Whitley Heights 101

2209-2211 Fairfield Avenue (Relocated)

2209-2211 Fairfield Avenue is a duplex that was built in 1917 and both residences are identical. Both have a total of 700 square feet, with a living room, dining/kitchen area and 1.5 bathroom downstairs and two bedrooms and one full bathroom upstairs. In 1951, the property was relocated to 1433-1435 Talmadge Street, which is near Sunset Blvd. and Fountain Ave. in Los Angeles. Below is the property soon after it was built on Fairfield Avenue, near the intersection of Odin Street.

Above is another view of the property looking from Highland Avenue. 2209 Fairfield Avenue has been home to some that have worked in the movie and television industry. Actor Fred Kelsey resided at 2209 Fairfield Avenue in 1920. Kelsey directed one- and two-reel films for Universal Film Manufacturing Company. He appeared in more than 400 films between 1911 and 1958, often playing policemen or detectives. He also directed 37 films between 1914 and 1920. Some memorable roles included; a bumped first night diner in Mildred Pierce (1945), train conductor in Saratoga Trunk (1945), a passerby in Dragnet (1954), audience member in A Star is Born (1954), party guest in To Catch a Thief (1955), and a courtroom spectator on four episodes of Perry Mason in 1958.

Actress Adele Farrington lived at 2209 Fairfield Avenue in 1921 and had another garage built on the property that same year. Born in New York in 1867, Adele started acting on the stage and did not start movies until she was 47 years old. While she was largely a character actress, she occasionally appeared in more substantial roles. Her roles fluctuated from being an aunt, widow, society woman, mother, duchess, and housekeeper between 1914 to 1926. Her second marriage was to silent screen star Hobart Bosworth, but she filed for divorce in 1919 because he was having an affair with a younger actress, Cecile Percival, whom he secretly married soon after the divorce became final. Adele moved to this property when she first moved to Los Angeles as a divorcee and died in 1936 at the age of 69.

Between 1932-1934 screenwriter Gilbert Pratt (1882-1954) lived at 2209 Fairfield Avenue. In 1930, he lived down the street at 2313 Fairfield Avenue. Pratt started as a character actor, playing both serious and comic villains on screen. He later turned to directing for Hal Roach. During the 1920s he doubled as gag writer, in addition to directing for Al Christie at Vitagraph (1924-25) and Mack Sennett (1926). In the sound era, he worked as a scenarist on dramas, and occasional comedies with his career ending in 1946.

In 1926, Pratt accidentally shot himself with his automatic pistol. He had just entered his home located at 6408 Dix Street, near Cahuenga and Franklin Blvds. He noticed that there was a book on the floor so when he leaned over to pick it up, his gun accidentally fell on the floor and discharging a bullet that when through his wrist and shoulder. He survived the incident and lived to be 62 years old.

Actor and director Carl Leviness, pictured below, lived at 2209 Fairfield Avenue between 1942 and 1950 being the last tenant before the building was auctioned and moved in 1952. Leviness was primarily an extra who appeared in over 400 films between 1912 and 1965. Leviness actually preferred roles that did not require dialog and his appearance made him a favorite for socialite scenes. We was admired by directors John Ford and Alfred Hitchcock, who regularly put Leviness to work in their productions. He can be seen as a party guest in Jean Harlow’s, Platinum Blonde (1931), a wedding guest in Clark Gable’s, It Happened One Night (1934), party guest with Gable and Harlow in Saratoga (1937), party guest in Gone with the Wind (1939), and a ship passenger in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). He also appeared in five episodes in Adventures of Superman between 1953-54. He eventually retired shortly before his death in 1964. Leviness also lived at 6820 Iris Circle in 1954.

On the other side of the building, 2211 Fairfield Avenue was inhabited by art director Amos Myers between 1922-1923. Myers was the art director for three movies between 1919-22, including Rudolph Valentino’s The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in 1922. He was the technical director or staff of five movies between 1919-23, with the Four Horsemen being one of them. Myers spent six weeks with 200 workers constructing a French village and castle on a ranch in San Fernando Valley for Valentino’s movie. In 1920, Myers was part of MGM’s largest interior setting ever directed of King Solomon’s temple in Old Lady 31. Myers went on to manage the Lyric Theater in Monrovia in the 1930s. His son, film artist, Harvey Myers was killed trying to fight the Castaic fire at his home and had a heart attack. Below is one of the bedrooms with a built-in vanity.

In 1934, actress Ida Darling lived at 2211 Fairfield Avenue. Darling was born in New York City in 1880. She performed on the New York stage for 40 years. During the 10 years she resided in California, she was under contract to David Selznick and the Selznick Pictures Corporation. Darling appeared in 53 movies from 1913 to 1935 and is best known for her part in the movie Irene in 1926. She died in 1936 in Los Angeles while living at this residence.

Now the duplex sits at 1433-1435 Talmadge Street. The property had not had any major remodeling other than the exterior walls and new windows. It does not appear any notable has resided there since it was moved in the early 1950s.