[PW] "Hollywood" = "the movies" ?

[swguardian-wombat at yahoo.com]

It appears there was no exact date when Hollywood became synonymous with the film industry. The first studio in the Los Angeles area was Col. William Selig 's Selig Polyscope Company (Selig Studio) back in 1909 in Edendale. The first studio in the Los Angeles district of Hollywood was in 1911, the Christie-Nestor Studio, in the Blondeau Tavern building, 6100 Sunset Blvd. In 1912, the Christie-Nestor Studio and several others merged to become the Universal Film Company. From 1908-1913 in the Los Angeles area, moving pictures were all short subjects. the first feature film, "Squaw Man," came out in 1914.  
   
  Before 1915 in Hollywood, movie folk were considered not fit for "respectable society" and were heavily discriminated against. It was quite common to see signs on apartment buildings and houses that read “No Dogs or Actors Allowed.” Hollywood residents actually forced the city of Los Angeles to enact zoning ordinances that restricted film studios to specific areas. 
   
  It was not until after 1915 that movie folk began to be accepted in "polite" society and it was a slow process. This came about mostly due to the fact that the movie industry was a very large source of economic growth. It was also after this time when the growth of stardom was gaining by leaps and bounds. In early filming, the actors names were considered unimportant and not credited. Now stars were being made such as Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore and others who by their popularity, promoted films that their fans would flock to and make money for the studios. 
   
  It was sometime after 1915 and most likely in the early 1920's that the name Hollywood was permanently attached in meaning with the film industry. 
   
  My sources for this are a thesis I did for my masters degree on the First Family of Hollywood and from a conversation yesterday with Mr. Delmar Watson of the Watson family, aka, the First Family of Hollywood, who, with his family, acted in movies during the Silent and Golden Age of Hollywood. 
  
David Klappholz <d.klappholz at worldnet.att.net> wrote:
  While many of the early movie studios, starting around 1910 or 1911, 
were actually in that part of L.A. known as "Hollywood," even many of 
the early L.A. studios were outside Hollywood, e.g., in Culver City, 
in Echo Park (Edendale), etc.

Does anyone know how/when "Hollywood" came to mean "the movie 
industry" or, more generally, "the movies?"

Dave 

_______________________________________________
Project Wombat
list at project-wombat.org
http://www.project-wombat.org



"Dark and difficult times lie ahead; soon we must all face the choice between what is right, and what is easy." -HBP