Schwab's Pharmacy
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Pharmacy |
| Founded | 1932 |
| Founders |
|
| Defunct | 1983 |
| Headquarters | 8024 Sunset Boulevard Hollywood, California, U.S. |
Schwab's Pharmacywas adrugstorelocated at 8024 Sunset Boulevard inHollywood, California,and was a popular hangout formovie actorsand movie industry dealmakers from the 1930s through the 1950s.[1]
History
[edit]Opened in 1932 by the Schwab brothers, Schwab's Pharmacy in Hollywood became the most famous and longest-operating outlet of their small retail chain.[2]Like many drug stores in the United States during the mid-twentieth century, Schwab's sold medicines and had a counter servingice creamdishes and light meals. In the 1930s, Schwab's was the inspiration for songwriterHarold Arlento write the music for the song "Over the Rainbow"for the 1939 filmThe Wizard of Oz.
Schwab's closed in October 1983.[3]Five years later, on October 6, 1988, the building was demolished to make way for a shopping complex and multiplex theater.
Sidney Skolsky,a syndicated Hollywoodgossip columnistfor theNew York Daily Newswho was the first journalist to use the nickname "Oscar"for theAcademy Awardin print, made Schwab's famous in the 1930s. He used the drugstore as his office and called his column inPhotoplay,the premier movie magazine in the United States at the time, "From a Stool at Schwab's."[4]
A persistent Hollywood legend has it that actressLana Turnerwas "discovered" by directorMervyn LeRoywhile at the soda counter at Schwab's. While the 16-year-old Turner was discovered at a soda counter, the location was not Schwab's but another establishment, the Top Hat Cafe, farther east on Sunset Boulevard at McCadden Place, directly across the street fromHollywood High School,where she was still a student. The person who discovered her was not LeRoy butHollywood ReporterpublisherWilliam Wilkerson.[5][6]
Today, there is a replica of the establishment atUniversal Studios in Florida[7]andJapan,the latter themed aroundSuper Mario.[8]
In popular media
[edit]Schwab's was recreated at Paramount studios as a set for the 1950 filmSunset Boulevard.[9]
Schwab's Pharmacy appears in theNetflixlimited series,Hollywood.Jack Castello's wife, Henrietta is shown to work at the store, alongside coworker Erwin Kaye.[10]
References
[edit]- ^Alleman, Richard (2005).Hollywood: The Movie Lover's Guide: The Ultimate Insider Tour to Movie L.A.Random House.p. 73.ISBN0-7679-1635-2.
- ^William-Ross, Lindsay (21 March 2009)."LAistory: Schwab's Pharmacy".LAist.Archived fromthe originalon 25 March 2009.
- ^"Schwab's, Hollywood Drugstore, Shut".The New York Times.United Press International.25 October 1983.
- ^"Daughter of Famed Hollywood Columnist Sidney Skolsky Passes".The Marilyn Monroe Collection.2 March 2010.
- ^Ponder, Jon (4 June 2013)."Schwab's Drug Store: Where Lana Turner Was Not Discovered".Playground to the Stars.
- ^Wilkerson, W.R. III (1 July 1995)."Writing the End to a True-to-Life Cinderella Story".Los Angeles Times.
- ^"Schwab's Pharmacy / Universal Studios Florida™".Retrieved2018-08-07.
- ^"ユニバーサル・スタジオ・ジャパン｜USJ".Universal Studios Japan(in Japanese).Retrieved2023-11-16.
- ^Meares, Hadley (December 4, 2013)."Schwab's Pharmacy: The Hollywood Hopeful Hangout".PBS SoCal.RetrievedFebruary 13,2024.
- ^Malkin, Marc (April 30, 2020)."How 'Hollywood's' Production Team Reimagined 1940s Los Angeles for Ryan Murphy's Netflix Series".Variety.Variety Media, LLC.RetrievedMay 3,2020.
External links
[edit]
Media related toSchwab's Pharmacyat Wikimedia Commons
- Defunct restaurants in Hollywood, Los Angeles
- Commercial buildings in Los Angeles
- Defunct pharmacies of the United States
- Demolished buildings and structures in Los Angeles
- Demolished buildings and structures in California
- Health care companies based in California
- Buildings and structures demolished in 1988