Whitley Heights 101

2055-2057 Las Palmas Avenue

2055-2055 Las Palmas Avenue is a duplex which was built in 1929 by architect J. Dolena and was noted in the book, The Architectural Guide to Los Angeles by Gebhard and Winter. The owner, F.B. Walker, also built and lived at 6764 Wedgewood Place, which was torn down for the 101 Freeway. This Elizabethan Tudor Revival Duplex consists of two stories, brick-stucco-wood-stone, shake roof, diamond paned leaded windows, hand carved gargoyles on end beams, and small leaded French windows. 2055 Las Palmas Avenue (pictured above) consists of 1,750 square feet with two bedrooms and one bathroom and 2057 Las Palmas Avenue (to the right) has 1,525 square feet with one bedroom and bathroom. The duplex has been the home to many to have worked in the Hollywood movie industry since it was built in the 1920s.

2055 Las Palmas Avenue boasts a large living room with a fireplace that leads to a huge patio area with a fountain in the backyard. There are two bedrooms on the upper floor.

When actor Paul Kelly was discharged from San Quentin in 1931, he married Dorothy Mackaye and lived here briefly. Kelly had been sent to prison for 22 months for manslaughter after he assaulted Dorothy’s husband in a fight which he was hospitalized and died the next morning. (see previous post). Kelly adopted Dorothy and her deceased husband’s daughter and he concentrated on his acting career while Dorothy wrote a play about her experiences in prison which became the 1933 film “Ladies They Talk About” which starred Barbara Stanwyck. Kelly and Mackaye then moved to a ranch in San Fernando Valley in which they named it “Kellymae” and led a quiet life out of the spotlight. Tragedy struck in in 1940 when Dorothy was driving back to the ranch when she encountered another vehicle coming right at her. It was foggy and she swerved to avoid a collision; her vehicle hit the curb and then overturned. She was able to drag herself from the car with the help of others who had stopped to help and drive her to the ranch. The next day, Dorothy did not feel well and went to the hospital, but doctors determined that she did not have any life threatening injuries. The doctors were wrong-two days later Dorothy collapsed from a ruptured bladder leaving Paul devastated. Paul moved to New York and met and married former actress Zona Mardelle. They moved back to Hollywood to 1448 Club View Drive where Paul died suddenly of a heart attack after going to vote in the 1956 election at the age of 57. Below, Mimi Kelly (formerly Valerie Raymond), Dorothy and Paul at a polo match in 1935. Mimi became an actress and producer in New York where she died in 1995.

In 1931, actress Kate MacKenna resided at 2055 N. Las Palmas Avenue. MacKenna’s birth name was Edith Howe and was born in Boston in 1877; she founded the Edith Cobrun Noyes School before moving to Hollywood in the 1930s. MacKenna was credited for playing 25 minor roles between 1932-1956. While living at this property, he career was listed as a teacher on a 1930 census. She was known for her role of Emma in 1935’s The Bride Comes Home starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray. MacKenna played a funny scene when the justice of the peace doesn’t stop knitting while her husband tries to conduct a wedding ceremony. In 1957, MacKenna died of lung cancer in Hollywood.

Between 1934-1953 producer and screenwriter Warren Duff resided at 2055 N. Las Palmas Avenue. Duff, born in 1904, was credited for 65 movie and television writing credits between 1931 and 1962. He was known for writing episodes of The Danny Thomas Hour (1968), The FBI (1969-72), and Burke’s Law (1965). Duff died at the age of 69 in 1973.

Actress Natalie Garson lived at 2055 N. Las Palmas Avenue in 1937. Garson, pictured below, was born on September 19, 1913 in Brooklyn, New York. She was known seven minor roles between 1937-38 including, Dangerously Yours (1937), Too Hot to Handle (1937) starring Clark Gable and Myrna Loy, Big City (1937), starring Spencer Tracy and also starred in two Melvyn Douglas movies. She also had a bit part in Women are Trouble (1936), a film which Paul Kelly also starred in. She was married to Louis Klebenov and David L. Kaye. She died on May 27, 1986 in Boston.

Actor Lester Matthews lived at 2057 N. Las Palmas Avenue in 1937. Matthews (pictured below) was born on June 6, 1900 in Nottingham, England. Matthews was credited for 216 minor roles in both film and television between 1931 and 1974. He was known for The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), The Three Musketeers (1939), Werewolf of London (1935) and Mary Poppins (1964). He also appeared in episodes of Adam-12, Family Affair, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Lucy Show, Bonanza, Rawhide and Father Knows Best.He was married to Anne Grey and Cicely Walper. He died on June 6, 1975 in Los Angeles.

Kurt and Ketti Frings resided on the property in 1942. Kurt was born in England was a well-known agent representing A-list actresses such as Olivia De Havilland, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, and Jayne Mansfield. Kurt even hosted Elizabeth Taylor’s 27th birthday at his home located at 1426 Summitridge Drive in 1959 which was also the home of Boris Karloff and Gregory Peck. Ketti, pictured below, was a screenwriter at Paramount Pictures when they were residing on Las Palmas Avenue. She established herself when her story, “Memo to a Movie Producer”, was adapted by screenwriters Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder into the A-List 1941 movie Hold Back the Dawn (1941), which was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture. She also contributed to the screenplay of the 1943 adaptation of Jane Eyre (1943). A decade later, she was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Drama for adapting William Inge’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Come Back, Little Sheba (1952), a big hit in 1952. She married Kurt Frings in 1938. The couple had two children, Kathie and Peter, before divorcing in 1963. Battling cancer, Ketti Frings died one day before her 72nd birthday on February 11, 1981 in Los Angeles.

Between 1944-46, actor Byron Burr resided at 2055 N. Las Palmas Avenue. Burr, pictured below, was born on August 18, 1917 in Corning, Iowa. He was credited for 20 minor roles between 1944-50. He was known for his minor roles in Double Indemnity (1944), Tokyo Rose (1946) and Love Letters (1945). He died on November 3, 1966 in Sacramento County, California. Actor Gig Young’s real name was Byron Barr. He even used it professionally in his earliest movies which occasionally caused confusion Barr.

Screenwriter Austin Parked lived at 2057 N. Las Palmas Avenue in 1932. He wrote 13 screenplays from 1931 to 1937 including (1931) Honor Among Lovers with Claudette Colbert and Fredric March and The Girl on the Front Page (1936) with Gloria Stuart.