You Must Remember This (33 page)

In the dream I’m with my father. Sonny is old, and we’re taking him back to his breeder, to return him to the pasture where he was bred and to say good-bye. When we get to the pasture, Sonny is already there, but he’s someplace where I can’t see him. I’m upset because I haven’t actually said good-bye to him, and I need to do that.

I set out for the pasture to find Sonny, but before I start walking, I turn around and look back at the place I came from. There I see
my family—my daughters, my grandchildren, all the people I’ve loved, some of whom I’ve loved and lost—people I hope and believe I will see again someday. At this point in my dream, I always feel a comforting rush of gratitude for everything I’m leaving behind. And then I set off to find Sonny.

It’s at this point that I wake up. In the dream I never find Sonny, but that doesn’t bother me. One day my dream will eventually have the perfect happy ending that so seldom happens in life. An ending . . . just like in the movies.

Diana Cammarano

Acknowledgments

My memory for my own life is thankfully excellent, but there was a lot of history going on in Hollywood before I got here nearly eighty years ago. Besides all the wonderful stories told to me by older friends who were there at the time, I consulted a number of books on the subject. Among the most valuable were
Hollywood:
The First Hundred Years
by Bruce Torrence,
Out with the Stars
by Jim Heimann, and
Gone Hollywood
by Christopher Finch and Linda Rosenkrantz.

I’d like to thank Mort Janklow—a legend in the literary world, and for good reasons—he’s incredibly smart, enthusiastic, and most important, wise—the consummate agent. He immediately saw the potential of
You Must Remember
This
. Rick Kot at Viking edited the book with creative style and grace, and Nick Bromley and all the people at Viking have put the pieces together in a beautiful package. Elizabeth Applegate has been with me for thirty-seven years, through good times and bad, and never faltered. She found pictures of my childhood that I wasn’t even sure I had.

Finally, I want to thank Scott Eyman, my esteemed literary collaborator. Scott’s knowledge of and love for the movies and the
industry that produces them is unparalleled, but that’s probably not as important as the fact that writing two books together has bonded us in a deep and valued friendship.

And to all of you who have watched me over the years—my life would not have been possible without you. Thank you.

Index

The page numbers in this index refer to the printed version of this book. The link provided will take you to the beginning of that print page. You may need to scroll forward from that location to find the corresponding reference on your e-reader.

Page numbers in italics refer to photos.

actors.
See also
specific individuals

earnings,
83

exclusive studio contracts,
171
,
182

glamorous image,
169

housing discrimination against,
20
,
22
,
64
,
69

independent productions,
181
,
235
,
251

influence over public,
140

investments and business ventures,
38
,
59
,
70
,
93
–94,
192
,
201
,
217

ownership of own films,
70
,
89

privacy,
14
–15,
182
–86

reputations,
14
,
171
,
176
–77,
180
–82

television work,
250

during wartime,
207
–9

work schedule,
9
,
169
–70

Agua Caliente,
57
–59

Ambassador Hotel,
229
–31,
231

Anderson, J. Stanley,
27
–28

Anderson, Stanley,
27
,
44
,
66
–69,
97

Anderson, Margaret,
27
,
66
–67

Anderson & Sheppard,
159
–62

Arbuckle, Fatty,
26

architecture

Art Deco,
81
–82

California ranch house,
122
–25

conglomeration of styles,
30
,
63
,
78
,
81
,
107
–8

drama and excess,
80
–82

formality with approachability,
73

form-imitates-function designs,
80

modern,
48
–49,
78
–79,
84

movie theaters,
79

novelty,
96

playfulness,
82

rich detail,
77

romantic styles,
27

Spanish Mediterranean,
63

streamlined designs,
84
,
250
–51

studio buildings,
80
–81

transitional style,
84

Arrowhead Springs Hotel,
38
–39,
39
,
243

Astaire, Fred,
121
,
150
,
160
–62,
161
,
214
,
215

Baiano, Solly,
44

Barnett, Vince,
143

Barnsdall, Aline,
108

Barrymore, John,
84
–85

Bautzer, Greg “Tex,”
49

Beaumont-Gantt, Ernest Raymond “Don the Beachcomber,”
237
–39

Beebe, Lucius,
193

Bel Air,
29
–32,
110
,
231

Bel Air Country Club,
31
,
145
,
147
–48

Bel Air Hotel,
31
–32,
98

Bell, Alphonzo,
30
–31

Bellamy, Ralph,
45

Bennett, Constance,
38
,
54

Berlin, Irving,
59
,
121

Bernheimer family,
22

Beverly Hills

architectural styles,
78
–79

barrenness and desolation,
66
,
70
,
72
,
82

construction boom,
75

economic base,
28

intolerance and restrictions,
64
,
69

mass transit system,
34
–36,
68

movie stars and movie business in,
73
–74,
83
–84

planning and development,
27
–28,
64
–66,
65

population growth,
109

tourists,
109

Beverly Hills Hotel,
67
–69,
73
,
90
–99,
91
,
94

Birdwell, Russell,
179
–80

blacks,
64
,
95
–96,
214
,
231

Blackton, J. Stuart,
64

Bogart, Humphrey,
148
,
219
,
229
,
241

Bond, Ward,
43

boxing,
202
–3

Brand, Harry,
175
–78,
178

Brandstatter, Eddie,
194
–95

brothels,
216

Brown, Clarence,
155
,
231

Brown Derby,
195
–204,
197
,
198

Burton, Richard,
93
,
182