Emmy Award-winning performer Liberace poses alongside his beloved dogs at his Palm Springs estate in September 1980. The families often socialized when they were in the desert. The Palm Springs community has also paid homage to his personal time in the area with a beautiful golden star. In his day, it was tradition to honor one of Hollywood’s old guard, such as James Stewart. Since Palm Springs was 110 miles away, it became the original Sin City. However, it was television that proved her true calling. Dinah takes to the dance floor with Kirk Douglas. This is the famous Palms Springs Walk of Stars. As she would be with the LPGA tradition that the winner of the tournament, which launched in 1972, celebrates her victory on the 18th green by jumping into Poppie’s Pond. That bit of luck legitimized the festival. As much as the SAG Awards and Golden Globes are indicators of what to expect on Oscar night, it is PSIFF, Bono’s crazy little dream, that is the true insider’s barometer of the season. Enjoy exploring and learning about one of the world’s most famous sidewalks. : 13 In May 2017 the Walk of Stars sponsor and … Considering Shore’s ardent promotion of women’s professional golf and a career that defied expectations, she’d likely be delighted. His Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Golf Tournament (now known as the CareerBuilder Challenge) grew to become one of the best-known celebrity pro-ams in the country. 303 N. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs California 92262, PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY PALM SPRINGS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Palm Springs Life Vintage Covers Notecard Boxed Set, Desert X 2021 Set to Return to Coachella Valley Desert, Finding His Hallmark Moment in the Desert. The beautiful desert oasis, located in the Coachella Valley of Southern California, is surrounded by picturesque mountains and filled with gorgeous mid-century modern architecture. LiberaceLee’s home on North Kaweah Road was famous for the plaque by the driveway that read “Piazza de Liberace.”. The couple was highly visible in the Palm Springs area for decades, with Ball accepting the queen’s throne in 1964’s Desert Circus parade (a great tradition that, alas, faded away a few years ago) and Desi providing entertainment at the Palm Springs Police Shows. Honorees include not only Hollywood and music stars like Rock Hudson and Elvis Presley, they also feature Medal of Honor recipients and former presidents. David JanssenThe television star
commissioned architect Edward Giddings to build “La Piedra” in Southridge. A former sandlot and semi-pro player in his youth, Autry signed a deal with Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley to broadcast their games on his radio stations when the team moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. Hollywood, Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs, Laurel Canyon, Malibu. His mere presence would have been enough to ensure his legacy here. Far from discouraged, she struck out on her own and became one of the leading female solo entertainers of the ’40s and ’50s. Detroit-born Salvatore “Sonny” Bono lived several lives … and did well at all of them. When he and his former vaudeville colleague, Dolores, came to Palm Springs (records are a bit hazy on their actual marriage date), they rented a small Spanish revival house in the Movie Colony that they named Honeymoon Cottage. Lucille Ball posed in a window of the El Mirador Hotel for a photograph. He purchased an old Holiday Inn (now the Parker Palm Springs), refurbished it, named it the Melody Inn, and housed his team there. Though it may seem a dubious distinction these days, he was the pioneer who almost single-handedly created and popularized a cinematic subgenre known as the “musical western.” His records sold more than 100 million copies and he completed more than 93 feature films. But it was his philanthropy that truly made a lasting mark. When Bob and Dolores Hope first visited Palm Springs in 1930 and fell in love with the desert, they had little means to do much about it. As these vintage photos of celebrities in Palm Springs reveal, the town has long been the place where actors, musicians, and athletes went to enjoy leisurely activities – from hitting a few balls at the golf course to taking a dip in the pool or just catching some sun in the backyard. The Palm Springs Walk of Stars located downtown pays homage to its famous Hollywood counterpart. The constellation of luminaries who brightened the area with their presence is almost as radiant as the Milky Way. Cristin Milioti stars opposite Andy Samberg in one of this year’s most critically acclaimed comedies, “Palm Springs,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January befo… In 1948, Bob Hopes was named Honorary Mayor of Palm Springs. For the next five decades, Hope was an integral part of every significant social or philanthropic event in the valley. geebeegeebee.com Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. She didn’t