Whitley Heights 101

1825 North Whitley Avenue Fleur de Lis Apartments

In 1928 owners Jacob Borstein and Louis Rose hired architect Edward B. Rust to construct a 5 story apartment house with 54 units and a partial basement. Demolished was a 2 story house on the lot which was built in 1912. During the early 1900s, Rust was in business with the architect of Whitley Heights, Arthur S. Barnes and even built his house, a chalet style house in Los Angeles (pictured below).

On November 10, 1928, the Fleur de Lis Apartments officially opened as “Hollywood’s newest and finest apartment” in the heart of Hollywood. The owners promoted steam heat throughout, filtered ice water, soundproof walls, daily maid service, and a 24 hour switchboard service. The residence attracted Hollywoods film stars as soon as it opened.

Much of the building has been kept in the original French architecture inside and out. The Fleur de Lis was a popular month-to-month living facility for the Hollywood movie industry during the 1930s and 1940s. Each actor who walked through the lobby had a story to tell. The building, now just under a century old, hold their secrets between the walls. Some say the building is haunted and feel a presence there. Perhaps it does-there have been at least two accidents in the past. One resulted in two deaths.

Actress June Clyde (1909-1987) started as a child vaudeville performer in 1917 and had over 60 credits beginning in 1929. Clyde rented here between 1930 and 1931. After appearing as a “hot blonde” and a singer in two films, she was given the lead opposite Arthur Lake in Marshall Neilan’s “Tanned Legs” in 1929 for RKO Radio Pictures. However, Clyde had better luck on the stage both in New York and London. Her secret-Clyde married director Thornton Freeland twice. Their first marriage was in 1930 after Freeland called her to the Universal lot for a screen test; Clyde did not get the part but she landed the heart of the director. Clyde filed for divorce which was granted in 1946 on grounds of cruelty. They remarried in 1950 and remained together until his death in May of 1987. Clyde died just a few months later in November.

Actress Geneva Mitchell (1908-1949) rented an apartment in 1930. When Mitchell was 14 years old, she was hired to be a Ziegfeld Follies Showgirl like her mother and was nicknamed “The Pogo Girl”. She eloped with a millionaire’s son in 1922 and five days later they split when he found out she was underage. Three years later, she married a publicity agent after a 10 day courtship which lasted three years. Mitchell had over 80 film and tv credits until her death, appearing in “Her Wedding Night” starring Clara Bow in 1930 and “Millie” starring Helen Twelvetrees in 1931. Her secret: Mitchell often had minor roles which may have been due to her alcoholism. She died in 1949 at the age of 41 due to acute pancreatitis of the liver. She was survived by her forth husband she had married a year prior.

Actress Francis “Frankie” Raymond (1869-1971) rented an apartment in 1930. Raymond had 87 film credits between 1915 to 1947, mostly playing minor roles. She appeared in “Seven Changes” starring Buster Keaton in 1925 and “The Lady Eve” starring Barbara Stanwyck in 1941. Her secret: she retired from theater in 1901, the same year, another actress with the same name committed suicide in New York so she moved to Hollywood, away from bad publicity.

One of the longest tenants was Jennie Landry- “a 27 year old beauty operator who had rendered professional services to Jean Harlow for eight years” according to The Los Angeles Times in 1937. Landry lived at The Fleur de Lis from 1930 until 1950 and claimed Harlow gave her a silver watch for Christmas 1936 before it was stolen out of her apartment in July of 1937. Harlow died in June of 1937 and perhaps Landry was trying to gain some recognition. According to many accounts Albert Pagano of Jim’s Beauty Shop on Sunset styled her hair; there was no mention of Landry and Harlow other than this Times news article.

Scandal hits The Fleur de Lis in November of 1931. A fire started on the roof of the building and spread down to the top floor. After the firemen took control of the fire, they did not realize Dr. and Frances Moulton went back up to the fifth floor where they had been living for only a month to see the damage. When they entered the elevator to go back down, the safety rope, which was damaged from the fire, broke, causing the main cable to snap and they fell four floors down to the bottom. Both died hours later in the hospital. They were the parents of longtime stage actor, Harold Moulton.

Actress Betty Bronson rented an apartment since moving from the La Fontaine in West Hollywood in May of 1931. She moved in with her new husband, Ludwig Lauerhass, her mother, grandmother and sister and lived in the apartment for almost a year and never paid her $95 per month rental fee. She owed $1,095 to owners Rose and Borstein. Bronson, who had beat out Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson, to play Peter Pan in the movie in 1924, had been plagued with scandals. In July of 1931, she had been linked to actor Grant Withers by his wife who was filing for divorce. In April of 1932, upon returned to Hollywood from her honeymoon, she was greeted by police officers who arrested her for failure to pay her dentist. Now she had this debt to pay. Betty appeared in a Gene Autry film in 1937 and then resorted to television appearances during the 1960s up until her death in 1971.

