|
|||||
Scroll down for more |
|||||
| Career ... | |||||
Eleanor returned to Los Angeles in 1940 and worked for a few months for a weekly “throw-away” paper. In 1941, she went to the Los Angeles Times to ask for a job. “You could do that in those days,” says Eleanor. She asked to see the Fashion Editor who met with her and admitted that she needed an assistant. After an interview at the Jonathan Club on Figueroa, she got the job that paid $35.00 per week with no benefits. Developing expertise as she went, Eleanor worked her way up to the position of Fashion Editor. Working with movie studios, she wrote about the fashions modeled by stars such as Margaret O’Brien who was starring in “Meet Me in St. Louis” with Judy Garland. |
|||||
|
After two years at the LA Times , a friend who was leaving Columbia Pictures recommended Eleanor for her job. She accepted the job which paid her an impressive $70 per week. As the industry was unionized, she joined the International Alliance of Theatrical and Screen Employees. She continued at Columbia, establishing her reputation as a fashion writer and rubbing elbows with stars while they were photographed in the fashions that Eleanor described with captions and stories. She regrets that she gave away all but one of the autographed photos that she acquired in those days. The only one that she kept was of Cary Grant who was as charming in person as he was on the screen. Eventually, Eleanor left Columbia to open her own consulting business. Scroll down for more ... |
||||
|
|
||||
| The post war years were very exciting in Hollywood. Everyone who came home from the war who could and wanted to, went to college on the GI Bill. Many settled in California because of the cheap housing and wonderful climate. There were very big parties put on by the airlines, department stores, and the movie industry for the press. Liquor flowed freely and there were a lot of single people without a lot of responsibility having wild good times. Maybe it was not the Golden Age of Hollywood but it was close. | |||||
|
|||||
