Santa Clarita Valley History In Pictures

Wm. S. Hart & Nurse at Brown Derby, 1938
Hart in Retirement


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March 23, 1938 — Actor and Newhall resident William S. Hart, 73, with his personal nurse, Margaret Merchant, at the famous Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant (est. 1926) at 3427 Wilshire Boulevard. That's a pack of Philip Morris cigarettes on the table.

ACME wire service photo, 7"x9", from the Chicago Tribune archive.

Photographer's cutline, glued to the back of the photograph, reads:

LA 13823————(LOS ANGELES BUREAU)
WILLIAM S. HART ENTERTAINED
LOS ANGELES — William S. Hart, one-time Western film star, was a guest recently of Radio Commentator George McCall. After the broadcast Hart was entertained by a number of celebrities at teh Hollywood Brown Derby.
Photo shows William S. Hart and his nurse, Margaret Merchant, at the Brown Derby.
"Your credit line must read (ACME)" 3/23/1938

The Tribune ran the photo in its edition of March 25, 1938, as evidenced by the date stamp on the back.

Barcode on the back is that of the 2012 photo seller.


William S. Hart
Biography by Friends of Hart Park

When William S. Hart began his film career in 1914, he initiated a fresh approach to Westerns that continues to influence the genre today. Although Western motion pictures were already very popular, for the most part they were exercises in mediocrity, filled with "impossibilities or libels on the West," according to Hart in his 1929 autobiography, My Life East and West. But in the course of appearing in or producing more than 60 movies over an eleven-year span, William S. Hart created a film style that revealed a more authentic vision of the Old West. At the same time, he made a major contribution to film history by developing and embodying the prototype of the frontier hero. Fame, artistic recognition, and wealth were Hart's rewards.

A Childhood in the West

William Surrey Hart was born in Newburgh, New York, probably in 1864. During his boyhood, his family traveled extensively in the Midwest as his father searched unsuccessfully for the ideal site to build a gristmill and make a permanent home for his family. Young Bill was raised in a pioneer atmosphere; he had contact with Indians, ranchers, and cowboys and learned Indian sign language and a little of the Sioux language from his playmates. He gained a respect for Indians and their cultures that he never lost.

Hart's First Career

The Hart family returned to New York while Bill was in his early teens, and it was there that he developed an interest in the stage. By 1900 he had appeared in productions from New York to San Francisco to Montreal. He received critical acclaim for his own production of The Man in the Iron Mask and his creation of the role of Messala in Ben Hur.

Hart's first Western role was also in a stage production: in 1905, he was cast as "Cash" Hawkins in The Squaw Man. His subsequent stage roles were primarily Western and included the lead in an enormously successful production of The Virginian.

Two Gun Bill

While touring with the company of The Trail of the Lonesome Pine in 1914, Hart decided to move to California to make Western films. In his autobiography, he wrote, "I was an actor and I know the West. ... I had to bend every endeavor to get a chance to make Western motion pictures." Hart obtained parts in several Westerns and collaborated in writing screenplays, and his film career was launched.

As a filmmaker, Hart drew on his childhood experiences, insisting on using realistic costumes, locales, and situation. The public loved "Two Gun Bill" and his movies, and he obliged the fans with one success after another. He became one of Hollywood's top actors and most successful directors.

La Loma del los Vientos

Some of Hart's Westerns were shot on and around a ranch in Newhall, California. In 1921[1] he purchased the property from Babcock Smith. After completing Tumbleweeds (1925), his final film and one of his finest, Hart commissioned Los Angeles architect Arthur Kelly to design a magnifient Spanish colonial-style mansion, which Hart christened La Loma de los Vientos (Hill of the Winds) and occupied in 1927.

Hart filled his home with treasure reflecting his interest in the West, including Navajo textiles, Indian costumes, guns and weapons, and Western paintings and sculptures. In his retirement, he became active in the operation of his ranch and deeply involved in Santa Clarita Valley community affairs.

He wrote more than a dozen novels and short stories as well as his fascinating autobiography, My Life East and West.

Hart's reputation as a Western figure put him in contact with other prominent personalities of the day. Western enthusiasts, such as Will Rogers and Wyatt Earp, and important artists, including Charles M. Russell, C. C. Crisadoro, and James Montgomery Flagg, visited the ranch or corresponded with Hart.

The Hart Legacy

True to the spirit of Western heroes he had portrayed on screen, Hart was humbly grateful to the fans who had supported his film career. "While I was making pictures, the people gave me their nickels, dimes, and quarters. When I am gone, I want them to have my home." When he died in 1946, he left the bulk of his estate to the County of Los Angeles, stipulating that his house and the ranch property were to be used as a museum and public park.

Today, the Parks and Recreation Department of Los Angeles County operates and maintains William S. Hart Park, which includes hiking and nature trails, a large picnic area, a campground, an exhibit of farm machinery, an assortment of live animals including a herd of bison, and approximately 110 acres set aside as a wilderness area.

The Natural History Museum of Los Angles County is responsible for the interpretation of the historical portion of Hart's bequest, which includes his home and its contents and several other buildings. The Friends of Hart Park and Museum, an active group of local citizens, provides volunteer support services.

La Loma de los Vientos stands today not only as a tribute to William S. Hart but as a valuable and edifying museum. Hart's personal effects and movie paraphernalia are displayed in his home along with Indian artifacts and Western American art that he amassed. These materials form a major resource for understanding the American West as it was perceived in the early part of the century.

1. Note: Original piece from Friends of Hart Park said 1925.

Hart biography ©Friends of Hart Park • Used by permission.


LW2298a: 9600 dpi jpeg from original print purchased 2012 by Leon Worden, donated to SCV Historical Society.
HART CATEGORIES:
• Stage Career
• Hart Films
• Publicity Photos
• Hart as Author
• WWI War Bonds
• Hart Mansion
• Hart in Retirement
• Personal Life
• Hart in Artwork

HART IN RETIREMENT

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Honored by Sioux 1926

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Little Bighorn Anniversary 1926 x2

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Dam Disaster 1928

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With Charlie Mack in Newhall 1930s

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With Wallace Beery, Moran & Mack in Newhall 1930s

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With Lina Basquette 1932

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Real Estate Instructions 1932

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Watson Photo
1920s-1930s

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At Saugus Rodeo 1933

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Letter to M. Perkins 1933

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With Freddie Bartholomew 1935

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"Smiling" Bill Hart 1936

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LA Times Feature 1936

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Letter: Gift of Buffalo Coat to Rudy Vallee 1936

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Letter: Gift of Buffalo Coat to Amelia Earhart 1936

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Brown Derby 1938

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Hart, Ione Reed, George Putnam 1938

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With Andy Jauregui 1938

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Guns on Radio 1941

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Robert Taylor Photo Shoot 1941: BTK Gun, Fritz's Grave (Mult.)

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With Dan White ~1945

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With Horses 1940s

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At Home 1-7-1946

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