Book Reviews

Summer Reading Summer Reading

Hello,Molly! Is a compulsively readable,hilarious and heartbreaking memoir of resilience and redemption by comedic genius Molly Shannon. Experiencing the tragic loss of her mother,sister and cousin in a car accident resulted in a complicated relationship with her grieving father.Raised in a permissive household,her gift for improvising and role-playing and fearlessness led her to become a celebrated comedien and actress. New York,SNL and Los Angeles followed.The book is filled with behindthe-scenes stories of SNL antics. Written with Sean Wilsey,Molly Shannon sheds new and revelatory light on her life and work.A delightful read.

Our own James Bartlett has penned an incredible expose examining the flawed investigation and uncovers new evidence about the “ most notorious and baffling murder in the history of Fairbanks. ”Sex, secrets and a Hollywood connection, make The Alaskan Blonde and intriguing read for anyone who enjoys a true tale of intrigue and coverups.

Just when you thought it was safe to come out of the kitchen, Amy Bizzarri offers up Iconic Hollywood—Dishes, Drinks & Desserts. If you long to savor such long-gone dishes as Noodles Romanoff or its famed Mike Romanoff Cocktail or Madame Wu ’ s Chinese Chicken Salad, you ’ll find recipes and stories about your favorites even including LAUSD Coffee Cake. It’ s Hollywood fine dining before LA’ s food scene was discovered.

With a title like Dream Town, we couldn ’t pass up the latest David Baldacci novel featuring private investigator and World

War II veteran Aloysius Archer as he heads to

Los Angeles, the city where dreams are made and shattered. It’ s the eve of 1953 as he rings in the New Year with an aspiring actress and her screenwriter friend. As a case unfolds, Archer launches an investigation that takes him from mob-ridden Las Vegas to the glamorous world of Hollywood.What’ s not to like here?

Rock on Film explores the electrifying and often daring marriage of Rock & Roll and cinema.From the carefree to the complex,the mindless to the mindbending,rock films have staked out their own turf by celebrating innocence and challenging artistic and social conventions. Fred Goodman presents an insightful round-up of fifty must-see rock films presenting a seventy-year canon of a genre like no other.

TheEssentialDirectors by Sloan De Forest illuminates the unseen forces behind some of the most notable screen triumph from the aesthetic peak of silent cinema through the “New Hollywood” of the 1970s.Each artist’ s influence on the medium,cultural impact and degree of achievement was considered for this compendium of Hollywood’ s most influential filmmakers.There ’ s insight on narrative style,unique touches,and distinctive movie moments to watch for in profiles of over twenty directors from Chaplin to Spielberg.Quite a read! DH

Continued from page 17

Let Discover Hollywood hel new customers discover you! p

All our readers have two things in common: They all read Discover Hollywood, and they all eat food!

Advertise in the Dining section and watch new patrons streaming in your door! Call 323-465-0533 or email: oscar@ discoverhollywood.com

Capitol Records building

Columbia Square

6121 Sunset Blvd. Originally a CBS broadcasting center for many early radio and TV shows, the development features a 20-story residential tower and offices for Neuhaus, Viacom and Fender Guitars. www.columbiasquare.com

Crossroads of the World

6671 Sunset Blvd.(323)463-5611. Historical landmark built in 1936 as “the world’ s first modern shopping center. ” An architectural potpourri with Streamline Moderne, Tudor, Moorish, French Provincial and pseudo Spanish styles. Used for locations for films L.A. Confidential, Indecent Proposal and Argo. Now an office complex awaiting restoration. www.crossroadshollywood.com

De Longpre Park

1350 Cherokee Ave. A lovely old “ pocket” park in neighborhood one block south of Sunset Blvd. Jerry Fuller wrote Travelin ’ Man (recorded by Rick Nelson) here. Features sculptures honoring Rudolph Valentino.

