Whitley Heights 101

1969-1985 Whitley Avenue

In 1923, Lima Bean producer George T. Taylor, with the assistance of architect G.R. Evans and F.H. Walker Company, built this 8 unit apartment complex which is located on the southwest corner of Whitley Avenue and Whitley Terrace. He named the apartments after himself, Taylor Apartments and moved into the first apartment known as 1969 Whitley Avenue and played the manager role. George married Virginia Rice in 1928 and she died one year later. George moved next door to the duplex located at 1967 Whitley Avenue by 1930 and widowed apartment manager Lillian Koch moved into 1969 Whitley Avenue. George and Lillian married in 1931 and she moved into the duplex. George died in 1934 at the age of 64 and Lillian continued to live at the duplex. It is not clear if she inherited the apartment complex, if it went to another family member (George had a daughter), or sold them. Below the duplex George and Lillian lived in to the right of Taylor Apartments.

The Taylor Apartment complex did change owners at some point and at one time ownership was listed as The Hobart J. Whitley LLC. circa 2006. The 8-unit duplex consists of six single units and two one-bedroom apartments. A separate garage was built and is accessible on Whitley Terrace. There have been a unique “cast of characters” that have lived in the apartment walls giving it a feel of another “Melrose Place”. One notable actress living at 1969 Whitley Avenue was Lola Todd in 1927 and remained in the one bedroom apartment for several years. Todd was born in 1904 in New York and became an assistant designer for Ziegfeld Follies which would be a beneficial skill for her career because she was able to design her own costumes in her movie roles.

She moved to Hollywood in the early 1920s and got her first role with Universal in 1923 in the western, Ghost City, and then Rustlin’ Buster starring opposite of Jack Mower. Todd was cast primarily in western movies and in 1925 she was one of thirteen women selected to be a “WAMPAS” baby stars, a promotional campaign that choose 13 promising actresses annually. The Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers would pick young actresses that believed were on the verge of stardom in the 1920s and 30s. Other notable WAMPAS actresses included; Bessie Love (1922), Eleanor Boardman (1923), Clara Bow (1924), Olive Borden (1925), Mary Astor (1926), Joan Crawford (1926), Janet Gaynor (1926), Fay Wray (1926), Joan Blondell (1931), and Anita Louise (1931). Below is Whitley Avenue looking up to the intersections of Whitley Terrace and Grace Avenue circa 1930s. There is a partial view of the apartment complex on the left of the street.

By 1927, Todd’s career began to fizzle with the introduction of sound pictures. However, Todd was able to continue to work in the industry as a costume and dress designer. She later retired in Los Angeles, where she resided until her death on July 31, 1995, at age 91. Below is an aerial view of Whitley Heights prior to 1939 as the house across the street at 1987 Whitley Avenue had not been built yet.

In 1930, director Louis King was renting a 485 square foot studio apartment located at 1975 Whitley Avenue. King was born in Virginia in 1898 and started acting in 1918 specializing in villain characters. King transitioned over the directing in the 1930s and 40s primarily in western movies. He is known for directing Dangerous Mission (1954), Bengal Tiger (1936), The Arm of the Law (1932), and Hunted Men (1938). n the 1950s, he directed westerns on television. He directed episodes of Gunsmoke in 1957, the Zane Gray Theater in 1958, The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, and The Deputy in 1960–61.

In 1966, 25 year old Donald Call was renting 1977 Whitley Avenue, a 650 square foot one-bedroom apartment. In October of that year, he was arrested, along with four other men for smuggling 1,332 pounds of marijuana on the shore of Paradise Cove in Malibu. Two deputies, who were looking for illegal lobster fishing, spotted a boat, the Todo Mio, owned by 40 year old Jason Danaher. They observed Call and a 18 year old man hauling seabags ashore from a life raft in a desolate area. Thinking they were going to catch them with lobsters, the bags actually carried marijuana in brick form. The boat saw what was happening and took off sending authorities on a high-speed chase before surrendering. The men received 5 year sentences except for Call who was sentenced to a 20 year maximum pending a psychiatric evaluation. Call lost his appeal two years later. Hopefully, he wasn’t acting like Charles Manson in the courtroom and had to complete the maximum sentence. The translation for Todo Mio is “all mine”.

1979 Whitley Avenue, a studio apartment was occupied by actor Sidney Toler in the 1920s. In 1929, Sidney Toler worked in his first Hollywood film, playing an Englishman in Madame X. For nearly ten years he worked in roles that supported well-known stars in films such as Blonde Venus (1932), starring Marlene Dietrich, The Phantom President (1932), with Claudette Colbert, and Trigger (1934), featuring Clark Gable. In the mid-1930s, he joined 20th Century Fox under contract. The death of Charlie Chan impersonator Warner Oland in 1938 presented him with an opportunity for a leading role and he successfully auditioned for the part among 34 candidates screen-tested. Toler was hired to take over the character and and starred in 22 films.

The downside of his fame as Charlie Chan was that Toler had difficulty being cast in other roles. While filming the last three Charlie Chan installments (Shadows Over Chinatown (1946), Dangerous Money (1946), and The Trap (1946)), the actor became increasingly incapacitated by ill-health which resulted in extra screen time for his co-stars Mantan Moreland and Victor Sen Yung. After being bedridden for several months, he passed away at his Hollywood home from intestinal cancer on February 12, 1947 at age 72.

1981 Whitley Avenue has seen its own kind of dark drama inside its walls. In 1937, the apartment caught on fire from inside and the fire department could not determine its origin. In 1950, barber, Louis Mauceri, his wife, Ann, and their 8 month old baby were residing in the studio apartment. Ann had to call the police on Louis due to “striking her, bouncing her on her head on the ground and smothering her with a pillow” while the baby was sleeping in the adjoining room. When the police came to the apartment, they were met with a hysterical, screaming woman. They were able to locate Louis at a friend’s home in a darkened bathroom at 1810 N. Highland Avenue. Below is the living area of 1981 Whitley Avenue.

1983 Whitley Avenue is another studio apartment that was occupied by actor Fred Kruger in the mid-1930s. Kruger was born in Sheldon, CT in 1931 and was cast in 30 minor roles between 1947 and 1961. He was known for his roles in The Twilight Zone (1959), Girls on the Loose (1958) and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), Gunsmoke (1958) and My Three Sons (1961).

This apartment complex is one of the two multi-unit residences in Whitley Heights that is part of the designated historic district. This building can never be torn down and any work done to the building has to be approved and must match the architectural characteristics designed. The apartments continue to be available for rent on rental websites once they become available. Below is the entrance of the garage located on Whitley Terrace.