A couple of days ago, I featured a photo of Newman’s Drug Co on the southwest corner of Hollywood Blvd and Western Ave. What I didn’t mention was how the building was the Hollywood & Western Building, which housed a couple of organizations important to the film industry. Built by MGM’s Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg, it opened on December 8, 1928 and housed the first offices of Motion Picture Association of America, which administered the Hay’s Code (of film censorship.) The MPAA also established Central Casting in an effort to regulate the hiring of extras. What we’re seeing in this photo is Central Casting’s office, so when all those thousands and thousands of Hollywood hopefuls called in to see if there was any work for them, it was (I’m guessing) one of these people who, more often than not, told them to “try later.”
Inside the original Central Casting office in the Hollywood & Western Building on the southwest corner of Hollywood Blvd and Western Ave, Hollywood, 1929
Martin, I think on that corner now (2025) is PETCO! How times change!
Being a movie buff, there’s the story about Fay Wray. Long before KING KONG, her mom would drag her to the casting offices, probably this one, and wait and wait for a job! It paid off. The trick is that in the the late 20s, sound was coming in, so if you had a good speaking voice — you were TWICE as likely to land a job. Voice coaches were popping up at the time. Last night, I was watching an old Laurel and Hardy comedy on METV. They were originally silent stars, but their voices were excellent, especially Hardy who had very good diction. That was the key. Many silent stars careers ended with sound because they just didn’t have the voice.
You should write a book. Whoops, what am I saying? You do write books. What I mean is you need to go a book full of these pictures and their history.
Hi Harvey, and thanks. You’re not the only person to suggest that, but getting copyright clearance on these photos would be harder than climbing Mt Everest, so I think I’ll stick with my website!