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Topic: Sol Hoopii in Los Angeles? |
Darrell Urbien
From:
Echo Park, California
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Posted 20 Oct 2006 1:37 pm |
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Hello all, first post to this forum after lurking for awhile. This place is full of great info! I hope I am posting this in the correct section..
I am doing some research for Gregg Miner's Knutsen Archives and the Echo Park Historical Society, and I was wondering if anyone here knew when and where Sol Hoopii lived in Los Angeles.
I'm trying to figure out if Hoopii and Knutsen knew each other.
Knutsen was in LA from c.1915-1930, spending the entire time in Echo Park. He was involved with Aimee Semple McPherson's Angelus Temple (also in Echo Park). He also performed (probably with his own harp-steel guitar) on KHJ radio.
I know Hoopii was playing in the area during those years - he often appeared on KHJ radio as well. Promo photos from that era show him playing a Knutsen or Weissenborn-shaped instrument.
I know Sol is listed in LA City Directories in the late '20s, first on Highland and then on Homewood (which is closer to present-day Hollywood).
In his 1953 obit in the LA Times, his widow Anna is listed with an Echo Park Ave address. This is right next to the park, and within sight of Angelus Temple. Does anyone know how long they may have lived there? Did they ever LIVE in Seattle?
From Angelus Temple's archives, I know Sol converted in 1938, along with his first wife. The Times obit says he "traveled the United States for the last ten years as an Evangelist." I'm not sure if they mean he was involved with McPherson's church all that time or if they're talking about Phil Kerr, another preacher/musician with whom he performed frequently.
That's all I know.. I've emailed Bud Tutmarc, but haven't heard back yet. From reading old threads here, I'm not sure he's in the best of health..
Can anyone here help?
Darrell
ps. I'd also be interested in knowing of any other Hawaiian musicians who lived in LA during Knutsen's time, especially if they lived in or near Echo Park. Thanks! |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 20 Oct 2006 3:50 pm
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Welcome Darrell
Can't answer any of those questions, but hope to hear someone belly up to the bar that can.
However, the legendary Ernie Ball had his music store/studio near Hollywood in the 40s and had many notable students, including one Earl Murphy. No doubt Sol stopped in occassionally, as did Dick McIntire and other name players.
Good luck in your info search/project, sounds very interesting |
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Don Kona Woods
From:
Hawaiian Kama'aina
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Posted 20 Oct 2006 7:59 pm
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Aloha Darrell and welcome to SG Forum.
After his Christian conversion, Sol Ho'opii became a 4-Square Evangelist and traveled extensively throughout the United States preaching in revival meetings and playing his Hawaiian Steel guitar.
Phil Kerr was famous for holding Monday evening musicals at the Pasadena Civic auditorium. Many famous Christian musical artists played at those Monday evening musicals.
Aloha, 
Don |
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Ian Ufton
From:
Ontario, Canada
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Posted 20 Oct 2006 9:41 pm
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Hello Darrell,
I can tell you that Sols spirit was in the house that Anna lived in [Seattle]---- I stayed with her on 3 occasions ---- we were close friends for many years , --- she gave me the black and white Rickenbacher guitar [ the one with the mileage on it --- as she put it ] that she had kept under the bed since 1954.
I believe they lived in that house in Seattle for a few years --- it was their base during the religious period --- never once did I hear anything that caused me to think otherwise .
Anna Hutchinson was a longterm employee of the Boeing Co.[Seattle] --- we were GREAT friends --- she shared lots of fond memories of Sol with me -- i.e. "the only thing Sol did was play guitar and golf" , and she could go to bed at night whilst he was practising a "lick" on his guitar only to get up the morning to hear him playing that same "lick" [ probably his triple triplet "lick" ].
Ian K.Ufton |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 21 Oct 2006 1:20 pm
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Ian, what a treat to hear your rare input on this forum.
It'd be great to hear you spill your guts on more of your memories and thots.
What are you doing music wise these day's?
I love your steel playing, but have almost no examples to enjoy, where may we get some? |
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Darrell Urbien
From:
Echo Park, California
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Posted 22 Oct 2006 11:03 am
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Thanks for the welcome, and the additional info! So are you saying the LA Times obit info was incorrect? They list a widow, Anna, at 1140 Echo Park Ave. There's a long period of time in the '40s where Sol is on LA radio every week. And he's appearing at church services in the LA area quite frequently.. That's what makes me think he was living here.. I suppose he could've been touring?
Oh, and the golf thing is funny - a lot of the references I get in the Times' archives are for Sol's golfing exploits.. 70 is good, right?[This message was edited by Darrell Urbien on 22 October 2006 at 12:06 PM.] |
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Mark Switzer
From:
Los Angeles California, USA
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Posted 22 Oct 2006 11:24 pm
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| Welcome, Darrell! PLEASE keep us informed on your progress. Sol Hoopii and L.A. history are two of my long-term obsessions. |
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Les Cook
From:
Derbyshire, UK
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Posted 25 Oct 2006 12:53 am
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You might want to get in touch with Malcolm Rockwell on Maui . He's been doing research in order to write the notes for the CD of Sol which Origin Jazz Library are producing .He's also doing the notes for the CD Grass Skirt is doing with Dave Stewart's Beer Records of all Sol's 1925 78s for Sunset and Hollywood (out early 2007).
