Candice Rialson and Tara Strohmeier in

Hollywood Boulevard (1976)

Asylum Records billboard promoting Joni Mitchell’s “Hejira” Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA.

Ed Ruscha, Installation view of The Back of Hollywood, 1976 -1977, Wilshire Boulevard near Spaulding Drive, Los Angeles, California, 1977

Carmen Miranda - The Brazilian Bombshell

Carmen Miranda (born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha in Marco de Canaveses, Porto on February 9, 1909 – 5 August 1955) was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Bombshell", she was known for her sass and signature fruit hat outfit that she wore in her American films.

Miranda was introduced to a composer while working at her family's inn, and she soon recorded her first single ("Não vá Simbora") in 1929.  She then signed a two-year contract with Rádio Mayrink Veiga, the most popular Brazilian station of the 1930s. Her rise to stardom in Brazil was linked to the growth of a native style of music: the samba.

At the invitation of US show business impresario, Lee Shubert, who saw her perform in Rio's Cassino da Urca, she came to Broadway and starred in hit musicals: The Streets of Paris and Sons o' Fun.

Her fame grew quickly, and she was formally presented to President Franklin D. Roosevelt at a White House banquet shortly after her arrival in the US.

When news of Broadway's latest star (known as the Brazilian Bombshell) reached Hollywood, Twentieth Century-Fox offered her a contract in 1941. Her most memorable film performances are in the musical numbers of films such as Week-End in Havana (1941) and The Gang's All Here (1943).

After World War II, Miranda's films at Fox were produced in black-and-white, indicative of Hollywood's diminishing interest in her. As a result, Miranda decided to produce her own films to limited success. Although her film career was faltering, her musical career remained solid and she was still a popular nightclub attraction. She continued to tour the US, Europe, and Latin America.

After filming a segment for the NBC variety series The Jimmy Durante Show, where complained of feeling unwell, she died at home from a heart attack. She was 46 years old.

Legacy:

Chosen by former Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas as a goodwill ambassador in the United States

Was the first contract singer in Brazilian radio history; subsequently, the highest-paid radio singer in Brazil in the 1930s

Was Hollywood's highest-paid entertainer and the top female taxpayer in the US in 1945, earning more than $200,000 that year

Has a museum in Rio de Janeiro, Museu Carmen Miranda, established in her honor in 1976

Received the Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique Grande Oficial, a Portuguese order of knighthood, in 1995

Has a square in Hollywood named Carmen Miranda Square with a ceremony headed by honorary mayor of Hollywood Johnny Grant and attended by Brazilian consul general Jorió Gama in 1998

Was one of 500 stars nominated for the American Film Institute's 50 greatest screen legends in 1999

Honored by the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro in 2005 and the Latin America Memorial in São Paulo in 2006 with a Carmen Miranda Forever exhibit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of her death

Bestowed the Ordem do Mérito Cultural by the Ministry of Culture of Brazil in 2009

Was a part of a set of commemorative US Postal Service Latin Music Legends stamps, painted by Rafael Lopez, in 2011

Honored in the 2016 Summer Olympics closing ceremony with a tribute

Was the first Latin American star to be invited to leave hand and footprints in the courtyard of Grauman's Chinese Theatre

Was the first South American honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to motion pictures in 1960, located at 6262 Hollywood Boulevard

The Hollywood Boulevard / Neon Theater sequence as seen in The First Nudie Musical (1976). 

Forty-seven years later and most of it looks the same.

The Hollywood Theater at Highland (neon sign is still there) Grauman’s Chinese Theater (neon sign is gone but theater is thriving) The Vine Theater west of Vine street (neon sign is still there) The Pantages at Argyle (neon sign is still there) Pix Theater (neon sign is gone, building and marquee remain) The Pacific Theater at Cahuenga (neon sign is still there)

Walter Paisley from A Bucket of Blood (1959) has appeared in many films, usually but not always portrayed by the late Dick Miller.

