0 Talking Old Hollywood: Christina Rice, Ann Dvorak Biographer

Ann Dvorak biographer, Christina Rice

As much as I love stars like Cary Grant or Marilyn Monroe I am not on the edge of my seat waiting for the next biography to be written on their lives. Especially when there are so many well deserving classic Hollywood stars who have yet to receive a well written full length biography. That's why I'm so excited for the upcoming biography on the elegant and sometimes sultry, pre-Code actress, Ann Dvorak. Thankfully for all of us classic Hollywood geeks, librarian and Ann Dvorak collector turned biographer, Christina Rice, has taken it upon herself to write the first full length biography on this forgotten actress. The book, aptly titled Ann Dvorak: Hollywood's Forgotten Rebel, will be released on November 4, 2013.

In this installment of Talking Old Hollywood, Rice discusses her process for putting the biography together, Ann Dvorak related Los Angeles locations and how she would spend a day with Ann Dvorak.

DOH: What turned you on to Ann Dvorak as a subject for a biography?

CR: I first discovered Ann when I was an undergrad in the mid-1990s after I checked out a VHS copy of Three on a Match from my local library. I had never heard of Ann at the time and was blindsided by her performance.  I subsequently stumbled upon her in Scarface and G Men and wanted to know why this beautiful and talented actress had not been a major star. It didn't take long for me to realize that she was a not a likely subject to be tackled by anyone else, so at some point I figured - why not me? 

DOH: At what point did you go from Ann Dvorak collector to pursuing writing Ann’s biography?

CR: Another part of Ann's allure for me was that no one was collecting on her. I have been a compulsive collector since birth and always thought it would be cool to own theater-used movie posters. When I found out that I could actually afford gorgeous 1930s posters from Ann's films, I was sunk. 

Immediately after I started collecting, which was around 2 1/2 years after that first viewing of Three on a Match, I decided I would write the book on Ann. However, that is easier said than done. My first five years as Ann Dvorak's biographer mainly consisted of hitting the poster shops, paper shows, and scouring the Internet for memorabilia. I was finding lots of ephemera which sometimes contained information about her, but it wasn't real research. 

When I started grad school in 2001 to get my Master's of Library & Information Science, I started to get a better grasp on the research I was going to need to do in order to tell the story of this actress who retired relatively early, had no children, no siblings, was fairly reclusive, and did not donate personal papers to an institution. 

Once I got serious about the project, I visited the University of Southern California (USC) who has the Warner Bros. production and legal files. Handling these primary source documents relating to Ann, which painted a very vivid portrait of her struggles with the studio was exhilarating and a shot in the arm. After that, I launched the website (www.anndvorak.com) and forged ahead with the research. Of course I was doing this while working full time and in grad school, so it was never a quick process. 

DOH: As a mother and someone who has a full time job, did this impact your ability to research and write the book? How did you find the time?! Did you have a specific research and writing strategy?

CR: My daughter was born in June 2012, and by that time I had been doing the heavy research for around eight years and was mostly done with everything but the actual writing. 

The birth of my daughter actually proved to be a major catalyst to finish it. I had started the writing in late 2008 and two years later had only completed around five chapters. I admit to dragging my feet and finding excuses NOT to write, and one of my main problems is that I was trying to make the first draft a final draft, which was foolish. I was spending so much time fact-checking and looking for citations that it would take an hour to write a paragraph and that lack of progress was discouraging. 

Once I returned to work from maternity leave, I was struck with the brutal realization that I literally had no time to write and that I had previously wasted so much time! I knew I either had to go on the Ann Dvorak website and make a formal announcement that the book was indefinitely on hold, or figure out a way to write it without sacrificing time with my family. 

I take the subway to work from North Hollywood, so I started writing on the train which gave me around 40 minutes of undisturbed time roundtrip, along with another hour on my lunch break. I stopped trying to write a final draft and just started writing. I knew Ann so well by then that there was no reason I could not knock out the bare bones of her story. I made so much progress in a couple of months that it really fueled me to keep going. At this point, my complete lack of time has trained me to be able to start writing on a moment's notice and make the most of every spare minute. The second that kid goes down for a nap, I am typing away! 

