Gregory Paul Williams - The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History

To my mother,
Barbara Lee Turner Williams

Robert Cummings and Marsha Hunt sign autographs in front of the Vine Street Brown Derby

My father Dino Williams was the main catalyst in producing this book. He pushed the work forward tirelessly, spending countless hours organizing photos, reviewing the writing and organizing its publication. This book would not exist if Dino had not kept the faith.

I owe Jim Heimann a huge debt of gratitude for his passion and commitment to documenting L.A.s past and his generosity with his collection of historical paper and photographs. Jim also helped so much with the design of this book.

I thank my Puppet Sutdio partner, Steve Sherman, who tolerated the hours I spent on this project. And special thanks goes to Georja Skinner who found us the way to publish this work.

My sister Alexa Williams gave a huge amount time and energy in the early stages of the book and I thank her for them. My uncle George Williams gave me the initial push into documenting Hollywood.

I thank the wonderful curators and librarians who helped during our research including Carolyn Kozo Cole at the Los Angeles Public Library, and Dacey Taube at the photo collection of the University of Southern California, Robert Cushman at Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Octavio Olvera at UCLA Special Collections.

For their support and encouragement, I thank:

Bob Baker, Marc Wanamaker, Bruce Simon, Richard Adkins, Delmar Watson, Robert Nudelman, the H. David Smith Family: Dave, Alene, Susan, David, Candy, Julie; the Skinner family: George, Pearl, Georja, Teresa; John Sparks, Kay Armour, Aaron Epstein, John Walsh, Chris Shabel, Ruth Goulet, Carol Goldstein, Victor Kemper, Stewart Romans, Bill Welsh, Irene Wyman, Nina Correa, Tina Gainsboro, Marsha Wilson, Virginia Dee, Jennie Woodd, Lloyd Gilliom, Margo Ewing, Harry Williams, Dena Williams, Sally Cobb, Christine Mills OBrien, Vergie and Bill Papalexis, Alex Papalexis, Aggie Forgues, Carol Burnett, Sue Chadwick, Mark Finfer, Art Linkletter, Eleanor Parker, Rene Zendejas, Selma Stern, Johnny Grant, Don Selten, Mary Talkington, Susan Barnes, Aggie Forgues, Lee Mosier, Roger S. Baum, Phil Levine, David Morgan, Aaron Epstein, Robert Nudelman, Chris Shabel, Ruth Goulet, Ed Cohan, Kay Armour, David Morgan, Dolores Findley, Llandys Williams, Cally Caiozzo, Alexander Caiozzo, Pauline Caiozzo, Hollywoodland Homeowners Association, Hollywood Sign Trust, Dr. Judith Marquart, Taia and Peter Siphron, Joan Penfield, Jeanette and Jerry Bird, Hank and Dorothy Pinczower, Chad Harkins, Pat Ashenbrenner, Mary Talkington, Steve Vaught, Lenny Greenblatt, Valerie Yaros, Ed Cohan, Andrew Jordan, Matthew Lesniak, Charlene Baum, Leslie Hope, Andrew Doucette, Dr. Peggy Owen Clark, the Rose family: David, Ida, Marsha, Lisa; Dennis Poplin, and Nancy Copsey.

A special acknowledgment goes to Robert Blue who currently faces eminent domain at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. Not only will the surviving Herman Building be demolished, Bernard Luggage, one of the oldest remaining Hollywood retailers, will be forced to move. I thank my fellow members of the Hollywood PAC for helping me keep a sense of humor about this and more. David Morgan in particular taught me to laugh at the most outrageous bureaucratic behavior while opposing it.

When I started this project, David Morgan and my mother were alive to read the initial drafts. Although they have both passed on, I imagine that they are as happy as I am to see this work completed.