Mary Pickford – BEGUILING HOLLYWOOD

December 5, 2020 / Vickie Lester

Episode 24. People with nerves should never go into the movies, and people without nerve can’t.

I loved recording this chapter, it’s got Hollywood history, everlasting friendship, and of course some very strange goings-on… There we sat, the mogul’s daughter turned academic, the copywriter turned designer, the semi-profane raconteur turned show runner, the pragmatist turned legal advocate, and me; the nanny turned studio executive. It was…

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April 8, 2017 / Vickie Lester

Friends

I have a friend I met when we were nine. This picture of Mary Pickford reminds me of her, the solid gaze, the bold spirit, and the curls. She’s the only person I’ve ever known whose hair fell into perfect ringlets. Recently, she called out of the blue and we…

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January 24, 2015 / Vickie Lester

1924, Peter Pan on film – James Wong Howe and Betty Bronson

In 1924 Betty Bronson was chosen to play Peter Pan on film by the author J.M. Barrie – other contenders for the role were Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson. Here the elfin actress leaps to the window, directed by Herbert Brenon and photographed by James Wong Howe.

August 19, 2014 / Vickie Lester

Grauman’s Chinese Theater

The iconic Grauman’s Chinese Theater, designed by Raymond A. Kennedy of the architectural firm also responsible for the Egyptian, Meyer and Holler. Douglas Fairbanks was a part owner: Along with Sid Grauman, Mary Pickford, and Howard Schenck: Jean Klossner, also know as “Mr. Footprint” came up with the concrete formula…

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April 10, 2014 / Vickie Lester

Here’s an Awesome New Walking Guide to the Historic Core – Neighborhood Guides – Curbed LA

. click on the candy colored letters… Here’s an Awesome New Walking Guide to the Historic Core – Neighborhood Guides – Curbed LA. A Brief History of the Untied Artists Theatre (1927) The United Artists Theatre opened on December 26, 1927. Two other movie palaces (one in Detroit, and another…

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March 19, 2014 / Vickie Lester

Architectural treasures lost, Los Angeles…

Designed by Roy Seldon Price, Dias Dorados – residence of the father of the studio system, Thomas H. Ince. Torn down by developers in the 1940s: Designed by Johnson, Kaufman and Coate 1922 – Meyer House, Beverly Hills – I can’t find recent records, but if this one still exists…

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February 7, 2014 / Vickie Lester

My boyfriend, Jeff Bezos, over at Amazon just sent me such a treat!

It’s this luscious gem of a book my friend wrote… Oh, dear! We can do better than that. Re-light! Roll ’em! Okay, I’d never make it in the camera department because clearly I didn’t rack focus properly. But I know a GREAT book when I see one — and I…

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January 21, 2014 / Vickie Lester

How to Stay Sane in a Crazy World, by Sophia Stuart

As per the traditions of Hollywood, and my habit of turning conversations my way here’s the preface: Oh! Talk about me? Of course! Spoiled and sheltered, and can go Sicilian in an instant. On the other hand. There are people who restore, regenerate, thrive in self-invention, and don’t have a…

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January 21, 2014 / Vickie Lester

Marlene Dietrich — photographed by Edward Steichen

November 30, 2013 / Vickie Lester

Tag: Mary Pickford

Episode 24. People with nerves should never go into the movies, and people without nerve can’t.

Friends

1924, Peter Pan on film – James Wong Howe and Betty Bronson

Grauman’s Chinese Theater

Here’s an Awesome New Walking Guide to the Historic Core – Neighborhood Guides – Curbed LA

Architectural treasures lost, Los Angeles…

My boyfriend, Jeff Bezos, over at Amazon just sent me such a treat!

How to Stay Sane in a Crazy World, by Sophia Stuart

Marlene Dietrich — photographed by Edward Steichen

Keep at it… Jean Arthur