In 1932, Scottish born actor Andy Clyde (1892-1967) rented at 1825 North Whitley Avenue. Clyde was a character actor with close to 400 credits starting in 1921. During his later years, he made appearances in television shows such as “The Real McCoys”, “Lassie” and the Hop-along Cassidy series. While Clyde was living at The Fleur de Lis, he married silent screen actress Elsie Tarron (1903-1990).

British actress Elsie Tarron was born Elsie Maud Hamilton in London and was credited for 70 roles between 1923 to 1929. In 1922, at the age of 19, Tarron became one of Mack Sennett’s Bathing Beauties. Tarron and Clyde knew each other as they worked together in the films The Lion’s Whiskers (1925) and A Taxi Scandal (1928). The couple built a house at 2166 Canyon Drive in Hollywood Hills (still there) and nicknamed it “Clyde Manor” where they grew their own strawberries. In 1935 they had a son named John Allan Clyde. Tragically John died when he was just nine years old from meningitis. A few months after Clyde died in 1967, Tarron married 73-year-old actor George “Sloppy” Gray whom she worked with at the Sennett studios and he had been one of her husband’s closest friends. Sadly George passed away just four weeks after their wedding. Tarron then became roommates with another ex-Bathing Beauty, actress Ruth Hiatt.

Before he became a screenwriter, Elwood Ulmann (1903-1985) rented an apartment in 1932. While he was living here, he won second place in the Eddie Cantor Gag Contest and was hired by Universal Pictures. Ulmann had 184 writing credits in film and television until 1974. During the 1960s and early 1970s, Ulmann was the screenwriter for several Three Stooges films. He died of a heart attack in Hollywood in 1985. Ulmann’s little scandal was when he was nominated for Best Writing of a Motion Picture Story of “High Society” in 1954. Unfortunately the academy got confused thinking they were nominating him with the Bing Crosby-Grace Kelly film of the same name. Ulmann was declined the nomination but was able to keep the certificate of recognition as a parting gift.

Paramount actress Maxine Reiner (1916-2003) rented an apartment in 1935. Reiner, who only had 7 film credits between 1935 and 1936, including “Charlie Chan at the Circus”, cut her career short to get married in 1935. The marriage lasted only a year but made more headlines than her movies. Reiner, was only 19 years old and married 29 year old Joe Myerson, a local businessman, giving up a movie part. By February of 1936, Reiner was in divorce court stating that Myerson promised her a house but they were still living in her one bedroom apartment on Whitley Avenue. Myerson told the judge that she was demanding of his money all the time and now she wanted $600 per month of alimony. In 1937, Reiner married film producer Harry Sokolov, moved to Beverly Hills and had a son before divorcing in 1950. She married a third time (briefly) after that.

Actor Fred Keating (1897-1961) lived here in 1936. Keating started as a magician before he reinvented himself as an actor during the 1930s. Keating was known for the disappearing canary cage trick and swallowing needles and then pulling them suddenly threaded out of his mouth. In 1934, he was hired by Columbia Pictures and RKO Radio Pictures getting minor roles as in “I Live My Life” starring Joan Crawford. Below, Keating with actress Betty Grable in “Tin Pan Alley” in 1940, his last film appearance. Keating returned to New York where he died in 1961.

Also in 1936, actor George “Dell” Henderson and his wife, actress Florence Lee Henderson lived at the Fleur de Lis. Henderson (1877-1956) launched his career in vaudeville traveling around the United States and entered film in 1909, later turning to directing for D.W. Griffith, Mack Sennett and Famous Players-Lasky. Florence Lee (1888-1962) began at Biograph, working with her husband, who directed and/or acted in many of the films with his wife. They married in 1909l. Henderson has over 300 acting credits until 1950. Below, Henderson is with actress Marion Davies in “Show People” in 1928.

Below, Florence acted under the name Florence Lee and has been credited for 79 films in the silent screen era.

In 1937 1825 North Whitley Avenue was sold to the George Pepperdine Foundation for $200,000. Pepperdine had owned several other apartment buildings in Los Angeles and used the rentals to support the new George Pepperdine College. Pepperdine also acquired The Ravenswood a few months later and used the slogan, “Foundation Apartments: The finest in every price class!”

