Whitley Heights 101

6622 Iris Drive

6622 Iris Drive was built in 1924 by Lorne D. Oliver for owner Evelyn Mitchell Chaisty who was a former chorus girl in New York City. The 1,203 square foot two story home has 2 bedrooms and 3 baths and sits on a downslope on Iris Drive (on Iris Circle) in Whitley Heights. Evelyn Mitchell made headlines in 1911 when she was spending the winter in Palm Beach. She met a college graduate who played football at Mount St. Mary’s in Baltimore and came from a prestigious family. There was instant attraction so they eloped in Palm Beach and went to Baltimore. Edward Chaisty Jr.’s mother, a widow of a prominent judge in Baltimore, did not approve of the marriage and did everything she could to break them up. She finally convinced her son to move back home and when he did, Evelyn sued his mother for $25,000. Well, young love won and Edward returned to Evelyn, but the marriage eventually ended a few years later so Evelyn decided to head west.

Evelyn used 6622 Iris Drive primarily as a rental property and one of her first tenants was director Edward Sutherland in 1926.  Edward, who began directing for Paramount in 1925, was working on a new film, “It’s the Old Army Game” starring W.C. Fields, Louise Brooks, and his aunt, Blanche Ring.  Sutherland, who was recently divorced from actress Marjorie Daw, fell for the young actress whom he was directing. Sutherland pushed Brooks into marriage, but Brooks enjoyed her freedom.   In June of 1926, the 31 year old director married Louise Brooks, who was only 19 years old.  The newlywed couple moved to a house in Laurel Canyon.

Unfortunately, the marriage was not a happy one as it was reported that Sutherland was a heavy drinker and Brooks became quickly bored as a married woman.  By 1927, Brooks had her eyes on another man-George Preston Marshall, the owner of a chain of laundromats and future owner of the Washington Redskins.  Brooks divorced Sutherland by June of 1928.  Sutherland was distraught over the break-up and on the first evening of their separation, swallowed a bottle of pills.  However, Sutherland moved on into three more marriages before his death in 1973.

Lottie Pickford, the sister of actress Mary Pickford, rented 6622 Iris Drive in December of 1928.  Pickford had packed up and left from her apartment at the legendary El Cabrillo apartments on the other side of Whitley Heights.  Based on her lifestyle, she was probably kicked out.  In November of 1928, she was partying with western star Jack Dougherty, who was recently divorced from actress Virginia Brown Faire.  Dougherty’s first marriage was to actress Barbara La Marr who died in 1926 due to complications with drugs and alcohol.  Pickford and Dougherty were driving back to the El Cabrillo apartments in the early morning hours from a party in east Los Angeles.  Unfortunately, they got lost and stopped to ask a group of men for directions.

It was probable that both Pickford and Dougherty were “under the influence” and the men took advantage of their condition and decided to rob them.  Dougherty attempted to fight back and they knocked him unconscious.  Pickford claimed that the men drove her away in her car and then started to take some of her jewelry.  She somehow convinced them to drive her back to Dougherty, got him in the car, drove back to El Cabrillo and called the police.  The police took Pickford to try and find the scene of the crime but she could not remember.  To make matters worse, Pickford was a “person of interest” in the death of a New York gambler named Arnold Rothstein.  During a police raid, the Feds found $100,000 worth of promissory notes written out to Rothstein’s secretary that were signed by a “Lottie Pickford”.  The authorities were wondering if the two incidents were related.

Pickford definitely led a tumultuous lifestyle starting at an early age.  When she was 20 years old, she got pregnant by a New York businessman and married him.  They divorced five years later and her mother legally adopted her 5 year old daughter.  Her mother died in March of 1928 and Lottie’s daughter, Gwynn, went to live with her aunt, Mary Pickford.  Lottie decided to take a boat to Hawaii to grieve her mother’s death and came back with a black eye.  She claimed she got hit with a surfboard in Waikiki.  A month later, Lottie took another trip to Hawaii and this time she came back being implicated in the death of John Glab.  Glab was murdered by his young wife, Hazel, who admitted that she killed her husband when she found out he was not rich.  Police found Lottie’s name in Hazel’s address book.  Lottie denied knowing the Glabs (she probably met them partying and did not remember them).

Lottie was not even living at 6622 Iris Drive very long when she had to call the police for a break-in.  She found a broken window outside of the house but did not bother to find out if anything was stolen.  Police arrived and found nothing taken, but soon became familiar with the resident during the month of December of 1928.  Neighbors were constantly calling the police due to the noise at 6622 Iris Drive as it was one big giant party there.  People were coming and going and by the end of the month, Lottie was living with a promoter named Daniel Jaeger.  Lottie decided to have a Christmas Party and on the evening of December 25, 1928, the police received several calls from neighbors about a fight in front of the residence.

