagecoach)

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...923/EkMAn1.jpg
detail

Because of the sheer number of carts, I thought the beer might have been served in the carts on special nights. (but I don't see a place for ice in the carts to keep the beer cold)..There goes my theory.


OK; so far, we know the bar has a Western Motif. (the lighting fixtures are westernish too)
And since the bar's clientele is (are) actors, I'd wager a guess that the bar was located near a movie studio.

So it's up to you my fellow noirishers. . . .:superwhip get workin'.


Oh, and one more thing. . .H A P P Y..... T H A N K S G I V I N G !



.

Thanks! I have had Silent Echoes since it first came out. Always on the lookout for stuff from Edendale era since I live on Duane Street. Have a great Thanksgiving!

This.

Thanksgiving Maskers
 

Happy Thanksgiving, fellow Noirishers! :cheers:

I hope this is not too off-topic, but it's a forgotten bit of Los Angeles/Thanksgiving tradition that I've never before heard of. Anyone here heard of “Ragamuffin Day” before?

https://i.imgur.com/oCs2PTJ.jpg

According to various articles I read, Ragamuffin Day quickly died out, and by the 1950s was essentially extinct.

These photos are from the Library of Congress website. Unfortunately, they do not list where the photos were taken. There are 9 of them in total, if you'd like to see the rest of them.

https://i.imgur.com/FrjYTgg.jpg

7 of the 9 photos seem to have been taken at the same dirt-road location. Anyone want to wager a guess at where the photos were shot?

https://i.imgur.com/EFLLKhf.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/J2QVu7J.jpg

Funny you should ask . . .
 

Scott,

It's a New York thing, actually, according to this interesting and thorough discussion of the matter. By a great coincidence, I was just reading about this yesterday.

The only address I could find for the Haskells who owned the Tucker.


https://i.imgur.com/u5G0T9R.jpg
rescarta.lapl.org


Here's the house nowadays. Adjoining it is a little dead end fragment of Louisiana Ave.

https://i.imgur.com/Qj83iky.jpg
GSV


https://i.imgur.com/aE1ky4u.jpg


Popping around the side of the house into that dead end, I spy this.


https://i.imgur.com/xdaaWV2.jpg


Eureka! .... the Tucker was parked at the side of the house and we're looking across Olympic Blvd. in the original picture. Those poles match up and the streetlight looks right. :ohyeah


Quickly hits snag though because I can't match the buildings in the picture with what's there today. :mad:


I'm thinking the right general vicinity/neighborhood but not the exact location. :shrug:

I live a few blocks from there.

The neighborhood and location are correct for the Tucker.

The light poles also line up.

The one story house in the background (across Olympic) was replaced with a McMansion years ago, as have many of the single story Janss Development homes in the area. The land far exceeds the home values, and they just get torn down and replaced these days.

Maybe your dad watched that pretty campy 1980's movie 'Big Man on Campus', about just that- a hunchback living on USC's campus!

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/...54,999_AL_.jpg
youtube

The script is on line, if you wish to study this masterpiece :-)

https://web.archive.org/web/20120915.../Hunchback.pdf

Cheers,

Earl

I think you found the spot, Noir Noir! ....:cheerleader:


I'm still a bit confused by this. . .
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"The earliest known history on the turquoise Tucker, was when it appeared on a car lot in March of 1959, just five miles from my aunt & uncle's home.
Mr. Schutta further states that it was almost certainly sold new by Southwest Tucker, located at 2021 Wellington Road, which was five to six miles from the Haskell's home."....
Carl J.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


But 2021 Wellington Road is located in the middle of a residential area.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...921/dfUYOU.jpg
GSV...note the street number on the step.

I highly doubt that this is the correct address of the Southwest Tucker Automobile Dealership.




.

Here is Lucas' Tucker:

https://i.postimg.cc/j252g7wk/lucas-tucker.png
vanderbiltcupraces.com


They also had this photo:

https://i.postimg.cc/vTgg8nYx/tucker2.png
vanderbiltcupraces.com

Looks like a darker green in the second photo, but they are both Tucker-1009

.

