story and photos by Kayte Deioma
If you’re interested in Hollywood memorabilia, the Hollywood Museum is a great way to spend a few hours on a rainy day. Located in the old pink stucco and green marble Max Factor factory building, the Museum maintains some of the original displays from the Max Factor Museum as well as rotating exhibits from the Museum’s Hollywood History collection and some traveling exhibits related to Hollywood history.
The Hollywood Museum has a wonderful collection of Hollywood costumes, props, set decorations and memorabilia. Although each exhibit has a theme, the individual pieces are rarely identified. Actor bios are placed around the exhibits – usually too close to the ground to be easily read – and sometimes reference which item displayed was worn or used by that actor. Despite the shortage of interpretive information, the collection is worth exploring.
The first level showcases the four make-up rooms where Max Factor and his staff transformed actresses into movie stars. Separate rooms for redheads, blondes, brunettes, and brownettes (Max Factor’s own distinction for light to medium brown hair) are painted in colors to flatter the hair and skin tones.
The “For Redheads Only” room is also sometimes referred to as the Lucy room. It is decorated with multiple portraits of Lucille Ball and features the makeup shades and hair color that turned the natural brunette into a redhead. The walls are painted green as a flattering backdrop for the redheads made-up here.
The room “For Blondes Only” is painted a cool blue. Legendary blondes like Mae West, Jean Harlow, June Allyson and Ginger Rogers had their make-up done here. Marilyn Monroe became a blonde here and even Lucille Ball was made up here during her short stint as a blonde. The walls are lined with Max Factor magazine ads featuring some the most famous faces to wear the Max Factor brand.
The peachy shades of the “For Brownettes Only” room were designed for the likes of Judy Garland, Lauren Bacall and Donna Reed. Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford and Rosalind Russell are just a few of the many actresses featured in the “For Brunettes Only” room surrounded by flattering shades of pink. As a brunette, I have to admit I looked much better in the mirrors of the brunette room than the blonde room. Beyond the color themed rooms you walk past a glass-enclosed room where wigs were created and dyed, then through a hallway filled with Joe Ackerman’s Autograph Collection into a red room. The far wall is filled with original autographed photos of Hollywood stars that are rotated from the Museum’s extensive collection. On the near wall, historic photos of the Hollywood landscape arranged chronologically show how dramatically it has changed over the last hundred years.
At the back of the Museum is a freight elevator that was used to carry cars up to a parking lot that used to be located on the top level of the building. The parking lot has been turned into a ballroom that is rented out for private functions, but the elevator, with a stained glass chandelier hanging from the highest level is still used to transport party guests to the upper floors for special events.
Cary Grant’s 1965 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III is parked in the loading dock behind the elevator where you can look down on it from above. A couple giant “Bunny Legs” from the movie “Along Came Polly” tower in the center of the room with another one near the Rolls Royce. The film is playing on a monitor overhead. Movies are playing in various exhibits around the Museum. They are the movies in which some part of the exhibit was featured, but it is sometimes hard to tell which part of the exhibit is from the movie because there is no explanatory information.
You have to go back to the front of the Museum to get to the stairs to go up to the next floor.
The second floor features a large Marilyn Monroe exhibit, one of the Museum’s most popular displays. It includes photos, costumes, movie posters, jewelry, memorabilia and of course Marilyn’s personal make-up case and its contents. One wall highlights Marilyn’s marriages and divorces in black and white photos. Another wall features an enlargement of Marilyn’s 1949 nude centerfold. Several of Marilyn’s films are running on different monitors.
The exhibit is peppered with quotes from the star such as “It’s better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone else,” and “I want to grow old without face lifts. I want the courage to be loyal to the face that I have made.”
From a display case, the headline of a 1962 Los Angeles Times announces “Marilyn Monroe Found Dead.”
Next to Marilyn Monroe, Mae West has her own large display case with glamorous gowns, corsets and feather boas as well as awards, plaques, photos and other memorabilia. As with most of the exhibits in the Museum, very few items are individually identified.
On my visit, The rest of the second floor featured a nice Greta Garbo exhibit and a collection of gowns from movies old and new worn by such Hollywood stars as Shirley Temple, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Bette Midler and Jodie Foster. There was also a
section devoted to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz including a three-reel film projector Desi invented for editing film from the three camera technique he developed.
From December 1, 2005 at least until February 15, 2006, a special legacy exhibit on Barbra Streisand will occupy this space. Three thousand pieces of movie and music memorabilia related to the artist will be on display. This will be only the second exhibit at the museum to showcase a living artist. The first was a legacy exhibit on Phyllis Diller.
Third level exhibits include more recent Hollywood productions. Sylvester Stallone’s boxing gloves and robe from one of the Rocky movies is next to the door. There are a few costumes and set decorations from “Moulin Rouge” and many more from “Master and Commander.” One of Tom Cruises costumes from “The Minority Report” backs up to Tommy Lee Jones’ black suit and sunglasses from “Men in Black.” A collection of torture instruments from the movie “Quills” is 
across from Roddy McDowell’s Powder Room transported from his home. A large exhibit on Hollywood’s honorary mayor, Johnny Grant and a nice Bob Hope tribute seem to be out of context on this floor.
Hollywood history continues in the basement with Hanibal Lechter’s cell from Silence of the Lambs,” complete with the reduced-size folding chair that made Jodie Foster look especially small sitting outside his cell. The other prison cells on this block have been used in a number of films and are still rented out for filming prison scenes. At the end of the hall are more props from Red Dragon before you turn a corner and step into the Egypt in Hollywood exhibit. From the 1935 “Charlie Chan in Egypt,” to “Death on the Nile,” “Cleopatra” and “The Mummy’s Tomb,” posters, photos and movie props remind of Hollywood’s favorite Egyptian classics.