Academy Awards/Dolby Theatre

6801 Hollywood Blvd. (323) 3086300. Inside the Hollywood & Highland complex. Home of the Academy Awards. www.dolbytheatre.com

Larry Edmunds Book Store

6644 Hollywood Blvd. (323) 463-3273. Believed to have the largest collection of theatre and film related books in Los Angeles, offers photographs, posters and other memorabilia from the movies. www.larryedmunds.com

Egyptian Theatre

6712 Hollywood Blvd. (323) 461-2020. Built in 1922 by impresario Sid Grauman. Egyptian décor inspired by 1920’ s King Tut craze complete with hieroglyphics and murals. Site of Hollywood’ s first movie premiere, Robin Hood with Douglas Fairbanks and Cecil B. DeMille premiered The Ten Commandments here in 1923. Owned and being restored by Netflix. www.egyptiantheatre.com

El Capitan Theatre

6838 Hollywood Blvd. (818) 845-3110. Built in 1925 as a stage and movie theater, Orson Welles ‘ Citizen Kane premiered here in 1941. Renovations in 1942 concealed its lavish interior restored in the 1980s. Now the venue for most Disney film premieres. elcapitantheatre.com

The Original Farmers Market

6333 W. 3rd St. (323) 933-9211. World-famous market, a Los Angeles tradition for 85 years. The Grove shopping and entertainment complex was added adjacent to the market in 2002, making this a first-rate attraction and shopping destination. www.farmersmarketla.com

Ferndell Trail and Nature Museum

Ferndell Dr. & Los Feliz Blvd. 5375 Red Oak Dr. Settled by Gabrielino Indians over 10,000 years ago, now a quarter-mile walking trail set along a stream banked by tropical plants imported from all over the world. Often used as a film and TV location, most recently for La La Land. www.laparks.org/griffithpark#attractions

Griffith Observatory

2800 Observatory Rd. (213) 473-0800. Art deco landmark located in popular Griffith Park features a state-of-the-art planetarium, sweeping city views, and various exhibits. Location for final scenes from classic Rebel Without a Cause. Closed Monday. Free. www.griffithobservatory.org

Griffith Park

4730 Crystal Springs Dr. (323) 913-4688. Celebrating its centennial, this is not only a historic park but also the largest city park in the U.S. Remote areas home to wildlife including deer, bobcats and famed P-22 mountain lion. Hiking and riding trails, golf, tennis, playgrounds, pony rides, travel museum, zoo and majestic hilltop observatory. www.laparks.org/griffithpark

Cinerama Dome

Mary Pickford Center

Hudson Apartments

(formerly Hillview Apartments) 6533 Hollywood Blvd. Built by movie moguls Jesse Lasky and Samuel Goldwyn in 1917 for Broadway actors who left New York for Hollywood. Many boarding houses had signs “No Actors and No Dogs Allowed.

Historic Hollywood

In 1886, Kansas prohibitionist Harvey Wilcox and his wife, Daeida, bought 120 acres of the Cahuenga Valley and named it “Hollywood. ” The serious explorer can read John Pashdag ’ s Hollywoodland U.S.A., Charles Lockwood’ s Guide to Hollywood, Hollywood: The First 100 Years pictorial history by Bruce Torrance and Early Hollywood by Marc Wanamaker and Robert W. Nudelman. Browse Hollywood Heritage Museum and Larry Edmonds bookstores.

Hollywood American Legion Post #43

2035 N. Highland Ave. (323) 851-3030. Glittering example of the 1929 Egyptian Revival/Moroccan art deco is perhaps one of the most spectacular Veterans ’ facilities in the U.S. Still active, past members include Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Gene Autry, Ronald Reagan, Ernest Borgnine and Adolph Menjou. www.hollywoodpost43.org

Hollywood Athletic Club

6525 Sunset Blvd. (323) 460-6360. Built in 1924 as an ultra-exclusive club, it was the site of the first Emmy Awards in 1949. Members included Valentino, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Buster Crabbe, John Wayne, Walt Disney, Abbott and Costello, and Bela Lugosi. www.thehollywoodathleticclub.com

Hollywood Boulevard

The famed Boulevard is a designated National Historic Register Entertainment and Commercial District. Many Hollywood hopefuls have walked “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams ” and imagined their names embedded in the sidewalk stars.