My other motivation was that I wanted something tangible for my daughter to be proud of. My husband is a full-time writer who already has a substantial body of published works, but I wanted my daughter to one-day realize that Mom is pretty cool too. In all honesty, without that kid appearing in my life, I don't think the book would be anywhere near completion. 

DOH: Did you find working at the Los Angeles Central Library gave you some advantages in researching Ann’s life?

CR: Oh absolutely! During the first six months I worked at Central, I spent my lunch break everyday sitting on the microfilm readers pouring over all the old Los Angeles newspapers, most of which have not yet been digitized. The book collection at Central Library is so vast that I would sometimes go to the section of film biographies and just browse the shelves looking for memoirs written by her costars. Additionally, I always have access to certain resources like the digitized Los Angeles Times or Ancestry.com, so whenever a hot new lead sprung up, I was able to act on it immediately. 

I work in the History & Genealogy Department, so the nature of the job helped me understand how to effectively research real estate, court documents, and vital records, all of which I used for Ann. 

Finally, I was able to benefit from the knowledge of my colleagues. At Central Library, there are multiple subject departments and the librarians are well versed in their areas. So, whenever I hit a brick wall, I would usually be able to tap into their expertise. 

DOH: Was there any resource you discovered that was particularly helpful in providing information on Ann’s life? A manuscript? A specific person?

CR: As I mentioned before, the Warner Bros documents at USC revealed a lot about Ann's attitude towards the studio and vice versa. 

Fortunately, I acquired some collections of letters written by Ann and her mother in the 1960s. These were especially insightful about the difficulties Ann had in an abusive marriage. More recently, I purchased Ann's journal which only has a lone entry from 1977, but she sums up her feelings about her life, career, and decisions, which are insights I never thought I would have access to. 

DOH: I’m sure with each passing year that it is more and more difficult to find people that would have known Ann and could provide information on her life. Were you able to interview anyone that might have known Ann?

CR: Oy! Finding people who knew Ann was the single hardest aspect of researching this book. As I mentioned before, Ann did not have any children or siblings, outlived all three husbands, and was very private. I'm not sure there is anyone still out there who knew her well enough to really comment on her. Plus, she retired fairly early. I contacted a handful of costars, but they did not have much to say, primarily because they worked with Ann for a very short period of time on insignificant films over 50 years ago. 

I found a handful of people who encountered her and one fellow who hung out with her towards the end of her life, so I do have some firsthand recollections though they do not give the insight that a child or close friend would have. 

I was very insecure about the minimal people I interviewed, but I ended up acquiring so many primary source documents with Ann speaking for herself that I ultimately think those are more powerful than anyone I could have interviewed. 

DOH: Are there any questions you wish you could ask Ann directly to fill in some blanks in her life story?

CR: I would ask if walking out on her Warner Bros. contract to go on a honeymoon was worth it. 

DOH: What was the most interesting or surprising thing you learned about Ann?

CR: Even though Ann's formal education was limited, she was a very cultured and educated person who was multilingual and very interested in history and science. In the 1960s, she wrote an 18 volume history of the world and made an audio book out of it! 

I was also very taken with her time spent in Europe during World War II. From early on, I was aware that she followed her British-born husband to England in 1940 after he enlisted in the Royal Navy, but I never really stopped to consider what that really meant. Her war-time experiences were so fascinating that I ended up devoting two chapters to that time period. 

DOH: Are there any myths about Ann you found to by false?

CR: Oh, there are a handful of "facts" that frequently get tossed around that are inaccurate. First off, she was born in 1911 not 1912. I'm under the impression that Ann thought she was born in 1912 and eventually discovered otherwise - I think the inaccuracy can be attributed to her mother, Anna Lehr, who so frequently lied about her own age that she probably got confused about Ann's at some point. 

Ann's 1932 walk out is frequently attributed to her finding out that the child actor who played her son in Three on a Match was paid as much as she was. I'm sure she was riled by this, but there were many other prevailing factors that played into that decision, which I spend a lot of time covering in the book. 

Ann sometimes is described as having served out her Warner Bros. contract on suspension, which also isn't true. She was on a long term suspension, but after she lost her court case against them, she did make two more films before being released from her contract. 

