The good folks at the Hollywood Heritage museum (in the Hollywood Barn opposite the Hollywood Bowl) have put together another wonderful exhibit. (See my posts for their “Out with the Stars” and their “Meet the Stars”.) This newest one is called:
BROADCAST FROM HOLLYWOOD
and focuses on collectibles and memorabilia from television.
The exhibit is, of course, better seen in person, but here are some photos I took for those of you who don’t live in Los Angeles and are unable to get there.
The biggest feature of the exhibit focused on Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, and I Love Lucy.
This dress was worn by Lucille Ball in the episode in which Tallulah Bankhead guest-starred. (It’s a notorious episode because Bankhead was reported to have been a nightmare during rehearsals, but really delivered when the cameras rolled.)
Ball’s traveling trunk (probably one of several) was also on display.
A famous episode during the run of Here’s Lucy was the one in which Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton guest-starred and Liz’s famous diamond ring ended up getting stuck on Lucy’s finger. This was Ball’s script with her notes, and a shot of the three stars together.
And here is one of Lucille Ball’s wigs.
During the production of I Love Lucy, the crew all wore jackets like these, marked on the back “Desilu” which was the name of the production company owned by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. This one was Desi’s personal jacket!
An I Love Lucy branded cigarette lighter.
This is a circa 1947 television with a screen about the size of an iPad.
And a television camera, also circa late-1940s. (By the way, Desi Arnaz was the person who invented the three simultaneous cameras technique for television.)
For 1970s TV viewers (such as myself) here’s a toy bus replicating the tour bus seen The Partridge Family.
Here is Don Draper’s check book used as a prop in Mad Men.
And if you were lucky enough to be invited to the 1972 Emmy Awards telecast at the Hollywood Palladium on Sunday, May 14th, this is what your ticket looked like.
I didn’t see the placard for this item, but I assume it’s a script cover for The Carol Burnett Show. Annette Gagnon was a costumer who worked in television in the 1970s and ’80s.
Apart from the television ephemera on display, there are some other items of interest:
Here’s an envelope from 1955 addressed by Stan Laurel, who lived at 1111 Franklin St, Santa Monica to his comedy partner, Oliver Hardy, who lived at 5429 Woodman Ave, Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley.
These dance shoes were owned by movie musical star – and legendary tap-dancer – Ann Miller. On the shoe on the right, we can see her name printed onto the toe. As you can see, these shoes were very well used.
This COFFEE SHOP sign was from the Brown Derby restaurant. Below it was a picture of the Vine St Brown Derby, so I’m assuming it came from there.
And here I am holding a genuine Emmy award. Yes, you were allowed to pick it up and pose with it. Yes, it was heavy and bulky. And yes, you could do some damage with it!
An emmy award might be a good weapn in someone’s murder mystery should they decide to write one.
Come to think of it, I’m surprised it hasn’t already been done. But then again, I’d guess that the Television Academy might have a problem with that!
Also remember he passed in 1964. So we do not know all the arrangements, but he did not have a family and apparently was very close to the Warners.
Of course, you know Hollywood. There are many stars who went through their money, so he may have needed help. Could be the case.
I found it appropriate that Stan Laurel lived in Santa Monica. It was the center of the ex-pat British community in L.A. for decades.
I did a google street view on the address, but you can’t see the house due to the high hedges around it.
Love the photos! What a treat. I got to hold one of the Oscars (and they are heavy) at Warner Brothers. We had a fire drill one time in the summer and a tour guide actually ran out into the studio parking lot holding the Oscar! Question; did you show off the Oscar collection when you were a guide there? They have an outstanding collection, some donated from estates.
As I recall, the Oscars were in the two-story museum, and all I had to do was point to them.
Yes, many of the Oscars are in a glass case. It’s beautiful. They are sandwiched between Humphrey Bogart’s coat and Ingrid Bergman’s dress from CASABLANCA. This is a special room, off the BATMAN and HARRY POTTER displays. However, they started letting us handle Orry Kelly’s Oscar from SOME LIKE IT HOT, at least when I started in 2022. It also got a lot of wear and tear and was re-built with a new base and polished. I think they have all three of his Oscars. because Jack Warner and his wife handled his estate.
Really??? Orry Kelly get Mr & Mrs Warner handle his estate. That surprises me!
Yes, what we were told was Orry Kelly had no family, and he was born in Europe. He was ill in the latter part of his life and Jack Warner and his wife took care of him. It would make sense they handled his affairs. It’s a wonderful story and our guests loved to hear about it.
Cool exhibit. Big fan of Lucille Ball. One of my favorite movies, with Ball and Arnez, was the long long trailer.
Also, I went to JBHS in Burbank and had a film class with Eric Korngold in 78. He brought in the Oscar his father, Wolfgang Korngold, won for Musical score of the 1939 movie Robinhood. Everyone in the class got to hold it. I don’t remember if it was heavy or not.
Mark, it is heavy. And being in tours, it’s like lifting weights. You have to put one hand on the bottom, or else you can drop it. That said, the Oscar is fairly durable. I had to show off one of fashion designer Orry Kelly’s Oscars, which he donated to Jack Warner. Jack and his wife actually took care of him in the last days of his life. A wonderful thing to do. Like I mentioned, had there been a fire, the Oscar would probably have survived. But this was a fire drill, which makes it soooo funny.
This was so interesting! Wish I could have visited. Thanks so much for sharing it, Martin!