Old Lady of the Hills, Naomi Caryl (Part one)

In my last post I mentioned that after eating at Musso and Frank Grill on Hollywood Boulevard we proceeded to drive up the hills to visit Naomi, the Old Lady of the Hills. In August 2009 while reading ToraA Mirror’s blog of Norway I saw a comment by Naomi and paid a visit to her blog. From then on I started to read her posts. It was because of her report on Musso and Frank Grill that we tried to go to this restaurant in June 2010, but unfortunately it was closed (see my post here.) At the time Naomi told me that when I came back to Los Angeles to make sure to go and visit her. So when we returned there in February 2011 we did pay her a visit.

click on picture to enlarge

The road was quite steep and hilly – and very narrow. My daughter, driving her little sports car, was cautious.

Naomi greeted us in her lovely home. The large window-sliding door in the main room attracted the eye immediately. Moving near this window, we saw the stunning view and felt closer to the clouds than to the land below.



Naomi told us that the view is ever changing – the sun and the light giving a different backdrop to the panorama in an instant. Naomi has taken many photographs from her balcony – I can understand how inspiring this is.

Click on collage then click on picture to enlarge - these are Naomi's pictures

I knew a little bit about Naomi from reading her blog since 2009. Being there with her I felt that I had known her for years. She has a very warm and inviting personality.

Naomi has been writing her blog “Here in the Hills” since October 2005. She has an engaging style and writes on a variety of subjects: her life in show business, her family, friends, her art, her pets, her garden, the animals she observes, flowers, books, movies and many other subjects. Please click on “Here in the Hills” to visit her blog – you will enjoy it – it is fun and a visual delight. She has the most beautiful cat, called Sweetie. Sweetie is a little bit shy and we did not see him right away. But he came back toward us, slowly.



I thought I would ask Naomi some questions in an informal interview style, such as - What delights you most in nature? – Naomi: Flowers, Plants, Cactus and Succulents.... Hummingbirds--in fact all kinds of Birds including Hawks....But there is something about Hummingbirds that touches my heart. I think all living creatures in the Animal and Plant world are fascinating to me.” Naomi has shown many pictures of birds on her blog. I made a collage of the hummingbirds.

Naomi's pictures

She also showed some hawks and doves that nested in her garden.

Naomi's pictures

My next question was: You talk about books in your blog -what type of books do you like to read, do you prefer fiction or non-fiction? – Naomi: I love "memoirs" and autobiography.... “The Autobiography Of Malcom X," which changed my life in some very important and fundamental ways...., but I really prefer reading what the actual person has to say about their life.....In fiction, I like really 'escape' reading…. In one of her posts Naomi showed her den where walls are covered with books.

Naomi's pictures

Then I asked her: What did you want to be when you were a young girl? Naomi: I always wanted to be in show business or the theatre. From her posts I saw that Naomi was born on 27 June 1931 in Great Neck , New York – a peninsula on the North Shore of Long Island, about 17 miles from New York City. She is the youngest of four children.

Naomi at 4 years old

Her sister Robin passed away in 2005 but she still has her brother Gordon and another sister, Gene.

Naomi with her brother Gordon at 5 years of age

Since she was 4 years old her family took her to the theatres in New York City to see great plays and musicals of the late 1930’s and 1940’s to the end of the 1950’s. She grew up loving the theatre. Naomi spent 2 years studying at the Feagin School of Drama located in Rockefeller Center in New York.

Vintage postcard of Times Square in the 1940s, New York

When she was barely 20 years old Naomi received her first salary ($1 because this was done at a church) as an actress playing the role of Abby (one of the old eccentric sisters) in "Arsenic and Old Lace.” Then she obtained acting roles throughout the summer playing the Sea Cliff Summer Theatre in Sea Cliff, New York where she was an “apprentice.” She was cast as Eunice Hubbell in Tennessee Williams “A Streetcar named Desire” and received her Equity Card through this role. One of the stars that played there that summer was the great silent screen actress Lilian Gish (1893-1993.).

Lilian Gish by Charles Albin, 1922

Naomi remembers her well because Lilian Gish made a generous gift to the apprentices which no other star ever did. You can read about this in her post here. It is interesting to read Naomi’s posts as she mentions, in passing, great actors and actresses she has worked with or met. For example she was chosen to be Eva Gabor’s “dresser” during the week Gabor played Sea Cliff in a light comedy called “Her Cardboard Lover.”

Eva Gabor, 1919-1995

After speaking for some time we moved to the dining room where a lovely fruit salad and some other sweets were waiting. It was a warm day and we enjoyed drinking lemonade in blue crystal goblets. I failed to take a close-up photo of the beautiful decorated table and the striking water goblets but here is a picture taken from Naomi’s blog.

These goblets used to belong to her mother. Naomi has several posts and photographs of her mother - one is of her mother when she was a young woman. The photograph shows a very lovely lady with large almond shape eyes, the same eyes as Naomi.

Naomi’s mother Jen, affectionately nicknamed “Jen the Hen”

I took a picture of the floral arrangement as I could not fail to notice the exquisite roses.

Reading Naomi’s blog I saw that she delights in flowers, especially roses, and has taken many photographs of the lovely floral arrangements a nearby art-florist creates for her. Here is a collage from her pictures.

Click on collage to enlarge and click on individual photos

This made me think of the many “Ladies who Lunch” posts Naomi shared with us. In it we see the same dining room, for memorable lunches or for birthday occasions with fun presents. Lovely floral arrangements are always present. Her friends become our friends when she show us the “Ladies who lunch” posts or her fun New Year’s parties.

I had failed to take pictures of the lovely china on the table but on Naomi’s’ blog I found some pictures showing several examples as you can see below.



In her posts Naomi has showed many beautiful cacti flowers.



From the balcony I had bent over the railing and seen a great variety of cacti and other succulent plants.



Naomi has a terraced cactus garden since her house is on a steep hill. Here is a picture she took to demonstrate it.



It was time for another question, and this was: Did you get nervous before a show? Naomi: Yes, I had a horrendous fear. She added that this was before the show, but once on the stage the fright was gone. However when she sung she was always relaxed. Naomi‘s first 45 rpm was released in 1956 by Ember Records. Below is a photo of her at the time.



Naomi also recorded for Cambria Records as you can see by the picture of Alexander’s Ragtime Band recording below (one of the first records they released.)



Naomi at the time (late 1950s) worked in small night clubs in and around New York City and throughout the East Coast. She also did a booking, without rehearsal, at the Officers Club at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, DC. It was not an easy time for her and very lonely. You could not tell by her voice though because it was very clear and fresh. She recorded several songs like “Before You Say Goodbye…” and a record, which I found on YouTube, called “If” released by Ember Records.




I saw in her posts that her parents’ divorce had been very painful for Naomi and her sisters and brother (and her mother too.). After being quite ill in New York she decided to move to Los Angeles in 1961. She found an apartment there, on Hollywood Boulevard. And now, here, we could see Hollywood from the home she purchased three years after moving west. I went back to look at the view and took a picture of a cat peacefully sleeping on the balcony.



Like this little kitten, I think we’ll take a rest now, and will come back for more, next week.