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S1 E1 “Washed Out”
Read more: S1 E1 “Washed Out”Season 1, Episode 1: “Washed Out” 1942. After washing out of flight school in Louisiana, Pvt. Oliver Whelan is assigned to an U.S. Army Air Forces base near Los Angeles, California. He eagerly heads west only to find that there’s…
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The Sunset Limited
Read more: The Sunset LimitedOllie: Am catching the train to L.A. tonight, well, actually, tomorrow morning. It leaves around three AM… The train Ollie would have taken from Louisiana to Los Angeles was the Southern Pacific’s SUNSET LIMITED. “The Sunset Limited is a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on a…
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Union Station
Read more: Union StationOllie: Dear Bet: A few hours ago we pulled into Union Station in Los Angeles. It’s a big, beautiful building — tall ceilings, impressive wood beams, beautiful Spanish tiles… L.A.’s famous train station — where a newly arrived Ollie takes…
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Pacific Electric Railway Red Cars
Read more: Pacific Electric Railway Red CarsOllie: As instructed, I got off the trolley at the National stop and walked up a block… “The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electric railway…
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Sound Editor Ray
Read more: Sound Editor RayOllie: This morning, for instance, this sound editor named Ray offered to show me how he uses a machine called a Moviola to put in a sound effect and sync it with the action… I created the character of sound…
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The Hal Roach Studios
Read more: The Hal Roach StudiosMiller: No, before the war it was the Hal Roach Studios, you know, where Laurel & Hardy and the Our Gang films were made. When the Army took it over, Fort Roach seemed appropriate… The home of the USAAF First…
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Lois’ house: Storybook Architecture
Read more: Lois’ house: Storybook ArchitectureOllie: I couldn’t tell whether the architect was being serious or ironic. It looked like someplace Hansel and Gretel would have stopped at if they were intentionally looking for the witch… Lois’ “Fairy Tale” house is not based on any…
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First Motion Picture Unit
Read more: First Motion Picture UnitOllie: There was a stretch of large buildings strangely fronted by a mansion – or what looked like a mansion. Big letters over the front porch read “U.S. ARMY AIR FORCES.” But I gotta tell you, it was not like…
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Ronald Reagan
Read more: Ronald ReaganOllie: That’s when it dawned on me. This was that actor, Ronald Reagan. … here he was, a lieutenant in the Army Air Force and some big cheese at this base. While there are many websites that detail Reagan’s military…
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Schwab’s Pharmacy
Read more: Schwab’s PharmacyRonald Reagan: “Who knows, maybe there’s an actor in you. This could be your big break. Beats hanging out at Schwab’s…” This Lt. Reagan reference (which goes completely over Ollie’ head) is to Schwab’s Pharmacy, where, local legend had it,…
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Episodes to begin May 19, 2024!
Read more: Episodes to begin May 19, 2024!Finally (I think) we have a launch date. Barring any complications, the first two episodes will be available starting Sunday, May 19, 2024. Go on Apple Podcasts, Audible or Spotify and “Follow” On The Tinsel Front!
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About the Cover Art
Read more: About the Cover ArtIf you are wondering the podcast’s cover art… This was the emblem for the USAAF’s First Motion Picture Unit during the war. In researching whether I could use it I learned about the INSTITUTE OF HERALDRY, the U.S. Government agency…
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Series Trailer
Read more: Series Trailer1942. Washed out of flight school and inexplicably assigned to the U.S. Army Air Forces “First Motion Picture Unit” in Culver City, California, Private Oliver Whelan tumbles down the rabbit hole of World War II Hollywood. A hilarious, fascinating and touching…
