On December 18, 1902 a banquet was held to celebrate the opening of the Hotel Hollywood. H. J. Whitley was the president of the Hotel Hollywood. Below is the program from the event and some historical postcards of the Hotel Hollywood.

Over the years I have enjoyed working with the Hollywood Chamber to help premote the movie industry. I am the one on the left.


One of my favorite times is working the Academy Awards and speaking with the Foreign Press. I know they will be excited to learn that the book The Father Of Hollywood has been optioned by

Dreamstreet Entertainment

The script is under way for a series about the creation of Hollywood. Look for more news as it develops.

HJ Whitley is the Father of Hollywood. Besides naming the town in 1886 he also got the first movie studio to settle in Hollywood on October 26, 1911. It might surprise some of you to learn that he also was the founding father for these towns: Addington, Agawam, Amorita, Agusta, Aline, Anadarko, Apache, Avondale, Belleview, Bickford, Billings, (more…)

The first Hollywood movie was filmed on Whitley Estate on October 26, 1911. Of all the products of popular culture, none is more sharply etched in our imagination than the movies. Most Americans instantly recognize images produced by the movies: Harrison Ford, as Indiana Jones, as an adventurous archeologist in Radars of the Lost Ark. Sean Connery, the gun-toting James Bond in Gold Finger, and Carrie Fisher, the beautiful princess who is fighting the evil emperor in Star Wars. Even those who have never seen ET, Casablanca or Gone With the Wind respond instantly to the advertisements, parodies, and TV skits that use these films' dialogue, images, and characters. So when was the first Hollywood movie filmed?

(more…)