Felix In Hollywood

A Blog for the Smart Set

Friday, October 19, 2012

It's Yesterday Once More...Every Day.

Last evening, I wandered up to Hollywood Blvd. to attend a book signing.  Great fun it was, too.

Me and Author Randy Schmidt

Randy is the knowledge king of The Carpenters and his books are terrific.  His latest is “Yesterday Once More-the Carpenters Reader, (revised & expanded)”.  This book, along with his Karen bio, “Little Girl Blue”, will tell you everything your Karen and Richard lovin' heart need to know!



And now, a bit  about the location where all this fun took place.

We all know that Hollywood is, and always has been, the home of movies, radio, records and television.  But here's the funny thing, for years Hollywood Blvd. was actually a mecca for..........books!  That's right, book buyers and book readers could browse by the hour though any number of terrific (and now legendary) bookshops along the boulevard like Pickwick, Stanley Rose, Larry Edmunds, Cherokee and Book City.   However, between corporate booksellers and, finally, the internet, the civilized recreation of book shopping is almost as extinct as the wide-track Pontiac.

There is one remaining holdout on the Boulevard and it's a beaut:


Let's walk in shall we.



The Larry Edmunds Bookshop opened in 1938 in a Cahuenga Blvd. location.  But it was sometime in the 1950s when the magic happened.  It was now located on Hollywood and the owners wife, Git Luboviski, hit on the idea of putting together a small brochure of featured books that all had one theme in common -- they were all cinema related.  And when all the titles sold out lickety-split a new Larry Edmunds was born.  By the mid '60s it was exclusively a cinema bookshop.  Hey, let's meet the proprietor!


This is my friend Jeffrey Mantor.  An employee of the store since '91, Jeff has been the owner for the last several years.  And yes, he has a Rita Hayworth tattoo on his arm.  Maybe the Anita Ekberg tattoo needed company.

These days, in addition to film, the shop offers titles on tv, music and theater as well.  And books aren't the only thing on offer, by a long shot.  An incredibly comprehensive inventory of collectible memorabilia, in all price points, is on hand too!

Just a few of the hundreds of files containing 8x10 stills

These are copies and are only $6 each!  There's zillions of originals too.
Vintage Fan Magazines anyone?

Posters, lobby cards, one-sheets!

If you live in the area or are planning a visit, scamper over to 6644 Hollywood Blvd., treat yourself to civilized browse and buy yourself a present.  You deserve it and the bookstore deserves your business.

12 comments:

normadesmond said...

good thing i don't live nearby. i'd be broke.

The Cool Cookie said...

What fun! But I want to know - which Anita Ekberg is on his arm? Young? Or old?

Philip Mershon said...

Really Cookie, what do you think?

Soul-Pilot said...

Nice post Philip. Sorry I missed it. I've known Randy for a few years and having known you since earlier this year it would've been a nice !mini reunion. Oh...and the bookstore looks very cool. It'll be my next visit

marksparky said...

I love that store...I found the marvelous Roz Russell autobiography there by standing on a ladder to find it on a top shelf!

Anonymous said...

What a treasure trove!
I got hooked reading about Karen's life some months ago...lots of surprises, things I didn't know..and wonder if things could have been different. She deserved better.

Poseidon3 said...

I would, quite literally, go out of my mind in that book store. AMAZING! I scrounge through every used book store, flea market and thrift shop I come upon, always on the lookout for rare and unusual books relating to the movies and their stars. In that place, I think I would spontaneously combust! Thanks for sharing it. And, like Norma, I would go bankrupt trying to purchase all the things I liked.

Philip Mershon said...

Yes Poseidon, it's like our version of Toys-R-Us!

teamgloria said...

Simply adore the postcard of Louise in gilt lame.

Aitch said...

I love this store. Makes me want to spend lots of money.

VP81955 said...

Damn, I wish I lived in Los Angeles. If I won a few hundred grand in the lottery, who knows how long I'd stay in that store?

Rick said...

I was so happy to see this post. I used to order celebrity photos from Larry Edmunds in the late 70's. I was still living in the hills of Arkansas. I don't know how I would have found out about the bookstore???? What a great flashback.

Thanks!!!!