land a gig. Grammy Award-nominee Andy Williams enjoys the outdoors with his wife Claudine Longet and their three children Noelle, Christian, and Robert, as the family attends the Bob Hope Desert Classic Golf Tournament. He thought a film festival might do the trick. The Olympic diver rides a wooden horse suspended above the pool at the El Mirador Hotel. After the divorce and his departure from Desilu, Desi remarried and eventually settled in Del Mar. It was a crowning achievement in the decades he spent giving to his neighbors. In his own words, he “semi-retired to Palm Springs,” where he opened his namesake restaurant and began a battle with city bureaucracy that culminated with his successful run for mayor in 1988. Here's a little peek at how vintage stars enjoyed their time off. There are hundreds of other famous and significant people who have their own stars. Palm Springs is being rediscovered by today’s Hollywood stars, especially during the Palm Springs In ternational Film Festival held annually in January. The fact is, because of the abundant sunshine, many films were made here in the early days. The “Yodeling Cowboy” came a long way from his family’s hardscrabble ranches in Texas and Oklahoma. I’d been there before and certainly enjoyed myself, but this stay opened my eyes to a side of Palm Springs I didn’t know existed. He sold it for a dollar. The first induction ceremony was held on February 26, 1992, and included Walk of Fame chairman Johnny Grant.The first five Golden Palm Stars were dedicated to Earle C. Strebe, William Powell, Ruby Keeler, Charles Farrell and Ralph Bellamy. The couple shared a tumultuous and very public marriage that lasted from 1951 to 1957. See Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Reagan, Debbie Reynolds, and more soaking up the sun in Palm Springs. The Charlie's Angels star preps for her match in a celebrity tennis game with professional tennis player Vince Van Patten. He and Rat Pack pals Dean Martin (a fellow part-time resident), Sammy Davis Jr., and Joey Bishop packed them in at the Riviera, and Sinatra was a frequent visitor to other valley venues, such as the Purple Room. The funnyman, along with his three siblings, made up The Marx Brothers comedy group. At the time, Hope was desperately trying to find his way off the fading vaudeville circuit and into motion pictures. The former Palm Springs home of the Gone With the Wind actor was recently put on the market for $2.195 million. It’s an appealingly salacious tale, but false. Actor James Dean (Rebel Without A Cause) proudly poses with the three trophies he took home for winning the Palm Springs Road Race on May 6, 1955. In the late 1930s, long before she became America’s favorite TV comedienne, Lucille Ball posed in a window of the El Mirador Hotel for a photograph that would become one of the most enduring images of Hollywood-glamour-meets-Palm Springs. Lucy, however, continued to make the desert her second home and was often seen playing backgammon at the Ingelside Inn. In 1947, he chose Palm Springs and had E. Stewart Williams build him a home, now known as Twin Palms, that became famous as his love nest with Ava Gardner. Never at a loss for a good comeback, he was on his deathbed when Dolores asked where he wanted to be buried. Sure, there was the New York penthouse, the Holmby Hills estate, and the New Jersey beach house, but the place he called home, the valley that could scarcely contain his talent and zest for life, was Palm Springs. Now, there are more than a half-dozen honorees … and all are A-listers. Harold LloydThe silent screen comedian was one of the highest paid actors of his day. A well-known figure around Palm Springs in its infancy, she commissioned Donald Wexler to design an extraordinary home for her in Old Las Palmas (a home now owned by Leonardo DiCaprio). PSL once listed Sinatra’s stunning acts of generosity, from buying a piano for a young prodigy in Indio to footing the bill for a little girl at Eisenhower Medical Center. had two tennis courts, then expanded to include a swimming pool, the infamous "Bamboo Room" bar, seven Albert Frey bungalows, & many more courts. Marilyn MonroeHer tenure in the desert was just a couple years, but they coincided with visits of President John F. Kennedy. Later that year, Monroe filmed the iconic "flying skirt" scene from the film, The Seven Year Itch. Villa Carmelita. Frequent houseguest Alfred Hitchcock talked him into working again. He remains the only entertainer to have secured all five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — for radio, recording, motion pictures, television, and live theater. As a 2007 Palm Springs Life article recounted, “Palm Springs was their safe haven, their Shangri-La, their escape from the ever increasing stresses of their unexpected success, a green grass, majestic happy place they could take refuge in … and remind themselves they wanted more than anything to have a family.”. In its heyday it was a Hollywood hangout. Tom BosleyThe Happy Days dad moved to the desert and met his future wife, Patricia Carr, when she was working for local television. This tradition dates way back so this article will give you some background of the stars who have immortalized in the street names and their impact on the Coachella Valley. Child star Shirley Temple (The Little Princess, Curly Top) takes a dip in the Desert Inn pool while on vacation, November 5, 1935. Fred WilliamsonA resident since 1997, the former football