Apparently, Daniel Jaeger became jealous when Jack Dougherty showed up to wish Lottie a Merry Christmas.  Dougherty was in the process of giving her a toast when Jaeger said something to Dougherty and then gave him the middle finger.  Dougherty became enraged and attempted to bite his finger off and the two began throwing punches.  Lottie attempted to break up the fight and got hurt in the process.  The police arrived to break up the party and discovered several bottles of alcohol.  Since it was prohibited, Lottie was going to be investigated to determine if she violated the Wright Act.  The next day, one of the party-goers was arrested for transporting liquor to Lottie’s home in her car and Lottie was arrested for disturbing the peace.  Her stay was not long at 6622 Iris Drive.  Unfortunately, Lottie’s partying caught up with her and she had a heart attack in December of 1936, dying three days later in her Brentwood home.

By 1930 a much proper Englishwoman, an actress named Fay Compton, moved into the home.  Compton was filming a Paramount Pictures movie called “Fashions in Love” with Adolphe Menjou.  Born in London, Compton’s film and theater parts were primarily based in England.  Compton’s one scandal happened in 1918 when she was hosting a party at the Royal Albert Hall.  One of the party-goers, a young actress named Billie Carlton, was found dead in her London flat the next morning due to a cocaine overdose.  The media sensationalized the gathering as an “opium party” and all those attending were suspects in Carlton’s death because someone there gave her the drugs.  Another actor named Reginald de Veulle was arrested and found guilty for providing Carlton the drugs.  Compton was able to distance herself from a scandal that may have hurt her career.

Compton returned to London and by 1934, Louis and Charlotte Salkow and their two sons, 25 year old Sidney and 19 year old Lester, moved into the home. Sidney would become a film and television director of more than 80 credits. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Sidney became a successful theatrical director in New York City. In 1932, he joined up with the film industry starting as a dialogue director at Paramount Studios. Sidney had worked with several notable film stars including; Gloria Stuart, Jean Parker, Ann Dvorak, Rosemary Lane, Pat O’Brien, Donna Reed, Anita Louise, Rock Hudson, Dennis O’Keefe, Lon Chaney Jr., and Vincent Price. Below, Sidney is seen with the movie script in his lap during the 1941 film, “Time out for Rhythm” with Allen Jenkins, Rosemary Lane, Ann Miller, Richard Lane, and Rudy Vallee.

His brother, Lester, who started acting, transitioned to a “behind the scenes” role as an agent working for Harbour Productions Unlimited and became the production manager for the tv series, “The Bold Ones: The New Doctors” between 1969 to 1973. He also represented actors Raymond Burr, Lon Chaney and Charles Coburn.

In 1935 comedian actor Dave Chasen and his wife, actress Thea Holly rented 6622 Iris Drive. Chasen was known for his comedian work with Joe Cook and was friends with director Frank Capra. One evening Chasen was in Capra’s kitchen cooking his chili and Capra loved it. Capra encouraged Chasen to open his own restaurant and with the help of Harold Ross, the founding editor of The New Yorker Magazine, he lent Chasen $3,500 to start the venture. Chasen opened “Dave Chasen’s Southern Pit” located at 9039 Beverly Blvd. in 1936. His chili became so famous, Elizabeth Taylor had several orders sent to Rome, Italy while she was filming Cleopatra in 1963.

Chasen’s was popular for many celebrities since Dave did not allow the media to take photos there and was very attentive to his customers. The Academy Award after party was at Chasen’s for several years. When a very pregnant Lana Turner had difficulty fitting into a booth, Chasen sawed off part of the table to accommodate her. One of the booth’s was named after a frequent guest, Ronald Reagan, who proposed to Nancy Davis in the restaurant. Greta Garbo made her first appearance in a restaurant at Chasen’s. A drunk Humphrey Bogart wheeled out the huge safe and left it in the middle of the road. Elizabeth Taylor got into a fight with Richard Burton and threw her plate at him. Alfred Hitchcock would frequently fall asleep at his favorite booth. The list goes on. Unfortunately, with times changing the restaurant started to decline and it closed its doors after 60 years.

Actor Willy Costello rented 6622 Iris Drive in 1942. Costello had 44 credits between 1927 to 1953 and was billed as the main character in several of the films. His first film was as a Babylonian noble in Cecille DeMille’s “The King of Kings” in 1927. From there he worked with many notable film stars such as Zasu Pitts, Gene Autry, Deanna Durbin, Betty Compton, Nelson Eddy, Carole Landis, Norma Shearer, Melvyn Douglas, Bela Lugosi, Red Skeleton, Lucille Ball, and Gene Kelly.

During the mid-1940s, Evelyn Chaisty sold the home to a “French actor” named Rex Comeaux who resided in the home until his death in 1962. A search for Comeaux acting credits only yielded one role: in 1963 he was cast as “Devereau” in one episode of “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour” called Thanatos Palace Hotel which starred Angie Dickinson. Comeaux was mentioned in the book written by Earl “The Pearl” Watson: Doorman to the Stars who worked at the Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel from 1945 to 1962. Watson remembered that “there was a French gentleman by the name of G. Rex Comeaux who lived in the hills in a beautiful home. He would come by the hotel and visit with me all afternoon. He was a really distinguished gentleman and he may have worked in a few movies”. As to determine if Comeaux appeared in any French films, he was actually born in Michigan in 1950. As for the French connection, his father was born in Canada.