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NOTE: This is an old issue of the Brushwood Gulch Gazette, which has been archived for reference purposes. Although some links have been updated, the text of this archived newsletter remains unchanged. Please keep in mind that these articles have NOT been updated to reflect changes that may have occurred since they were originally printed. Return to the index of archived issues. |
The Way Out West Tent will wrap up the year with a meeting at the Hollywood Heritage Museum on December 13th. The Museum is located inside the Lasky-DeMille Barn at 2100 North Highland Avenue, just across the street from the Hollywood Bowl.
This is a regular tent meeting, and will be free to all paid members (guest passes will also be honored). The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting will begin early at 7:00 p.m. There will be no hot dogs available at the meeting, so please have your dinner before arriving. Free parking is located on site, next to the museum. Currently there is a Christmas tree lot located in this parking lot; please park near the barn and away from the tree lot, so as not to disturb their business.
The film program will include a selection of holiday fare, silent treats, and classic comedies. We will see Laurel & Hardy selling Christmas cards door to door in The Fixer Uppers (1935). Then the Boys will take on a different line of work as carpenters in Busy Bodies (1933). In Me and My Pal (1933), Ollie is late for his wedding, but all anybody cares about is finishing a jigsaw puzzle that Stan has started. Stan and Ollie encounter jealous boyfriends and angry wives after trying to help two women in distress in We Faw Down (1928). In Their Purple Moment (1928), the Boys fib to their wives in order to go out to a nightclub. We will also enjoy a rare Charley Chase holiday silent entitled There Ain't No Santa Claus (1926).
The barn is smaller than our normal meeting location, so be sure to arrive on time to get a good seat. There is nothing scheduled at the Hollywood Bowl the night of the meeting, but leave a few extra minutes to arrive in case there's extra holiday traffic in the area. Don't forget your canned goods for the Maude Booth Family Center (see below). We hope to see you Tuesday, December 13th in Hollywood.
Click here for a map to the Hollywood Heritage Museum...
The Way Out West Tent has proudly supported the Maude Booth Family Center every holiday season for many, many years. This year will be no exception. Please bring your donation of canned goods to our next meeting at the Lasky-DeMille Barn. If you prefer, you may make a monetary donation instead. The Maude Booth Family center is located in North Hollywood and helps needy families that live in that area (near our regular meeting location). Our members have always been very generous towards this cause and we hope that this year will be no exception. Thank you for your continued support.
Way Out West Tent members Terry and Tiffany DuFoe will be broadcasting an Internet radio program starting December 26th, which will be a tribute to Laurel & Hardy. The program will include interviews with Laurel & Hardy, music from their films, bits of dialogue from the movies, and other rarities. There will even be some quotes and sound bites from Way Out West members recorded at our October meeting. This is an Internet radio program, so you may listen at any time of day using your computer.
To listen, go to: http://www.live365.com/stations/dufoenet
By Dave Greim
The Lasky-DeMille "Barn" has the distinction of being the first "studio" in Hollywood used for the purposes of motion picture production. While it was not the first "studio" in greater Los Angeles, it was the first structure entirely located in Hollywood for film production.
It was by accidental chance that led filmmakers Cecil B. DeMille and Jesse Lasky to Los Angeles in December of 1913. Their company was Jesse Lasky Features Players Co., with DeMille given the lofty title of "Director-General." The company decided to head west to Flagstaff, Arizona, to escape the iron grip of Edison and the trusts which were monopolizing profits. However, a heavy rain convinced the filmmakers to press on to the end of the line...Los Angeles. The bright sunshine, warm weather, and wide open spaces were very enticing to a new company looking to be cost-effective.
A lush citrus farm operated by Jacob Stern was located at Selma and Vine. The filmmakers leased the horse barn (built in 1890) from Stern for the production of a western, The Squaw Man, starring Dustin Farnum. The up and coming company would eventually become Paramount Publix, and then Paramount Pictures, moving into a larger facility in 1921.