Finally, Ann was not one of the original Goldwyn Girls. 

DOH: What was the most difficult part in putting together the biography? Is there anything you would do differently?

CR: First off, I would pick someone with personal papers or living relatives! Ann left so little of herself behind that her story proved to be a massive jigsaw puzzle. 

When I first started on this quest, it was the early days of the Internet, so information had to be found using "old school" methods which I wasn't necessarily well versed in. Now, we're in a golden age of researching where even if something isn't digitized, it's much easier to figure out what institutions might have particular items. So, starting a book now instead of 1998 is a huge advantage. 

With Ann, the book turned out just as I wanted it to, and it was an amazing journey so I would not change any of it. At the same time, I would never undertake a project as difficult as this again!

Ann Dvorak

DOH: If someone is unfamiliar with Ann Dvorak, which of her films do you recommend they watch first?

CR: I would say Scarface is a must because it's arguably her best and most important film. Three on a Match is one of her most memorable films and performances. I have a personal preference for Heat Lightning, even though she has a relatively small role in it. The Strange Love of Molly Louvain is not the strongest pre-Code, but it's one of Ann's few starring roles and it's also the film where she fell in love with co-star Leslie Fenton, who she subsequently married, which makes their scenes together quite meaningful. From her later career, I personally like Private Affairs of Bel Ami, and I recommend watching the 10 or so minutes of screen time Ann has in A Life of Her Own, though the rest of the film is a bit hard to get through. 

DOH: You had mentioned that you were involved with Last Remaining Seats, the Los Angeles Conservancy’s classic movie screenings in historic downtown theatres. Would you organize a screening around Ann? What film and what theatre would you choose?

CR: Back before I became a mom, I was an active volunteer with the Conservancy and helped plan the Last Remaing Seats, including film selection. In 2007, we actually did screen Scarface at the Alex Theater in Glendale. It was a wonderful evening and a bunch of friends showed up, so Ann had a whole cheering section. At that time, there were at least 30 volunteers involved with the film selection and most of them were movie buffs with strong opinions about what to screen, so successfully pitching Scarface was a major accomplishment! As I mentioned before, Scarface is Ann's most notable film and the best candidate to fill a movie palace, so it's probably the only time one of her films will be shown as part of LRS. 

But, if I had my way, I would screen a Three on a Match/Heat Lightning pre-Code double feature at the Palace Theatre, where Ann's mom performed in 1914 when it was an Orpheum Theatre.  

DOH: Did you say you were also a docent for the LA Conservancy? So you did some of the downtown LA tours? What was a Christina tour like?

CR: Yes, I used to give tours of the historic theatres on Broadway in downtown and it definitely was infused with as much Ann Dvorak as possible! Included on my tour was; the Cameo Thetare, built by William H. Clune who produced the 1916 version of Ramona which was where Ann made her film debut at age four, I already mentioned the Palace/Orpheum theatre where her mom performed on a vaudeville tour, I would also point out that Ann possibly performed onstage at the State Theatre when she was an MGM chorus girl (yeah, that was a stretch), and the tours would end at the Warner Downtown which is where Ann's Warner films would have played in the 1930s. Ending the tour here allowed me to plug my website. One fellow took my tour and later contacted me through the Ann-D website, and we're still very close friends. 

DOH: I’ve been enjoying your Ann’s Los Angeles series on your blog where you’ve been highlighting LA locations significant to Ann’s life. Are there any Ann landmarks that still exist that you get particularly excited about?

CR: Most of Ann's residences are still around, so it's always a kick to be able to drive by them. The most significant Ann-D landmark is the ranch house she built in 1934 with Leslie Fenton. She lived there until 1944, which was by far, the longest she ever lived anywhere. I have a lot of photos of Ann on this property, so it was a huge relief when I realized it was still standing.  

DOH: While we’re on the subject of landmarks, you wrote on your blog that you were married at one of Ann’s former homes. How did you make that happen?

CR: Yes, I was able to hold my wedding and reception at the ranch house I mentioned above. The property was originally a large walnut ranch, which Ann subdivided after she and Leslie Fenton separated. What remains is two acres with all the structures of the property intact, including the main house, garage with servants quarters, pool and pool house, greenhouse, and cow stables. It's all set off from the street and not visible, so for years I assumed the house had been demolished. 

