HOLLYWOOD IN HOMETOWN PHOTOS

Black-and-white photographs of Hollywood since the 1920s will be on display at the Hollywood Bowl Museum through Sept. 15 as part of the fourth annual “Discover Hollywood: A Summer Festival of the Arts,” sponsored by the Hollywood Arts Council.

The 41-photo exhibit entitled “Picture Hollywood” includes photographs by local artists and affords a taste of the community’s quality of life and a candid look at some its personalities, known and unknown. On display are photographs of Mary Pickford with Douglas Fairbanks, bathing beauties on the beach, Albert Einstein with Charlie Chaplin, Lana Turner being handprinted at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, and sailors at a Hollywood canteen. Recent shots include pictures of rock star Prince, the crowd at a Hollywood Christmas Parade and R2-D2 being footprinted.

“This is the first time the museum has featured a solo exhibit,” said Naima Prevots-Wallen, curator of the Hollywood Bowl Museum, which is presenting the exhibit for the Hollywood Arts Council. “Photography is an important art form, and what we (the Museum and the Arts Council) are attempting to do is show Hollywood from an artistic point of view. These photographs are making a statement that Hollywood is a viable place for artistic creation.”

Festival coordinator Oscar Arslanian said the exhibit is also a first for the annual event. The idea came about, he said, when the Hollywood Arts Council was thinking of new entertainment to add to the festival. “The idea just seemed too logical not to have. We have active members of the arts council who are well-known photographers and others who were just interested in participating.”

The show features photographs by local artists Steve Berman, Glenna Boltuch, Henry Diltz, Gary Franklin, Anthony Friedkin, Gary Leonard, Delmar Watson and the late Max Yavno.

The festival goals dovetail with those of the council--to “promote, nurture and support the arts in Hollywood,” Arslanian added. “This festival exists and is growing because there’s a need. People want to express themselves.

“There is limitless opportunity for arts and entertainment in the community,” he continued. “The arts community is strong and thriving, and in need of business. What we’re doing is trying to make sure that the arts are well represented.”

Apparently the concept is working. Arslanian said that in the last four years the festival has grown to where it now boasts 40 corporate sponsors as underwriters.

Running through Sept. 15, it features an assortment of entertainment, including noon concerts on alternate Fridays on the corner of Hollywood and Vine.

“Discover Hollywood Theaters,” a guided tour through eight legitimate theaters, will begin at the Pantages Theater on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Aug. 10, a seniors’ arts and crafts show will be featured at Kingsley Manor. From Monday through Aug. 12, street entertainers will perform on Hollywood Boulevard, and on Aug. 17 and 18 a children’s festival will be held at the Junior Arts Center in Barnsdall Park.