What I can tell you is that in 1920 Sol lived on S.Grant Avenue in LA ,boarding with a couple named Smith . By 1930 he was married to Georgia and they were living on Cahuenga in the same house as Edward Vance (brother in law) and Julian Leslie(cousin).Hope this helps a little |
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Darrell Urbien
From:
Echo Park, California
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Posted 25 Oct 2006 3:16 pm
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Wow, thanks, Les! Dave Stewart's Beer Records has a bunch of stuff on early LA recording, which I had been desperately searching for..
http://www.beerrecords.com/index.html
I'm going to have to do some searching for those other addresses - you wouldn't happen to have numbers or cross-streets, would you? Also, are you sure it's GranT and not GranD?
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Les Cook
From:
Derbyshire, UK
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Posted 26 Oct 2006 1:29 am
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On closer inspection it looks you are right ,Darrell , it was S.Grand .I found this material when I was researching Sam Ku West for our Grass Skirt CD ,and I subscribed for a while to Ancestry.com. The census records for 1920 and 1930 tell us where Sol lived ,but you need to search under his real name of Solomon Kaaiai .If you send me your email address I will send you jpegs of the entries for Sol (my email is les@grassskirt.co.uk )
Dave has a fantastic collection of Sunset & Hollywood discs and Mike Keiffer ,John Marsden and Ken Swerilas kindly let us use their 78s too ,so all of Sol's 1925 records (including some alternate takes)will be on the CD plus some other Hawaiian bands who recorded for the label . |
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Darrell Urbien
From:
Echo Park, California
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Posted 26 Oct 2006 6:17 pm
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| Yes, please! Thanks Les - I sent you an email. Looks like your upcoming record will have a bunch of information that will probably help me too. I can't wait for its release! |
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Darrell Urbien
From:
Echo Park, California
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Posted 1 Nov 2006 12:26 pm
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Thought I'd give an update on my research..
I tracked down most of the addresses I already had + the new ones from Les.. Unfortunately all of the houses Sol knew are gone. The Grand Ave address has something there, but it was built after Sol left. Ditto for the Highland address.
The Homewood address WAS there until fairly recently. I don't know what was around when Sol lived there, but in the '40s KHJ built their studios right next to Sol's building. I wonder if Sol ever went back to those studios to perform? In any case, KHJ eventually bought all the properties around the studios for parking, but left Sol's building alone - you can still see it in fairly recent Satellite photos. But now the building that housed the KHJ stuidos is the Mary Pickford Center for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - interesting, as didn't Sol know Mary Pickford? Anyway, I think with the increased traffic and other growth in Hollywood, they needed more parking. Poof, no more Sol Hoopii apartment building.
Tracking down the 1930 Census address was another interesting adventure. It's not on Cahuenga Blvd. If you look at the other addresses on the Census sheet you see that it's actually Cahuenga (Park) Trail. This is high in the Hollywood hills, in the Cahuenga Pass - which at that time was only a two lane highway. It also looks like Sol is living in a movie studio colony! Getting to that address is a little treacherous as it's right off Mulholland Drive. Again, Sol's house is long gone - though there are some old Spanish Colonial Revivals next to it, which might be what it looked like.. Someone bought the lot and is building a new Modernist home there. I need to check the photo archives, as there's a good chance of either aerial or construction shots of the 101 Freeway that might show the house.
I also searched through a few more LA City Directories and found a couple new addresses.. Sol moved around![This message was edited by Darrell Urbien on 01 November 2006 at 12:44 PM.] [This message was edited by Darrell Urbien on 01 November 2006 at 12:45 PM.] [This message was edited by Darrell Urbien on 01 November 2006 at 02:43 PM.] [This message was edited by Darrell Urbien on 01 November 2006 at 02:44 PM.] |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 1 Nov 2006 12:59 pm
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| It's possibly apocryphal, but I recall reading that Mary Pickford is supposed to have requested that Sol's trio play live, on the film set, for scenes in which she was required to cry. |
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Edward Meisse
From:
Santa Rosa, California, USA
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Posted 1 Nov 2006 1:00 pm
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| Thanks for the update. Has anybody written any kind of biography of Mr. Ho'opi'i? I'd love to read it. Is that what you have in mind? |
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Darrell Urbien
From:
Echo Park, California
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Posted 1 Nov 2006 2:53 pm
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Well, if someone's written one I wish I could find it! It might save me months of searching!
The person I'm really researching is Chris Knutsen. It just occurred to me that the two men were in LA at the same time and I wondered whether they knew each other. That question led me to all sorts of interesting finds - for example that both men were members of the Foursquare Gospel Church (possibly along with the Tutmarcs?). It was a revelation to me that Hoopii lived in Echo Park, but I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. He was on KFSG (Foursquare's radio station broadcasting from Angelus Temple) all the time. BTW the Echo Park address also does not exist as Sol knew it, but I have photos of the house..
[This message was edited by Darrell Urbien on 01 November 2006 at 02:56 PM.] |
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