When I finally figured out that the house was still there, I sent an email to the owner asking if I could visit. As it turned out, the man who owned the place bought it in 1959 and had corresponded with Ann in the 1960s. When I first visited, he gave me all the letters. He loved the property and was thrilled to spend time with someone who loved it as much as him. 

When I got engaged a few months later, I asked if we could have the wedding there, and he readily agreed. Obviously, it was a dream come true and there was no where else in the world I would have rather spent that day. 

DOH: Clearly your husband understood your Ann obsession from the beginning?

CR: Oh yes! There was never any question that he would have to share me with Ann. I have been collecting on Ann for over 15 years and have hundreds of movie posters, many of which are hanging up in our home. At one point I was dating a guy who commented that if we ever lived together, I would need to limit the amount of Ann-D posters on display. The relationship ended soon after that! Josh always appreciated the posters from the get-go, so I knew he was a keeper. At this point though, I'm sure he's pretty happy that the book is finally written.   

DOH: If you and Ann were going to have a girls day/night out in Los Angeles, where would you go and what would you do?

CR: Ann was never one to dwell on her past, so I would not bother re-visting any of her old haunts. I would give her a tour of Central Library because I think she would have been interested in some of the collections, particularly the older volumes and manuscripts in the Rare Books department. I would imagine she could have spent a few hours in there! Ann was a fairly serious person, though I think she had a dry sense of humor, so I would take her for a pass through the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City. Finally, dinner somewhere in Malibu would be appropriate. She lived there for a number of years, and even though she'd probably be appalled by all the development, she was such a beach nut that I could not imagine not visiting the Pacific with Ann.  

DOH: When the book comes out in November, is there anything in particular you hope readers will learn about Ann?

CR:  hope they'll get a sense of what a dynamic person she was – much more than just a pretty face. Ann tended to be interested in so many different things that she never really focused on one, which is one of many reasons why her career suffered. I also hope she will get credit for battling Warner Bros. in court in 1936 and paving the way for James Cagney and Bette Davis who also filed suits that year, but after Ann. 

DOH: Thanks so much! I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy.

CR: Thank YOU for being such an advocate for this project over the years. The waiting is almost over! 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Tuesday, November 12, 2013, the Los Angeles Central Library will be hosting an Ann Dvorak: Hollywood's Forgotten Rebel release party. Food prepared from Ann Dvorak recipes will be served, Ann-D memorabilia will be on display, and Rice will be on hand to sign copies of her book. Visit the Los Angeles Public Library website for full details.

Visit Christina's website dedicated to Ann Dvorak here.

Previously covered on Dear Old Hollywood: Ann Dvorak filming locations for COLLEGE COACH (1933).

Detail: Talking Old Hollywood: Christina Rice, Ann Dvorak Biographer

0 Q&A With Author Paul D. Marks

Paul D. Marks on the MGM backlot before it was demolished.

Paul D. Marks has the distinction of being one of the last people to film on the historic MGM backlot. It wasn't a goal he set out for. In 1976, he was just a young and enthusiastic filmmaker who had an idea for a musical. What place would be a better filming location for a musical than MGM, the same place that was once home to musical stars such as Judy Garland and Fred Astaire? Marks talked his way onto the MGM backlot and was able to shoot his film. In the following years the MGM backlot was sold off and demolished.

I had a chance to ask Marks, a Los Angeles native and author, about his experience filming on the MGM backlot, some of his memories of growing up in Los Angeles, and about his new novel, White Heat, a noir story set in Los Angeles. As you will see, Marks is full of great stories, such as the time he got a call from Cary Grant.

How did you end up filming on the historic MGM backlot?

Well, I was doing a musical – so when you think of musicals you think of MGM.  Of course, it wasn't what it was in its heyday.  And we didn't exactly have an MGM musical style budget.  But I figured it couldn't hurt to ask.  Kind of like asking someone out on a date – what's the worst they could do, say no.  But they said yes.

What were you filming?

