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03/18/2006: Thanking the Academy


I did the most interesting thing yesterday. I've been trying to research a fact about the history of the MGM lot. Internet searching revealed nothing, so I set out to find where that kind of information could be found. I ended up at the Margaret Herrick library at the Motion Picture Academy.

If you know LA, the building I'm talking about is the big one on the corner of Olympic and La Cienaga. I think it looks like a Morman Temple, but I'm told I'm wrong -- it is, apparently, "Italianate." Whatever, it's big and beige and churchy. The library is inside, open to anyone with an ID. It's full of silent people in cotton gloves, looking through old publicity stills. And others, without the gloves, studying old files of clippings or massive books containing collections of old issues of Variety and Hollywood Reporter. I spent a delightful afternoon looking at, among other sources, 1947 issues of "The Lion's Roar," the internal newsletter of the MGM studio. The librarians are eager to help, and know everything about everything. The one who helped me, was cited in the acknowledgments of one of the books she helped me locate.

What's striking is how little the business has changed. I was looking through Hollywood Reporter issues from 1950. It was certainly a snippier little publication than it is today, full of snide little gossip bites. (Reconstructed from memory: "Could it be that a long-legged bird is circling the house of a certain movie star? A house where the sound of recent wedding bells is still echoing?" Oooh.) But the general issues remain the same. Who's making money? What's winning awards? What's the newest threat to the industry?

There were delightful and distracting nuggets. Overhead shots of the old MGM studio revealed a sprawling and ornate backlot where homes and businesses lie now. The ridiculously young Ricardo Mantalban, fresh off starring performances at Fairfax High School, was being predicted as the newest Latin hearththrob. Lassie was listed as one of MGM's major stars; Elizabeth Taylor, as one of its minor ones. The growing impact of television on every aspect of Hollywood life was debated, including its impact on the babysitting business, as more couples stayed home at night. Lucille Ball's mother weighed in with memories of her daughter's childhood. Fantastic stuff!

If you live near LA or if you're going to visit, this is worth a trip. I never found what I was looking for, but I found a dozen things that made me happy I'd come. Check it out!

Lunch: One of those Turkey-Pesto sandwiches from Starbucks. These are strangely good. I think the secret might be loads of mayonnaise.