Ann Rutherford!
Patrick Visits Ann!

I had a blast! I was able to visit Ann Rutherford for a week in September, 1998. I had a great week!

I arrived at my hotel late Friday night, and the desk clerk handed me a large basket of food sent by Ann. A wonderful note inside the basket said "Welcome!", and asked for me to call her when I arrived. After I got into my room, I did just that!

The next morning Ann picked me up at my hotel at 10:30 in her beautiful black Cadillac Seville. I bought flowers to give to Ann, and she dropped them off at her house before we began our sightseeing tour.

First Ann took me sight-seeing on Rodeo Drive. I didn't buy anything, but it was interesting to see all the stores!

 
Next, Ann gave me a tour of Beverly Hills, and then Hollywood. I saw the homes of James Stewart, Judy Garland, Lana Turner (where Johnny Stompanato was killed), and the home where Bugsy Segal was killed.

We stopped at Mann's Chinese Theater, and looked at the footprints in cement. Ann knew almost every person there, and had an interesting story to tell about each one!

 
We then walked across the street, and found one of Ann's TWO stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame! The stars on each side of Ann's are Annette Funicello, and The Andrews Sisters.

She next took me out to eat lunch at Musso & Frank's. This restaurant has been around since 1919. Ann took charge, and ordered my meal for me. I'm not accustomed to having my meal ordered for me by a woman!

After more sightseeing, Ann dropped me off back at my hotel. I then went out for more sightseeing. What a great first day!

The next morning I got up early, and drove out to see the house where Alfalfa was shot. I then drove down to Culver City to see the sites of the Hal Roach Studios.

After that I quickly went back to the hotel, dressed up, and got to Ann's house in Beverly Hills by 10:30am. Remember, I from the east, and my internal clock was telling me it was still the afternoon!

Ann married David May of the May Company on December 26, 1942. She still lives in the first house they shared together way back then, and it's lovely!

Ann's friend, Al Morley, drove us to the Jivin' Jacks & Jills Universal Studios reunion. It was wonderful to see so many people from movies of the past! I was most excited to meet Joan Leslie. I've always loved her in Sergeant York and Yankee Doodle Dandy, two of the finest movies ever made! Joan still looks and sounds the same as she did back then, and it was great to talk with her during our meal.

We had lunch, and were treated to entertainment by the teenage "Jitterbug Dancers". They were great! I've seen people dance like that in movies before, but never in person! It was nice to see young people taking an interest in this activity.

 
Seated at our table were Ann Rutherford, Patrick (I'm taking the photos, so I can't be in all of them!), Sondra Gould (the second Mrs. Kravitz on Bewitched), Noreen Nash (Giant), Earl Holliman (Giant, Police Woman), Joan Leslie (Sgt. York, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Hollywood Canteen, High Sierra), and Al Morley.

   
Some of the other people I met were Gloria Jean, Margaret O'Brien, & Caren Marsh, whom was Judy Garland's double from The Wizard Of Oz.

Afterward, we went back to Ann's house. Ann pulled out stacks of old photos for me look through! It was so thrilling to see so many pictures of Ann, many of which have not been published or displayed publicly since they were taken!

For the next two days I didn't see Ann, but she called me each night to see how my vacation was going, and what I had done that day.

One day I spent with Hal Roach historian Richard Bann. I took him to the store and helped him pick out a computer, so hopefully he will get on-line with the rest of us! At night, he showed me some rare Hal Roach short subjects, which few people have seen since their original release. One favorite was the first talking Charley Chase film The Big Squawk (1929). This film hasn't been shown due to it's soundtrack being lost for nearly 70 years! The newly found discs were restored with the print, and it was fun to be able to watch it again.

I also visited with film preservationist Bob Gitt at UCLA. He gave me a wonderful tour of the film vaults where the decomposing film is being kept in hopes of preservation. Please read more about this in the Vitaphone Newsletters.

I also went to E! Entertainment. I got a special tour due to my contribution on an episode of Mysteries and Scandals - Our Gang, which was first shown in January 1999. I did get to see the set where Talk Soup is filmed, something I was looking forward to, but unfortunately John Henson was not there. My tour guide was Emile!

The last night in California was wonderful, as each other night had been. I went to Ann's house at 7:15. She and Al then took me out to dinner at a great Mexican restaurant named El Cholo. We had a blast! Ann ordered us Margaritas with our dinner, (and again she ordered my meal for me) and the food was wonderful. But it's the stories that Ann tells from the past that are so fascinating! She knew everyone. She tells such wonderful stories and changes her voice to reflect the other person's part of the conversation. One story was about Marjorie Main. They were filming a movie up in Wyoming called "Wyoming" (1940) and Ann and her mother were going to take a ride to see Old Faithful at Yellowstone park. Marjorie asked if she could go along for the ride. When they started the trip Marjorie took off her big shoes because she liked the feel of the rumbling floorboards and hung her head out the window letting her long hair flow in the wind. When they got the to park they went to see the geyser. When it started spouting Marjorie dropped to her knees shouting "It's the coming of the Lord!" and began praying to the fountain! Ann later learned that Marjorie's father had been a revivalist preacher with a tent show, and that was Marjorie's upbringing.

After filling us with an evening of stories about Mickey Rooney, and Judy Garland I went back to my hotel to pack up.

The next morning I made a trip back to Culver City to get some more photos for the Culver City page, and then on to the airport. This trip was more than I ever expected, thanks to the wonderful hospitality of Ann Rutherford. I hope to go back to visit Ann again soon!

 Write to:  Patrick@Picking.com 

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