YCES in Quarantine Episode #136: The Larry Edmunds Bookshop & the (Nearly) Lost World of Hollywood Book & Memorabilia Dealers
05/08/20 • -1 min
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You Can’t Eat the Sunshine returns with an all-new Quarantine format, inviting folks who are passionate about Los Angeles history and historic preservation to join us for a conversation about the places that matter more than ever, as much of Los Angeles shelters in place under Mayor Eric Garcetti’s “Safer At Home ” directive.
Our special guests on May 8, 2020 are rare book dealer and historian Howard Prouty, Vintage Los Angeles curator Alison Martino and Jeff Mantor, proprietor of the historic Larry Edmunds Bookshop on Hollywood Boulevard.
The episode takes us through Hollywood’s literary and retail history to highlight the importance of the Larry Edmunds Bookshop, which is today the last store standing on what was once a legendary Bookseller’s Row. The shop is the beneficiary of a flood of worldwide goodwill since the recent launch of its GoFundMe campaign.
We begin with Howard Prouty’s reminiscences of his 1970s visits to Hollywood bookstores, as a wide-eyed kid from Nebraska who had already built a relationship with the Larry Edmunds Bookshop as a mail order customer. He hops in the time machine to give us a sense of 1930s Hollywood bookland, populated with legendary characters like Louis Epstein (Pickwick Books), the genial salon host and rotten businessman Stanley Rose, and Rose’s one-time partner Larry Edmunds, plus cameos from celebrated patrons like Nathanael West and Raymond Chandler.
Then check in on Jeff Mantor, proprietor of the Larry Edmunds Bookshop, a Hollywood landmark now in its 82nd year. Jeff shares his personal history with the shop and other lost bookstores on the Boulevard, lets us know how the GoFundMe campaign is going, and shares plans for bringing “The Lare” into the 21st century to create a virtual community where film fans around the world can mingle until the lights come on again, and afterwards.
And we talk with Alison Martino of Vintage Los Angeles about the Larry Edmunds Bookshop’s role as a key location in the recreated urban landscape in Quentin Tarantino’s, “Once Upon A Time in... Hollywood,” some of the other legacy businesses featured in the film that are currently struggling to survive, and memories of being a pre-teen memorabilia collector, sneaking into Hollywood to score rare posters and books from Larry Edmunds, and to the great Westwood shops, too.
Links to learn more about our guests, the episode’s topics, and us:
Jeff Mantor is the proprietor of the Larry Edmunds Bookshop. The store has a GoFundMe campaign, two Instagram accounts (LarryEdmunds1938, the_larebrary and a website. Join Leonard and Jessie Maltin for Cinephile Game Night in support of the bookshop on Saturday, May 9, 2020.
Howard Prouty is a dealer in rare and cool books, trading as ReadInk, Specializing in Unusual, Uncommon and Obscure Books in many (but not all) fields, with particular interest in American Culture [Popular and Unpopular], Art, Literature, Life and People from the 1920s through the 1960s. (ReadInk on Facebook. He has a pretty interesting day job sleuthing and reeling in acquisitions for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ Margaret Herrick Library.
Alison Martino manages the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page, where Angelenos have strong feelings about thedemolition of
Download Podcast Episode!
You Can’t Eat the Sunshine returns with an all-new Quarantine format, inviting folks who are passionate about Los Angeles history and historic preservation to join us for a conversation about the places that matter more than ever, as much of Los Angeles shelters in place under Mayor Eric Garcetti’s “Safer At Home ” directive.
Our special guests on May 8, 2020 are rare book dealer and historian Howard Prouty, Vintage Los Angeles curator Alison Martino and Jeff Mantor, proprietor of the historic Larry Edmunds Bookshop on Hollywood Boulevard.
The episode takes us through Hollywood’s literary and retail history to highlight the importance of the Larry Edmunds Bookshop, which is today the last store standing on what was once a legendary Bookseller’s Row. The shop is the beneficiary of a flood of worldwide goodwill since the recent launch of its GoFundMe campaign.