In the 1930s, the sentimental DeMille had the historic barn moved onto the Paramount lot. It served multiple purposes, including storage, a gym, and research library. The Barn was moved to a vacant lot in the late 1970s, very near its original locale. In 1980, Hollywood Heritage, Inc., took control of the structure. They moved it to its current home on North Highland, across from the fabled Hollywood Bowl in 1983. In December of 1985, the Barn was configured as the Hollywood Studio Museum, the only museum in LA dedicated to telling the story of Hollywood's early days. It is registered on the list of National Historical Places. Hollywood Heritage continues to give the gift of this gem, perhaps Hollywood's best kept secret. Hollywood Heritage is pleased to welcome the Sons of the Desert to help us celebrate the museum's 20th anniversary. All right, Mr. DeMille, we're ready for our close-up!
Dave Greim is a member of the Board of Directors of Hollywood Heritage, Inc., and is a longtime member of the Sons of the Desert.
We were saddened to learn that Gordon "Porky" Lee passed away October 16th after a long battle with lung cancer. As Porky, he made over forty Our Gang films. Perhaps Porky's greatest claim to fame was the creation of his catch-phrase "otay." While Gordon did not pursue an acting career after Our Gang, his time as an actor made a lasting impression. While he was born Eugene Lee, he changed his name to Gordon in honor of his favorite Our Gang director, Gordon Douglas.
"Porky" Lee had long been associated with the Sons of the Desert. As an adult, Gordon was a tall, bearded man, who worked as a high school history teacher. After he retired, he moved to Minnesota and became an active member of the Block-Heads Tent in the Twin Cities. He was also an honorary member of the Way Out West Tent, attending our tent's International Convention in 1980 and our Annual Banquet in 2000.
Colleen Deach, the daughter of Laurel & Hardy co-star Edgar Kennedy, passed away October 21st. Many Way Out West Tent members met Colleen in 1997 when the Midnight Patrol Tent hosted the first ever Edgar Kennedy Celebration in Monterey, California. Bill Cassara, the Sheik of Police of the Midnight Patrol Tent, has just completed a book on Edgar Kennedy. He credited Colleen as an invaluable source for the book, and presented her with the very first copy shortly before her death. Colleen's sons Mark and Glenn have been long time members of the Way Out West Tent, and daughter Donna attended her first meeting last year. Our condolences to the entire Kennedy-Deach family.
We have just learned that actress June Lang passed away May 16th. June appeared with Laurel & Hardy in Bonnie Scotland, and with Oliver Hardy in Zenobia. June was reunited at three Way Out West Tent meetings with her Bonnie Scotland co-star William Janney. She also attended our tent's screening of Zenobia, at which Mabel Langdon was also in attendance. June was made an honorary member of the Way Out West Tent, and attended several of our tent's banquets over the years.
Ralph Edwards, best known as the host of TV's This is Your Life, passed away November 16th. He hosted the live telecast of This is Your Life on December 1, 1954, which featured Laurel & Hardy as the guests of honor. Edwards recently released a three DVD set featuring some memorable programs, including the episode featuring Laurel & Hardy.
Early registration for next years's International Sons of the Desert Convention will end December 31st. Register before then in order to receive your $25 discount. The convention will take place July 12-16th in Augusta, Georgia, and will include a visit to Oliver Hardy's hometown in nearby Harlem, Georgia. For more information, visit their website at www.berthmarks.com.
The American Cinematheque will offer a Laurel & Hardy double feature on New Year's Day. Sons of the Desert and Way Out West will both be shown, beginning at 5 P.M. Tickets are $9 ($7 for seniors). For more information, see their website at www.americancinematheque.com
If any of our members will be traveling to New York this holiday season, the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria will feature a retrospective of some of Laurel & Hardy's greatest films. From November 19-January 2, the museum will screen 40 Laurel & Hardy films. For admission prices and a complete schedule visit them online at www.movingimage.us
This year, the Way Out West Tent's annual banquet was replaced with a special Halloween meeting. Many members got into the spirit by wearing costumes to the meeting, with prizes given for the best costumes in several categories. The film program featured Laurel & Hardy in a scary cemetery, a spooky house, and aboard a ghost ship. Running the show in the kitchen were Elaine Schulman and Jeff Stein, who made sure there were plenty of hot dogs.
The meeting also paid tribute to "Butch" Bond and "Porky" Lee. We screened Our Gang's Glove Taps, which featured Porky, Butch, and Butch's sidekick Sid "Woim" Kibrick. After the screening, Our Gang author Richard W. Bann conducted a very interesting interview with Sid Kibrick, who shared his memories of his friends from Our Gang. Sid appeared in 26 Our Gang films as Woim.
