Betty Grable used to live on my block in L.A. While I’m not sure if Ms. Grable ever got a parking ticket after forgetting to move her Packard by 8 a.m. Wednesday for street sweeping, her career does illuminate some other fickle aspects of Hollywood culture. Grable’s mother lied about her daughter’s age to get the 12-year-old actress her first role – in blackface – in 1929’s Happy Days. Grable’s last role might have been in Joseph Mankiewicz’s 1956 screen adaptation of Guys and Dolls, had she not skipped a meeting with producer Sam Goldwyn because her dog hurt its paw; the part of Adelaide went to Vivian Blaine instead. Grable never again graced the silver screen and died in 1973.
The usual Hollywood rules rarely apply to Los Angeles’ entry in the National Hockey League. Continue reading “In L.A., heavy is the head that wears the crown.”