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by trees, flowering shrubs, and ponds. In this green marble
orchard (many of the stone memorials are above ground)
lies a who’s who of Hollywood – everyone from movie
pioneer Jesse Lasky to screen legends Tyrone Power and
Marion Davies. I even saw the headstone of cartoon voice
Mel Blanc (inscription: “That’s All, Folks”).
My walk through the peaceful cemetery ended at the
memorial of swashbuckling Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., whose
marble shrine (which in 1939 cost $50,000) rises at the
end of a rectangular reflecting pool and shows his famous
profile in bronze – his last close-up.
FORMOSA CAFÉ
I
t was a short drive up Santa Monica Boulevard to the
Formosa Café, opened in 1925 and still a classic hangout
for film folk. The script letters of its neon sign cast a green
glow into the falling night, as if the restaurant were an
exotic outpost of Old Hollywood. I pushed open the padded
red leather door, a relic from a bygone era of cocktail
lounges, and entered the dark bar once frequented by stars
like Clark Gable, Frank Sinatra, and Ava Gardner.
The narrow dining room was created by converting
one of the 1920s Pacific Electric Red Cars that once ran
throughout Southern California. I ordered a gin and tonic,
followed by a ramekin of delicious lobster truffle mac and
cheese.
Black-and-white photos on the walls presented a
parade of famous diners, from Grace Kelly to James
Dean. But the Formosa also had its infamous ties. Mafia
bad guy Mickey Cohen stashed his gambling winnings at
the restaurant in a secret floor safe. Lana Turner and her
gangster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato, were regulars. (In
a scene filmed here for the 1997 movie
L.A. Confidential,
a
police detective approaches their table, and Stompanato
quips, “If you want an autograph, write to MGM.” Returning
the insult, the detective mistakes Lana Turner for a hooker.)
Somehow, gin just tastes right in a place like this.
OLD HOLLYWOOD
62
winter
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spr ing