Joining us for the very first time was child actor Rene Beard, the younger brother of Our Gang's Matthew "Stymie" Beard. Rene made several films in the 1940s and 1950s, most notable of which was Who Killed Doc Robbin? Grand Sheik Bob Satterfield presented Rene with a certificate making him an honorary member of the Way Out West Tent.
By Joe Ortiz
On an October afternoon, in 1983, my partner, Jesse, and I were working on Reserve Rescue 14, out of Fire Station 11, which is located just west of downtown Los Angeles. It was about 3:30 P.M. The fire company was all out and I was in the office completing some incident reports. My partner was restocking the rescue ambulance unit.
Suddenly there was a banging on the apparatus doors and the doorbell began ringing over and over. Jesse and I rushed to the front doors and found a 20 year old Hispanic woman yelling and pointing down the street. After calming her down, we learned that there was a big fight around the corner on Bonnie Brae Street. She told us that there were several people injured.
Jesse and I jumped into the rescue unit and proceeded to the location. As we approached the scene, we observed approximately twenty-five individuals fighting each other with tire irons, sticks, and knives. Some of the people were bloody and the scene was out of control.
It looked like a war zone! We immediately requested back up from LAPD. The fighting continued. Jesse attempted to stop the fighting by shouting "Alto! Alto!" (Stop! Stop!) in Spanish over the rescue unit's PA system. It seemed like it was forever waiting for the police back up.
It then came to me that we had in the rescue unit a pair of Laurel & Hardy masks, not department issued, which we had purchased earlier in the day, for an upcoming Halloween Party. My partner, Jesse, who is my brother, and I put them on.
A few moments later, a bloody faced man began yelling "El Gordo y el Flaco, el Gordo y el Flaco" which means, "Laurel & Hardy." Jesse and I were going through the Laurel and Hardy motions. The people started laughing, we kept up the routine for a few minutes, more people started laughing, and the fighting stopped.
A few minutes later police units began arriving with red lights and sirens. Police officers approached with guns drawn only to find all the people sitting on the ground laughing.
Well it wasn't long before all the police officers were laughing, too. One veteran LAPD sergeant, shaking his head and smiling, said, "Just when you think you've seen it all."
Joe Ortiz is a longtime member of the Way Out West Tent.
A new book entitled A History of the Hal Roach Studios provides a historical overview of the "Lot of Fun." It was written by former Way Out West Member Richard Ward and is 288 pages. Another new book called Images of America: Culver City tells the history of downtown Culver City, which was used as a backdrop in many early Laurel & Hardy films. The author is Culver City historian Julie Lugo Cerra and the book is 128 pages. Both books are available from Amazon.com.
The Laurel & Hardy Collection Vol. II contains three of the Boys' best films: Way Out West, Block-Heads, and Chickens Come Home. This DVD is available now in North America. Also available is This is Your Life - The Ultimate Collection, Volume 1, which includes the episode featuring Laurel & Hardy.
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November | ||
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1 |
Jerry Tucker (Jerry Schatz) |
Stolen Jools, Our Gang |
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1 | ||
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2 | ||
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2 | ||
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4 |
Our Gang | |
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6 | ||
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7 |
Our Gang | |
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9 | ||
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14 |
John McCabe |
Sons of the Desert founder & author |
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16 | ||
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17 | ||
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19 |
Roach Studios Special Effects | |
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21 | ||
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21 | ||
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23 |
French version of Pardon Us | |
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December | ||
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3 | ||
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5 | ||
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5 | ||
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8 | ||
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8 | ||
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10 |
Lois Laurel Hawes |
Stan's Daughter |
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11 | ||
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14 |
Director | |
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16 |
Our Gang | |
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18 |
Cameraman and Director | |
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18 |
Author | |
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19 |
Al Kilgore |
Sons of the Desert founding member |
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20 |
Our Gang | |
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25 |
Producer | |
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25 |
Our Gang | |
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26 | ||
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29 | ||
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30 |
Director (Fox) | |
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30 | ||
December Meeting at Hollywood Heritage
Museum