Whitley Heights 101

2022 Whitley Avenue

On August 8, 1923, George E. Thompson pulled the permit to build 2022 Whitley Avenue on the vacant lot. Thompson listed his occupation in construction and as the owner and contractor of this property and built the two-story Mediterranean Chateau. The 3,772 square foot home was originally built with five bedrooms, one bathroom, and a guest house. Thompson listed this house in the Los Angeles Times in 1928 as a “trade” for an up-to-date apartment/house with a business or San Fernando Blvd. acreage. The home was sold sometime after August 7, 1928 to Frederick and Dorothy Haims who added another bathroom on the first floor. They sold the property in 1929 to widower Margaret Glover who resided on the property until her death in 1939.

Margaret Seaman Glover was born in 1857 in Stockton, CA and by the age of 20 was married and pregnant. However, her husband died two months after they were married and she gave birth to a girl less than a year later while living in Walla Walla, WA. In 1885, she married for the second time to John Glover and they had a son. Her daughter died in 1891 and her second husband died in 1919 so she relocated to Los Angeles with her son, Sherman. Margaret’s younger sister, Carolyn, who was born in 1864, married Paul Sherman in Chicago and they had a son, Joseph, in 1892 and another son, Drexel, born in 1895. Carolyn’s husband died in 1899 and she and her two sons also relocated to Los Angeles. The two sisters and their sons all lived under this roof until it was sold in the mid-1940s.

Carolyn took over the property after her sister died in 1939 and then Carolyn’s son, Joe, inherited the property after Carolyn died in 1941. Joseph Sherman was born on December 17, 1892 in Chicago, IL and started his career as a writer in several newspapers and then transitioned to Famous Players Lasky Studio as a publicist in 1926. Sherman was also involved with the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers (WAMPAS) in the 1920s and 1930s and part of the WAMPAS Baby Stars promotional campaign which honored 13-15 young actresses each year they believed were on the threshold to stardom from 1922-1934.

WAMPAS actresses included: Evelyn Brent(WH) (1923), Dorothy Devore(WH) (1923), Clara Bow (1924), Olive Borden (1925), Lola Todd(WH) (1925), Mary Astor(WH) (1926), Joan Crawford (1926), Dolores del Rio (1926), Janet Gaynor(WH) (1926), Fay Wray (1926), Lupe Velez(WH) (1928), Helen Twelvetrees(WH) (1929), Sidney Fox(WH) (1931), Anita Louise(WH) (1931), Patricia Ellis(WH) (1932), Ginger Rogers (1932), and Gloria Stuart(WH) (1932). Several WAMPAS Baby Stars also resided in Whitley Heights during the 1920s and 1930s as well. All actors that lived in Whitley Heights, had been mentioned in a previous post, or have an association with a Whitley Heights resident are indicated by a (WH) next to their name in this post.

On August 15, 1931, Sherman surprised many by secretly getting married to actress Mary Doran by a judge in San Diego. Doran, born in 1910, in New York, first aspired to become a teacher and then took tap dancing lessons to break into her acting career. She first appeared on stage in ‘Betsy’ (1926), a rare flop by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. (and Rodgers & Hart), then in the hit ‘Rio Rita’. Doran entered films in 1928 in a movie called “Half a Bride” with Gary Cooper in the leading role, when she was only 17 years old. Her film career lasted just eight years, from 1928 (contract with MGM) to 1936. Having 53 credited roles, she was known for: Janice in The Divorcee (1930), starring Norma Shearer(WH), Margie in Movie Crazy (1932) with Harold Lloyd, and Neeta in The Third Alarm (1930) with Anita Louise(WH). Doran, pictured below, like to show skin in her photographs.

When Sherman and Doran were married, Sherman was working at MGM. They had met a year earlier at the studio and according to the newspaper, it was Sherman’s second marriage. Between 1934 and 1935, Sherman directed three short films and wrote screenplays for: Death on the Diamond (1934), starring Robert Young, Mickey Rooney and Paul Kelly(WH), Murder on the Fleet (1935), starring Robert Taylor and Jean Parker(WH), and co-wrote Through the Window (1932), starring Chester Morris(WH) and Carole Lombard(WH)(through Paramount). In 1937, Doran established residency in Reno to file for a divorce citing undisclosed cruelty, which was granted with alimony. However, less than a year later, Sherman contested the alimony payments after she quickly remarried. Doran tried to fight for the alimony payments but could not get them back.

In 1942, Sherman opted out of Hollywood and moved to Fort Worth, TX working for the public relations department at Consolidated Aircraft Corporation. By 1944, he had transferred with the company to Phoenix, AZ and was remarried for the third time to 38 year old woman named Lillian. After only residing in Phoenix for 4 and 1/2 months, Sherman died of pulmonary tuberculosis. He was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale. Herman and Julia Warren bought the property in the 1940s and moved in with their daughters June and Gloria (born 1926).