Hollywood Bowl

2301 Highland Ave. An important piece of Los Angeles performing arts history and world-class cultural attraction, the 60-acre site, famous for its acoustics, opened in 1921. Note the Art Deco fountain at the Highland Ave. entrance with the figure of a harpist sculpted in granite by George Stanley (who also sculpted the original Oscar statuette as designed by Cedric Gibbons). www.hollywoodbowl.com

Hollywood Forever Cemetery

6000 Santa Monica Blvd. (323) 469-1181. The final resting place of many Hollywood legends including Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Cecil B. De Mille, Marion Davies, Tyrone Power, Peter Lorre, Peter Finch, “Bugsy ” Siegel, John Huston, Johnny Ramone and others. Noteworthy are the Mausoleum ’ s stained-glass windows. www.hollywoodforever.com Hollywood Bowl Sculpture

Hollywood Gateway/The Four Silver Ladies

La Brea Ave. at Hollywood Blvd. Gazebo depicts Dolores Del Rio, Anna Mae Wong, Mae West, and Dorothy Dandridge. Designed by Catherine Harwicke and sculpted by Harl West.

Hollywood High School

1521 N. Highland Ave. (323) 993-1700. Famous alumni include James Garner, John Ritter, Jason Robards, Jr., Stefanie Powers, Jean Peters, Rick and David Nelson, Sally Kellerman, Charlene Tilton and Carol Burnett. WPA-built Art Deco science and liberal arts buildings. (See “Murals in Hollywood”) www.hollywoodhighschool.net

Hollywood Hills

From Los Feliz to Beverly Hills, developed in the 20s, intriguing secluded historic neighborhoods offer historical perspective above the city that hums and shimmers below.

Continued from page 31

Beatles mural by Hector Ponce

Hollywood Palladium

6215 Sunset Blvd. Opened October 30, 1940 with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and his vocalists, including Frank Sinatra. Hollywood's dance and music venue for over 70 years. www.hollywoodpalladium.com

Hollywood Post Office

1615 Wilcox Ave. Built in 1936 and on the National Register of Historic Places. Wood relief The Horseman, carved by WPA artist Gordon Newell in 1937.

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

7000 Hollywood Blvd. (323) 856-1970. Built in 1927, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks were among the original owners. The first Academy Awards banquet held in the hotel’ s Blossom Room in 1929. Recently renovated to reflect 21st century taste honors its illustrious history, it is Hollywood’ s favorite hotel. www.thehollywoodroosevelt.com

Hollywood Sign

Built on Mt. Lee in 1923 for $21,000 as a temporary sign to promote Hollywoodland real estate development, the 50-foot-high letters were made of wood and with 20-watt bulbs around each letter. In the 70s the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce spearheaded the campaign to rebuild the sign with support from a diverse group of people (including Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner, rock star Alice Cooper, cowboy Gene Autry and singer Andy Williams) each pledging $27,000 per letter for a new, all-metal landmark. www.hollywoodsign.org

Hollywood Tower Apartments

6200 Franklin Ave. Recently renovated historic apartments with French-Norman architectural details appeal to those with a taste for glamour, romance, mystery and fine craftsmanship. www.thehollywoodtower.com

Hollywoodland Stone Gates

Beachwood Dr. Built of rock quarried from Griffith Park and designated a monument in 1968. Beachwood Village was immortalized as a town of zombies in the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers and is one of Hollywood’ s favorite hillside neighborhoods.

Janes House

6541 Hollywood Blvd. A true remnant of the past, the 1903 Queen Anne style Victorian residence was the Misses Janes Kindergarten School from 1911-1926. Attending were the children of Cecil B. DeMille, Jesse Lasky, Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin.

The Knickerbocker Hotel

1714 Ivar Avenue. (323) 463-0096. Built in 1925, it was a glamorous hotel popular with celebrities. Errol Flynn lived here when he first came to Hollywood and both Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley stayed many times. Harry Houdini was a guest and his widow held a séance on the roof in 1936. Sadly, Director D.W. Griffith (Birth of a Nation and Intolerance) lived here a mostly forgotten man until his death in 1948. Now a senior residence.

