Life at the Marmont: The Inside Story of Hollywood's Legendary Hotel of the Stars

I first visited the Chateau Marmont, a Gothic European inspired hotel located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, about eight years ago. A friend of mine was celebrating a birthday and her boss had rented one of the large suites on the upper floor. I had heard some of the stories about the Marmont - how Marilyn Monroe stayed at the hotel or rock stars like Led Zeppelin crashed at the place - so I was excited to experience the hotel for myself. As soon as I entered the hotel I got the feeling I was walking into a mythical place. I remember the hallways being dark and narrow, little European architectural details, seeing some high profile guests hanging out in the lobby and when I got to to the top of the hotel - the amazing view of Los Angeles that looked out from our suite. I could see for myself why so many of Hollywood's biggest stars have chosen to make the Marmont their home. 

The Chateau Marmont on the Sunset Strip.

I've always wanted to learn more about this hotel, so as part of my Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge hosted by Out of the Past - A Classic Movie Blog, I chose to read Life at the Marmont: The Inside Store of Hollywood's Legendary Hotel of the Stars - Chateau Marmont, by Raymond Sarlot and Fred E. Basten. The book is an interesting in-depth look at the hotel's history and filled with stories of the many celebrities that stayed there over the years. The book goes in chronological order, so it begins with some background on how the hotel was founded in the 1920s, in what was at the time a little strip in the middle of nowhere, halfway between Hollywood and Beverly Hills. We then learn about the different guests who have visited and how things changed at the hotel over the passing decades.

Chateau Marmont, 8221 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood.

Some of the guests that have stayed at the Marmont include director Billy Wilder, Jean Harlow, William Holden, Glenn Ford, Howard Hughes, Montgomery Clift, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Warren Beatty,  Boris Karloff, Judy Garland, Humphrey Bogart, Roddy McDowall and many, many others. 

When Harry Cohn got a young 21 year old William Holden and a 22 year old Glenn Ford to work at his Columbia studio under contract, he didn't want his business investments getting into trouble, at least not where anyone would find out, so he rented them a room at the Marmont. In the book Ford recounts his time at the Marmont:

"Harry really worried about Bill and me. He had put us under contract at approximately the same time, and we were constantly getting into trouble - going places where we shouldn't have gone and mixing with the wrong people. In his eyes, rather bad company. One day he sent for us and said, 'If you must get into trouble, go to the Marmont.' He made it clear that he had rented the small penthouse there just for us, to protect us. As upset and concerned as he was, he never raised his voice. But he made sure we got his point."

Throughout 1939 Ford and Holden shared the suite with actor David Niven. I like to think that maybe during my stay at the Marmont that I was in the same suite - regardless - I know many old Hollywood stars have.

Nicholas Ray, James Dean, Natalie Wood, Jim Backus and the Rebel Without a Cause cast.

Following his divorce from actress Gloria Grahame, director Nicholas Ray moved into the Chateau Marmont and lived here for a few years off and on. Ray stayed in one of the private bungalows next to the main building. He worked on many of his films from here, including his most famous film, Rebel Without a Cause. During Rebel, Ray held the early script sessions at his bungalow, inviting the cast over for readings, including James Dean, Natalie Wood, Jim Backus, and Dennis Hopper.

Ray was known to be a partier and his Sunday soirees were quite popular at the hotel. He was also a bit of a ladies man, and one of the people seduced by Ray was his young actress, Natalie Wood. Wood became infatuated with Ray, even though he was old enough to be her dad. Wood would always be the first to show up to Ray's bungalow and the last to leave. No one suspected anything at first, but one night, Dennis Hopper, who had dated Wood prior to Rebel, showed up to the bungalow without knocking. Not finding anyone on the first floor he wandered up to the second floor where he spotted the seventeen year old Wood in bed with Ray. Hopper was outraged and made things difficult during the remainder of filming Rebel. 

Robert Mitchum washes dishes at the Marmont in 1949.

Life at the Marmont is filled with fascinating stories about some of Hollywood's biggest stars and also music stars. I recommend the book for seasoned classic movie fans who would be familiar with all the old stars mentioned in the book or for Los Angeles history buffs.

Visit Out of the Past - A Classic Movie Blog for more summer book challenge reviews.

William Holden (1918-1981)

Unforced masculinity from a bygone era.

�I�m a whore. All actors are whores. We sell our bodies to the highest bidder.�

Selling out to Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard (1950).

�For me, acting is not an all-consuming thing, except for the moment when I�m actually doing it. There is a point beyond acting, a point where living becomes important. When you�re making a movie, you get up in the morning and you put on a cloak; you create emotions within yourself, send gastric juices rushing up against the lining of your stomach. It has to be manufactured.�

Acting out a midlife crisis in The Wild Bunch (1969).

�I found the jungle a beautiful and fascinating place to be. I like to come here because I want to stay away from the jungle as much as I can.�

Low-key heroism in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957).

�I like to get into a situation that is real, where I can say, Here�s a chance to react as a human being, not some wound-up doll or robot that goes round and round a track, or a cardboard cutout like the character I played in The Towering Inferno.�

Faye Dunaway�s reality check in Network (1976).

 �Aging is an inevitable process. I surely wouldn�t want to grow younger. The older you become, the more you know; your bank account of knowledge is much richer.�

Don Draper, eat your heart out.

�Movie acting may not have a certain kind of glory as true art, but it is damn hard work.�

My favorite Holden films: Sunset Boulevard (1950), Stalag 17 (1953), Executive Suite (1954), The Wild Bunch (1969), Network (1976)

The Buster Keaton Story (1957) - Film Location

Donald O'Connor as Buster Keaton & Ann Blyth

I've read many negative things about the bio film, The Buster Keaton Story (1957), but as a Keaton fan, I figured I needed to see the film once to judge for myself. To be fair, the film isn't awful, it is mildly entertaining, but the story really isn't about Buster Keaton at all. The story is almost entirely fictionalized, with only a few traces of Keaton's life worked in. If the filmmakers were trying to make Keaton's story more dramatic, they didn't need to fictionalize anything - Keaton's true story was pretty tragic already. 

To me the most satisfying thing about watching this film had nothing to do with Buster at all, it was spotting one of the buildings on the Paramount Studios lot that was also used as a set in the classic film, Sunset Boulevard (1950). In the screenshot at the top and and the screenshot below, Donald O'Connor, who portrays Keaton, is seen with the fictional studio exec Gloria Brent, played by Ann Blyth, in front of the offices of "Famous Studio." That office building with the exterior stairs is actually the "Dreier" building on the Paramount Studios lot.

O'Connor and Blyth with the Dreier building at left.

The Dreier building on the Paramount Studios lot.

Rhonda Fleming passes the Dreier building at Paramount.

In the screenshot above Rhonda Fleming, who plays Peggy Courtney in The Buster Keaton Story, walks past the Dreier building. Seven years earlier, we see in the screenshot below, William Holden and Erich von Sroheim in a scene from Sunset Boulevard in front of the Dreier building. In Sunset Boulevard, the Dreier building appears a couple times in the film. The first appearance is when von Stroheim drives Holden and Gloria Swanson to the Paramount Studios lot to visit Cecil B. Demille. The second appearance is when Holden visits the Dreier building late at night to secretly work on a script with Nancy Olson.

William Holden & Erich von Stroheim in front of the Dreier building.

Jim Parsons as "Sheldon" on the television show

"The Big Bang Theory"

Buster Keaton lived a very interesting life, filled with dramatic ups and downs, and it is unfortunate that no one has made a great film about this filmmaker icon. One of my favorite bio pics is the 1992 film, Chaplin, directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Robert Downey Jr. as Charlie Chaplin. That film was so beautifully shot, had a stellar cast and a score that transported viewers to the Chaplin era. I wish that Buster Keaton could have such a film made about his life.

One challenge would be finding an actor around today that could portray Keaton. Every time I see the deadpan expressions made by Emmy winning comedy star Jim Parsons, who plays Sheldon on the hit TV show "The Big Bang Theory," I instantly think of Keaton. Although, Parsons might be a little tall, I think his look is spot on. What do you think? Who do you think would make a good Buster?

Your thoughts?

Ronald Reagan's Hollywood Office

Hollywood Professional Building

Long before Ronald Reagan was elected president of the United States of America, the Warner Bros. contract player would hold the position of president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). Reagan attended his first SAG Board meeting on August 11, 1941. By 1946, he was elected 3rd Vice-President and in another six months he would be nominated for president. The 1940s were tumultuous times for the movie studio unions and Reagan impressed many on the SAG Board with his handling of the violent studio union strikes. Fellow actor Gene Kelly would nominate Reagan for SAG president, a position Reagan won and would hold for seven terms.

Reagan's SAG office was located on the eighth floor of the Hollywood Professional Building at 7046 Hollywood Boulevard, near the Roosevelt Hotel and the Chinese Theatre. The building has now been converted into a high-end apartment complex, appropriately called SEVENTY46.

Gotham Restaurant in Hollywood (demolished)

Former Site of Gotham Delicatessen

Across the street from the Hollywood Professional Building was Gotham, a popular delicatessen and bar. The Gotham Delicatessen was a favorite spot for New York transplants ever since it opened in 1924. During the 1940s, when radio networks were located all throughout Hollywood, many of the radio stars would drop in for dinner. After late-night sessions at the Guild headquarters, Reagan and other board members would often walk over to Gotham to eat and drink and discuss Guild business.

William Holden, Ronald Reagan, Dana Andrews

In Bob Thomas's biography on William Holden, actor Dana Andrews recalled one occasion when he joined Holden and Reagan for dinner at Gotham. "After a meeting, Bill, Ronnie and I went to the Gotham to continue our discussion. All three of us ordered drinks, and after we had talked for a while, the waiter came to the table and Bill and I ordered another round. Ronnie said with surprise, 'Why do you want another drink? You just had one.' See what happened: Bill and I became alcoholics and Ronnie became President of the United States."