Earlier in the thread HossC discovered that the Sable Arms apartments were built by the Zobelein family on the former site of George Zobelein's estate.
But we've never seen a vintage photograph of the Sable Arms. . .

. . .that is, until now! :)

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...923/BE89sq.jpg
ebay


Here's the portion of HossC's post that discusses the Sable Arms.


HossC's complete post includes a photograph of George Zobelein's home (pre-Sable Arms) and some very helpful maps.... HERE.

.

:previous:

oops. I forgot to show you the back!


https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...921/GTKo5d.jpg

POSTED...11:00 A.M....April 1st, 1941.......................................................

.

Doesn anyone know German Swedish?


Here we have a group of Swedish (or German) men with their catch of fish.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...921/D3Kaws.jpg
eBay

Can anyone tell if the fish are fresh or salt water fish? ...(I can't help but notice how small they are)


I hoped that the fishing spot would be mentioned on the reverse. . .but if I'm not mistaken, a good part of it appears to be cooking instructions. :shrug:

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...924/n9fsov.jpg
eBay

POSTED....Los Angeles...10:30 P.M....Oct. 21, 1920.

RETURN ADDRESS....736 Garland Ave., Los Angeles Calif.
.

[QUOTE=ethereal_reality;8763296]Doesn anyone know German Swedish?


Here we have a group of Swedish (or German) men with their catch of fish.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...921/D3Kaws.jpg
eBay

Can anyone tell if the fish are fresh or salt water fish? ...(I can't help but notice how small they are)




Ha! If they are going ocean fishing, that must be the bait they are carrying.

Can't find anything about Southwest Tucker, but apparently these were two forthcoming dealerships in April of '47:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...405748a4_o.png

And this one being built in Leimert Park in February of '48:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d4237ef9_o.png

Tucker sightings in August '48:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d6ec1967_o.png

Here's an ad from October '48:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f7f0bb7e_o.png

By October of '48, though, the end was near and Preston Tucker was on his way to indictment and trial. I think it's quite possible that the Tucker that went to Murphy Motors was the only Tucker (that is, a Tucker 48 and not a pilot car/proto) to come to Los Angeles. With just fifty made, and having been built in Chicago, I don't think there was a whole lot to go around to justify a dealership before the car was, in fact, properly launched. I believe the story about Haskell buying "the first Tucker that came in" (which is repeated here and other places) but I straight up reject the concept of "Southwest Tucker" even though it came from "Mr. Mike Schutta, Automotive Historian, Secretary of the Tucker Automobile Club" who should certainly know more about the subject than I would.

e_r, I see "og" (Danish for "and"; Swedish would be "och") and "jeg" (Danish for "I"; Swedish would be "jag").

Another Tucker 48 sighting captured on camera in Los Angeles.


It's March 1952 and the car is in for a repaint job at an auto body shop somewhere in North Hollywood.


https://i.imgur.com/0LZAiKI.jpg
forums.aaca.org



Also this blurry rear view shot taken at the same time. Sign to the right : _______ ______ Electric Co. First word possibly "Olympic". :shrug:


https://i.imgur.com/WBAsrjZ.jpg
forums.aaca.org

I would hypothesize that someone living at 2021 Wellington Road was in line for one of the planned but never realized Tucker dealerships and was using that as the business address at the time.

Henry J. Montague had a garage and gas station at 5250 Hollywood Boulevard.

He bought into the Tucker Dream and in 1948, he was getting ready to go with his dealership.


Business cards printed up.


https://i.imgur.com/EwSCsOB.jpg
coachbuilt.com



And a new sign about to go up.


https://i.imgur.com/Vw1QjN0.jpg
ladbsdoc.lacity.org


The building is still there and you can see where the sign fitted in.


https://i.imgur.com/ZnT6mon.jpg
GSV

https://66.media.tumblr.com/15cf45a4...rjpo1_1280.jpg
whittington

Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue
Los Angeles, c. 1939

:previous:

Cruisin' the Miracle Mile:
• Video Link

Are the 80s considered noir yet? :)

• Video Link

People tell me that the 80s were the absolute low point for Hollywood blvd with out of control crime, drugs and prostitution. But what I would pay to go back and see it all again, exactly as I remember it. It doesn't seem all that bad. Maybe the present day is the low point, with all the vloggers, influencers and instagram thotties pouring into the neighborhood.

