Arturo Vega the designer of The Ramones famous presidential seal logo has died. He reportedly went all but two Ramones shows during his time with the band. Not only was Mr. Vega the logo designer he also was their lighting designer and ran their light board and created several of their album covers.
The Ramones lived for a time in Vega's New York loft they were there enough that it became known as the Ramones Loft when in fact it was Vega's. Not only did he do all of this work for The Ramones he also ran their website (RamonesWorld.com). Mr. Vega was 65 years old.
World of Wonder the producers of RuPaul's Drag Race have a new web series starring Michelle Visage called "Michelle Visage's Hooker Makeover". The show is hosted by RuPaul's good friend and Drag Race Judge Michelle Visage and drag queen Morgan McMichaels. The premise of the show is Michelle and Morgan walking along Hollywood Blvd by the World of Wonder offices and asking girls on the street if they would like a make over. When they find a willing participant they take them into Busy B a shop on Hollywood Blvd that specializes in togs for the tarty. Some how Michelle and Morgan do talk ladies into becoming their inner hooker. When the make over is complete Morgan then takes the new hooker out onto the street to get drivers to honk at them. For every honk the neo-hooker receives $10. The show is very funny and all the girls seem to be having the time of their lives. The episodes are only 5 minutes long so by the time the viewer is getting weary of the show its over. This is a great use of Visage and McMichaels as they are funny in short doses and these doses are just right.
Behind a high wall topped by an even higher fence is a building in Hollywood that is possibly the creepiest building in town. On the corner of Franklin Ave and Branson Ave is a very large building set off the road that looms ominously. The Building built in 1927 was named Chateau Elysee.
The Chateau Elysee was commissioned by Elinor Ince the widow of early film mogul Thomas Ince after he died. William Ince was one of the very early silent film makers in Los Angeles coming to the area in 1910. Ince died in 1924 under some murky circumstances. He and his wife Elinor were part of a weekend yachting party on the boat owned by William Randolph Hearst. Ince died of what was deemed a heart attack although there is a school of thought that say he was shot by Hearst. Elinor Ince inherited her husbands estate upon his death. The estate was said to have been $1,600,000. Part of Ince's estate was a lot of land on Franklin Ave. It was on this land that Elinor decided to build a luxury building in the at the time very popular style of Chateauesque architecture. Elinor Ince hired architect Arthur E. Harvey to design her building. It was named Chateau Elysee. The chateau, a seven story luxury hotel featured turrets, a bubbling steam, maid service and a dining room serving meals to its guests. It soon became a very fashionable address in Hollywood appealing to film stars and soon to be film stars. Residents that lived there over the years were Edward G. Robinson, Errol Flynn, Carole Lombard, Katherine Hepburn, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Clark Gable and others. The chateau with all its celebrity glitter also attracted non-celebrity guests who came for the season to stay among the famous in the luxurious rooms and apartments. Through out the 1930's and 40's it was one of the Hollywood's best respected addresses.
Elinor Ince sold the chateau in 1942. The building remained a coveted address. Times in Hollywood slowly changed and Hollywood became less of a desired neighborhood loosing much of its glamour to nearby Beverly Hills. In 1951 the chateau was converted into a luxury retirement home for those in their autumn years who have known gracious living and wish to continue without responsibilities. This was the chateau's raison d'etre for many years.
In 1969 The Church of Scientology rented the building to use as its "Celebrity Center". The chateau was purchased by the Scientologists in 1973. Most of the building is now used by the Scientologists as a hotel for their celebrity out of town guests and the top floors are used as offices. The grand conservatory is now a restaurant. There are tours of the building that can be arranged by contacting the Church of Scientology.
Esther Williams the MGM movie star and swimming champion died today at age 91. Esther Williams was born in Los Angeles in 1921. It was in a local pool Williams took a job counting towels to avoid the entry cost and there she was give swimming lessons by the male life guards who taught her the "male only" stokes like the butterfly. It was this stroke that she excelled in winning local and national competitions. Because of World War II she was not able to compete in the Olympic Games. During her senior year of high school Williams received a D in algebra which prevented her from enrolling in UCLA. She enrolled in LA City College and got a job as a stock girl and part time clothing model at I. Magnin department store. While working at I. Magnin she met Billy Rose who offered her a role in his "Aquacade". The Aquacade was part of the Golden Gate International Exposition. Her performance in the Aquacade got the attention of MGM talent scouts. At the time MGM was looking for someone to compete with Fox's ice skating star Sonja Henie. MGM signed Williams to a contract in 1941. There were two interesting clauses in her contract one she was give a pass to swim in the pool of the Beverly Hills Hotel everyday and the other that she was not allowed to appear on camera for 9 months while she was given acting, singing, dancing and diction lessons.
