Whitley Heights 101

6526 Cerritos Place

6526 Cerritos Place was built in 1922 by owners Roy and Hazel Caler and contractor E.G. Lindsay. Cerritos Place is located in the southeast corner of Whitley Heights, just off of Caheunga Blvd. near the 101 Freeway. This property and two other properties on Cerritos Place are all included in the Whitley Heights Preservation Association-an apartment complex just south of 6526 Cerritos Place and a residence to the right.

Roy and Hazel were living at the Taft Apartments in Santa Monica when this property was being built. They were married in the San Francisco area in 1910, but their marriage did not last and Roy went back up north shortly after this house was built. Hazel decided to expand the detached garage that was in the back of the property. She had an apartment built over the now 2-car garage as a rental unit. However, she may have resided in the apartment and rented the main house out. In the photograph below, the apartment garage can be seen in the back of the house to the right.

This Spanish-style home, which was last bought in 2019 and is currently being restored, has a Mission style roof, recessed arched entry, and four lancet arched windows on the facade. The 2,068 square foot main house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Hazel may have been “too much” for Roy as to why the marriage did not last. In 1917, while they were living in Oakland, she accidentally ran over a man who was standing with a group of people on the sidewalk. She claimed the man stepped into the street in front of her vehicle. The witnesses claimed she ran off the street into the sidewalk. In 1930, while working as a stenographer for the Roosevelt Hotel, she sued general manager Leon Kutner and the hotel for $100,000 damages because she had been beaten and kicked by him in his private office for allegedly coming back late from lunch. Kutner claimed he “politely” fired her for being late. She ended up getting $1,000 as she had photographs of bruises on her body, but did not get more money because the court did not hold the hotel responsible for Kutner’s actions.

Then while residing in the back apartment in 1936, two police officers went there to serve five outstanding traffic warrants for Hazel. (Obviously, her driving did not improve since 1917). The front door was locked and bolted, but the police were convinced she was inside. They knocked without a response and then removed the door lock with a screwdriver, but an inside bolt blocked their way. One officer removed a screen, opened the window and went inside. She was sitting in the kitchen and claimed she had not heard anything. She was arrested and had to appear in court the next day.

Silent screen actor Robert Wayne and his wife, Lena, resided at this property in 1932. Robert Wayne was born on October 28, 1864 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was an actor, known for Fashions in Love (1929), The Witch (1916) and The Devil’s Daughter (1915). He was married to Lena (Magdalena) Hill and they had one daughter, Carrie. He died on September 26, 1946 in Los Angeles and completed 14 movies between 1915 to 1945.

In 1935, tailor Andrew Bergland and wife Brita, rented the house. Erin Andrews, and her son, Udel Andrews Jr., had also lived with them. Erin had just gone through a “messy” divorce from film director, Del Andrews. The photo above is of Erin showing the divorce decree. Edith E. Bergland married writer and director Udell Andrews in 1922. Del primarily worked on low budget westerns, writing and directing films starring Hoot Gibson, Fred Thomson, and Bob Custer. He worked on the Wild West Show from 1922-28, All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and was a contributing writer on Little Women (1933). He shared an Academy Award nomination with Maxwell Anderson for the script to Universal’s 1930 film, All Quiet on the Western Front.

Erin first filed for alimony in 1924 and claimed, while she was sick in hospital, Del was at their home located at 1900 St. Andrews Place entertaining women, including an extra named “Bobbie”. She asked for $200 per week, which was half of her husband’s income at the time. A few days later, Del counterclaims her suit and files for divorce claiming she was having extra-marital affairs and causing “extreme cruelty” towards him. He alleged, while at work, shooting a 3 a.m. scene, she came on the set and put a gun to his head, threatening to kill him. He wrestled the weapon away from her and she began to attack him with her feet and fists, scratching him. She called him “foul names” in front of the entire company. The judge ordered her to stay away from his work, but then awarded her their son and $50 per week of temporary alimony.

The Andrews divorce saga continued and paranoia was setting in for both parties. One evening in 1926, at Del’s home on 1232 Orange Grove Avenue, he was awakened by the sounds of footsteps outside his bedroom window. Fearing for his life, Del took out his pistol and shot three rounds of ammunition through his bedroom window. He called Edith who suggested he call the police. His neighbors indicated that there was a similar incident a few nights prior; that they had heard the shots coming from his home. The police investigated and could not find foot prints or any evidence that there was an intruder outside his bedroom window.

A year later, Edith filed for divorce citing “frequent intoxication constituting cruelty”. Edith won $200 per month alimony and custody of their son. Edith described her husband’s alcoholism and how his friends once brought him home drunk, being wrapped up in a blanket. Del fought the alimony order and refused to pay. He and his lawyer claimed that Edith did not ask for alimony in the divorce papers. Although a technicality, the judge was going to decide if Edith would have to re-file and go through another divorce. Her lawyer filed a motion that the case be sent to another judge. The divorce ended up being valid and Edith was awarded $200 in alimony/child support. In 1929, Edith went to court claiming that Del was not paying the money and the judge told him if he did not pay, he would go to jail for three days because he was $1,880 behind in payments. In July of 1930, a warrant was issued for Del not paying support. That following September, Del was exonerated for neglect of his son as his attorneys proved he was making the payments.

The drama continued in 1931 when Edith claimed that Del came to her house and threatened to kill her; he was arrested. He was released from jail pending a jury trial. In January of 1932, Edith and her mother did not show up for the jury trial and the judge issued bench warrants in which those charges were later dismissed. Finally, Del was able to get child support reduced from $100 to $75 per month and that was the last documented incident of their very public divorce.

In 1937, police had tracked down James W. Sells, age 55, at 6526 Cerritos Place. Sells was sought by authorities since 1933 for a bogus racetrack betting scheme in which he swindled thousands of dollars from citizens in the San Francisco area. He had been indicted in Federal court in San Francisco on 16 counts of using mail to defraud. He was returned to San Francisco to start his three year term.

Between 1940-1942 actress Carol Parker resided at 6626 Cerritos Place. Her name was listed as “Carol W. Kinzel” in the Los Angeles City Directories while living at this residence. Kinzel was her mother’s maiden name. Carol Parker was born on October 4, 1916 in Mandan, North Dakota. She was an actress, known for The Drifter (1944), Hold ‘Em Navy (1937), Wells Fargo (1937). Dangerous to Know (1937), and Coconut Grove (1938). In 1938-39, Carol was dating Dennis O’Keefe when he was in the middle of divorcing his first wife, actress Louise Stanley. The marriage only lasted one year. Carol and Dennis were spotted droving to the circus in Santa Monica three nights in a row. They then were observed driving to his mother’s house in Palm Springs to bid her farewell for a trip. Finally, they made an appearance at Bruz Fletcher’s Club Bali located at 8804 Sunset Blvd. The relationship lasted only a year and afterward, Carol had been spotted with actors Jeffrey Lynn and Garwood Van. As Carol’s relationships fizzled, so did her acting career. She moved to Florida and died in 1994.