Ralph Bellamy Arrives in Hollywood, Has Dinner With Clark Gable

Ralph Bellamy

Once sound made its way into films many silent film stars soon found themselves out of work. Some silent stars didn't have voices that fit their on-screen image. Others were foreign actors who suddenly needed to be able to speak English, which wasn't an issue for silent films. For many silent actors though, they just didn't possess the ability to memorize and speak lines. The Hollywood studios quickly turned to Broadway in order to find trained actors that could meet the needs of the new talking pictures. This is the era that actor Ralph Bellamy entered Hollywood.

Prior to films, Bellamy had been honing his acting skills on the stage, first in stock theatre and eventually Broadway. Just before Bellamy moved to Hollywood he was cast as the part of Texas in the play Roadside, which ran at the Longacre Theatre in New York. What Bellamy thought was going to be a big hit ended up closing after just eleven performances. Fortunately, for Bellamy, he was getting contract offers from a few major movie studios. Bellamy signed with United Artists, headed by Joseph Schenck, and like so many actors during this time, left the stage for the screen.

The Knickerbocker Hotel

Bellamy took a first class train from New York to Los Angeles. When he arrived in Los Angeles he moved into the Knickerbocker Hotel located at 1714 Ivar Avenue in Hollywood. The hotel, which is now senior apartments, used to be a choice hotel for many newly arrived actors. 

It was November when Bellamy arrived in Hollywood and the city was dressed for Christmas. The city was having a Christmas parade. A truck pulling a large propeller rolled down Hollywood Boulevard in which a man threw confetti that then blew like snow over the spectators. This was followed by Santa Clause in his sleigh, musicians in folk costumes and various other parade vehicles. It was a hot November, especially for an actor who just came from New York.

Henry's Restaurant (Photo from Getty Images)

Former site of Henry's Restaurant

Rather than going to work right away for United Artists, Schenck loaned out his newly acquired star to Irving Thalberg over at M-G-M. Thalberg, in December 1930, put Bellamy to work in the film The Secret Six, which also starred Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, and Clark Gable. Bellamy played "Johnny Franks," a bootlegger/cafe owner.

One night during the filming of The Secret Six, Bellamy went and had dinner at Henry's Restaurant in Hollywood. Henry's was financed by Charlie Chaplin and operated by fellow silent film actor, Henry Bergman. According to the book, The Story of Hollywood, by Gregory Paul Williams, Henry's was the first restaurant in Hollywood to stay open after midnight. It was Al Jolson's favorite spot to eat after the fights at Legion Stadium and was a favorite spot of actress Myrna Loy, as well as many other Hollywood celebrities of the time.

Clark Gable

While at Henry's, Bellamy's co-star Gable came into the restaurant and sat next to him. After Gable ordered his meal, Bellamy, in his autobiography, When the Smoke Hit the Fan, says their exchange went like this:

"What do you think of all this out here?" [asked Gable]

"I don't know yet," I answered. "I haven't been here long enough to form an opinion."

"I just got eleven thousand dollars for playing a heavy in a Bill Boyd Western," he exclaimed. "Eleven thousand dollars!" he went on, almost in disbelief. "No actor's worth that. This can't last. I've got myself a room at the Castle Argyle [an inexpensive hostelry at the top of Vine Street] and a secondhand Ford. I'm socking away everything I can and I'm not buying anything I can't put on The Chief. This just can't last."

While Gable's thinking was wise, his fears never did come true. Both Bellamy and Gable went onto have successful careers until the end of their lives.

City Lights - Film Locations

Charlie "The Tramp" Chaplin in City Lights

Many of the scenes in Charlie Chaplin's film, City Lights, were shot on the backlot and soundstages of the Chaplin Studios located on La Brea Avenue in Hollywood. The screenshot above where Charlie first meets the blind flower girl, as well as the opening scene in the film where Charlie is found sleeping on the city statue were all shot at the Chaplin Studio. However, there were a few scenes shot around the city of Los Angeles.

Chaplin Studios, 1416 N. La Brea Avenue, Hollywood

7th Street & Grand, Los Angeles, CA

Above is a screenshot from the scene where Charlie and the millionaire go for a drunken drive around town after a night out. Below is a photo of how the same area appears today. Notice now there are the addition of trees and many more high-rise buildings, otherwise, the building on the left looks pretty close to the same. This building just happened to be right next door to the parking garage for my jeweler which made finding this building pretty easy.

7th Street & Grand, Los Angeles, CA


7th Street & Olive, Los Angeles, CA

Just a block down from the above location is another location from the same scene. Above Charlie and the drunken millionaire are about to turn right onto Olive. I think it's interesting if you look in the below picture you will see that Olive Avenue is now a one way street. If Charlie and the drunk would have turned down Olive today they would have been heading the wrong way!

7th Street & Olive, Los Angeles, CA


Vintage Postcard, Town House apartment building.

The millionaire's house is actually the Town House apartment building on the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard - not far from the other downtown Los Angeles locations. When Charlie receives a wad of cash from the millionaire he heads outside the building to buy flowers from the blind flower girl.

Charlie races to buy flowers from the blind flower girl.

Town House apartment building. Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles

Above is the same corner of the Town House apartment building as it appears today. The building is no longer used as an apartment building. Now it is available for film location rentals as well as wedding and other special events.

Turning on Berendo from Wilshire - Gaylord Apartments

In the above screenshot Charlie and the millionaire are driving down Wilshire Boulevard and are about to turn onto Berendo. The Gaylord Apartment is the large building in the background and is an easy landmark to spot.