"Show Biz."  A musical about a guy who wants to make a musical, but everyone tells him he can't.  It's too big of a project.  It was sort of autobiographical.  But I had songs commissioned for it, found a choreographer, all that good stuff.  The plot starts out in the present (the present of that time) and then switches to the past as the main character finds himself in a weird, magical land and he's not quite sure where he is.  But it turns out he's on a movie backlot in the 40s.  

The lot was pretty run down, but that was okay for my purposes.  And with a little imagination you could see what it might have been.  You could imagine Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Fred Astaire walking down New York Street.

A view of the MGM backlot from Marks' film shoot.

At the time, did you know you would be the last film crew to shoot on the MGM lot?

No.  And it's bittersweet knowing that.  They had already sold off their other lots I believe.  And they'd had the big MGM auction where they sold off costumes and props and the like.  Which I went to, but I don't think I bought anything there.  But still, even though that stuff had happened I think there was part of me that hoped the studio might return to some of its former glory days.

I did, however, keep some souvenirs from the lot.  A brick off the Andy Hardy street and a torch from the De Laurentis King Kong set that they were filming around the same time.  I think I still have the torch.  Unfortunately, my wife, wonderful as she is, made me throw away the brick, which she'll never hear the end of.  After all, it was a famous brick. 

What was your favorite part about the experience?

Walking on so many sets that I'd seen in movies and knowing Jimmy Stewart, Katherine Hepburn, Myrna Loy had been there.  So much movie history.

I also liked the idea of being able to turn the corner and go from a mid-western town to a medieval village to a jungle to New York City,  – which is just what happens in my movie.  And it sort of freaks the guy out as he's not sure where he is or how he got there.

I believe we filmed on sets from "Singin' in the Rain" and "Philadelphia Story" and God knows how many other great movies.

In the following years I went to MGM's main lot many times but by then they had gotten rid of all the backlots.  And, while it was a trip to be on the lot and in the Thalberg Building and on the stages and even see Sidney Portier playing handball against one of the soundstage walls, basically a soundstage is a soundstage.  But a backlot, with its standing sets of brownstones, cobblestone villages, western towns, is unique, a fantasy world, as exciting to me as Disneyland would be for a little kid.  And just like at Disneyland where you can go from Tomorrowland in the future to Frontierland in the past, that's what a backlot is to me.  A magical world where you can turn a corner and go from mid-century New York to Middle Ages Europe in the blink of an eye.  

You've done a variety of writing from screenplays to short stories to a novel. How did you get interested in writing?

I'm not sure I can say specifically.  But what comes to mind is that as a kid moving my army men across the battlefields of my bedroom floor I often thought of them as being in a movie as opposed to being in a real "war".  And I'd often set up TinkerToys as Kleig lights and make up dialogue and scenarios for them and play them out as if they were epic movies.  So growing up I think I just transferred that energy to putting pen to paper so to speak – or at least fingers to keyboard – and I'm still just playing out scenarios only now on paper or a computer screen as opposed to on the floor.  The problem is being a rewriter or optioning scripts that don't get produced you don't get screen credit so my dad still can't quite figure out what it is I did, which is one of the reasons I turned to writing short stories and novels. 

I also like that romanticized Hemingway-Left Bank thing of sitting in a café with fellow writers tossing out witty bon mots kind of thing.  But that never materialized…

You mentioned when you started out as a writer that you would send letters to everyone, including Cary Grant and Gene Kelly or anyone who would listen. How did that strategy play out? 

When I first started out, I tried everything including sending letters to big stars, producers, directors.  It's funny, but it seems like generally the bigger the star, the nicer the response.

I got Gene Kelly's address and sent him a pitch letter about a script. To my surprise he actually invited me over to drop it off and then to pick it up…  When I got there, he invited me in to chat for a few minutes.  And though he didn't want to do my project, he was very hospitable.  Can't imagine doing this today.