Gloria Warren (pictured above) was born Gloria Weiman on April 7, 1926, in Wilmington, Delaware. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Herman Weiman was from Eastern Europe (her mother was from Budapest, Hungary). Her father was a jeweler. When she changed her last name to Warren, the rest of her family had their last names changed to Warren, too. She started playing the piano at age eight, and was considered a prodigy by the time she was nine years old. Warren was discovered around 1940, when a radio producer saw her showcase her musical talent, including singing and dancing.

In 1942, she signed a seven-year contract with the film studio Warner Bros. That same year, she appeared in her first motion picture, Always in My Heart, a domestic melodrama with music, alongside Kay Francis and Walter Huston. The film was written specifically with her the 15 year old actress in mind and she received praise for her debut. In the movie, Warren sang three songs and was being compared to actresses Deanna Durbin and Judy Garland. In 1943, Warren starred in Cinderella Swings It opposite Guy Kibbee. She was cast in a smaller role in the 1946 Charlie Chan film Dangerous Money. Her last film was Bells of San Fernando (1947), in which she was top-billed along with Donald Woods. On September 1, 1946 the 20 year old actress married 22 year old Peter Gold in this home. The young couple lived at 2022 Whitley Avenue following the wedding while looking for their first home.

The two met 4 months prior on a blind double date set up her sister, June. Ten days after meeting, the couple were engaged. By 1948, Gloria had given up on film acting as she was pregnant. The Golds had two children and Peter worked up to become CEO and chairman of the Price Pfister Brass Manufacturing Company, giving Gloria a comfortable life. June married a doctor in 1948.

Joseph and Elaine Schram purchased 2022 Whitley Avenue from the Warrens circa 1958. On January 31, 1953, 30 year old Joseph Schram married 23 year old Elaine Snitzer in Los Angeles. On December 15, 1955, the Schram’s gave birth to twin daughters-Marla and Lori. While residing in Whitley Heights, Elaine was involved with the Hollywood Mothers of Twins Club which was organized to share ideas, problems and equipment to parents of twins. They had a toy poodle for the girls which ran away from the home soon after they moved in. The Schram’s put the house on the market starting October 9, 1960. In December of 1960, Mrs. Schram held a twins birthday party for her daughters, Lori and Marla Ann Schram.

By the 1960s, little work had been done on 2022 Whitley Avenue, and in need of repairs, the house had difficulty selling. The house remained on the market for a full year in 1961 as the girls were now 9 years old and the family wanted to move to the Valley for better schools. They also grew their family; Bruce Nolan Schram was born on August 8, 1959 and Frank Bryan Schram was born on October 30, 1961. That same year, a real estate investor stole almost ten thousand dollars from Joseph. The family desperately needed to move. Joseph gave the investor the money to buy a liquor store and now it was gone. The house remained on the market in 1963. In 1964, Elaine decided that she wanted to work so the Schram’s bought an established sewing company for extra income. Finally by April of 1967 the house sold. The Schram’s moved to the valley and the house got a renewed look in the 1990s and 2000s.

Marla and Lori graduated from a charter school in Woodland Hills and both got married. Marla Schram Swartz became an author. She wrote The Bride Guide: The Perfect Wedding Planner (1983), How to be a TV Game Show Winner (1987), and children’s book, Fairy Fun in 1998. Lori Schram married actor Michael Essrig (stage name Michael McCabe) in 1984 and they had two daughters. They live in San Diego and are in the construction business. Their daughter, Bree Essrig (pictured below) was born and raised in Los Angeles. After getting her start on YouTube, Essrig broke into the industry as an actor, writer, and host. She has starred in thousands of videos on many popular Youtube channels (SourceFed, Funny or Die, The Young Turks, Break, and many more), and has performed many live stunts/pranks. Essrig is the current host of Twitter’s first ever daily live show, #WhatsHappening.

2022 Whitley Avenue last sold in 2017 for $1.6 million. The designer-decorated 5 bedroom/ 3 bath home features high ceilings, dramatic dark hardwood floors, Italian pavers, original built-ins, French doors, and crown molding. The main level boasts a grand living room, formal dining room, bright charming kitchen with newer appliances, breakfast room, office, 1 full bath, and 1 bedroom (currently used as den). The upper level features 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, and a rooftop deck with 180-degree views of Hollywood and the surrounding hills. An attached guest suite with separate entrance on the lower level features a living room, 2 additional bedrooms, and 1 full bath. Tall trees surround the property, granting extreme privacy, while the multiple patios, fountains, Koi pond and outdoor speakers create enchanting outdoor living spaces.