Wednesday, May 25, 2016

"The Bodyguard"


It's time to go clubbing in Mick Jackson's "The Bodyguard" (Warner Bros., 1992) starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. Here we are arriving at the Mayan Theatre, 1038 S. Hill St., for an evening of fun that turns violent.



A Mayan facade view from the parking lot across the street. Our limo doesn't go here. Houston and the entourage get out in the lot on the north side of the theatre and go in a side door. 



Whitney Houston in the main lobby. For the purposes of the film it's being used as her dressing room. She's opening her fan mail.   



A Mayan lobby shot with Kevin Costner. In the foreground we see a threatening letter that has arrived. She makes an appearance anyway but has to be rescued by Costner. 

The Mayan started out in 1927 as a legit house specializing in musicals. It later hosted many other types of legit productions and was occasionally a film house for specialized attractions, early "artie" product and, later, Spanish language films. It went to porno in the 60s and was reclaimed as a music club in the late 1980s. See the Mayan  Theatre pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a photo tour.



Near the end of the film, despite ongoing threats against her life, Huston decides to go to the Academy Awards as she's been nominated. For the exterior shots we're at the former Elks Lodge No. 99 at 607 Park View St., just west of MacArthur Park. It had been called the Park View Hotel, now it's called The MacArthur. The building was designed by Claud Beelman who did a few other little things around town including the Eastern Columbia Building and the 9th & Broadway Building.



When we go inside for the Academy Awards we're at the Pantages Theatre, 5233 Hollywood Blvd. A clip of part of the scene at the Pantages is on YouTube.



Here Costner is backstage looking for troublemakers at the Pantages. That's the original 1930 Frank Adam dimmerboard that was still in place at the time of the filming. It's now gone.



Another view of Costner offstage right. 



Huston onstage with another presenter in front of the film's lovely deco set.

See the Pantages Theatre pages on the Los Angeles Theatres site for many views of this 1930 deco masterpiece designed by B. Marcus Priteca, who did many earlier houses for the circuit.  It's now the home of Broadway shows for the Nederlander Organization.

On IMDb: "The Bodyguard"

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