Or maybe just because I grew up in the 80s/90s. All I see in that video is pure 80s goodness :slob:

:previous: This is quite a discovery, Noir Noir!

I looked all over for a vintage photograph of this stretch of Hollywood Blvd. to no avail.



But, if you look really hard and squint you can see a. . .Oh, who am I tryin' to fool. . .you can't see a darn thing. ... :(

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...923/c45vIh.jpg
GSV



But I did find another Tucker dealership down in San Pedro.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/8...924/ilWnwz.jpg
LAPL



Google puts the dealership in the corner building shown below.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/HRQdjl.jpg
GOOGLE EARTH



& it isn't too difficult to imagine a Tucker Dealership in this vintage building.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/hmhzN4.jpg

. . .but note the street number. (603)




Wouldn't the old Tucker dealership be at the end of the 500 block instead of the beginning of the 600 block? :shrug:

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...924/p2UPMG.jpgGSV



I really want it to be the building on the left. ....The building on the right is too new.








FOR SEARCH PURPOSES:...TUCKER AUTOMOBILES,....FRANK C. TAYLOR, DEALER....595 S. Gaffey, San Pedro Calif......TEL. TERMINAL 3-3577

It looks like the blind squirrel might have found an acorn!

The 1941 L.A. city directory shows Erick Flodine residing at 2021 Wellington rd.

https://i.imgur.com/FeSPdfz.png?1

A Google search turned up this 1950 appellate court case with Eric (slightly different spelling) Flodine as the appellant in a case involving Tucker Motor Cars, accessory packages and fraud.

https://law.justia.com/cases/califor...5/supp931.html

It's mostly legalese but some excerpts:

"More specifically, he alleged that he had "made a written agreement wherein and whereby the said plaintiff placed an order with the said defendants for the purchase and subsequent delivery of an automobile known as Tucker Motor car," and that he was induced to enter into another contract whereby he agreed to purchase, and the defendants agreed to sell, certain accessories to be used in connection with the Tucker motor car, by the fraudulent representation of the defendants that he (the plaintiff) would be able to procure and purchase said Tucker motor car and would be able to use the accessories on it. The defendants knew, he further alleged, that Tucker cars were not being produced, and that plaintiff could not obtain one."
- That first sentence is a real doozy.

and:

"That said defendants at said time concealed and withheld the knowledge from this plaintiff that there were no Tucker motor cars in production ..." There is no evidence whatever supporting the finding that there was no Tucker motor car in production, let alone that the defendant knew that there was none but concealed the fact from the plaintiff. The nearest that plaintiff came to proving his allegations was when he testified: "They told me deliveries would start in October, and that I should get mine in the near future" and again when he replied "Yes" to the question, "They told you that deliveries would start about October of 1948?"

The accessory packages mentioned as well as the large number of prospective dealerships are explained in the Wikipedia page on the Tucker 48:

"Having raised $17,000,000 in a stock issue, one of the first speculative IPOs, Tucker needed more money to continue development of the car. He sold dealerships and distributorships throughout the country. Another money maker was the Tucker Accessories Program. In order to secure a spot on the Tucker waiting list, future buyers could purchase accessories, like seat covers, radio, and luggage, before their car was built. This brought in an additional $2,000,000."

I wasn't able to find a record of the original case.

An August 1948 edition of the Los Angeles Examiner apparently had an ad listing 27 Tucker dealers and addresses in Southern California.

We've got possibly six of them in the LA area -

Murphy Motors - 708 S. Vermont Ave.
Brown-Wise Motors - 831½ S. Hobart Blvd.
Hollywood Tucker - 5250 Hollywood Blvd.
J. H. Adamson - Crenshaw Blvd/46th St.
Eric Flodine/Southwest Tucker (?) - 2021 Wellington Rd.
Frank C. Taylor - 595 S. Gafney St. San Pedro.


So twenty one left with maybe half of them in or around LA. :shrug: Almost as much fun as the car lovers had tracking down the Tucker '48s. :)

Ooh for a copy of that Examiner ad.