Title supplied by cataloger.; Herman J. Schultheis was born in Aachen, Germany in 1900, and immigrated to the United States in the mid-1920s after obtaining a Ph.D. in mechanical and electrical engineering. He married Ethel Wisloh in 1936, and the pair moved to Los Angeles the following year. He worked in the film industry from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s, most notably on the animated features Fantasia and Pinocchio. His detailed notebook, documenting the special effects for Fantasia, is the subject of a 14-minute short-subject included on the film's DVD. In 1949, he started employment with Librascope as a patent engineer. Schultheis was an avid amateur photographer who traveled the world with his cameras. It was on one of these photographic exhibitions in 1955 that he disappeared in the jungles of Guatemala. His remains were discovered 18 months later. The digitized portion of this collection represents the images Schultheis took of Los Angeles and its surrounding communities after he relocated to the area in 1937. Meyer & Holler designed the 1930 Art Deco style E. Clem Wilson Building (AKA Samsung, Mutual Of Omaha) located at 5225 Wilshire Boulevard. The building was determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Schultheis titled this image "Firefly flags." Jeanette MacDonald returned a week early from her Hawaiian honeymoon to attend the premier of "Firefly," MGM's film adaptation of Rudolph Frimi's operetta, at the Four Star Theater (5112 Wilshire Boulevard) on August 6, 1937. She played the leading role of Nina Maria Azara with costar Alan Jones. After the premier "Firefly" continued and exclusive engagement at the Four Star until November of 1937, when a second run was scheduled at the Chinese. Also visible in this picture are the E. Clem Wilson Building, a neon sign for the Examiner want ads and, just to the right of the sign, a Simons Drive In (5171 Wilshire Boulevard, now demolished).
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;15 x 11 cm. Photographic prints
E. Clem Wilson Building (Los Angeles, Calif.) Simon's (Restaurant : Los Angeles, Calif.) Motion picture premieres--California--Hancock Park (Los Angeles) Flags--California--Los Angeles Signs and signboards--California--Hancock Park (Los Angeles) Neon signs--California--Hancock Park (Los Angeles) Art deco (Architecture)--California--Hancock Park (Los Angeles) Restaurants--California--Hancock Park (Los Angeles) Lost architecture--California--Hancock Park (Los Angeles) Lampposts--California--Los Angeles Streets--California--Hancock Park (Los Angeles) Street lighting--California--Los Angeles Wilshire Lanterns Wilshire Boulevard (Los Angeles, Calif.) Hancock Park (Los Angeles, Calif.) Schultheis Collection photographs McAllister, Wayne,1907-2000 Meyer & Holler
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