I also sent a letter to Cary Grant, despite the fact that he had been in a self-imposed exile from making movies for many years.  I thought, well maybe he'll come out of exile just to be in my little movie…  (Yeah, right, but the naiveté of youth makes you do things you might not do later on.) At that time I dreamed big so I wasn't deterred or intimidated from contacting anyone.  Then one day the phone rings and the voice on the other end says "Hello, is Paul Marks there?"  The voice had that distinct accent and tone and my first thought was "okay who's pranking me and pretending to be Cary Grant".  I thought it couldn't be Cary Grant because he sounded too much like him (as if he should sound like William Bendix or someone else in real life…)  Once I regained my balance, we had a pleasant conversation and even though he ultimately turned me down and didn't want to do my movie, he was as gracious and debonair as his onscreen image.  The irony of the story though is that I was talking to the most suave, sophisticated man in the world while I was on, shall we say, the "throne," as the phone was on a little hall table outside the bathroom door.  A funny image and thankfully this was before Skype and video chats…

Others were nice as well, though didn't invite me to their homes.  And I'm not sure I'd do this today as there's so much more security and you'd probably get arrested.  Can't you get arrested for just looking at some stars in public these days?

Were there any other stars that you looked up to or maybe admired that you were able to meet?

If we're talking about stars from the classic period, well, of course Gene Kelly.  Cary Grant on the phone.  Phil Silvers.  Walter Matthau.  Some behind the scenes people like director Norman Taurog who was, I believe, the youngest director to receive an Oscar in that era. 

And not a star, but a friend of mine knew a friend of Joan Crawford's.  I think he was her publicist, but I can't remember for sure at this point.  So she took me to his house in Beverly Hills and it was like a shrine or museum to Crawford.  He had her dresses displayed on the walls, like in a museum.  And all kinds of other little gimcracks of hers.  Everywhere you looked were echoes of JC.  It was a trip and kind of spooky in a "Sunset Boulevard," preserved-in-formaldehyde way.  But also interesting and he was a nice guy.

Unfortunately a lot of the stars that I would have liked to look up had passed by the time I was doing all this.  Bogart, in particular.  And some others who were still alive, though I might have enjoyed meeting them, I didn't have a project for them so I didn't get in touch.  But in retrospect I'm sorry I didn't even if I didn't have anything in particular for them.  

I did meet a lot of people who were more current in the course of business, though you really asked about the more classic stars.

Of someone more current then, I did have an interesting encounter with Robin Williams, though I doubt he'd remember.

I was visiting a friend on the set of "Mork and Mindy" during a rehearsal and I freaked out Robin Williams.  They were blocking.  No audience.  I was the only stranger there, someone he didn't recognize. He was nervous seeing a stranger on the set, having had some trouble with the tabloids.

He asked me if I worked for the National Enquirer. Strange question, I thought.  But I can give as well as receive, "Yes," I said, joking.  He freaked, though he didn't get nasty or anything like that, just uptight.  I finally told him I was kidding.  After the rehearsal he apologized.  It was fun kidding the kidder though.

I also got to visit the sets of two great directors, Spielberg and Coppola.  Of course, my luck being what it was, I was on for both of their worst movies, "1941" and "One from the Heart," respectively.  But the "One from the Heart" set was really cool, a glowing neon Vegas on a soundstage.  As was the 1941 set on the Warner's lot, though at that time I think it was called The Burbank Studios still (long story).  They had a plane rigged up to fly down the middle of one of the backlot streets.  But what I remember most was seeing Spielberg running around interviewing his actors with a small camera, like a kid in a candy shop. 

On my post for the filming locations for the Joseph Losey film, "The Big Night," which stars a young John Drew Barrymore, you had mentioned that you had met him. What was he like? I thought he was great in that film and I'm surprised he didn't go on to have a bigger career.

Well, I hope I didn't make it sound like more than it was.  I met him at a dinner or lunch – I can't even remember anymore – and though we talked for a bit it wasn't a relationship that developed.  As I recall, he seemed nice enough but very distracted, I'm not sure by what.  But I agree with you that he should have had a bigger career. 

Who's the one star you would have liked to have met?

Probably Bogart……….if he was really like the characters he's known for.  The problem is they're often not like their characters, though I'm not sure with Bogey.  But to paraphrase from the [Jose Ferrer] version of "Moulin Rouge": "One should never meet a person whom they admire.  What they do is always so much better than what they are."  This might not always be the case, but often enough.