Turning onto Berendo past Immanuel Presbyterian Church

Above is another screenshot that shows Charlie and the millionaire making the turn onto Berendo. Another landmark that can be seen is the Immanuel Presbyterian Church.

Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles

Above is the same intersection as it appears today. The church is still standing and so too is the Gaylord Apartments. You just can't see the apartment from this angle now because of all the trees.

Charlie & Millionaire passing Beverly-Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills

Above is a photo of Charlie and the drunken Millionaire now driving pass the Beverly-Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. Below is a photo looking at the hotel today.

Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills

With the exception of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, all the other locations are in very close proximity to one another. I recommend visiting the downtown locations early on a weekend when traffic isn't so bad and then do a drive to the other locations. Just don't follow Charlie and the Millionaire's example - drive sober!

Here is a short YouTube video showing the Charlie and Millionaire driving around town drunk:

Marion Davies Beach House Now Public Beach Club

Marion Davies beach estate, Santa Monica, CA

The former Santa Monica beachfront estate of silent film actress Marion Davies opened Saturday as the nation's first public beach club. The new Annenberg Community Beach House, just off the Pacific Coast Highway, has been in the works for more than 10 years. The facility which includes volleyball and tennis courts, cafe, playground and swimming pool, is the only such facility on the California coast that doesn't require membership. That pool by the way is the same marble-tiled pool that Davies used to entertain her celebrity friends.

The 5-acre estate was built in the late 1920s by newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearts, for Davies, who he was having a long-term affair. During the 1920s and 1930s the two would host many of their lavish parties at this 110-room mansion. The guest list would include the biggest celebrities of the time, including such names as Charlie Chaplin, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Gloria Swanson, and Cary Grant.

By 1945 the property was sold and run as a hotel. However, the hotel would fail and in 1959 the mansion was torn down and the property sold to the State of California. Over the next 30 years the property was operated as a private beach club. Then in 1994, when the Northridge Earthquake shook Los Angeles, the property was severely damaged. The place remained dormant until yesterday, after the Annenberg Foundation funded a project to repair the remaining structures which include the historic pool and guest house (the only original remaining structures) and the construction of several new structures including a pool house and event building.

Fees to attend the newly opened facility cost $3 to $10

The Culver Hotel - Munchkinland

Culver Hotel - 9400 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA

The Culver Hotel located in downtown Culver City, near the Sony Studios (formerly MGM) and the Culver Studios, has had many famous residents over the years including Joan Crawford, Douglas Fairbanks, Greta Garbo, Frank Sinatra and Ronald Reagan. However, the most famous guests to stay at this hotel would probably be the Munchkins from the 1939 film the Wizard of Oz.

The Munchkins were apparently a rowdy bunch. According to Judy Garland, "They got smashed every night and the police had to pick them up in butterfly nets." MGM Studios producer Mervyn Leroy had his own acerbic comment about the munchkins saying, "They got into sex orgies at the hotel. We had to have police on every floor." Bert Lahr, the "cowardly lion" had this to say about the munchkins: "Many of the Munchkins were midgets who, in fact, made their living by panhandling, pimping and whoring. Assistants were ordered to watch the crew of midgets, who brandished knives and often conceived passions for other, larger Metro personnel." Most of the comments were likely untrue or exaggerated, nevertheless, they make for interesting stories.

Another legend has it that Charlie Chaplin who was once a part owner of the Culver Hotel sold the place to actor John Wayne for a dollar during a poker game. I'm not quite sure about the validity of this comment but it makes for another great tale.

Wizard of Oz (C) MGM Studios

In addition to housing visitors the Culver Hotel has also been used for filming. The hotel can be seen in old Laurel & Hardy and Our Gang Shorts and relatively more recently in The Wonder Years and 7th Heaven.

If you want to visit the hotel but don't want to stay the night there is a great bar in the lobby. Stop in to have a drink and check out some of the Wizard of Oz, Laurel & Hardy, and Our Gang memorabilia displayed in the ground floor windows.

The Chaplin Studios

1416 North La Brea Ave, Hollywood, CA

Above is the entrance to Jim Henson Productions on La Brea Avenue, in Hollywood, CA. If you look on top of the building you will notice that Kermit the Frog is dressed as another famous icon - Charlie Chaplin. That's because this building was originally constructed as the Chaplin Studios.

If you look at the aerial shot of the Chaplin Studios you will notice that the studio was located in a very residential neighborhood. Today this same area is in the center of a commercial area. There are strip malls and businesses all around. But, when Chaplin decided to build his studio in this location it was quiet and residential. The neighborhood was not happy with the idea of a movie person coming into their community and building a studio. To appease his new neighbors Chaplin had his studio constructed so that the buildings on the perimeter resembled an English Village. If you look at the photo below you can see how nice the studio looked. It certainly doesn't look like a movie studio from the outside.

1922 Postcard from BFI.org

Chaplin Studios as A&M Records Headquarters (C) Gary Wayne

The Chaplin Studios was constructed in 1917 and opened in 1918. Many of Chaplin's greatest films were shot here including The Kid, The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, and The Great Dictator. In 1952 Charlie Chaplin, who was a target of the McCarthy witch hunts, left the U.S.A. for Europe. The studio was then bought and sold several times. Other owners have included CBS, American International and Red Skeleton. In the 1950s episodes of the tv series Superman were filmed here. By 1966, A&M Records made the Chaplin Studios it's headquarters. During the A&M days many music videos were filmed here including "Every Breath You Take" by the Police and Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters." The Jim Henson Company took over the property in 2000.

Above is a photo of the Chaplin Studios covered in snow from 1921. This a rare sight in Southern California.