La Senora Research Institute - HistoricLectures

August 15, 2009 Why Be Good: Sexuality and Censorship - Another fascinating look back with Q & A led by the film's Producer, Elaina Archer, former Head of the Mary Pickford Library, and producer of four other documentaries with Turner Classic Movies and Hugh Hefner

August 8, 2009 Author/Lecturer Thomas Zimmerman provided a stimulating introduction to the world of Lola Montez via her film with Leo Carrillo "Gypsy Wildcat". The talk, preceding the screening of the film, addressed the unusual nature of the characters played by Montez in all of her films. It was not customery in that period for women to be the strongest characters on the screen, it being far more common for them to show deference to the men.

August 2, 2009 Betty Lou and Randy Young, Pacific Palisades Historians presented their highly acclaimed research project "The Chatauqua Movement" addressing the foundations of this middle class cultural education movement which was responsible for the formation of all of Southern California's Beach Cities having piers and amusement/conference centers. The local leaders of the Chautaqua chose to build the city in which their own families would live, out of sight of the ocean in a quiet setting now known as Pacific Palisades. The Lecture was accompanied by exquisite slides of this remarkable venture.

August 1, 2009 - Elaina B. Archer, Producer Turner Classic Movies Documentary Film Maker. "The True Story of Marion Davies". This excellent film, funded by Hugh Hefnor, accompanies La Senora's 2009 Lectures focusing on the Golden Era of Movies and the 1920s 30's of The Gold Coast - Palisades Beach Road where Anita Loos and Friends frolicked at the 110 room Beach House of Marion Davies and W.R. Hearst. These lectures are presented in connection with the recent opening of the Annenberg Beach House in the former Davies residence.

June 20, 2009 – La Senora neighbor, Peter Graves, fielded two screenings with Q&A of his classic cult film “Airplane”. This behind the scenes look from an iconic actor who’d been dead set against performing in this film was an event to be cherished. Peter was in rare form, almost as funny as the always side splitting film itself. He also donated ‘a dessert morsel’ to La Senora’s film collection – rare video footage of Peter Graves performing on the Dean Martin television show as a ‘song and dance man while also performing on his clarinet. The more than 100 people who packed La Senora’s small theater for the two screenings had a memorable event to leave chuckling over.

January 16-17 Overview: Bringing together two days of science and history. a demonstration and workshop on the Technical Analysis of Ground Radar and Magnetron Software was offered while the participants located the historic graves in the Pascual Marquez Family Cemetery. Archeologists, Conservationists, Archivists, Historians, Graduate Students from UCLA and USC and 4th graders from Canyon Elementary School participated in data collection and processing of images. Event Donors: Cotsen Institute of Archeology and the Squid and Squash Educational Foundation;