Whitley Heights 101

6864-6868 Iris Circle

6864-6868 Iris Circle was originally a duplex that was built by J.A. Riggs in 1925 and contained a total of 11 rooms in the two-story building. In 1930, now owned by K.C. Purdy, he converted the basement into a one-bedroom studio apartment and was able to rent out three units. Several movie industry notables have resided in this triplex over the years. Between 1930-1931, 6864 Iris Circle was rented by actresses and sisters, Lola Lane (pictured left below) and Leota Lane (pictured right below). Actresses Rosemary and Priscilla Lane are their younger sisters. There was a fifth sister who was not part of the entertainment industry.

Leota was the oldest and was born Leotable Mullican in 1903 in Macy, Indiana. Lola came 3 years later with the name Dorothy Mullican. Rosemary (Lane) Mullican was born in 1913 followed by Priscilla (Lane) Mullican in 1915. Leota was the first to leave home to pursue an acting career and moved to New York City in the mid-1920s. Lola moved to New York to join her in 1928 and shared an apartment. Both found work in a Gus Edwards show, the Greenwich Village Follies. It was Edwards that suggested they change their last name to “Lane” and they both obtained parts on Broadway. Lola first moved to Hollywood in 1929 to star in a movie with Paul Page in Speakeasy (1929) and The Girl from Havana (1929) and lived in an apartment at 6626 Franklin Avenue (called Chateau de Fleurs today):

A year later, Lola moved to 6864 Iris Circle when her sister, Leota moved to Hollywood as she got a part in a short film, Three Hollywood Girls (1931), which was directed by Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle and then returned to New York. Lola remained in Hollywood as made over 40 films until 1946. In October of 1930, rumors of her marrying actor Lew Ayres were circulating and he had just finished filming, “All Quiet on the Western Front”. On September 15, 1931, they went to Las Vegas and eloped and Lane was only 18 years old. By January of 1933, Lane filed for a divorce citing “conflicting temperaments” and “mental cruelty” as Ayres did not contest the divorce. In May of 1934, she eloped (again) in Las Vegas with director Alexander Hall and filed for divorce in November of 1936 due to “incompatibility” and Lane wanting to resume her acting career. Lane, 27, married yacht broker Henry Clay Dunham, 29, in January of 1941 and divorced in 1944. She began dating, director Roland West, who had been linked to the mysterious death of actress Thelma Todd in 1935. They married in Florida on March 4, 1952 and West died a few weeks later on March 31st. After Todd’s death, his health declined as he suffered from a stroke and a mental breakdown. Lane inherited the building where Thelma Todd’s Sidewalk Cafe had existed and she remodeled the third floor apartment where she lived for a while. In 1955, she married “Killers” director Robert Hanlon and they remained married until her death in 1981.

Meanwhile, Leota continued her career on Broadway in the 1930s and married three times. Rosemary appeared in 22 films in the 1930s and 1940s, but was always overshadowed by Priscilla’s acting career. Lola, Rosemary and Priscilla co-starred in several films together: Varsity Show (1937) (Rosemary & Priscilla), Four Daughters (1938), Daughters Courageous (1939), Four Wives (1939), and Four Mothers (1941).

Following the Lane’s departure, actor George Brent rented the same apartment in 1932. Brent was born in Ireland in 1904. After attending the University of Dublin and doing theater in New York, Brent moved to Hollywood in 1930 and got a bit part in Under Suspicion (1930) as Inspector Turner. Eventually Brent would be the favorite leading man of Bette Davis and complete several films with her including; So Big! (1932), The Rich are Always With Us (1932), Housewife (1934), Front Page Woman (1935), Special Agent (1935), The Golden Arrow (1936), Jezebel (1938), Dark Victory (1939), The Old Maid (1939), and The Great Lie (1941). Davis had a huge crush on Brent but he was busy getting married six times.

In 1926, at the age of 20, Brent was on tour with play when he met a young wealthy socialite from Indianapolis who was quite enamored with him. They married for only two months as her parent’s cut off her inheritance and Brent was horrible to her so she went back home. However, the girl was pregnant and gave birth to twins, which Brent did not find out about until 1935 when a reporter asked him about his twin daughters. In 1927, he married his leading lady, Helen Louise Lewis and that marriage lasted only six months. Helen was 32 years old when she married the 21 year old stage actor. Brent married wife number three, actress Ruth Chatterton in 1932 and divorced in 1934. Brent fell in love with Chatterton when she was married to actor Ralph Forbes. Chatterton was 12 years older than Brent. The three became close friends and Chatterton would eventually leave Forbes for Brent. 24 hours after Chatterson and Forbes divorced, she married Brent. After Brent and Chatterton divorced, he and Bette Davis would have an ongoing affair. He married actress Constance Worth in May of 1937 and they divorced in December of that year. In 1942, Brent married actress Ann Sheridan and they divorced a year later. In 1947, he married a non-actress, Janet Michael and they remained married until her death in 1974 and had two children together. Brent married one last time to another non-actress, Mary Costa, in 1978 and remained married until his death in 1979. Brent ended up marrying 4 actresses that he co-starred with.

In 1936, actors Will and Gladys Ahern resided in the 6864 Iris Circle apartment. Will Ahern was born in 1896 in Waterbury, CT. Ahern was credited for six minor roles between 1930 to 1937. His last role was in 1969 as a dancer in “Hello Dolly”. The 73 year old actor danced with Barbara Streisand. In the 1920s, Will traveled the United States doing vaudeville and was doing shows at the Rialto in Chicago when he met an attractive chorus line girl named Gladys Reese. They married and continued doing vaudeville and Broadway musicals. After some minor roles at RKO studios in the 1930s, they toured with Gene Autry. Will and Gladys moved to Burbank and opened The Rainbow dance studio used as a rehearsal space for both young and old talent.

In 1942, costume designer Damon Gifford rented 6864 Iris Circle. Gifford was born in 1909 in Hawaii and worked for Warner Brothers Studio in the early 1940s. In 1941, Gifford was credited as a costume designer for the gowns featured on the following films: Flight from Destiny, Knockout, Singapore Woman, Underground, Bullets for O’Hara, Passage from Hong Kong, Law of the Tropics, Blues in the Night, and Highway West. Blues in the Night starred Priscilla Lane and ironically, Gifford was renting the same apartment her sisters lived in over ten years ago. Below is one of Gifford’s designs worn by actress Joan Perry in Bullets for O’Hara.

In 1944, actress Maria Palmer resided at 6864 Iris Circle. Palmer was born in Austria (now Germany) in 1917 and studied dance and drama at the Vienna Conservatory before coming to America during the outbreak of WW2 in 1938 and first performed on stage in New York. She made her debut in Mission to Moscow (1943) for Warner Bros. and continued on freelancing for other studios with Days of Glory (1944), opposite Gregory Peck, Lady on a Train (1945), The Web (1947), The Other Love (1947), Strictly Dishonorable (1951), By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953), and Outcasts of the City (1958), among others. Her film career fizzled in the 50s so she turned to radio, TV and commercials. She formed her own production company, Maria Palmer Enterprises, and hosted her own local Los Angeles show “Sincerely, Maria Palmer” in the early 60s.

Below are photos of 6868 Iris Drive situated in the back of the building in the basement. The 900 square foot apartment has one bedroom, one bathroom, and a fireplace in the living room.