We begin with Howard Prouty’s reminiscences of his 1970s visits to Hollywood bookstores, as a wide-eyed kid from Nebraska who had already built a relationship with the Larry Edmunds Bookshop as a mail order customer. He hops in the time machine to give us a sense of 1930s Hollywood bookland, populated with legendary characters like Louis Epstein (Pickwick Books), the genial salon host and rotten businessman Stanley Rose, and Rose’s one-time partner Larry Edmunds, plus cameos from celebrated patrons like Nathanael West and Raymond Chandler.
Then check in on Jeff Mantor, proprietor of the Larry Edmunds Bookshop, a Hollywood landmark now in its 82nd year. Jeff shares his personal history with the shop and other lost bookstores on the Boulevard, lets us know how the GoFundMe campaign is going, and shares plans for bringing “The Lare” into the 21st century to create a virtual community where film fans around the world can mingle until the lights come on again, and afterwards.
And we talk with Alison Martino of Vintage Los Angeles about the Larry Edmunds Bookshop’s role as a key location in the recreated urban landscape in Quentin Tarantino’s, “Once Upon A Time in... Hollywood,” some of the other legacy businesses featured in the film that are currently struggling to survive, and memories of being a pre-teen memorabilia collector, sneaking into Hollywood to score rare posters and books from Larry Edmunds, and to the great Westwood shops, too.
Links to learn more about our guests, the episode’s topics, and us:
Jeff Mantor is the proprietor of the Larry Edmunds Bookshop. The store has a GoFundMe campaign, two Instagram accounts (LarryEdmunds1938, the_larebrary and a website. Join Leonard and Jessie Maltin for Cinephile Game Night in support of the bookshop on Saturday, May 9, 2020.
Howard Prouty is a dealer in rare and cool books, trading as ReadInk, Specializing in Unusual, Uncommon and Obscure Books in many (but not all) fields, with particular interest in American Culture [Popular and Unpopular], Art, Literature, Life and People from the 1920s through the 1960s. (ReadInk on Facebook. He has a pretty interesting day job sleuthing and reeling in acquisitions for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ Margaret Herrick Library.
Alison Martino manages the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page, where Angelenos have strong feelings about thedemolition of
Previous Episode
YCES in Quarantine Episode #135: Hollywood’s Historic Preservation Heroes & Villains
https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/YCES-135.mp3
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You Can’t Eat the Sunshine returns with an all-new Quarantine format, inviting folks who are passionate about Los Angeles history and historic preservation to join us for a conversation about the places that matter more than ever, as much of Los Angeles shelters in place under Mayor Eric Garcetti’s “Safer At Home” directive.
Our special guest on May 5, 2020 is the preservation juggernaut John Girodo, who recently stepped down from his post on the board of Hollywood Heritage to spearhead the landmarking activities of the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles. The episode is a wide ranging ramble through the history of historic preservation in Hollywood, highlighting notable activists, lamenting public corruption, sharing redevelopment horror stories and the addressing the challenges facing quarantined Angelenos who love the history and landmark buildings of this threatened community.
On the agenda:
- Thoughts about the GoFundMe campaigns of the scrappy Larry Edmunds Bookshop and Arena Cinelounge and the well-heeled Amoeba Music, and the late lamented Aron’s Records.
- LeFrak’s project proposed to surround the Art Deco Attie Building (Playmates) and its beloved “You Are The Star” mural.
- The campaign for transparency around the American Cinematheque nonprofit’s efforts to sell the landmark Egyptian Theatre to Netflix.
- Proposed restoration of the Earl Carroll Theatre’s jaw dropping neon facade.
- How the CitizenM Hotel and Hollywood Center (formerly Hollywood Millennium). mega project stand to overwhelm the Capitol Records building and concerns about fast tracked permitting during the pandemic.
