Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/44039
RIGHT: Members of Post 43 Sons of the American Legion & the American Legion Auxillary. BELOW: The post's bar has been used for decades in many films and televi- sion shows includ- ing The Shining the pilot for Cheers. their efforts to help when war bond drives were held there. There was also something purely Hollywood tak- ing place during those years. From 1932 to 1964, the Legion was the "it" spot used by the motion picture industry to introduce their starlets to the world. Girls under contract to the major studios, but still unknown to Hollywood's movers and shakers, would have an op- portunity to be 'presented' to Hollywood's elite. "Those were the days when the studios ran every- thing," remarked Duddy, "and this was known as the 'Post to the Stars'". Some of the starlets introduced in the Legion ballroom include Marilyn Monroe, Lana Turner, Rosalind Russell, Rita Hayworth, Piper Lorrie, Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island and Linda Evans. "Paramount Studios, Columbia, Warner Broth- ers would send over usually two each year of their new starlets and these were people they had under contract but who were not stars yet, and so they were being in- troduced to Hollywood," said Duddy. "The girls would come to the post and they were made 'Honorary Colonels' of the American Legion. Past and current membership include Charlton Hes- ton, Mickey Rooney, Aldo Ray, Ernest Borgnine, Morgan Woodward, Clark Gable, Red Buttons, Gene Autry, 36 DISCOVER HOLLYWOOD / FALL 2011 Adolph Menjou, Hugh O'Brien, Rudy Vallee, and Ronald Reagan. "Sure, there's been a lot of glamour and star power here, " Duddy acknowledges. But he also wants people to understand the importance of the American Legion in the lives of veterans. "We are a family. Being shot at or in a war zone, or combat situation changes a person. ere is no other way to explain it." Duddy says the Legion offers a place and a group of people who can instantly under- stand and relate to one another. "We have an incredibly diverse membership here. Every war and conflict is repre-