Illegal Of The Day California 14

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The Chip Board Archive 24

"Illegal Of The Day" #301 is for you CA boys. Our "Friend Of The Hobby" has gone all out for you on this one. Janice and Jerry O'Neal stopped by the Fiesta for lunch back in 1999. She gave me the red Marcell's and several other illegals she had picked up over the years. I got the blue one in a trade in 2008. Never knew much about them except they were more than likely CA illegals. If you are not prepared for a very good and long read, it is time to hit the back button. vbg If you are interested in the history of your chips, you will love this one. Some of the "BIG" names in Hollywood including John Wayne and Shirley Temple are mentioned.

Enter: Our "Friend Of The Hobby."

My note: I need the chocolate $1.00. Cough it up if you have a trader. vbg

Unfortunately the order card has no date. However, an LA gambler named Harry Nelson Weaver moved into the residence at 508 Elm Drive sometime between 1933 and 1934 but was
no longer a resident there by July 1936. During this time period in the LA suburb of Altadena
there was a popular restaurant and night club formally known as the "Marcell Inn" but
commonly referred to as "Marcell's." In the mid 1930's Marcell's was run by a prominent LA
gambler named Homer "Slim" Gordon and was described by the LA Times as "outstanding
among nightclubs where dame fortune may be tickled in the ribs."

Side note: the total cash value of the Marcell's chip rack is $18,500; that amount in 1934 is
roughly equivalent to $330,000 in 2015.

Marcell's got its name from a well known LA restaurateur and Italian immigrant named Joe
Marcell Annechini. In the 1910's Annechini operated a popular restaurant in downtown LA
which was known by several different names including "Marcell's", "Maison Marcell"
and "Terrace at Marcell's" (it was at this restaurant that Annechini is credited with first
introducing Zucchini to US cuisine). Shortly after Prohibition became law Annechini closed
his downtown LA restaurant and in 1922 opened the Marcell Inn in Altadena on property
which formerly had been his private estate.

architectural rendering from 1922:

postcard showing the building and trellised garden entrance:

the building is long gone but the two stone entrance pillars visible in the postcard above still stand:

postcard views of the interior from the 1920's:

[early on Marcell's was occasionally referred to as the "Marcell Country Club"; also, its location was sometimes said to be in Pasadena, Altadena's southern neighbor]

Under Annechini, Marcell's became a hangout of the Hollywood film crowd and the place was
raided several times for Prohibition era liquor violations. In the mid 1920's Annechini began
splitting his time between LA and New York City where he operated a place called the
"Marcell Restaurant" or "Marcello's Restaurant."

While at New York in 1932 Annechini passed away at the age of 53. Not long afterwards
Marcell's in Altadena became the property of one of LA's leading gambling figures: Homer
"Slim" Gordon. The years in which Gordon ran Marcell's are pretty much concurrent with the
years in which Weaver resided at 508 Elm and placed the Marcell's chip order, circa 1933-1936.

In 1933 Marcell's was renovated and re-opened in October. On the property was a giant
searchlight which was supposed to help guide patrons to the location through the dark
Altadena night; directions to the place were often given as "get to Lincoln Avenue and follow
the searchlight":

A month later in November 1933, according to the LA Times, Marcell's was one of four places
that stood out among the LA gambling scene:

About a year later in October 1934 a weekly magazine called the “Hollywood Filmograph”
characterizes Marcell's:

That same month Marcell's is raided by LA County vice officers:

My note: I think CA collectors do not realize how many of their chips were actually used in illegal gambling clubs.

ad from 1934:

In June 1933 California voters approved a proposition legalizing pari-mutuel wagering at horse tracks.
A year and a half later, on Christmas Day 1934, the Santa Anita Racetrack opened north of LA.
Described at the time by Life Magazine as the “handsomest, most lavishly appointed track in the world,” Santa Anita was owned by a group of investors led by Hollywood producer Hal Roach (Laurel & Hardy; Little Rascals). Marcell’s was located near Santa Anita and it quickly became a popular stopping place for those going to and coming
from the track.