Getting back to your writing, you have a new book, "White Heat," that just came out. Can you tell us a little what it is about?

"White Heat" is very different from my musical.  It's a noir thriller that begins where the Rodney King riots leave off.  And I just learned that it got a good review in Publishers Weekly, which is a pretty cool thing.  Duke Rogers is a screwup in more ways than one and now he's screwed up a case really badly and finds himself in the middle of South Central L.A. just as the riots explode.  And since this is Dear Old Hollywood, one of the things he screws up is a case where a client came to him to track down an 'old friend'.  The old friend turns out to be an actress and the client never really knew her.  She ends up dead and Duke knows he inadvertently helped the badguy, the Weasel as he calls him, find the actress.  This jumping off point is, of course, based on the Rebecca Schaeffer case from 1989.  Only in "White Heat" the actress is black.  Feeling guilty, Duke sets out to find the killer.  And though the novel is a mystery on one level it's also a very harsh look at race and racism in our society on another level as Duke must deal with the racism of his partner, the dead actress' brother and perhaps his own, even while having an interracial affair with her sister.

You're a Los Angeles native so you would have been in the city during the L.A. riots. Did you think then this would make for a dramatic backdrop for a story and has this idea for "White Heat" been with you all this time?

I lived in West LA at the time, in Rancho Park, just west of 20^th Century-Fox.  The riots didn't quite reach that far west, but they did come pretty far west – farther west than previous disturbances of that type.  And one could see the smoke and certainly see it on the news constantly.  And it was in the air, so to speak, people talking about it.  Worried.  I think in realizing how much tension still existed under the surface – or maybe not even so much under the surface – I wanted to write about it, but not in a pedantic or didactic way.  So it became a mystery, with a level of seriousness.

As a born and raised Angeleno, do you have any fond childhood memories of the city and surrounding area? You had mentioned to me before that you would visit the now gone Kiddieland amusement park on Beverly Boulevard and the Corriganville movie ranch?

When I was a kid, L.A. was like a large, spread out small town.  People would complain about how overly polite the drivers were, if you can believe that.  At one point, when living with my mom and grandparents, I could actually hear a rooster crowing and that was pretty much the middle of the city.  There was also a windmill nearby.  And still oil wells around.  And, as you say, Beverly Park or Kiddieland was a favorite place.  On one side of the parking lot was the little amusement park that supposedly inspired Walt Disney to build Disneyland, though I don't know if that's true.  On the other side was the pony rides.  And, I believe, there were three lanes, fast, medium and slow, and kids couldn't wait to get up to the fast ponies…  Lots of birthday parties at Kiddieland.  Lots of movie stars there with their kids or grandkids on weekends – Jack Benny, Charles Bronson: it was known as a place for divorced dads, though I'm not sure if Benny and Bronson were divorced.

And Corriganville (www.corriganville.net) was a working movie ranch in Simi Valley, second in size only to the Iverson Ranch a few miles away.  On the weekends Corriganville was open to the public.  They'd put on shows and you could tour the sets.  The coolest thing was that on the western street (sadly burned down) if you went into the saloon it was a cafeteria on the inside for the guests.  For a little kid that was totally cool.  Like you were really inside a western saloon…but with all the modern amenities.  Plus you could wear your cowboy boots and hat and even holster with guns.  Wouldn't be able to do that today.  I think my favorite thing there was the fort where they filmed "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin" TV series, which was originally built for the John Ford-John Wayne movie "Fort Apache".  I've been back to Corriganville a couple times as an adult, once in the 80s for a chili cookoff, but really to see what was left of it.  And then a couple years ago.  It's now a state park.  None of the sets are left, but there are still some foundations.  And most of the ranch has been sold off for development, but the main 200 filming acres are still there.  If you watch old westerns it shows up a lot.

Other things I miss are Pacific Ocean Park, an amusement park on a pier in Venice, which also burned down and then they tore down what was left of it.  They had some cool rides, the roller coaster of course, and these bubble things, sort of like the skyride at Disneyland, but it went out over the ocean.  POP also shows up in a bunch of old movies and TV shows.   There was also a club called the Cheetah on the same pier as POP.  It was one of those psychedelic places, with the bubbles on the walls and all that good stuff.  Saw some concerts there.  But before it was a hippie club it had been home to Lawrence Welk and before that was a swing ballroom in the 30s/40s.  Lots of history.