The Hollywood Museum is open Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Adult admission is $15. Students up to 22 years of age are $12 and Children five and under are $5. The Museum is located at 1660 N. Highland Ave., just south of Hollywood Blvd. There is a $2 parking discount at the adjacent parking lot with Museum validation. Parking across Hollywood Blvd. at the Hollywood & Highland shopping complex is $2 for 4 hours with validation from any of the Hollywood & Highland businesses. Check out their web site,www.thehollywoodmuseum.com, for current exhibits and special offers. Discount coupons are also sometimes distributed across the street in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
The Hollywood Museum in the Historic Max Factor Building is included in the Go Los Angeles Card attraction pass.
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People often think about going to see a movie when the weather gets bad, and Hollywood certainly has its share of unique movie palaces. The three gems of Hollywood Boulevard, Grauman’s Chinese, the Egyptian and El Capitan, were all conceived and built by the development team of Sid Grauman and Charles Toberman in the 1920s. While any of the three will give you a glimpse into the Hollywood of old, if you’re traveling with kids, El Capitan is the place you want to be.
Seeing a Disney movie in Disney’s flagship movie theatre is not like going to a Disney movie in your home town. At El Capitan you may feel like you are in the movie, because they’ve decorated the theatre with set decorations and props from a scene in the movie; or you may be greeted with a song and dance number by costumed characters from the film. You never know what the creative minds at Disney will come up with to enhance your movie-going experience.
in any case, you’re likely to be welcomed with an organ concert by one of El Capitan’s house organists on the gilded 4/37 Wurlitzer pipe organ at center stage. The 1929 Wurlitzer has four keyboards to operate its 2500 pipes arranged in 37 ranks on both sides of the theatre. Each rank represents a different musical instrument. Arrive at the theatre 45 minutes to an hour before the movie is scheduled to enjoy all the pre-show entertainment.
After the movie, stop by the Disney Soda Fountain and Studio Store next door for some ice cream, a malt or an old time phosphate. There’s an entrance to the Soda Fountain from the El Capitan lobby, so if it’s raining, you don’t even have to go out in the street. Prepare kids ahead of time with your shopping limits, because you have to walk through the Studio Store past all the tempting Disney movie merchandise to get to the Soda Fountain. There is seating at the counter of the old fashioned soda fountain, or at tables. There is also an ice cream cone window to the street.
The Disney Soda Fountain has a sundae for any size crowd from the $4.75 Junior Sundae to the $24.95 Mickey’s Masterpiece with 8 scoops of ice cream and lots of toppings served in a Sorcerer’s Apprentice dish that looks like a wizard’s hat. Some dishes are served in souvenir Disney bowls. The Soda Fountain serves home-made ice cream delivered weekly from the Dewar’s Ice Cream and Candy Shop in Bakersfield, California
In addition to the ice cream options, there are a few kid-friendly food options including a hot dog, a grilled cheese sandwich or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich shaped like Mickey Mouse. Adult selections are more limited with options changing month to month.
El Capitan Theatre
You could hang out for a while at the Cyber Java internet cafe on Hollywood and LaBrea. You could take in a movie at one of the grand movie palaces on Hollywood Boulevard or at the Cinerama Dome on Sunset. My favorite way to kill time if I’m alone in Hollywood on a rainy day is to spend a couple hours browsing the old, new and off-beat music selection at Amoeba Music on Sunset and Ivar. It’s a favorite hang-out for local music lovers and a regular stop for many travelers who make frequent trips to L.A.
The Hollywood branch of this Berkeley-based record store opened in 2001. They are known for their collection of rare, hard to find recordings, but also have all the latest CDs from mainstream and independent labels. Amoeba also has something relatively unique in this neighborhood that adds to their attraction on a rainy day – a free underground parking garage that you enter from Cahuenga. The stairway or elevator brings you right up into the store.
Clearance Rock CDs greet you by the entrance. New Rock CDs fill up many rows of the next aisle with Rock LPs at the back. Used Rock CDs fill another big chunk of the main floor. 78s and 45s, old and new, are up front behind the information desk next to the collection of vintage reproduction movie and concert posters and music related books. They have a vast collection of used CDs, most adjacent to their relevant music genre. World Music is on the far right. Jazz and Classical have their own room through an archway at the back left corner of the store. In the center of the back wall a small stage is used for in-store concerts.
A mezzanine level runs along the front of the store with new and used DVDs, videos and laser disks. There are also several listening stations upstairs. Many, but not all of the 10,000 albums in the store have been recorded into a database. You can scan the bar code of a CD that you want to hear and if it is in the database it will come up on the screen so you can choose the tracks you want to listen to. You can also choose to browse the data base by artist or song to listen to the music before you go looking for the recording.
/If all the listening stations on the second level are in use, or not in working order, there are several more in the jazz and classical music room. They tend to get much less use.
I am not much of a shopper. The exceptions are books and music, which I can browse all day. It’s hard for me to walk out of Amoeba Music with just the one thing I came looking for. What begins as a limited search usually becomes a scavenger hunt as one “find” sparks an idea for some other recording I’d like to own. Is there really another Ottmar Liebert CD that I don’t own? How can I pass up a CD by French rocker Jean Jaque Goldman? I might never find it again without going to France. And of course I have to browse the used CDs to see if something has come in that inspires a spontaneous need
parking structure. You get one hour free with Amoeba validation, but if you’re doing serious shopping and you ask nicely, they may be able to validate you for more than an hour. Most metered street parking in the area has a one hour limit. Check the Amoeba web site at