Los Feliz and the Silent Film Era: The Heart of Los Angeles Cinema 1908-1930 (LFIA Publishing)

Centered between two outlying early film production districts—Hollywood on the west and Edendale on the east—Los Feliz became the site of a host of major film studios from the very beginning of the Los Angeles movie industry.  The neighborhood’s seminal role in the silent film era is not easily appreciated today, when most of the industry has moved to other parts of Los Angeles.  Only a few remnants of the early studios still remain, including Prospect Studies, the former Vitagraph installation.

The book details the early film industry that was key to the initial burgeoning of the Los Feliz development, beginning in 1908, those connected with the film industry—screen stars, directors, producers, executives--and where they resided in the growing Los Feliz community. Among the Hollywood luminaries who called Los Feliz home during the silent film era were Walt Disney, Norma Talmadge, Cecil B. De Mille, Gloria Swanson, Oliver Hardy, and Charlie Chaplin.

“This book will delight fans of local Los Feliz history whether or not they are film buffs.  And for those who have an interest in early moving picture history, this book will add new dimensions to their understanding of the silent film era,” said Chris Laib, first vice-president of LFIA.

Donald Seligman is a retired dentist and local amateur historian whose family first arrived in Los Angeles more than 100 years ago. Seligman served as LFIA’s president from 2009 to 2012, and also wrote the LFIA published book, “Los Feliz: An Illustrated Early History.”