A Celebrity Haunt
With Hallowe’en approaching, I was reminded of one of the world’s most famously haunted hotels.
The Roosevelt was at the centre of the Hollywood scene in its heyday and was where the first Academy Awards ceremony was held in 1929.
Opened in 1927 as a luxurious hotel to service the new movie industry, the Hollywood Roosevelt was the place to catch a glimpse of the stars … and it seems a few left an indelible mark.
Marilyn Monroe stayed there for two years in Suite 1200, which looked down on the pool. In Monroe’s room there was a full-length mirror and it was eventually moved to the hotel manager’s office. An employee was dusting the mirror one day and saw the face of Marilyn Monroe staring back at her. The mirror is now in the hotel lobby and some guests say they, too, have caught a glimpse of the movie star.
Montgomery Clift lived in Room 928 at the Hollywood Roosevelt during the filming of From Here to Eternity. It’s said his ghost can be seen pacing the hallway outside his room while rehearsing his lines. Witnesses say they’ve also seen Clift playing his bugle in the hallway. Guests who have stayed in his room have felt an occasional ghostly presence and a pat on the shoulder.
In the Blossom Ballroom, where the Oscars ceremony was born, a cold spot has been detected – about ten degrees cooler than the rest of the room. Psychic investigators have seen the spirit of a man dressed in black. Maybe it was Douglas Fairbanks, who presented the show in 1929.
The Hollywood Roosevelt - now part of the Thompson Hotels group - was refurbished in 2005 by the acclaimed designer, Dodd Mitchell. And as Vanity Fair said at the time, ‘The ghost of glamour past has a new lease of life.’
by Andy Moreton
Luxique can offer the best available rates at the Roosevelt as well several other luxury hotels in Los Angeles.
