Remember my post about how Sandy Koufax’s Tropicana Motel turned into one big rock ‘n’ roll party and crash pad?
Well, I know a guy, Bob Holmes, who came to LA in 1983 with his band, Rubber Rodeo, to record an album.
Bob, of course, wanted to stay at the Tropicana. But it was booked.
He ended up instead at the Highland Gardens Hotel in Hollywood.
So I put on my ugly walking shoes, knee support, and Pirates cap, and walked to the Highland Gardens Hotel at 7047 Franklin Avenue.
The hotel (first known as the Hollywood Landmark Hotel) opened in the mid 1950's and quickly became home to many famous Hollywood stars. Its over 70 rooms including one, two and three bedroom suites, have been home away from home for many, including:
The Rat Pack
Jim Morrison
Janis Joplin
Jefferson Airplane
Moody Blues
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Joe Crocker Group
And, of course, Bob’s Rubber Rodeo
The Rat Pack Joe Crocker Rubber Rodeo
Now here’s the awful thing.
Janis Joplin died here, at age 27, in Room 105, on October 4, 1970, from a heroin overdose.
I’m not sure if one can book her room.
And why would you want to? Right?
Some sources say you can book it (see photo below).
Other sources say that long ago the hotel reordered the room numbers so that nobody no longer knew the actual room.
(Hey, I invented that! Back when I was ducking bill collectors.)
Now here’s the cool thing.
In 1983, when Bob (the guy I know) stayed here, he went to the hotel swimming pool and there was Michelle Pfeiffer. The early 1980s version.
Michelle Pfeiffer poolside with a guy I don’t know
So Bob recorded an album in LA and lived at the Highland Garden Hotel for two months. But the really BIG DEAL was, to quote Bob, “Michelle Pfeiffer in a bikini within 10 yds of my skinny pale shape with a bad mullet is seared into my brain.”
Heading back from the hotel to our undisclosed location (yep, I’m still on the run from Detective Rocco — we’re at our third address since fleeing to LA), I walked along the Hollywood Walk of Fame and holy smokes(!), I bumped into the star that honors my old acting buddy, Paul Newman (recall my Celebrity Maps post).
It was a good walk. :)