I wasn’t overly-ecstatic to meet Carla Laemmle on October 1, 2005 at the Hollywood Collectors Show. I didn’t even recognize her name…although I should have. She was the niece of Universal Studios founder Carl Laemmle, so there should have been some name recognition. But I was a bit impressed that she had appeared – albeit briefly – in the 1930 Bela Lugosi version of Dracula. I became even more impressed to find that she had appeared in the Academy Award winning Broadway Melody.
So I nonchalantly purchased a couple of her photos, having her inscribe the name of each of the aforementioned films on the pictures (both seen below) – and of course, had my picture taken with her.
It wasn’t until I got back home a few weeks later and just so happened to be working my way through the Laurel and Hardy catalog of movies that I noticed something very surprising. Out of loyalty to my task of viewing all of the boys’ films, I began to endure the entire film The Hollywood Revue of 1929 for the second time in my life. Laurel and Hardy have a five-minute scene nestled within the two-hour film. It’s not the most entertaining film (although amazingly it was actually nominated for an Oscar as Best Picture of the year), although I do enjoy much of the music of the era contained within.
But it was not the L&H scenes that really gripped my attention this time, it was the Tableau of Jewels dance number. The reason: I had just seen this scene somewhere before. I remembered…it was in the photo from Carla Laemmle. The film she had identified as Broadway Melody was actually a Laurel and Hardy film – The Hollywood Revue of 1929.
Despite the inscription, this is Carla Laemmle in The Hollywood Revue of 1929
Bob had already found on the IMDB that Carla had appeared in the film, but did not know that the photograph we already had in our hot little hands was actually from The Hollywood Revue of 1929. He subsequently invited her to one of the Way Out West Tent meetings – and after convincing her that she actually was in one of L&H’s films – bestowed her with an honorary membership to the tent.
You just never know what strange circumstances the fates can deal you.
UPDATE: Carla Laemmle is still a remarkable woman. It is one thing to survive to be 102 years old, but it is quite another to continue to get out and meet the fans at this age. When Carla appeared at the Hollywood Show on October 8, 2011, she was just 12 days shy of her 102nd birthday. This didn’t stop the show from honoring her with a cake and a singing of Happy Birthday.
I was very happy to see her again six years after her first encounter, mostly because I detested our only photo together. I looked as fat as she did pasty. So even though I was willing to pay for a photo op, she was actually offering free ones with a purchase. I grabbed a nice 4″ x 5″ portrait and had her sign it and the got a new, better piture with this living legend.
The celebs and autographs of the October 2005 HCS will continue…
Celebrities of the Fall 2011 Hollywood Show will continue…
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