Happy Birthday

Jimmy Bangley!

Jimmy Bangley in front of the grave of his idol, Bette Davis 

AMERICAN ACTOR, WRITER & FILM HISTORIAN

BORN: July 11, 1956, Suffolk, Virginia

DIED: December 8, 2004, West Hollywood, California

My friend Jimmy Bangley would be 52 years-old today. Jimmy left us more than three years ago — much too early — and he is still missed. To celebrate here are some snap shots (Jimmy was never without a disposable camera) of Jimmy with a few of his celebrity friends who also cared about him.

 With Academy Award nominated actress, Sally Kirkland

 With Academy Award nominated actress, Linda Blair and friend

 With comedian Rip Taylor

 With actress Marsha Hunt who is holding an article that Jimmy

wrote on her for Classic Images

 With actor, Esai Morales and friends

 With silent-film actress, Anita Page

 _______________________________________

Here are some additional photos from the Jimmy Bangley Memorial on

Sunday, March 30, 2008

(The above photos are courtesy of Max Hoffmann and Rock Armstrong)  

Jimmy’s Hollywood Forever Lifestory Tribute Video

A Tribute to Jimmy Bangley

 Jimmy Bangley (1956-2004) 

On December 8, 2004, our friend Jimmy Bangley sadly passed away from our lives. He was returned to his family in Suffolk, Virginia to be interred next to his beloved grandmother. The memorial service the following January was a standing-room-only event. Since then, his friends have made donations to purchase a cenotaph niche at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. A place where we can visit and remember. Yesterday, that dream came true when more than 30 friends gathered at the cemetery’s Cathedral Mausoleum to unveil the decorated niche to his memory.

For those who did not know him, Jimmy Bangley was an accomplished actor, writer and film historian. He appeared in numerous plays both here in Los Angeles and his hometown in Virginia. His film credits included roles in the films Rollercoaster (1977), Lost in the Pershing Point Hotel (2000) and the Faye Dunaway short film, The Yellow Bird (2001).  He also appeared in more than 200 television programs representing Hollywood memorabilia and film costumes since the early 1990s. Although his first love was acting, he was also a successful writer. He wrote numerous articles for Collecting magazine, Classic Images and Films of the Golden Age.

Over the years Jimmy waited tables, performed stand-up comedy and sold celebrity memorabilia. For a while he worked at the Writers Guild and spoke at the yearly Rudolph Valentino Memorial at Hollywood Forever. He was also working on a biography of the “Too beautiful” silent screen siren, Barbara La Marr, with his close friend Margaret Burk. Jimmy was multi-faceted and had his hands in many pies during his brief life.

For more about Jimmy, please click on CONTINUE READING…

Continue Reading »

Recently, I went with my friend Michael to get his first tattoo at 264 Customs, a tattoo shop on Melrose Avenue. The tattoo artist, Duke Gonzales, etched the image of Michael’s favorite comic book character, Ironman, on his upper left arm. The entire process, though very interesting and very painful for Michael, took three hours to complete. Here are some photos from that day and of the tattoos progression.

264 Customs is at 7303 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood

(323) 935-2494