Every Picture Tells A Story.

Pregnant with Desi Jr. and celebrating her 12th wedding anniversary at a restaurant in Palm Springs.....

....Lucy watches Desi watching the waitress.

Love Lucy....At Your Own Risk.

From the book,  "How I Escaped From Gilligan's Island"    by William Froug:

"In 1949 I was hired by Lloyd Brownfield, head of CBS Press Information, Hollywood, as a senior publicist for $83.50 a week.  That was a living wage at the time.  My assignment was to write for the daily mailer, which was sent out to all the CBS Radio affiliates.  The mailer was intended to pique their interest in the network's programs and especially their stars.

One of CBS's newest stars was a tall, pretty, young, red-headed woman named Lucille Ball.  She had appeared in a number of B pictures and , according to the powers that be in New York, had a gift for comedy.  Now she was being given her own radio sitcom, My Favorite Husband.

Brownfield gave me my first assignment:  interview Ball and do a feature story on her for the mailer.  I walked across CBS's Columbia Square courtyard and entered our big audience Studio A.  The large auditorium was dark except for the lit stage where the cast was seated on folding chairs, studying scripts.  They were on a rehearsal break.  My good fortune, I thought, as I walked toward the stage where Ball was seated.

As I approached she glanced toward me, curiously.  "Miss Ball,"  I said, "I'm Bill Froug with CBS Publicity, and I'd appreciate it if I could have a couple of minutes of your time to do an interview."

She turned in her chair so she was facing me head on.  She fixed me with cold eyes and a knotted frown.  "Kid,"  she said, "go shit in your hat."

When I reported the incident to my boss, he broke out into loud guffaws of laughter.  "That's Lucy, all right,"  Brownie said.  "Dig up a studio bio of her, rewrite it, and send it out.  And, by the way,"  he added, "welcome to the real Hollywood."

Richard Denning with Ball

You Know, Black and White Can Be A Good Idea.....

She'll Take Manhattan

1965

Gee, A Double Bed In Real Life!

This Calls For A Celebration!!!

Exactly 100 years ago today Nestor Studios, the first motion picture studio in Hollywood CA, opened up it's doors for business!

Blondeau Tavern soon to be Nestor Studios

It opened at the former Blondeau Tavern (above).  Nestor didn't remain autonomous for long though.  Carl Laemmle, of  Independent Motion Pictures (IMP), absorbed the company along with several others in 1912.  Afterwhich, Nestor head David Horsley and former Nestor Director Al Christie made pictures under the new Laemmle banner of Universal Pictures.

Same site in 1913

After Uncle Carl Laemmle (who had a very large Faemmle) moved Universal to what is still it's location today - Universal City,  Christie split off from the Universal moniker and the lot was now "Christie Comedies".  Christie's company expanded the lot and flourished for the next two decades.

 

Christie lot 1926

As we all know, however, progress happens....

Demolition of Christie Studios, 1937

And, every once in a while, progress is not such a horrible thing.....

CBS Columbia Square

Columbia Square opening April 30, 1938

Columbia Square Lobby

View from the stage of the 1000 seat studio A

The Glenn Miller Orchestra, Studio A

Lucille Ball and Richard Denning  "My Favorite Husband"

Agnes Moorehead's legendary performance of "Sorry Wrong Number"

Columbia Square is something of a ghost town now* since local CBS affiliate KCBS and KNX radio left a few years back.  The property is in the hands of new owners who, of course, plan new and dense and tall construction -- once this wacky economy clears up.  They have promised though to preserve Columbia Square.  Meanwhile some of the space is being rented out to production companies, mostly of the reality TV variety.  But it seems as though only 30-40% of the over 100,000 square feet are being used.

So today, on this most special day, I snuck in!  I boldly walked into the lobby, prepared to go into a riff about my historical walking tour and the significance of the building and the necessity of my walking through it.  I was also prepared to get summarily thrown out on my can.  But, don't you know there was no one sitting at the sweater-draped chair behind the receptionist desk!  I was home free.  I knew once I was inside that if I was spotted, I would be assumed to be an employee of one of the tenants.  So in I slipped.  It was a bit disappointing.  Much of the grandeur and streamline of the place was done over (seemingly in the '70s).  But I walked up to the roof top and went to the deck that surrounds the penthouse office (vacant) to snap these pictures just for you of Hollywood on it's 100th birthday:

The roof looking North East. 

The roof looking along the Penthouse wall to North West.  You can barely make out the Hollywood Sign on top of the hill.

Many of the photos above come from the fabulous facebook page CBS Columbia Square Alumni.

*Ghost town indeed.  Scores of former employees from the building insist that, not only does the spirit of CBS founder and president William Paley inhabit the building, but so does that of former KNX morning DJ/television star Bob Crane (Hogan's Heroes).

The Mystery Gets Revealed!!!

Well, get me!!  I stumped you all.  So without further delay:


It's hard to believe that in only 37 short years this handsome young devil of 19:

Would become:

Theodore J. Mooney!!!

A few other fun facts about wonderful character actor Gale Gordon:

**He was the first actor (albeit on radio) to play the role of Flash Gordon. (take that Buster Crabbe!)

** He was the original choice to play the role of Fred Mertz but had to decline owing to his commitment on the "Our Miss Brooks" show.

** He is the only actor to have either guest-starred or was a series regular on every weekly series that Lucille Ball ever did starting in the 40s with her radio series "My Favorite Husband" and ending in the 80s with "Life With Lucy".

**He had a ranch in Borrego Springs, CA some 160 miles from L.A. and commuted to work.

** The output of his ranch made him one of the few commercial growers of Carob in the US.


Okay everybody, all together now:

"MISSEZ  CAAAAHHRMICHAEL!!!"

Lucille At 100 - A Colorful Life

Happy 100th Lucy.

This Ball Has Tone.

To satisfy the British censors, re-shoots were ordered for the bedroom scenes on 1947's "My Awful Wife", but not before the cast and crew sought to have a little fun and make a statement.

Those Fabulous Stars Of Black And White - In Color! Pt. 3

Freddy March, Claudette Colbert and CB DeMille on the set of "Sign Of The Cross".

Lovely Greer Garson

Lucy and Desi

Norma Shearer (isn't that one of those fiber optic lamps from the 70s?)

What's with the gloves Rita?

Ginger Rogers staring in "Attack Of The Bunny Breasts"

Those Fabulous Stars Of Black And White - In Color! Pt. 2

Olivia de Havilland hammers out a plan with a sticky wicket.

Rita Hayworth - Red Hair purple flowers.

Maybe in deference to Rita, Lucille Ball's Technicolor Red turns Brunette!

James Stewart - looks like a 'Stewart for Congress' photo.

Little Miss Alice Faye.

A thrilling and spectacular Dorothy Dandridge.

The Young And The Old And The Restless.

Young Bogart

Old Lucy - maybe she thinks it's a glass of gin.

A very restless Baby Frances.

Black And White And Red All Over

Lucy's having quite a day, don't you think we should too?

It's The Weekend, Why Don't You...

...do a little house cleaning, a little hanging out, maybe shoot some hoops. 

But whatever you do, do it with the beauty and brilliance of Lucy and Orson!