L. Vernon Briggs

Day thirty-one, and the FINAL DAY of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020. Can you believe it’s been a whole month already?!

Today’s entry from 1882 comes from L. Vernon Briggs, who was a pioneering forensic psychiatrist. We think it’s an appropriate end to the series.

If you’re finding yourself hooked, we highly recommend getting your own copy to keep on the coffee table. Support Local before heading to Amazon. Pages here in Manhattan Beach is offering online and phone orders with curbside pick-up, local delivery, and shipping options.

We love you and we miss you, Los Angeles!

---

L. Vernon Briggs

Dear Los Angeles

Hamlin Garland

Day thirty of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry from 1923 comes from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hamlin Garland’s diary.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

Hamlin Garland

A 1922 advertisement from “Lewis Homes of Character”

Dylan Thomas

Day twenty-nine of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry from 1950 comes from a love letter written by poet Dylan Thomas to his wife Caitlin. In it he mentions several other notable names, one of which we’ve featured here.

Despite the tone of the letter, their marriage was actually full of drama, alcohol and infidelity.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

Dylan Thomas

Caitlin Thomas

Trailer for “Love Somehow,” a film about Caitlin Thomas's relationship with the poet Dylan Thomas

Edward Weston - The Father

Day twenty-eight of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry from 1928 is from the diary of Edward Weston, who we previously featured here. He writes about an outing to Santa Monica with his sons.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

Weston and his sons

An example of men’s bathing suits circa 1928

Ross Macdonald

Day twenty-seven of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry from 1972 is from a letter written by crime fiction author Ross Macdonald (the pen name for Kenneth Millar), to another author named Eudora Welty. They had a complex relationship, an “almost romance” which took place mainly through their written correspondence over many years. Their fascinating story is written up here and here.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

Kenneth Millar aka Ross Macdonald

Eudora Welty

William Henry Jackson

Day twenty-six of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry from 1867 comes from William Henry Jackson, a photographer who captured some of the earliest images of the American West. There are some good reads about him here and here.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

William Henry Jackson

One of his photographs showing Yosemite

Don Herold

Day twenty-five of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry from 1934 comes from humorist Don Herald, commenting on what seems to be an age-old debate.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

Don Herold

Some of Herold’s illustrations

Quotes attributed to Don Herold

“A humorist is a person who feels bad, but who feels good about it.
Don’t ever slam a door, you might want to go back.
Golf may be a hussy, but I love her.
If I had my life to live over, I would perhaps have more actual troubles but I’d have fewer imaginary ones.
It is a good thing that life is not as serious as it seems to a waiter.
It takes a lot of things to prove you are smart, but only one thing to prove you are ignorant.
Man is the only animal that plays poker.
Moralizing and morals are two entirely different things and are always found in entirely different people.
Poverty must have many satisfactions, else there would not be so many poor people.
The beggar is the only person in the universe not obliged to study appearance.
The brighter you are, the more you have to learn.
There is more sophistication and less sense in New York than anywhere else on the globe.
There is nobody so irritating as somebody with less intelligence and more sense than we have.
There’s one thing about baldness, it’s neat.
Unhappiness is not knowing what we want and killing ourselves to get it.
Why resist temptation? There will always be more.
Work is the greatest thing in the world, so we should always save some of it for tomorrow.”

Aaron Paley & the Hollywood Library

Day twenty-four of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry from 1982 comes from Aaron Paley, who we also featured on day nine.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

The Hollywood Library which burned down in an arson fire on April 13, 1982

The current library which stands in the same place was designed by Frank Gehry and opened in 1986

Charles Brackett

Day twenty-two of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry from 1946 comes from Charles Brackett, who along with Billy Wilder made one of the most successful filmmaking teams in cinema history. There is a great read about their relationship here for those interested.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

Charles Brackett, one-time president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Lucey’s restaurant, once located across the street from Paramount Pictures

Jim Bouton

Day twenty-one of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry from 1969 is from Jim Bouton, professional Major League Baseball player and author of the scandalous tell-all book Ball Four.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

Jim Bouton played in the MLB as a pitcher for the New York Yankees, Seattle Pilots, Houston Astros, and Atlanta Braves between 1962 and 1978

---

John Cheever

Day twenty of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s short and sweet entry comes from the diary of author John Cheever, recounting his brief visit to Los Angeles in 1945.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

John Cheever

Thrifty Drug Store on the southwest corner of Sunset and Fairfax, circa 1945

Advertisement for Spam, which was introduced in 1937

Bonus: the celebrity Tony is twinning with today, from his favorite movie Step Brothers

