Kravitz vs Kravitz

When one thinks nosy neighbor the first thing you think of is Gladys Kravitz the neighbor of Samantha and Darren Stephens on the television show "Bewitched". Mrs. Kravitz was played by two women the first was Lice Pearce from 1964 until her death at age 48 in 1966. She was replaced by Sandra Gould who played the role until the shows ending in 1971.

Both actresses played the nosy neighbor to the hilt. Pearce played the role a little more manically than Gould. Gould's Gladys Kravitz was more insane and institutionalized. They both played Mrs. Kravitz hilariously. She is the one mortal character on the show who was  aware that there was something funny going on in the house across the street. Her long suffering husband Abner tolerated her but also thought she was insane. 

Beverly Hills' Witch's House

There was a period in Los Angeles when fairy tale architecture was all the rage. What fairy tale architecture is is something that could only happen in Hollywood the land of make believe. These were homes and businesses that were built in the style of homes in fairy tales; they have the look of a house that Hansel and Gretel might just live in. One of the most famous is the Witch's House (actually known as the Spandena house) located in the very glam Beverly Hills. It was built in 1921 by a Hollywood art director named Harry Oliver for a film company in Culver City. The house was moved to its current location in 1934 where it became the family home of the Spandena family. It was originally surrounded by a moat and intentionally overgrown looking English style garden. The Spandena family lived there unti selling it in the 1960's. the house slowly fell into disrepair and in the 1990's it was once again up for sale. The location is a prime spot in Beverly Hills ( the corner of Carmelita and Walden Drives) and most people were interested in buying it as a tear down. Local Realtor Michael Libow bought the house and started restoring it. He put up a large wall around the property that caused a local uproar as the neighbor's assume he was tearing it down. The house now it completely restored and a beloved local landmark. It can also be seen in the movie Clueless. It is a must see when visiting Beverly Hills.

Vincent Minnelli's Abandoned Mansion

On a corner of Sunset Blvd. in Beverly Hills across the street from the world famous Beverly Hills Hotel is an abandoned and decaying mansion. This was once the glamorous home of film director Vincent Minnelli. It was in this house that Minnelli died in 1988. The house was left in his will to his only daughter Liza. The will also had a stipulation in the will that Minnelli's widow Lee be allowed to live there. Lee Minnelli did indeed live in the house but in 2000 Liza wanted to sell the house and offered to buy her stepmother a condo. Lee refused the offer and stayed in the mansion. Liza in an effort to get Lee to move out stopped paying all the bills. The electricity was turned off and the garden was left to grow. There were servants who stayed on working for Lee Minnelli for free. 

Well Liza did eventually sell the house and Lee died. There were lots of problems with the sale and the new owners still have done nothing with the place just letting it decay. Squatters eventually took of residence in what was left of this once beautiful Hollywood Regency style mansion. There it sits sad and neglected in one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in Los Angeles.  

Ding Dong The Witch is Dead

Fred Phelps one of the most hate filled human beings has finally died and his spew of hate has been silenced. No one should be wished dead but there are those who's death's is a relief. 

Fred Phelps was a horrid man with twisted views that made zero sense. Why would any one in their right mind picket outside of a dead service member's funeral? His hatred was unbelievable and had to have something to do with his own insecurities and self worth. He is to be pitied not hated. One must take the high road when one encounters such repugnant people. Pity him as he spent so much of his life hating instead of living. He is dead so hopefully his ideas will go with him.

The last of the "Two Fat Ladies" has died

Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmeralda Dickson Wright, 66, died today in Scotland.   Known for her BBC television Show "Two Fat Ladies" died in an hospital in Edinburgh of a long illness. She started her career in law but because of an alcohol problem she could no longer "work in the law". Dickson Wright went on to open two very successful bookstores in London and Edinburgh. It was there she was discovered and asked to do the cooking show with Jennifer Patterson. They didn't know each other until the show. Clarissa was surprised by the success of the show as she had never written a cookbook.
She was also cast in an episode of "Absolutely Fabulous" as a games keeper in a country lodge.

The Vampire of Harold Way

Bela Lugosi's dead
The bats have left the bell tower
The victims have been bled
Red velvet lines the black box

The last years of Bela Lugosi's life were not the stuff of glamour, not those of an international star. Dracula made him famous to the point of infamous and it was Dracula that made his life a hell. His hell came to an end in a small apartment on a quiet street across from an elementary school in an at that time less than fashionable Hollywood neighborhood. The mansion in the hills was long gone, the money and the acclaim as well. What was left was a gaunt pale Hungarian looking very like the un-dead after a long battle with a heroin addiction.

The road from the Budapest stage to Harold Way in Hollywood was a long and colorful route filled with the very heights of stardom and the misery of typecasting. There were five wives along this route as well as a son.

Lugosi after years of drug addiction had a very hard time finding work sometimes making personal appearances at horror conventions. Notoriously bad film maker Ed Wood seeing name recognition value in Lugosi used him in several of his low budget movies. This part of Lugosi's life was captured in Tim Burton's bio-pic "Ed Wood" portrayed by Martin Landau. Wood's films were shot on the fly scenes for "Plan 9 From Outer Space" were shot on the street in front of Lugosi's Harold Way apartment. 
It was in the Harold Way apartment that Lugosi spent his last days and where he died. He was found dead on the sofa in his living room by his fifth wife Hope. Lugosi died at the age of 73 on August 16, 1956. It was rumored that Lugosi was holding a script written by Wood and that his funeral was paid for by Frank Sinatra these rumors are both false. Lugosi was buried in his Dracula costume.