A Bucket of Blood (1959) - Struggling Artist

Hollywood Boulevard (1976) - Former Actor/Agent

The Howling (1981) - Occult Book Shop Owner

Twilight Zone: The Movie - Third Segment (1983) - Diner Owner

Chopping Mall (1986) - Janitor

Night of the Creeps (1986) - Police Officer

Shake, Rattle & Rock! (1994) - Police Officer

Hanukkah (2019) - Rabbi

I find this interesting, it started out as a joke but it really feels like perhaps Walter was subjected to rebirth for his deeds

Hollywood Boulevard (Joe Dante; Allan Arkush, 1976)

THE PREMIER LADIES OF THE SFV – PART 1 OF 2

Georgia Joan Waldor (aka Joani Hannan) was a pioneering female jazz drummer who toured with the USO and played alongside Marilyn Monroe in the 1959 classic “Some Like It Hot.” Despite the challenges and constraints of the 50s and 60s for women and queers, Joani transcended stereotypes, exemplifying to all she met the strength, self love and courage to be true to oneself no matter what.

Between 1957-1958, she owned and operated “Joanie’s Bar” in Palm Springs. In 1961, she opened “Joani Presents,” a nightclub and music venue in North Hollywood that featured performances by well-known jazz musicians and other entertainers, with Joani as the star attraction. “Joani Presents” catered to the lesbian community during a time when lesbian bars were considered safer to patronize than other gay bars, which were often raided by police.

“Joani Presents” ran until 1976 at 6413 Lankershim Boulevard. (The building was later sub-divided into addresses 6411 and 6415.) Joani then relocated to Humboldt County in Northern California with her wife, Marion Cane, where she owned and operated a nightclub in Garberville during the 1990s. Joani died on April 13, 2012, at age 83.

A new documentary, “Joani: Queen of the Paradiddle,” is currently screening on the film festival circuit.

Comments on Joani’s obit page reflect her lasting legacy and influence as an iconic trailblazer for the gay community in the SFV:

“I worked for her at Joani Presents. She gave me a job cleaning because I was starting college. Loved her energy and advice.”

“To this day, the most compelling eyes I've ever seen. Thank you for the memories Miss Georgia.”

“I have such fond memories of Joani. Her marvelous talent has been a source of inspiration to me for many years. Remembering her uniqueness and joie de vivre always makes me smile! She was definitely "one of a kind".....smart, savvy and gutsy enough to always be herself! BRAVO JOANI! Thanks for such great memories!”

On this date in music….even country western….

April 26th

2019 - Phil McCormack

Molly Hatchet singer Phil McCormack died age 58. He’d fronted the Southern rock band since 1996 after having performed with them previously, taking over from Danny Joe Brown.

2013 - George Jones

US country singer George Jones who had a string of No.1 songs between the 1950s and 1990s, died aged 81. Nicknamed Possum, his signature song was He Stopped Loving Her Today, a track about love and death. He was married to Tammy Wynette between 1969 and 1975 and the pair recorded several songs together in the 1970s.

1994 - Grace Slick

Grace Slick pleaded guilty to pointing a shotgun at police in her California home. She claimed she was under stress because her home had burned down the previous year. She was later sentenced to 200 hours of community service and told to attend four Alcoholics Anonymous meetings a week for three months.

1990 - Nirvana

Nirvana appeared at the Pyramid Club in New York City. The bands label Sub Pop filmed the show and the performance of 'In Bloom' was later used as a promo clip.

1988 - Mick Jagger

Mick Jagger appeared in White Plains, New York, Federal Court in the copyright infringement case brought by reggae singer Patrick Alley, who claimed the Mick Jagger solo track 'Just Another Night' was a plagiarism of his own song of the same name. Alley was claiming $7m in profits from the track. During the case Sly Dunbar played drums to the court to show how the beats were different in each song and Mick sang and played demos of his song to show the court the development of the track. At the end of the week-long trial, Jagger won the case.

1982 - Rod Stewart

Out on a day's shopping, Rod Stewart was robbed by a gunman of his $50,000 Porsche on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.

1980 - Blondie

Blondie were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Call Me', the group's fourth UK No.1, featured in the Richard Gere movie 'American Gigolo', the track was also a No.1 in the US where it became the band's biggest selling single. Producer Giorgio Moroder originally asked Stevie Nicks from Fleetwood Mac to help compose and perform a song for the soundtrack, but she declined.

1976 - Paul McCartney

'Wings At The Speed Of Sound' went to No.1 on the US album chart. Paul McCartney's fifth No.1 album after The Beatles became his most successful American chart album, spending seven unconsecutive weeks at No.1. The album featured the hits 'Let 'Em In' and 'Silly Love Songs'.