I miss the 20^th Century-Fox backlot too – and all the other gone lots; they always intrigued me with their magic and fantasy worlds.  Most people probably don't know that all of Century City used to be Fox's backlot, stretching all the way from Pico on the south to Santa Monica Boulevard on the north.  There was a bridge over Olympic Boulevard that spanned one side of the backlot to the other.  I remember driving down Santa Monica Boulevard with my family as a kid and seeing the facades and sets sticking up over the fences.  I'd much rather have a backlot than Century City.  They say the Elizabeth Taylor "Cleopatra" forced Fox to sell it off.  Maybe so.  

In fact, LA was like one big backlot.  There was even a studio where Sunset meets the ocean (before my time), studios, backlots and ranches were just about everywhere.  In the city, in the valley.  The surrounding areas.  Amazing when you think about it.

Are there any Los Angeles attractions, restaurants, etc. that you remember that are now gone that you wish you could bring back?

All the above places, of course.  But also the Helms Bakery in Culver City and the Helmsman.  Their trucks used to come around and deliver baked goods.  The best donuts in the world.  And they had the first bread on the moon, literally.

Also the Wonderbread plant in Beverly Hills.  The smell.  It would waft out over the city.  Nothing like the smell of baking bread.  One night around 2am several friends of mine and I decided it would be a good idea to go there and ask for a tour – after all, they baked at night.  And we were hungry.  I guess we were doing something that gave us the munchies….  So we drove over there and went in and asked for a tour.  They couldn't have been nicer – they gave us the tour and some bread to go with it, I think.

Dolores Drive in near La Cienega.  Though my mom, who's also an L.A. native, remembers their other location up on Sunset.  I guess it's all when we went through it.  Tower Records which, of course, hasn't been gone all that long, but I remember when it opened and what a great place it was.  Duke's in the Tropicana, lots of rockers hung there.  Lots of restaurants.  Probably too many to name.

When I was a kid my grandmother would take me downtown by bus.  We'd go to lunch at the tea room at May Company or Bullock's, then she'd buy me a little toy and take me to a movie at one of those great movie palaces downtown.  And then we'd take the bus home.  To this day, every time I smell diesel exhaust I think of that.  Though I think in those days some of the buses were still electric with overhead wires and all of that too.

And MacArthur Park when it was a safer place and there weren't junkies around.  You'd go boating and have a picnic.  

Some punk clubs, like Madame Wong's and the Starwood, tons of other places, too many to mention.

Now for three questions I like to ask everyone.

What is your favorite classic movie and why?

"Casablanca."  It has everything, intrigue, romance.  Terrific dialogue.  All those great character actors.  The anti-hero, which has influenced a lot of my writing.  The Claude Rains and Bogart relationship.  The giving up of the girl for a greater cause.  And the most perfect script, everything plays off of everything else.  "As Time Goes By."  Everything.  It's just a perfect movie.

Who is your favorite classic Hollywood actor?

Bogart, of course.  And Cary Grant and William Powell, two great comic actors.

Who is your favorite classic Hollywood actress?

I have several: Myrna Loy, Carole Lombard, Jean Arthur.  They all have a spunk and vivaciousness that I really like.  Barbara Stanwyck.  She can do it all, and she's the ultimate femme fatale in the ultimate film noir, "Double Indemnity".

Thank you for having me, Robby.  It's been fun.  And I love Dear Old Hollywood and check it out often.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

This Saturday, July 28, at 2pm, Paul will be joining authors Sue Ann Jaffarian (author of the Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery series and the Madison Rose Vampire Mystery series) and Michael Mallory (author of The Mural and the Amelia Watson Mystery series) for a panel/discussion on "Things That Go Bump in the Night" at the La Crescenta Library. If you want to learn more about Paul D. Marks and what he is working on visit his site, Cafe Noir. For his new novel, White Heat, the paperback can be found on BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon.com or as an e-book exclusively on Amazon.

Detail: Q&A With Author Paul D. Marks