Valeria Belletti

Day nineteen of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry from 1925 is from a letter written by Valeria Belletti. She wrote many letters during her time as Samuel Goldwyn’s secretary, and would’ve remained unknown if not for being published by Cari Beauchamp (who’s book this excerpt is taken from). She mentions encounters with several notable names, and we’ve included their photos below.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

Valeria Belletti was rescued from obscurity by Cari Beauchamp

Samuel Goldwyn

William Randolph Hearst

Vilma Banky

Anton Grot

Christopher Isherwood

Day eighteen of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry from 1968 is from Christopher Isherwood, an author and screenwriter who left Europe for Santa Monica in 1939, where he would remain until his death in 1986.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

Christopher Isherwood

---

His work “A Single Man” was adapted to film in 2009. It was the directorial debut of fashion designer Tom Ford, and stars Colin Firth who received an Oscar nomination for his performance.

Anaϊs Nin

Day seventeen of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry from 1957 is from author Anaϊs Nin, who was best known for her ground-breaking erotica. She led a fascinating life balancing two husbands, keeping them secret from each other, one in New York and one in Los Angeles (in addition to many other lovers).

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

Anaϊs Nin at her home in Silver Lake

Anaϊs lived in a glass house overlooking Silver Lake that she referred to as her 'house of mirrors.' The house was built by Eric Lloyd Wright, the grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright. She lived there from 1962 until her death in 1977. The house, at 2335 Hidalgo Ave, is registered as LA Historic-Cultural Monument No. 892.

quotes by Anaϊs nin

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”

Jewel’s “Morning Song” which references Anaϊs Nin and her lover Henry Miller

Groucho Marx

Day sixteen of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry from 1954 is written by comedian Groucho Marx, offering some industry advice and foreshadowing the split that would come two years later between Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in their famous “That’s Amore”

In the early days

Reunited after 20 years, in 1976

Jessie Benton Fremont

Day fifteen of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry from 1901 comes from Jessie Benton Fremont - author, activist, and notably the wife of John C. Fremont. While you could spend weeks reading up on their contributions to the state of California, we’re fascinated by the subject of this very brief excerpt.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

The “Fremont House” at its original location on the northwest corner of Hoover and 28th St. It was built in 1891 and designed by architect Sumner P. Hunt. The home was ultimately relocated twice before sadly being demolished.

Mrs. Jessie Benton Fremont on the porch of her home, which was presented to her by a committee of ladies of the city of Los Angeles as a token of their great regard, after the death of her husband John C. Fremont.

William Faulkner

Day fourteen of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry from 1943 comes from a letter William Faulkner wrote to his nephew. Faulkner was one of the great American authors and his work remains deeply relevant.

Re: the face mask - read LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s recommendation here.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

---

Quotes by William Faulkner

“· The past is not dead. In fact, it’s not even past.
· I believe that man will not merely endure; he will prevail.
· Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.
· Between grief and nothing I will take grief.
· An artist is a creature driven by demons. He doesn’t know why they choose him and he’s usually too busy to wonder why.
· Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.
· Tomorrow night is nothing but one long sleepless wrestle with yesterday’s omissions and regrets.”

---

James Franco in “As I Lay Dying”"

Richard Burton

Day thirteen of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry comes from 1970, from the (very) personal diary of Richard Burton.

Some additional interesting reading can be found here and in this Town & Country feature.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

Burton and Taylor starred in one last play together, Noel Coward's Private Lives. The production received such bad reviews that Taylor actually got drunk and missed a performance. While it's rumored that she was hoping to use the play to get close to Burton again, he was so angry about her missing the show that he turned to his assistant Sally Hay, whom he later married. Taylor was then engaged to lawyer Victor Luna. (credit: Town & Country)

Burton and Taylor, 1971

Burton and Taylor in “Sandpiper” - one of the first films shot on location, in Big Sur, California.

Helen Hunt Jackson

Day twelve of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry is from author and activist for Native American rights, Helen Hunt Jackson, from a letter written in 1883.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

Helen Hunt Jackson

John Fowles

Day eleven of our daily readings from “Dear Los Angeles,” a collection of letters and diary entries from 1542 to 2018, while all of us quarantine in 2020.

Today’s entry from 1964 is by author John Fowles. He writes of his visit to the historic Marineland of the Pacific, which operated from 1954 to 1987. Terranea Resort, which now stands there, opened in June 2009.

We love you, Los Angeles!

---

Palos Verdes Peninsula - Then and Now

---

trailers for his film adaptations

Get ready for an electrifying and chilling film experience that lays bare the intimate longings of a man--and the woman who has become his captive. Based on ...

The one and only Meryl Streep in one of her highlight performances. A film is being made of a story, set in 19th century England, about Charles, a biologist ...