Whitley Heights 101

2031 Holly Hill Terrace

2031 Holly Hill Terrace was built in 1925 by the architectural company, Builder’s Plan Service, contractor W.A. Brown, and owner Max Samuelson. Builder’s Plan Service completed various architecture plans for homes throughout Los Angeles beginning in 1925 and continued until the 1960s. This two-story Spanish style stucco home, has a total of 2,794 square feet, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The home sits on an upslope on Holly Hill Terrace which is located on the southeast corner of Whitley Heights off of Franklin Blvd. There is a recessed arched entry, arched view windows, French doors. and renovations that were completed in 1937. The home, which is currently worth $2.1 million, was last sold in 1981 for $100,000.

Between 1930 and 1931 actress Betty Pierce rented the home with her mother, Ada Meyers and a live-in maid. Pierce, whose birth name was Etta Meyers, was in the process of divorcing her husband, Benjamin Serlis, a broker in Los Angeles and San Francisco, whom she married in Greenwich, Connecticut in 1926. Pierce claimed that she left Serlis due to his physical aggression towards her. Furthermore, Pierce alleged that he thought she was being unfaithful to him and had detectives frequently following her around town.

Betty was already 32 years old and had been a well known Broadway star in New York City. However, she was able to get some minor film roles between 1915 through 1936 including “The Gold Rush” in 1925 starring Charlie Chaplin. In 1932, Pierce received third billing for the film, “The Trans-Atlantic Mystery”. Below, Pierce is pictured with actress Bebe Daniels in “Alias French Gertie” (1930). In 1930, the rumor was that Daniels was engaged to actor Rex Lease, who had over 200 minor roles, including; working with Albert & Costello several times. Pierce broke it off with Lease after he allegedly punched actress Vivian Duncan and gave her a black eye at a party. Pierce probably “dodged a bullet” as Lease ended up being married five times!

Daniels only stayed in this Whitley Heights home until early August of 1931 and she auctioned off all of her belongings (probably to return to New York):

Three years later in 1934, western actor Russell Hayden rented the home for about a year. Hayden was a fan of Whitley Heights as he previously lived at 6610 Iris Circle in 1932 and 6434 Odin Street in 1930. Hayden (1912-1981) had over 80 movie and tv roles until 1963, but was known for his reoccurring role as Lucky Jenkins in the Hop-a-Long series with William Boyd, as they did 27 films together. Hayden was married to two actresses: Jan Clayton in 1938 and Lillian Porter in 1946.

Hayden met actress Jan Clayton during the filming of “Sunset Trail” in 1938, one of three of the Hop-a-Long films in which they both appeared in. Jan Clayton was really known for her roles as Ellen Miller in the television series “Lassie” between 1954 and 1957. The two had a daughter before they divorced in 1943.

Three years later, Hayden married actress Lillian Porter. Porter starred in 53 minor roles between 1935 to 1956 in both films and television. She had worked in films starring Maurice Chevalier, Jack Benny, Loretta Young, Tyrone Power, Betty Grable, and Maureen O’Hara. Hayden and Porter remained married until his death in 1981.

Musicians Zarh and Vahdah Bickford purchased 2031 Holly Hill Drive in 1937 and it remained with the Bickford family until the mid-1970s. Zarh was born Myron Bickford and was a popular mandolin player. Vahdah was born Ethel Olcott, who was known as “the Grand Lady of the Guitar. The couple married in New York in 1915 with Zarh being fifteen years older than Vahdah. Both were avid students of astrology, and as a result, they permanently changed their names to the mysterious Vahdah and Zarh, In addition, both taught at the Zoellner Conservatory in Los Angeles. (The Zoellner’s were also Whitley Heights residents who lived at 6615 Emmet Terrace in the 1920s.). Vahdah also founded the American Guitar Society. She was considered one of the foremost concert guitarists in the United States from 1910 to 1957 at which time she retired from the stage to devote the rest of her life to teaching and publishing.

When Zarh Bickford passed away in the 1961, Vahdah was devastated. However, she remained at 2031 Holly Hill Terrace. She stayed busy by playing guitar and with her association with both the American Guitar Society and the Astrological Society. This home was condemned by the city of Los Angeles in 1976 due to severe damage caused in the February 9, 1971 earthquake. While she was forced to move to an apartment nearby, her full music collection remained in the home, most of which was either lost or damaged.

Vahdah remarried Robert Revere in 1968 (she was 68; he was 74), once again changing her name to Vahdah Olcott-Bickford Revere before her death in 1980. 2031 Holly Hill Terrace remains, with its earthquake repairs and is on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles.