It was the post-hippie era, early- to mid-Seventies, but the hippie influence had permeated into the lives of regular citizens and lingered for awhile.
The full name was Houlihan’s Old Place, squarely identifying itself, as a theme restaurant. Along with TGI Friday and Bennigan’s, Houlihan’s marked the beginning of the theme restaurant era.
Kansas City Star, March 5, 1972
Gilbert Robinson was the Kansas City firm behind Houlihan’s Old Place and apparently named it because it “Old Place” because it was in an old clothing store.
Everything about this photo by Slim Aarons of Helen Dzo Dzo Kaptur just kills me. What I like is that Helen, 41 years old here and widowed for the last 10 years but prior to her marriage to Hugh Kaptur, is pure attitude, her posture, her so-what-ness carry it. Helen lived a rich life of two husbands, a career in modeling, three children, friends, travels. Helen’s obituary says of this and other photographs from Aarons’ series:
Getting invited by her friend Nelda Linsk to her home in January of 1970 for a casual photo shoot immortalized Helen. The resulting photograph entitled “Poolside Gossip” by Slim Aaron depicts Helen seated poolside with her friend Nelda Linsk “gossiping” while actress Lita Baron approaches them. The iconic photo has come to define the Palm Springs lifestyle of the 1960s; style, fashion and architecture.
One sub-niche of 1960s and 1970s television is the show that demonstrates the studio backlot for what it is. It’s a fascinating snapshot into the state of the backlot at that moment, with little embellishment.
The Brady Bunch ends up at a mysterious ghost town with a menacing prospector. Tumbleweeds tumble. But it’s patently obvious that it’s the studio backlot. Paramount Stage 5 nearly bordered the Western street. While scripts and planning happened well in advance, it’s tempting to imagine a discussion on the order of: “Hey, let’s film on the street today, kids.” These photos are from the “Mission: Impossible” TV series, Season 6, Episode 2, “Encore.” MI was a heavy user of the Paramount backlot and surrounding areas. This episode shows McFadden Street, the (real) guardhouse just outside of the Western street fence, a gate that I believe fronts (the real) Gower Street, and the Western street itself.
Paramount Studios, Mission: Impossible, Season 6, Episode 2 “Encore”Facing Van Ness – Paramount Studios, Mission: Impossible, Season 6, Episode 2 “Encore”Paramount Studios, Mission: Impossible “Encore” Season 6, Episode 2
Paramount Studios, Mission: Impossible “Encore” Season 6, Episode 2Majestic Studios, Mission: Impossible “Encore” Season 6, Episode 2
Haverhill’s: a weird stuff-emporium of the 1960s and 1970s, with goofy ads in big magazines like LIFE.
Let’s start with the name, stylized as: haverhill’s. Why? Because this is post-apex America and it’s time to be humble. Fonts go Helvetica on us and upper-case bows meekly into lower-case. The ad copy, too, no longer is no longer boasting and preening about miracle ingredients in gasoline or hair tonic. Instead, it’s all goofy and loopy and prone to tangents, like this for a simple serrated knife:
In our most compulsive desire to make new friends we decided to give away a whole truckload of MAC THE KNIFE…masterpiece of Vulcan’s art.
And later:
But, alas, our generous impulse was thwarted by one of our superstitious supernumeraries of officiously insisted that giving away a knife is very bad luck…
So forth and so on for a knife. A serrated knife.
Or for an AM-FM radio:
When Fred Spanberger, our Controller, returns from his cost accounting seminar at the Wharton School of Finance, he might just decree a screeching halt to this whole crazy scheme.
For a radio. If you dress it up well enough, people will buy.
At the time, Haverhill’s operated out of the very 1960s-ish address of 582 Washington St., San Francisco.
Now, Haverhill’s is operated out of a house at 16911 Grays Bay Blvd, Wayzata, Minnesota.
Tom Neal was a middling movie actor from the late 1930s to the 1950s who was more known for his off-screen escapades than for his acting. Neal’s best role was in the curious film-noir, Detour. It’s non-copyrighted; check it out.
As a young man, Neal was an amateur boxer with a good string of wins.
Then, Neal was involved with actress Barbara Payton, herself a hard-luck case who was a hottie for all of three seconds before descending into alcoholism, madness, and violence.
Payton was engaged to actor Franchot Tone, then had an affair with Neal. Neal and Tone rivaled for Payton, and Neal ended up severely beating Tone.
But Neal’s best-known off-screen violence happened on April 1, 1965, at 2481 N Cardillo Ave, Palm Springs, CA, where he shot his wife, Gail Bennet, in the back of the head as she napped on a bed.
1965: Tom Neal House, 2481 N Cardillo Ave, Palm Springs, CATom Neal House in 2020: 2481 N Cardillo Ave, Palm Springs, CA
After essentially executing his wife, Neal drove up to the Tyrol Haus Restaurant, about an hour’s away above Palm Springs in Idyllwood.
Tom Neal, 1952 and 1971
After legal machinations, Neal was sentenced to 1-to-15 years and served only 6 years.
Released in 1971 and sporting a Bobby Troup haircut, Neal as a gardener in Palm Springs for a short period. Before long, he came to be living in Studio City, circumstances unknown, with his 15 year-old son, Tom Neal, Jr.
Valley New (Van Nuys) 1958 Ad for 12020 Hoffman Studio City
And that’s curious. Neal’s apartment, at 12020 Hoffman St, Studio City, CA 91604, borders CBS Studio Center. Even though Tom Neal was the least employable actor in Hollywood, having just come out of prison and his looks very much gone, why would he choose to live in a studio-centric apartment building such as this one?
In 1972, Tom Neal died here. After years of hard living, his body gave up. Behind all of that mid-century modern flagstone, in the Ray-Gene Apartments, two stories, 26 units, built in 1956. It seems a fitting death, period-perfect, very Tarantino and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
The full name was Houlihan’s Old Place, squarely identifying itself, as a theme restaurant. Along with TGI Friday and Bennigan’s, Houlihan’s marked the beginning of the theme restaurant era.