In 1938, actor Charles Smith (1920-1988) rented at The Fleur De Lis. Smith began acting in 1939 and worked in over 100 roles up until his death in 1988. Smith got his career started at Warner Brothers and appeared in “Nancy Drew…Reporter” and Paramount Studio’s “Cafe Society” with Fred MacMurray. However, Smith is best remembered as “Dizzy Stevens” in the Henry Aldrich films during the 1940s.

In 1939, actor Herbert Mundin resided at 1825 North Whitley Avenue. Mundin, who was 40 years old, had 58 acting credits beginning in 1930 including, “The Adventures of Robin Hood”, “Mutiny on the Bounty” and “David Copperfield”. In 1925, he married his second wife, actress Ann Shaw. On March 4, 1939, Mundin was killed in a car accident after being thrown from his vehicle and sustaining a head injury in Van Nuys.

Actor Purnell Pratt (1878-1941) lived in the building in 1940. Pratt appeared in over 100 roles before his death including; “The Public Enemy” (1931) starring James Cagney & Jean Harlow, “Emma” (1932) starring Marie Dressler, and “Grand Hotel” (1932) starring Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford and John Barrymore.

Actress Ann Gwynn (1918-2003) resided in the building in 1940 and used her brith name of Marguerite Trice. Gwynn had 67 credits between 1939 and 1970 and is best remembered, however, as a lure for the monstrous antics of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney Jr., among others, in such movie chillers as Black Friday (1940), The Black Cat (1941), The Strange Case of Doctor Rx (1942), Weird Woman (1944), House of Frankenstein (1944) and Murder in the Blue Room (1944). Gwynn married Max Gifford in 1945 and their daughter, Gwynn Gifford, married “Chips” actor Robert Pine. Ann Gwynn is also the grandmother of actor Chris Pine. Below is Gwynn with actress Deanna Durbin in “Nice Girls?” in 1941.

In 1943, producer Joseph Engel died in New York City, but made his home at the Fleur de Lis for many years. Engel was the founder and producer of Metro Pictures Corporation in 1915 and also worked at Fox Film Corporation and produced Marshall Neilan’s “This is the Life” starring Jane Withers. Engel went to visit his sister in New York after he learned his health was failing and to make final arrangements.

In 1944, the apartment complex was home to actor Don Gordon (1926-2017). A character actor of over 100 roles, he did not start acting until 1949. His most notable roles included: “77 Sunset Strip” 1949, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” 1959, “The Untouchables” 1961-63, “The Twilight Zone”, “Peyton Place” Bullitt (1969) Steve McQueen, Columbo (1974) “Towering Inferno” 1974, Bionic Woman, Charlie’s Angels, Starsky & Hutch, Vega$, Hart to Hart, Dukes of Hazzard, The Love Boat, TJ Hooker, Simon & Simon, Knight Rider, and “Lethal Weapon”.

Between 1942 and 1944 actor James Young (1920-1985) lived in the apartments. Young started his career as an actor during the 1950s getting minor roles in “The West Point Story”, “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World”. He then transitioned into directing the tv series, “Young Doctor Malone” from 1958 to 1963 and finally, becoming an executive producer for the soap opera, “General Hospital” from 1963 to 1973. Young was nominated twice for an Emmy Award for General Hospital. John married in 1928, had two children and then divorced in 1981. He died of leukemia in Seattle in 1985.

Between 1938 and 1944, actor George MacQuarrie, his wife, actress Helen MacKellar, and brother Murdock MacQuarrie lived in the building. George MacQuarrie (1873-1951) had 89 roles between 1916 and 1951 including; “Desire” with Marlene Dietrich & Gary Cooper (1936), “Call of the Wild” (1935) with Clark Gable, “King Kong” 1933 with Fay Wray, and “Duck Soup” with the Marx Bros 1933. His wife, Helen MacKellar, had 40 roles between 1918 and 1944 including; “The Past of Mary Holmes” in 1933 with Eric Linden & Jean Arthur, and “Northwest Passage” starring Spencer Tracy in 1940.  Murdock MacQuarrie (1878-1942) had 285 credits between 1912 and his death in 1942, including; “Zorro Rides Again” 1937, “Modern Times” 1936 with Charlie Chaplin, and “Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” 1931.