MGM released photos of her in her bathing suit which became an instant hit as a pin up shot. Williams' first movie for MGM was an Andy Hardy movie with Mickey Rooney called "Andy Hardy's Double Life". She was later paired with Van Johnson whom she made five films with. Williams became a huge star at MGM with film hits like "Million Dollar Mermaid".
After refusing to appear in a film titled "The Opposite of Sex" she was suspended at MGM and eventually her contract was voided and she lost millions of dollars. Williams then signed with Universal where she worked with Fernando Lamas. The two eventually married and she stopped making films moving onto television appearances. She also created The Esther Williams Aqua Spectacle and shows at Florida's Cypress Gardens. In the 1960's Williams retired from acting and became the spokesperson for a line of retro swimwear.
Williams was married to Fernando Lamas until his death in 1982. She lived in Beverly Hills and in 1994 she married actor Edward Bell. Esther Williams died in her sleep in her Beverly Hills home at the age of 91.
Don't mess with the Stockholm traffic cops they don't care who you are! Princess Madeleine of Sweden was tooling through town on the way home to the palace when she was pulled over. Her Highness was driving in a mass transit lane and was fined 1,000 Kronor. It is just 4 days before her upcoming royal wedding. Well the cops made one little mistake it seems Madeleine was driving a car owned by the royal mews and they can drive anywhere they want. Madeleine is now off the hook. It's good to be King right?
The DGA announced their list of the 101 best written television programs this week and there was one glaring omission from their list. The did not mention "Green Acres" at all. How they could mention a show like "Modern Family" a relatively bland and predictable sitcom and neglect "Green Acres" is a mystery to me.
"Green Acres" premiered on September 15, 1965 on CBS. The first episode was shot in a "mockumentary" style following the main characters of Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Albert)and his Hungarian wife Lisa from their home in a penthouse over looking mid-town Manhattan to Oliver's agrarian dream of owning a farm. It was during the second episode when the absurdist element of the show started to take form. They lived in a world where rules of nature, logic and common sense did not come into play. Every character lived in this surreal world except for Oliver who was the voice of reason but then he too lived in his own world, that of gentleman farmer. He was a farmer in the sense that he owned a farm yet he dressed in a suit and tie to plow his fields and feed his livestock. The fourth wall was often broken when characters would speak directly to the camera.
The characters that were created by Jay Sommers and Paul Henning were some of the most memorable in television history. Lisa Douglas (played by Eva Gabor) as the European socialite whose strongest desire is to go back to New York was a woman with a tentative grasp on the English language and minimal house keeping skills. Their hired hand Zeb who was under the impression he was the Douglas' son to the great disturbance of Oliver. There was Mr. Haney the huckster extradonaire who sold them their farm and was always just happening by with a new transparent scheme. One of the most popular and enduring characters was Arnold Ziffel the pig who was the child of the Douglas' nearest neighbors Fred and Doris Ziffel. Arnold watched television and at one point was a film star himself.
The town of Hooterville was not far from Pixley and shared many of its characters with Another Paul Henning TV show "Petty Coat Junction". These included Mr. Drucker and The Monroe Brothers who were actually a brother and sister.
"Green Acres" ran very successfully for 6 seasons until what was known as the rural purge at CBS when the network cancelled their rural themed programs. Because of the caliber of the writing and performances the show lived on in re-runs and one of its episodes is ranked in TV Guide's 100 top funniest sitcom episodes.
It must have just been a terrible mistake on the part of the DGA to have forgotten to mention "Green Acres". Perhaps they will revise their listing in the future and this sitcom satire its just rewards.
If you were a kid in the 1970's you know the face of Nora (Dodo) Denney. Dodo Denney was Mrs. Teevee the elementary school teacher mother of Mike Teevee in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". She played the sort of know it all mother of TV obsessed Mike who does not enjoy her trip to the Wonka factory.
Dodo Denney was a comic character actress and through out the 1960's and 70's she appeared on scores of television shows like "Green Acres", "Bewitched" and "Get Smart". Her career started out in Kansas City, MO where she was Marilyn the Witch a hostess of horror movies. She moved to Los Angeles in the 60's and started acting in sitcoms and then made for TV Movies. It was in 1971 when she got the role in Willy Wonka only after the producers first choice Jean Stapleton couldn't take the role as she was signed to "All in the Family".
Dodo was married to Alan Denney a successful art director and greeting card designer. She had two sons John and Dix Denney the founders of the seminal LA punk rock band The Weirdos.
After her husband died she retired to the Lake Arrowhead area and became an expert gardener. Nora Dodo Denney died in November of 2005 in her home. She was 78 at the time of her death.
