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My POV
Brian A. Wilson
LARRY EDMUNDS BOOKSHOP: Hollywood Treasure Trove and Tinseltown Casanova's Former Haunt, Part Deux
6644 Hollywood Boulevard
Hwd 90028
323-463-3273
Last week, we dissected the contents of this classic book store, located in the bowels of Hollywood.
Now, let's get to the juicy stuff.
Larry Edmunds was, according to local lore, a true Hollywood Casanova. Whether his strongest tilt was toward men or the ladies is up for debate, but he allegedly bagged secretaries by the score, leading ladies including Mary Astor, Marlene Dietrich and Myrna Loy (dude! the stone cold fox of her day!).
This was the 30s, after all, a time when bedding lots of women and/or men made you a stud, not a public health threat.
Edmunds launched his business by selling books-oh, and porn-to (who else?) studio writers. Then as now, Hollywoodites treasured the finds that only Larry Edmunds could supply.
Unfortunately, Edmunds quickly became the Curt Cobain of his day. He started hitting the bottle as hard as he hit on the babes. Trips to the nervous hospital failed to quench his thirst. He began to crap out.
One day in 1941, he failed to show for work. His business partner found Larry Edmunds dead, his head stuck in a clean-burning gas oven...which he had neglected to light. Lothario to the end, The Big L's personal effects included six contraceptive diaphragms, each with the name of a different woman.
Larry was only 35.
And if that's not a lesson for everyone in Hollywood, I don't know what is.
(For more on Larry's life, and the untimely ends and weird existences of Hollywood notables, see Ken Schessler's excellent guide, "This Is Hollywood." It's available-where else?-at the counter of Larry Edmund's Bookshop.)
Keep writing.
BW
bigtex@loop.com
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