THAT'S ME IN THE SECOND ROW
PART 2
In those days, it was a three day trip from New York City to California. The trains were powered by Steam Engines which had to be oiled and refueled very OFTEN. (both water and coal). The train route was New York City to Albany, Albany to Buffalo, across Ohio and Michigan, to Chicago, then across the great plains to California. We were lucky in that we had a compartment in a car that was going all the way to California. We did not have to change cars! As it was, Mom's Hamper became a sodden mess as the ice melted; but the sandwiches were a lot cheaper than the food you could buy on the train. It was interesting living in the same room with my sister; something I had not done since I was 10. She saw me naked, and I saw her naked! We managed and eventually the train arrived in Glendale!
Uncle Jack met us at the train station. He had a Model "T" Ford. We squeezed our luggage and ourselves into the car. He then drove us to his house. It was a 4 bedroom house with a swimming pool in the back, and a two car garage, all on one level, in the new "Ranch" style. He had gotten a large house because Aunt Lea and the cousins were due to come out. Until they arrived, we had the run of the house. He was in one bedroom, Dorothy and I each had our own rooms.
We arrived on a Friday. Uncle Jack said we should orient ourselves over the weekend and he would take us into the studio on Monday. The "Red Line" ran right in front of the house, and we could make connections and get to the studio by public transportation. On the Monday, Uncle Jack drove us into his studio and introduced us around. Luckily, Uncle Jack was very popular with studio personnel and most of the people were happy to help out his relatives. We were signed up as extras, and immediately began to work. In the early days of film, the hope was for extras to rise to stunt men, then rise to stardom. Unfortunately, no one could name any extra who rose to stardom; nor did the public find out the large number of animals and stuntmen who had died making films.
When the studio personnel found out that I was a "Hoofer" they asked that I teach them how to dance. My sister and I rented a Dance Studio in downtown LA, and we taught people how to dance. She and I began to get hired for "specialty" dances in various movies. We were constantly working, and teaching basic dance. The money was flowing in and the only expenses we had, was food.
We quickly fell into a routine of being an extra in the movies. Everything proceeded swimmingly for several months, when Uncle Jack hit us with a major roadblock. It seems that it was time for Aunt Lea and the cousins to come out west, but Aunt Lea refused to leave New York. This put Uncle Jack into an intolerable position. He loved his wife and his children, and had remained celibate while they were separated. If he remained in Hollywood, he would lose them. He had married Aunt Lea in the Catholic Church and, as such, could not get a divorce. He decided that he was going to go back to New York. He had no idea what he would do for a living, but he had to return to Aunt Lea and his children.
That would mean that Dorothy and I would have to bare all of the costs of the House. Uncle Jack had figured out all the costs, and when he told us the figures, both Dorothy and I stopped breathing. We talked it over, and decided to move out to an apartment. It was then that Uncle Jack hit us with a final blow. It seems that our father had sent Uncle Jack the down payment for the house. If we moved out, there was a possibility that our father would lose his investment. Needless to say, we were both flummoxed. At that point Uncle Jack went into the living room and called New York; He was going to tell Aunt Lea that he was coming back to New York. This also allowed Dorothy and I to talk.
I had not realized it before, but it seems that I had inherited my father's acumen with finances. We talked over how we could finance the house. The more I thought about it, the more it looked like a good deal. We could give up the expense of renting a dance studio by converting the living room into a dance studio. The studio rent money would pay for any changes deemed necessary. Luckily the living room had a wooden floor. I would move into Uncle Jack's room and my room could be converted into dressing rooms. Likewise the bathroom could be converted into male and female showers. The combined income of me and my sister, and teaching dance, was enough to afford the house. This was back in the days of no income tax. We decided to make the changes and see how it worked out!
Uncle Jack returned from his phone call, and we told him we would stay in the house. At that point, Uncle Jack said he would sign over the car to us. My father had sent him the money for the car; this was back in the days when "Family" meant something. The car was paid off, so the only expense would be gas (this was in the days prior to mandatory insurance.). We went over the costs again and the next few days were spent in getting Uncle Jack ready to go back to New York. When he gave notice at work, they were sorry to see him go and said that if he changed his mind, he had a job waiting for him at the studio.
After that, me and my sister were regularly employed by the studio. Then the shit hit the fan. Someone had devised a method for making movies talk, and all Hell broke loose!