article from the day Santa Anita opened, December 25th 1934:

Jan 19th 1935:

Feb 8th 1935:

One of the Hollywood “film folk” who patronized Marcell’s was a young up and coming star named Dorothy Dell. Dell’s quick rise to fame was due in part to her role alongside Shirley Temple in a film based on a Damon Runyon short story called “Little Miss Marker.” In the movie, a gambler with a “sure thing” tip on a horse goes to an illegal bookie joint to place his bet but he has no cash and the bookmaker isn’t taking markers. With the race about to begin, the bookie is talked into taking the gambler’s young daughter, played by Temple, as a marker while the gambler takes off to find cash. When the gambler doesn’t return, the little miss marker is taken in and cared for by the bookie and a cabaret singer/“moll” played by Dell.

Dell with Temple and Adolphe Menjou, who plays the bookmaker:

Little Miss Marker was released on June 1st 1934 and a week later on June 8th Dell spent the evening at Marcell’s. After a night of dining and dancing, the 19 year old actress who was on her way to being a bone fide star, the next Mae West, stepped out of Marcell’s into the cool Altadena night and the sublime Wheel of Fortune which separates all that can be from that which is clicked into place and the young, beautiful Ms. Dell never made it back to Hollywood.

Dell’s male companion, speeding down a dark curve on Lincoln Avenue just east of the Rose Bowl, lost control of his car and, after smashing into several impediments, including a few palm trees, the wreckage finally rested upon the lifeless body of Dell
(in the photo above the car has been flipped over to extricate Dell).

When the 6 year old Shirley Temple was informed of her friend and fellow actress’ death she is said to have fallen prostrate and wept--inconsolable. Years later Temple said the emotional distress over her friend’s death made its way into some of the crying scenes of the film she was working on at the time called “Now and Forever” (for the next four years Temple would be the world’s number 1 box office draw, just ahead of Clark Gable).

In January 1935, as Marcell’s was establishing itself as a Turf HQ and continuing its role as a celebrity playground, Los Angeles County convened a grand jury to investigate the possible corruption of public office holders by gamblers seeking protection from the law. Several well known LA gamblers were summoned to appear, including Marcell’s owner Slim Gordon (also summoned were future Las Vegas pioneers Nola Hahn and Milton ”Farmer” Page).

pic of Gordon at the grand jury proceedings:

As he left the grand jury room Gordon was met by reporters and he informed them of the substance of what he was asked and what he answered:

Gordon kept going at Marcell’s for several months until June of 1935 when he took a little trip to sample the turf south of the border:

(according to the LA Times, Agua Caliente was the only horse track in the Americas to offer both a bookmaker betting ring and pari-mutuel wagering)

Gordon continued to operate Marcell’s into 1936 but by April of 1937 it was closed for good and became the Marcell Military Academy.

classified ad from April 1937:

A few years after Marcell’s closed Gordon opened a club in Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard called the “Club Marcell” (perhaps the Marcell’s hub chips followed him there??). The place was raided for both liquor and gambling violations. During a raid of the Club Marcell in 1941, after battering down the front door, raiders found a room filled with “members of the motion picture colony, Hollywood café society, night life characters” as well as “drunken patrons and defiant employees.”

In the pic below, taken during the raid, one well known member of the “motion picture colony” is seen sitting at the bar (and perhaps
drunk and defiant):

You’re killin’ my buzz, Pilgrim.... The guy standing to the left of Wayne in the pinstripe jacket, his face obscured, appears to be Slim Gordon.

Gordon operated clubs in the LA area for several more years and passed away there in 1970 at the age of 74.

Harry Nelson Weaver, the guy who ordered the Marcell’s hubs, also continued working illegals in the LA area, including some time spent on gambling boats anchored off the coast. In 1948 a place calling itself the Sea Villa was raided at Long Beach. Weaver was arrested and described as being “in charge of the establishment” but, according to the Long Beach Independent, the place was the “brain child” of Tony Cornero:

My note: "Sea Villa was raided at Long Beach" Any of you guys ever heard of or seen chips from the Sea Villa? I haven't.