Whitley Heights 101

6808 Whitley Terrace

6808 Whitley Terrace was built in in 1916 by architects McCann and Leech. One notable rented was country rodeo star and actor Art Acord and his newlywed wife, Edna Mae Nores, a former actress. Acord first married Edythe Sterling in 1913 and they divorced three years later. After winning rodeo championships in 1912 and 1916, he turned to stunt work in movies and then transitioned to cowboy parts in movies at Fox. He was a bit of a daredevil and continued to do his own stunts. He then became a member of the Theda Bara Company and had a supporting role in her film, Cleopatra in 1917. Acord could be a bit of a “hot-head”. One day, Bara’s chauffeur called Art a “Montgomery Ward cowboy.” Art pulled him out of a car and “beat three hells out of him.” Bara was overjoyed as she disliked her driver and it was rumored that Acord and Bara were an item during that time. After serving in the Army overseas in 1918, Art returned home and married Edna at her parent’s house in South Pasadena. They resided with Edna’s parents after the wedding and then moved into this house in 1920.

Art also returned to filming cowboy movies and performing his own stunts. He was also a heavy drinker who engaged in some reckless fun. In December of 1921, he was arrested with a friend in a high-speed car chase that stemmed from a hit-and-run automobile accident. Both men were arrested and released from jail on bail. Since Art was the passenger of the vehicle, his charges were dropped. In March of 1922, while performing a stunt in a movie, Art was injured attempting to jump from a horse into a moving train. He fell off of the horse and narrowly escaped getting run over by the train. Two months later, Art was almost a victim of an armed carjacking. A “hold-up gang” was driving behind him without their lights on and fired shots at him. Art got out of his car and pursued them in a surprise fight which ran off the gang members. Finally, in June of 1922, while driving to a rodeo in San Francisco, Art’s car tire blew near Bakersfield. His car flipped over and spun several times causing a head injury and broken leg.

Unfortunately, the accidents did not stop. While filming on the set of The Oregon Trail in 1923, Art and actress, Louise Lorraine (both pictured above) were injured by a stampede of horses. Art had a wandering eye and started an affair with Louise. While he was home with Edna, he would leave for periods of days and she soon discovered he kept an apartment bachelor pad. At first, Edna tried to save their marriage, but Art continued to drink and at times, was aggressive. Edna had finally had enough and in March of 1923, she went public about getting a divorce. One month later, Art got arrested for going 43 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone in Santa Monica. He was given a notice to appear in court but failed to show up and a bench warrant was ordered for his arrest. In June of 1923, Art was severely beaten by two men in his apartment complex. He was merely helping the owner, an older retired motion picture director, break up a rowdy party. Around the same time, divorce papers were served and Louise was named in the lawsuit. Louise’s husband also found out about the affair with Art and filed for divorce at the same time. Both Art and Lorraine disappeared to South America to film a movie and the media went crazy with this story.

The messy divorce was eventually settled, while Art did not always pay his alimony support and his troubles continued. In November 1925, Art was yet involved in another car accident. This time he swerved to avoid hitting another car, driving over the curb and sustaining broken ribs and a lacerated face. Art and Louise married in 1926 and divorced two years later. After Art’s film career ended in 1929, he worked in rodeo road shows and as a miner in Mexico. In 1929, after jumping bail on a liquor charge, bondsmen caught him in Nogales and brought him back to Los Angeles for trial. He settled his case by paying a fine of $150 and then announced that he was returning to Mexico. On the evening of January 3, 1931, Art was having dinner with Mr. and Mrs. William Gaspar, manager of the mining company he’d been working for. Art appeared very depressed and showed them a bottle of potassium chloride indicated wanting to end his life. They left after a period of time thinking he had come to his senses. Approximately an hour later, they decided to check in on him and say good night. They found Art dead lying on the floor. A glass with what appeared to be poison residue was on the dresser, next to a Bible.

Mexican officials reported Art Acord died in the early morning hours of January 4, 1931 due to a “congestion of the brain through alcoholism.” However, some believe he did take the poison and may have been murdered. There was a rumor Art was having an affair with the wife of powerful man in Ciudad.

One other notable tenant at 6808 Whitley Terrace was former ballet dancer turned choreographer Adolph Bolm (pictured above) in 1937. Bolm graduated from the Russian Imperial Ballet School in Saint Petersburg in 1904 and danced with with Mariinsky Ballet. In 1908 and 1909 he ran a European tour with Anna Pavlova. Yes the same dancer former next door neighbor actor Douglas Gerrard had a brief love affair with. Bolm came to the United States and worked on various ballet productions in New York and California. In 1936, he choreographed Carmen and Bartered Bride (along with the Philharmonic Orchestra and Los Angeles Grand Opera Chorus) at the Hollywood Bowl. In 1939, he choreographed Prince Igor at the Hollywood Bowl. Below

6808 Whitley Terrace was eventually moved or demolished to make way for the 101 Freeway in the 1950s, although there is no record of it being relocated or demolished with the city building permits. There may not have been a record if the home was moved outside of Los Angeles County. A detached garage was built in 1919 which was moved to face the road in 1920. That same year, architect Arthur S. Barnes enlarged the sleeping porch.