Knickerbocker Hotel (Los Angeles) Informations

The Hollywood Knickerbocker Apartments, formerly the Knickerbocker Hotel, is a retirement home located at 1714 Ivar Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Designed by architect E.M. Frasier in Spanish Colonial Revival style, the historic hotel opened in June 1929. It catered to the region's nascent film industry, and is the site for some of Hollywood’s most famous dramatic moments. On Halloween 1936, Harry Houdini's widow held her tenth séance to contact the magician on the roof of the hotel. On January 13, 1943, Frances Farmer was arrested in her room at the hotel after failing to visit her probation officer when scheduled. On July 23, 1948, filmmaker D. W. Griffith died of a cerebral hemorrhage on the way to a Hollywood hospital, after being discovered unconscious in the lobby of the hotel. In 1968, Graham Nash was living there the night Cass Elliot picked him up to go to a party where he met Stephen Stills and David Crosby.

1950's Movie 711 Ocean Drive with Edmond O'Brien, it was the backdrop of syndicate meeting. between 01:05:00 - 01:07:25

Backdrop (and surrounding street) to the opening scene of the television series Mission Impossible, season 1, episode 3: "Operation Rogosh".

Front of building used in filming a scene in season 3, episode 20 "Only One Death to a Customer" of the TV series Mannix which aired Saturday, February 14, 1970. Building sign over front entrance still displayed it as a hotel.

The hotel retained its glamor through the 1950s. Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio often met in the hotel bar. Elvis Presley stayed at the hotel (Room 1016) while making his first film, Love Me Tender (1956). For many years, it was the residence of actor William Frawley.Laurel and Hardy stayed in room 205. Graham Nash lived there in 1968. Director D. W. Griffith, died in the lobby there in July 1948.

On December 1, 1954, a camera crew from the NBC program This is Your Life surprised retired comedy legends Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in room 205 of the hotel. The duo was relaxing there with a couple of friends who were in on the gag. While both comedians were polite throughout the show, Stan Laurel was apparently privately somewhat displeased to be put on television without his consent or prior notice.

In 1962, celebrated Hollywood costume designer Irene Lentz, believed to be despondent over Gary Cooper's death, committed suicide by jumping from her 11th-floor room window.

On March 3, 1966, veteran character actor William Frawley was strolling down Hollywood Boulevard after seeing a film when he suffered a major heart attack. His nurse dragged him to the hotel where he died in the lobby. Contrary to popular belief, Frawley did not live in the hotel at the time. Although Frawley had spent nearly 30 years living in a suite upstairs, he had moved to the nearby El Royale Apartments several months before.

Also contrary to popular belief, Rudolf Valentino was not a regular at the bar, as the hotel opened after his death in 1926.

By the late 1960s, the neighborhood had deteriorated, and the hotel became a residence primarily for drug addicts and prostitutes. In 1970, a renovation project converted the hotel into housing for senior citizens; it continues in this capacity today. In 1999, a plaque honoring Griffith was placed in the lobby.

Coordinates: 34°06′09″N 118°19′40″W / 34.102422°N 118.327759°W / 34.102422; -118.327759

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