1969 - Led Zeppelin

During the band's second North American tour Led Zeppelin played the second of two nights at The Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco in California. It was during this show that 'Whole Lotta Love' was played live for the first time.

1966 - Dusty Springfield

Dusty Springfield was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me', the singers only UK No.1. When recording the track, Springfield was not satisfied with her vocal until she had recorded forty-seven takes.

The muse bar and grill

There were others, but Jean Rue and John Hellman, who served under him for thirty years, and Michele Bourger have been the three main chefs since 1919. He worked for 53 years and trained John Hellman and Michele Bourger, his successors. He was with the restaurant from 1922 until 1976. In the 1920’s, when movies were silent and Hollywood was dotted with cafeterias and grills, Jean Rue, Musso’s most tenured and famous chef, created the menu that exists today. Rose died in 1954, and the bar in the back, where so many great writers ate and drank in the 1930’s, closed and moved to the New Room around the same time. The restaurant survives today, much as it did in the early years, with the exception of the move from 6669 Hollywood Boulevard to 6667 Hollywood Boulevard in the mid 1930’s, and the addition of the New Room in the 1950’s, which occupies the space that once belonged to the Stanley Rose Bookstore. John Mosso and Joseph Carissimi purchased the restaurant in the same year. Frank Toulet sold his interest in the restaurant in 1927. In the early 1920’s, Joseph Musso became a partner and the name was changed again, this time to Musso-Frank Grill. The name was later changed to Frank’s Francois Cafe. Later, they moved to Los Angeles, where they eventually teamed up with Frank Toulet, who had opened Frank’s Cafe, on Hollywood Boulevard in 1919. Joseph Musso and Joseph Carissimi opened their first restaurant, Progress, in Portland, Oregon in 1910. Musso’s is still the oldest restaurant in Hollywood. In the intervening years, Sardi’s, the Brown Derby, Chasen’s, Mike Lyman’s, the Seven Seas, Edna Earl’s Fog Cutter, the Gotham, Fred Harvey’s, the Cock and Bull, Scandia, Nickodell’s and many other historic restaurants have come and gone. Well before their 20th anniversary, Musso and Frank advertised itself as “the oldest restaurant in Hollywood.” 90 years after they opened as Frank’s Francois Cafe in 1919, Musso and Frank is still going strong.

Bis & Beau Hailed as the “Queen of Rock and Roll” - Elvis was her husband, after all! - the beautiful and enigmatic Priscilla Presley left her indelible mark on the American cultural landscape throughout the 60s and 70s. With her signature babydoll eyeliner, massive bouffant ‘do and ultra-glamorous take on Mod fashion, Priscilla’s signature look is at once completely singular, yet emblematic of the era’s decadent rock-and-roll-meets-Hollywood lifestyle. Beyond Priscilla’s role as rock-star-wife, she’s also gone on to pursue a string of business ventures - including launching her own fashion line - and a career in acting, that saw her signature 60s look transform with the times. Think 70s blow-out hair, bell bottoms, and loads and loads of denim. After her divorce from Elvis in 1973, Priscilla launched her first - of many - business ventures. In 1973, she opened up high-end Beverly Hills fashion boutique ‘Bis & Beau’ with friend and longtime stylist Olivia Bis. Together, the duo designed the boutique’s in-house line, which made fans and clients of celebrities including Cher and Liza Minnelli. Priscilla closed the doors on ‘Bis & Beau’ in 1976, and by the 80s was pursuing an acting career. Her first acting role arrived as a single-episode stint on action series ‘The Fall Guy’ (1982). The following year, she got her big break, being cast in iconic, long-running American soap drama ‘Dallas’, before starring in the wildly successful ‘Naked Gun’ movie trilogy. #neonurchin #neonurchinblog #dedicatedtothethingswelove #suzyurchin #ollyurchin #art #music #photography #fashion #film #design #words #pictures #love #ingenue #fashionicon #businesswoman #fashionboutique #model #actress #designer #styleicon #elvispresley #vegas #oliviabis #bisandbeau #priscillapresley (at Santa Monica Boulevard) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfbGB3xoR8N/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Mary Woronov and Paul Bartel in Hollywood Boulevard, 1976.