Los Feliz Area Home To Many Early Hollywood Film Studios

Writer and historian Don Seligman has a new book out that shines a bright light on the beginnings of “Hollywood” in the early 1900s in the Los Feliz – East Hollywood area.  The founding of what would become the great movie studios of Hollywood began in that area, land mostly comprised of orange groves.  It was here that the first actors, stars, directors and producers built their homes.  Beverly Hills was still bean fields. These were the days of the Silents, before the talkies.

Don’s new book, Los Feliz and the Silent Film Era, laden with photos of the studios, stars and homes, is a joy to behold. The book details the early film industry that was key to the initial burgeoning of the Los Feliz development, beginning in 1908, those connected with the film industry—screen stars, directors, producers, executives–and where they resided in the growing Los Feliz community. Among the Hollywood luminaries who called Los Feliz home during the silent film era were Walt Disney, Norma Talmadge, Cecil B. De Mille, Gloria Swanson, Oliver Hardy, and Charlie Chaplin.

Don Seligman was recently at Skylight Books in Hollywood to give a presentation related to his book and sign copies.  To view a video of the presentation, click on the window below, or go to youtube, click here.

To get a signed copy of Don’s new book, go to: www.SkylightBooks.com or visit the shop in person (better).