Whitley Heights 101

6681 Emmet Terrace

6681 Emmet Terrace was built in 1923 by architect Arthur S. Barnes and builder Alexander Urquhart with the listed address as 6680 Bonair Place since there is access on that street via a gate. This property was originally built with 4 units and known as “Urquhart Duplex”. In 1964, the property was remodeled to only 2 units: the upper unit has two bedrooms and two bathrooms and the lower unit with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Below, the property can be seen prior to 1927 as the home to the left, had not been built yet.

The top floor:

The lower floor that is just over the 2-car garage:

The patio areas and outside:

Between 1935-1942 Louis and Dora Feinberg and their four children rented the quadplex. What is interesting about this setup is that all their children were adults in their 20s and all single. Louis, age 65, was a retired newspaper publisher and his wife, Dora, age 64, were both born in Russia and immigrated to the United States. They met and married in New York before settling in Chicago were they had four children: Mable, Ruth, Helen, and Irving. Irving was 36 years old when they moved to Whitley Heights and worked for Desilu Productions. Helen, was two years older than Irving and listed her occupation as an “actress”, although there were no credits listed. Ruth was two years older than Helen and Mabel was two years older than Ruth. Both Ruth and Mabel did not work in the entertainment industry and took stenographer and librarian jobs. Dora died a year after the family moved to Whitley Heights, but the Feinberg’s remained at 6681 Emmet Terrace until 1942 when they moved to Toluca Lake.

Irving Feinberg’s first known documented television show was in 1959 when he worked in the art department for Guild Films and worked on one episode of Captain David Grief. Soon after he transitioned to Desilu Productions Art Department, the company founded by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Feinberg worked on 30 episodes of The Untouchables between 1959 to 1961. When Star Trek first started in 1966, Feinberg worked as the property master for 77 out of the 80 episodes. Feinberg was responsible for all the “gadgets” featured on Star Trek and also supervised the creation of all the “creatures”. Robert Justman wrote about Feinberg: “When you think of Star Trek props, you have to think of Irving Feinberg, the show’s beloved property master, a special crew member who actually came from Desilu. Necessity was the mother of invention on Star Trek. Someone would yell, “Props, we need that new ‘Feinberg’ for the next scene,” and Irving (usually dressed in his trademark baggy shorts that displayed his knobby knees) or his assistant, Al Jacoby, would come running with it. Since no one could ever remember the names of the various gadgets Irving put together, they were all called “Feinberg’s”.” (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, p. 120).

While the Feinberg’s rented this property, a few studio workers rented out one of the apartments. In 1940, actor Warren Crosby rented a unit at 6681 Emmet Terrace. Crosby first worked for Fox Studios and got a small part in 1934’s “365 Nights in Hollywood” starring Alice Faye. He then moved over to 20th Century Fox and got a minor role in 1940’s “Springtime in the Rockies” starring Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda. Perhaps Crosby’s best known role was as a soldier in 1958’s “Tank Battalion”. His finale credited role was in 1966’s “The Blue Max” starring George Peppard and Ursula Andress. In 1941, actor Kirk Riley, rented one of the units. Riley who worked primary on the stage, worked on the tv series, “Death Valley Days” per the Los Angeles Times.