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Hollywood’s first 50 years, until the freeway paved paradise in 1954


Paul Hesse Studio on the Sunset Strip
All of the Hollywood stars came to Paul Hesse’s Studio to be photographed: Carole Lombard, Bette Davis, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Shirley Temple, Gene Tierney, Lauren Bacall, and on and on.
Sep 17, 2025


Edna Cudahy’s Hollywood House of Death
Did the curse of “Jinx Mansion” follow Edna Cudahy to her next Hollywood home?
Feb 4, 2025


Max Factor Studio
Hollywood queens trusted their faces to the makeup king, Max Factor. Max Factor (UCLA) From his Highland Avenue studio, the brilliant beautician transformed starlets into style icons: Lucille Ball’s false eyelashes and red curls, Jean Harlow’s platinum blond, Joan Crawford’s overdrawn “hunter’s bow,” and Clara Bow’s heart-shaped lips.
Sep 3, 2022
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