All-Pro hosts the annual Fred “The Hammer” Williamson Celebrity Invitational Gold
Tournament in support of Wounded Warriors. Five years ago, Broadway veteran singer/dancer Lucie Arnaz and her husband, actor and writer Laurence Luckinbill, moved back to Greater Palm Springs and are now full-time residents. He auditioned for France’s Pathé Pictures in Culver City … and failed. It was a low moment for the English-born Leslie Towns Hope, whose family had emigrated in 1908 and who had busked as a child, working the trolley lines in Cleveland with a little dancing and singing. Palm Springs Mayor Geoff Kors and Palm Springs Chamber of … The 1925 home features four bedrooms, six … He lent his celebrity to a golf tournament in 1991 that raised a fortune for Eisenhower Medical Center and with his wife raised millions to build the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center for abused and traumatized children. Their initial success as a duo plateaued but was revived with The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour in the early ’70s. The Palm Springs Walk of Stars was established in 1992 by Gerhard Frenzel and Barbara Foster-Henderson. Kitnick will accept the star on her family’s behalf at the ceremony set for 2 p.m. at 300 S. Palm Canyon Drive. To everyone’s surprise (even Bono’s), some 17,000 patrons showed up — even though the event wasn’t exactly bursting with A-listers. The Movie Colony (TMC) is a neighborhood in Palm Springs, California, named after the many famous movie stars who owned homes beween the 1930's & 1960's. But Autry was not finished with baseball. At that time, the California Angels had long been one of the most popular teams of the Pacific Coast League. But when it mattered, he gave everything, even his name. So, look upon this edition of “Desert Dreamers” as a Hollywood sampler. The first Palm Springs hotel opened in 1886, but the area became a favorite getaway for Southern Californians beginning in the 1920s, when Hollywood stars like Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino and Clara Bow flocked to the desert enclave for relaxation, recreation and privacy. Comedian and actor Groucho Marx sits in a golf cart in between rounds. Hollywood bombshell Marilyn Monroe poses for a photographer in the backyard of her Palm Springs home. Commonly known as “The Dinah,” it typically coincides with the LPGA ANA Inspiration golf tournament. Mountain Center Estate. In the early ’50s, with their kids, Lucie and Desi Jr., they commissioned architect Paul R. Williams to design a house at Thunderbird Country Club. However, that first year did feature Cinema Paradiso, which won the fest’s highest honor and went on to grab the Oscar for foreign language film. Her previous residence was not New York; it was Modesto, California. There are several estates of old movies stars that are now inns and vacation rentals in Southern California. He died before he set foot in it. Among his goals upon taking office was to resuscitate the city’s glamour and prestige. After the couple split personally and professionally, Bono kept performing but failed to achieve the level of success he’d enjoyed with Cher. Whenever he could, he gave anonymously. The Duck Soup comedy starlet leans over the table while fully committing to her ping pong game on December 12, 1932. In 1950, Autry was one of the early visionaries who saw the potential impact in the new medium of television. Hoagy CarmichaelThe composer was an avid golfer who bought a Cody-designed house on the eighth green at Thunderbird. In late spring I joined a group of fellow journalists for a midweek visit to Palm Springs. Professional golfer Arnold Palmer scores a celebratory kiss on the cheek from actresses Debbie Reynolds (right) and Gail Davis (left) after winning the Desert Classic golf tournament. No other house reflects Palm Springs’ famed heyday in the 1950s and '60s … In it, Johns documents over 500 celebrity homes in Palm Springs. In 1951, Desi and his orchestra were headliners for the grand opening of the Starlite Room at Palm Springs’ Chi Chi Club. And, no doubt, she would be honored that thousands of gay women gather in Palm Springs the same weekend to celebrate “The Dinah.”. An oft-repeated urban legend is that early Hollywood stars had “morals” clauses in their contracts laying out in sordid detail all the things they could not do within 100 miles of their studios. Antics and parties were legendary, and O ’ Malley ended the relationship starlet. Are A-listers an appealingly salacious tale, but false has been interesting to you “ Cowboy... 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