Re 5254 Los Feliz Blvd/2047 Laughlin Park
Unless one might somehow have access to the actual paperwork involved in their real estate transactions, the public record regarding Earl's and Dempsey's reveals as much of the truth as anyone is likely to find--and we know newspapers, censuses, and directories are not entirely reliable sources. I realize that I didn't make myself clear--while Dempsey is written of in newspaper articles as having moved to Los Feliz in late 1925, he didn't move into the Earl house until later. In the 1926CD--compiled largely in 1925--he was at 2531 N Commonwealth and the Earls were listed at 5254 Los Feliz Blvd along with Mrs. Earl's parents, although by the middle of 1926 or so the Earls and the Carpenters would have two separate houses on adjacent properties (Carpenters = 5242). The lease in May 1926 and then sale of the Earl house to Dempsey when they moved to Detroit is mentioned in several sources--the date given for the actual sale in reliable sources is quite specific: January 5, 1927.
Harley Earl built this house on property he bought from Cecil B. DeMille.
Mrs. Earl behind the wheel of her 1927 LaSalle--her husband's design--in front of her parents' house in May 1927. According to their grandson, the Earls were back in L.A. for a vacation at that time. Billy--seen with his mother in the car--was dead two weeks later.
LAT May 20, 1927
Apparently, Billy had some sort of treatment for a cold that resulted in a throat hemorrhage (what could this precedure possibly have been?) and died in his mother's arms.
Pictures:
classiccarclub.org/