Between 1940 and 1950 actor Chester Clute (1891-1956) lived at 1825 North Whitley Avenue. Mainly a character actor, Clute had 257 credits between 1930 and 1953. Clute started out on the stage in 1926 in New York and then was signed at Parmount’s Kaufman Astoria Studios in Long Island. Clute appeared in: “Remember the Night” starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray (1939), Arsenic and Old Lace starring Cary Grant (1944), Mildred Pierce starring Joan Crawford (1945), Saratoga Trunk starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman (1945), and his last film, “Scared Stiff” with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

Actor Walter Catlett also resided in the building between 1940 and 1950. Catlett (1899-1960) was a San Francisco native who started out in vaudeville before breaking into films in the mid-1920s. Two of his best remembered roles were as the stage manager driven to distraction by James Cagney in ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy” (1942) and the local constable who throws the entire cast in jail, and winds up there himself, in the classic screwball comedy “Bringing Up Baby” (1938). He retired after making Beau James (1957), and died of a stroke in 1960.  Catlett appeared in five Oscar Best Picture nominees: The Front Page (1931), A Tale of Two Cities (1935), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and Friendly Persuasion (1956).  Catlett was also the voice of Pinocchio in 1940. He married actress Kathlyn Martin in 1932 and remained married until his death.

Actress Martha O’Driscoll (1922-1988) resided at The Fleur de Lis in 1940. She had 47 credits between 1935 to 1947 working at Paramount and Universal Studios. She appeared as “Daisy Mae” in Li’l Abner (1940), the first screen version of the famous comic strip, worked with Bud Abbott & Lou Costello and was terrorized by the Wolfman, Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster in her most notable feature, House of Dracula (1945). She also had the lead in “Blonde Alibi” with Tom Neal in 1946. In 1943 Martha married a US Navy lieutenant commander but they separated ten months later. Following her last film, Carnegie Hall (1947) and a divorce, she married Chicago businessman Arthur Appleton, heir to an industrial empire, and retired completely at the age of 25. Martha died in Miami in 1988.

In 1950, former actress Helen Chandler (1906-1965) moved into the building. Her once promising career had fizzled due to her drug and alcohol problem. Chandler had 27 film credits between 1927 and 1938, was best known for her role as Mina in “Dracula” in 1941. She married screenwriter Cyril Hume in 1930 and divorced in 1934. She married actor Bramwell Fletcher in 1935 and divorced in 1940. Three years later, she married a merchant seaman who was out at sea when on the morning of November 1st in 1950, Sam Cox, the manager of The Fleur de Lis, broke her apartment door down because he smelled smoke. Chandler was found in her bed severely burned on the side of her face, head, neck, abdomen, and leg. She had started drinking and fell asleep with her cigarette burning. Chandler would survive the burns and be placed into a sanitarium several times before her death in 1964.

Actor Jimmy Noel (1903-1985) resided at this property in 1952 and had 89 credits between 1944 to 1979. He is best known for his television days, having reoccurring roles in “Death Valley Days” (1942-1949), “The Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp” (1955-1960) and “Gunsmoke” 1955-1975. In February of 1952, he left his wife at this apartment and moved out. She called the police and claimed that Noel called her a work asking her to go out. When she declined, he later entered the apartment and stabbed her in the shoulder. Noel brought witnesses to the police station to collaborate his whereabouts as watching the fights at the Hollywood Legion. The 49 year old actor was cleared and the third Ms. Noel was charged with filing a false report.

Former actress Selene Walters resided at The Fleur de Lis between 1947 and 1952 with her mother and son. In 1952, after separating from her doctor husband for the third time, she attempted to take their child and move to New York but was stopped by the court. Years prior, the pretty blonde was having lunch at the 21 Club in Manhattan, when some Hollywood executives spotted her. A Paramount executive slipped her a note inviting her to be in movies. At the Paramount Building in Times Square, she signed a film contract, and then moved to Hollywood with her mother and was credited with 10 films between 1945 to 1959. She was also married to Count Cassio del Prado of Brail for a year during the 1940s and was linked to the Shah of Iran during the 1950s. Perhaps her claim to fame is that she accused actor Ronald Reagan of raping her in the 1950s (although her story has changed several times).

There were also unconfirmed rumors of Hollywood notable living at The Fleur de Lis; since the building was a month-to-month rental for many years, there are probably dozens more that we don’t know about. The first was actress Ana May Wong who spent most of her career residing in New York but filmed in Los Angeles so it is possible she stayed at one of the apartments. The second is John Wayne who may have stayed here for a short time before he made in big in his western films. Lastly, it is rumored that singer Joni Mitchell may have lived here before moving into her Lookout Mountain Avenue home in 1969.

At least two movies have been filmed at the Fleur de Lis. A film noir “B” movie called “Shield for Murder” in 1954. The Addams Family Carolyn Jones was a movie extra as “a girl at the bar” in the film. In 2015 the horror film, “Insidious: Chapter 3” was filmed both inside and outside of the building. Dermot Mulroney starred in the film. Monthly rent ranges between $1,800 to $2,200 for either a studio, studio & loft or one bedroom apartment. There is a lot of history between those walls!