- John Girodo’s dream to turn the overgrown ruins of the Little Community Church of Hollywood (HCM #567) into a pocket park and the mysterious disappearance of essential pages in the landmarking file.
- The threatened garden court apartment buildings at 6220 Yucca, the incredible work done in his second floor apartment by performance art citizen activist John Walsh, life and death Metro Red Line whistleblowing, how history is whitewashed when free weeklies disappear from the internet and the literal collapse of Hollywood Boulevard.
- The abiding influence of Hollywood Heritage’s one-man un-wrecking crew Robert Nudelman.
- And what we all learned while helping to clean out John Walsh’s apartment after his death.
It’s a long, candid conversation, and one you won’t want to miss if you love Hollywood and care about keeping this unique corner of Los Angeles cool and culturally vibrant, despite the relentless efforts of international development, chain retail and our corrupt City Hall.
Links to learn more about our guest, the episode’s topics, and us:
John Girodo’s efforts ensured the landmarking of Musician’s Union Local 47 and the Earl Carroll Theatre, both designed by L.A. Times architect Gordon B. Kaufmann. He previously joined us for Episode #127: Fighting For the Soul of Los Angeles. Have a Hollywood preservation problem and need to talk to John? We’ll pass a message along.
Esotouric is our historic Los Angeles tour company, presently not operating due to the pandemic. We have a newsletter, a YouTube channel, and can be followed onTwitter, Facebook and Instagram.
As the American Cinematheque nonprofit seeks to sell the public resource Egyptian Theatre to Netflix; we seek transparency. Related: Oscars eligibility rules are
Next Episode
YCES in Quarantine Episode #137: Judson Studios’ 123 Years of Innovation in Stained Glass
https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/YCES-137.mp3
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Welcome everyone, and thank you for listening to our podcast, You Can’t Eat The Sunshine, for the week of May 25th, 2020.
We are on day 69 of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Safer At Home Directive.
Our guest this week is Dave Judson, the 4th Generation owner-operator of Judson Studios, crafting stained glass in the Garvanza section of Highland Park since 1897.
With most of the studio’s hands-on work paused by the coronavirus, we’ll talk with Dave about the recent release of his book Judson: Innovation in Stained Glass, the history of the family business, how the landmark studio building has evolved, our shared adventures in the field seeking lost Judson glass installations in landmark buildings, and the new South Pasadena workshop where artisans bring their medieval craft into the 21st century with computerized kilns for crafting massive fused glass panels for commissions around the world.
We’ll also talk about: the wild Los Angeles City Planning Commission hearing when the fate of our threatened landmark Los Angeles Times buildings took an astonishing turn, corrupt councilman Jose Huizar twists in the wind, the ghastly new proposal to demolish Taix French Restaurant for the world’s worst mixed use project and why we think it’s not for real, how to score primo organic California olive oil without breaking quarantine and stray musings on LACMA redevelopment. So stay tuned!
Links to learn more about our guests, the episode’s topics, and us:
Judson Studios’ website is here , with recent work on view. This is the website of Judson’s in-house glass fusing master Narcissus Quagliata. You can order Dave Judson’s new book Judson: Innovation in Stained Glass on Bookshop (supporting independent booksellers) or from Amazon. Here’s a 3-D tour of the King Edward Hotel interiors, while we eagerly await the installation of the restored stained glass awning.
Times Mirror Square landmarking is just one of the campaigns under the Pereira in Peril umbrella, which includes the Save LACMA nonprofit. Learn more about the recent off-the-rails Planning Commission hearing in our newsletter and blog post. See Richard, and our little white cat Numa, talking about land use and public corruption on Spectrum 1. Here are photos of the threatened buildings created for the Historic American Building Survey (HABS).
Taix Square redevelopment is also discussed in our newsletter, and on R.I.P. Los Angeles. Sign the Friends of Taix petition here.
Bella Vista Farms in the foothills of the Diablo Mountain range is our source for organic extra virgin orchard blended California olive oil in bulk.
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