Tag: Los Angeles

The Shop Around the Corner…at Christmas

December 25, 2016 by Vickie Lester

A.O. Scott of the New York Times makes a glowing Christmas pick: . In a second I’ll tell you why this particular film fills me with a sense of Christmas well being… It is near the close of the film, Christmas Eve, as the stage is set for the wonderful resolution you saw above… But, if you listen very carefully, before the tender ending, as Stewart and Sullavan prepare to lock the doors and shut off the store lights… You […]

Categories: Art, Christmas, Culture, Design, Entertainment, fashion, Fiction, Film, Friendship, History, Hollywood, Humor, Los Angeles, Movies, Photography, Relationships, Writing • Tags: "The Shop Around the Corner", A.O. Scott, at home on set, behind the scenes, best wishes from Vickie Lester, Christmas, Christmas Film Pick, Classic Movies, comedy, director, Ernst Lubitsch, film, hear direction, history, Hollywood, James Stewart, keep rolling, Los Angeles, Margaret Sullavan, Movie Classic, New York Times, photography, romance, sparkling dialogue, tender, well being, when behind the scenes ends up on film

“Life without emotions is like an engine without fuel.” Mary Astor

July 28, 2016 by Vickie Lester

Categories: Art, Blogging, Books, Culture, Design, Entertainment, fashion, Film, History, Hollywood, Humor, Life, Literature, Los Angeles, Memoir, Movies, Photography, Story, Travel, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized, Writing • Tags: actress, author, behind the scenes, book, Classic Movies, design, diary, Dodsworth, fashion, film, her parents were horrible people, history, Hollywood, humor, Los Angeles, Mary Astor, Meet Me in St. Louis, Movie Star, Old Hollywood, photography, she lost custody of her child, The Maltese Falcon, The Palm Beach Story

A little unsolicited advice on love… with Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn

July 1, 2016 by Vickie Lester

Even if you’re fighting with your beloved, the point is never to lose connection. Sometimes, even in heated debate, the Mr. and I find we’re still touching, and there’s not a damn thing make-believe about that. No matter what is said, it helps…

Categories: Art, Blogging, Culture, Design, Entertainment, fashion, Film, History, Hollywood, Life, Los Angeles, Marriage, Memoir, Movies, Photography, Relationships, Story, Theater, Travel, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized, Writing • Tags: 1938, actor, actress, behind the scenes, Classic Movies, dame, design, director, Errol Flynn, fashion, fighting with your beloved, film, history, Hollywood, Los Angeles, love, make believe, Michael Curtiz, Old Hollywood, Olivia de Havilland, photography, regret, romance, Tasmanian Devil, Technicolor, The Adventures of Robin Hood, touch, unsolicited advice

The Hollywood Bowl – another reason I love L.A.

June 30, 2016 by Vickie Lester

A natural amphitheater – 1923 – progress – 1925 – 1927 – Rebuilt, again – 1928 – Twilight at the bowl in the 1930s – note the more pronounced arch – Distinctive – always –

Categories: Architecture, Art, Blogging, Choreography, Culture, Design, Entertainment, Film, History, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Movies, Photography, Theater, Travel, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized • Tags: #itsinhiskissbyvickielester, another reason I love L.A., concerts under the stars, history, Hollywood, Hollywood institution, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic, nosebleed section, The Hollywood Bowl

Where I live it’s bloody hot! L.A. experiencing warmest year since records started being kept in 1877.

June 23, 2016 by Vickie Lester

I’ve started taking walks just after six a.m. Yesterday, when I turned the corner were my street starts to climb into the foothills, I saw the windows of a Spanish Colonial had all been flung open to catch the (relative) chill. My neighbor was seated at her kick-ass Steinway playing the most gorgeous, lilting, rippling, music into the morning… The painted piano above, in the lobby of the old Ambassador Hotel, reminded me of another friend’s piano. She found it […]

Categories: Architecture, Art, Blogging, Culture, Design, Film, Friendship, History, Hollywood, Life, Los Angeles, Memoir, Movies, Photography, Science, Uncategorized, Weather • Tags: #hollywoodnovel, #itsinhiskissbyvickielester, #lastory, heat wave, José Iturbi, Los Angeles, Steinway, The Ambassador Hotel, The Golden Age of Steinway

Parenting, and why I’m no Irene Dunne

May 8, 2016 by Vickie Lester

What got me started on this train of thought, was, of course, the Kid. He has a habit of referring to his elders as, “Boss,” however it all started with me and my very special name, “Crime Boss.” Irene Dunne was a nice upstanding gal who did right by her community, family, and faith — kind of a paragon who worked hard for charitable causes and said things worthy of thought and respect, like, “I drifted into acting and drifted […]

Categories: Blogging, Books, Children, Culture, Design, DIY, Entertainment, fashion, Fiction, Film, Friendship, History, Hollywood, Humor, Life, Literature, Los Angeles, Marriage, Memoir, Mother's Day, Movies, Parenting, Photography, Relationships, Short Stories, Story, Travel, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized, Writing • Tags: #happymothersday, #itsinhiskissbyvickielester, acting is not everything living is, behind the scenes, Charles Boyer, Irene Dunne, Irene Dunne quote, Los Angeles, Old Hollywood, Scotty Beckett