Original Black & White Photograph for Life Magazine by Jack Wilkes of a Group of People Outside of Hollywood Landmark, Schwab’s Pharmacy
n.d · Hollywood
Hollywood: 7 3/8” x 9 3/8”, n.d. Original black & white photograph taken by Jack Wilkes for an article for Life magazine, of a scene outside of the famous Hollywood landmark, Schwab’s Pharmacy, 8024 Sunset Boulevard. The photo shows four men and two women engaged in conversation on the sidewalk beneath the awning printed ‘Schwab’s Pharmacy.’ Near fine with some minor edge wear, with “LIFE PHOTO BY JACK WILKES” stamped on the verso. As with most legends, those surrounding Schwab’s are subject to exaggeration, but the truth was that Schwab’s was a popular meeting place and hangout for writers and actors looking to make connections. In the '30s and '40s it was not unusual to spot Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Orson Welles, Ida Lupino, the Marx and Ritz Brothers, Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Reagan, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and F. Scott Fitzgerald (who had a heart attack there while buying cigarettes), among many others. Ava Gardner even worked behind the soda fountain, while waiting for her big break. One of its most popluar myths was that the lovely actress Lana Turner was discovered there, sitting on a stool at the counter, a tale which the owner, pharmacist Leon Schwab, kept alive for the publicity. In the film Sunset Boulevard, William Holden’s character called it "a combination office, coffee klatch and waiting room." It is said that Hollywood gossip columnist Sidney Skolsky wrote his ‘Tintypes’ column there, and that one night in 1939 composer Harold Arlen ran in and jotted down the beginnings of the classic Judy Garland song ‘Over the Rainbow’ from the film The Wizard of Oz. As the years passed, Schwab’s lost none of its appeal, and in the 70’s many music business personalities and performers such as Cher and Linda Ronstadt (usually accompanied by her then-boyfriend, California Governor Jerry Brown) made regular visits. Schwab's Pharmacy closed in 1983 and was torn down in 1988 to make room for a block-long shopping complex now anchored by Virgin Records. (Inventory #: 17083E)