Reginald Denny's Hobby Shop

Does anyone remember the Reginald Denny's hobby shop that existed in the Hollywood area until the late 70s? I learned from a website devoted to Reginald Denny that he opened his hobby shop on Hollywood Boulevard in 1935 and sold it to a Colonel Tom in 1963. A visitor to the site emaailed its manager, stating that he was born in 1956, and that he remembered buying models at a Reginald Denny's hobby shop (perhaps not the original) until at least 1966 and possibly and possibly until a few years after that.

Well, I grew up in the Hollywood area (on the same street as the guy who sent that email to the site manager, no less), and I remember buying armor models at a Reginald Denny's (I don't *think* it was on Hollywood Boulevard) until 1977. I recall that the guy who usually worked there was a curmudgeon who wouldn't sell me model glue (unless I also bought a kit) and who wouldn't allow me to read the store's magazine's ("This isn't a library," he growled) even though I was a regular customer. I learned that the shop closed in about 1980.

Anyone have any further history on this shop?

Reply to
RJK
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You won't believe this, but I have his business card in front of me. It says (in part): Wood & plastic kits Airplanes - ships - cars - trains Complete hobby supplies Wood structural shapes Complete Model Shipways line To reach us by phone dial one word H-O-B-B-I-E-S

462-2437 (note the lack of area code) 5905 Hollywood (at Bronson)

They take BankAmeriCard & MasterCharge

I remember buying a kit & several books at the time. I only went once, since I lived in the South Bay area & it was all the way up in Hollywood. This was probably in late '76.

Is the shop still there?

RJK wrote:

Reply to
the Legend of LAX

Hey... wasn't that the truck driver who got beat nearly to death in the LA Riots 12 or so years ago?

Reply to
Scott Lowther

I remember it vividly, and I'm from the SF Bay Area. A friend and I were visting Hollywood, and came across it one night when we were stoned out of our minds. There was a spectacular example of kit bashing in the window display, a completely fictitious Italian bomber cobbled together from half a dozen different kits. Perhaps inspired by an article in Playboy magazine the previous year (which featured colored drawings of several fictious WWII aircraft), it sported a beautiful Italian camouflage finish. My buddy, who had just returned from Nam, was taken with the rather impressive Monogram "Visible Huey" also on display.This was in '71. A modeling magazine I have from 1967, lists the address as 1501 N. Western Ave. This is in Hollywood between Sunset and Hollywood.

PT

Reply to
Giessenlad

Reginald Denny was a British actor with 46 years in Hollywood. Probably the best known part he played that members here would recall was the chap shot by Jane Fonda in "Cat Ballou" that brought her to being hung.

Cookie Sewell

Reply to
AMPSOne

I too, lived in Hollywood in the 1950's. My first model from them was in 1955. T that time they were located on Hollywood Blvd. and Taft Ave. It was owned by

2 or 3 brothers, one who's name was Vern. They sold it to 3 brothers, two of whom ran the shop. The third brother worked as a model builder for I believe Warner Bros. Studio. The studio that make Ice Station Zebra. Models of the MiG21's that were in the movie were hanging at the shop later. These brothers were Don, Jack and Bob. Around 1965(?) the store moved the the corner of Sunset Blvd. and Western Ave. in Hollywood, where it stayed until about 1972 when the property was sold for a strip mall. The store then moved to Hollywood Blvd. just west of Bronson Ave and started to go down hill. Some time around then Bob died, he was the youngest. Jack the middle brother was an alcoholic and was hospitized around the mid 70's died 1976(?). Don continued running the shop but sold it and died shortly afterwards. I heard that orginally the shop was on the south side oh Hollywood Blvd near VanNess or where the Hollywood Freeway became. Possibly they moved for the freeway. Who lived there in the 50's? Letme here from you. Gill Ivask
Reply to
GIvask

No. I moved away from CA. in '77 and heard in about 1980 that the shop had closed.

Thanks everyone for the interesting responses!

Reply to
RJK

Actually, I was thinking the same thing when I saw the name ;~).

"The world would be a much simpler place if every one could pick and choose their obligations, but we can't and we shouldn't." Major Charles W. Whittlesey

Reply to
Bill Woodier

Reply to
the Legend of LAX

IIRC, there was an actor by that name. I just can't remember what he looked like.

Bill Banaszak, MFE

Reply to
Bill Banaszak

wasn't Reginald Denny also the name of the truck driver that was beaten live on TV during the riots in LA many years back?

Reply to
P8ntGuns4Sale

and permanently messed up.

Reply to
e

Yeah, Cookie Sewell mentioned that. Reginald Denny was an actor before he opened up his Hollywood Boulevard hobby shop.

Reply to
RJK

actually, reginald denny was a british actor whose hobby was flying r/c aircraft and was asked by the US Army to build r/c aircraft for use as flying tagets in ww2. this gave him the start after the war for his hobby shop shop. his was one of the first non railroad hobby shops in the US. this is the story my sister told me when she visited his shop to buy me a model way back in the

1950's. the kit, by the way, was the Airfix 1/72 P51D which introduced me to the idea of "constant scale" the kit cost 40 cents.
Reply to
Jaznugent

Commodore Schmidlap from the 1966 Batman movie and the head of the railroad shot by Jane Fonda ( ! ) in Cat Ballou.

-John

Reply to
Pacific95

short but interesting bio of him at internet movie database too

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Reply to
Eyeball2002308

I In the 50s the shop was at Taft & Hollywood Blvd.

Reply to
A.

I went there in the mid to late late seventies. I bought some books on plank & frame modeling & also a kit. They were one of the few to stock sailing ship models. In fact, I still have his business card in my file. It says they take BankAmericard & Mastercharge. Their phone number was (no area code) H-O-B-B-I-E-S. Address listed as 5905 Hollywood (at Bronson).

Reply to
the Legend of LAX

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If you click the "now" link on the "denneyplane" page it seems to indicate that the shop was (once, at least) on the corner of Hollywood and Van Ness, but I'll take the word of folks that have actually been to the shop(s) - it is a Hollywood story, after all...

...but also having once been seriously into R/C models and as a CA transplant this was interesting history for me to learn of.

Reply to
Rufus

Looking at the top picture of the shop in this link, this is not the shop I remember. I recall it being a brick building.

Reply to
the Legend of LAX

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