Lake Hollywood

A glimpse of this mountain

“lake ” nestled in the hills will make you forget that you ’ re in a major city. Used as a location for countless movies and TV shows—a replica of the dam cracked and burst in the movie Earthquake. Superb view of Hollywood Sign. Walking, hiking, biking from 5am–Sunset.

Las Palmas Hotel

1738 N. Las Palmas. Julia Roberts ’ digs before business with Richard Gere moved her “ uptown ” to Beverly Hills in Pretty Woman. Also, Kramer ’ s residence when he moved from New York to Hollywood on TV’ s Seinfeld.

Los Angeles Fire Department Museum and Memorial

1355 N. Cahuenga Blvd. The LAFD houses its historic firefighting collection dating back to the 1880’ s in the 1930 Hollywood Fire Station No. 27. Outdoor sculpture memorializes fallen firefighters. www.lafdmuseum.org

Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens

5333 Zoo Dr. (323) 644-4200. At Griffith Park. Where the real wildlife is! One of the world’ s finest zoos. Advance tickets recommended. Open daily. www.lazoo.org

Magic Castle

7001 Franklin Ave. (323) 851-3313. The chateaustyle mansion was built in 1909 by Rollin B. Lane. Now world-famous private club for magicians. Operated by the Academy of Magical Arts, a nonprofit organization of 5,000 magicians and magic fans for over 40 years. www.magiccastle.com

Max Factor Building (Hollywood Museum)

1660 N. Highland Ave. Opened in 1935 with a

“ premiere ” attended by Claudette Colbert, Rita Hayworth, Marlene Dietrich and Judy Garland. It was headquarters for the cosmetics company founded by Max Factor who coined the term “ makeup. ” (See MUSEUMS)

Montecito Apartments

6650 Franklin Ave. Fine example of art deco style with Mayan influence, listed in National Register of Historical Places. Was home to James Cagney, Mickey Rooney, Geraldine Page, Rip Torn, George C. Scott, Ben Vereen and Ronald Reagan. Now a residence for seniors.

Mulholland Fountain

Los Feliz Blvd. and Riverside Dr. Dedicated August 1, 1940, as a memorial to William Mulholland who engineered the 238-mile-long aqueduct that brought water to L.A. from the Owens River Valley in 1913. Hollywood Palladium

Murals in Hollywood

An array of murals provide diversion to the urban streetscape. Don ’t miss the spectacular L.A. Jazz tiled mural by Richard Wyatt at Capitol Records on Vine St.See Eloy Torrez ’ Legends of Cinema on Hollywood High’ s Auditorium on Highland Ave. On Hudson north of Hollywood Blvd. find Alfredo de Batuc ’ s A Tribute to Delores Del Rio. Thomas Suriya ’ s You Are The Star is at southwest corner of Wilcox and Hollywood Blvd. On Argyle and Franklin is an untitled mural by the late Dan Collins. See George Sportelli’ s Nancy Sinatra steps away from Hollywood Blvd. on Wilcox, Frank Sinatra and Johnny Cash (look up) on Las Palmas south of Hollywood Blvd., Tony Curtis and Charles Bronson (on utility box) at Bronson and Hollywood Blvd. McNeilly's Jim Morrison and Marilyn are near LaBrea and Hollywood and Hector Ponce ’ s mural Tribute to Hollywood faces west near Santa Monica Blvd. and Wilton. Visit artist Ian “Anthroe ” Roberston-Salt 100foot long Walk of Fame Mural at 7025 Hollywood Blvd. celebrating the walk’ s 60th anniversary.

Musso & Frank Grill

6667 Hollywood Blvd. (323) 467-7788. Hollywood’ s oldest restaurant (1919) was a popular hangout for writers. William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Raymond Chandler, Nathaniel West, Ernest Hemingway and Dashiell Hammett. Featured in Tarantino ’ s Once Upon A Time In… Hollywood. www.mussoandfrank.com (See DINING)

Places continues on page 38

Hollywoodland Stone Gates