Looking for Mabel Normand
Madcap Mabel Normand
(04)
THE CHURCH OF MABEL NORMAND The
Good Shepherd is open to visitors so feel free to step inside, if you
attend a weekly Mass even to this day you are likely to see famous
faces. It has had links to the Catholic Motion Pictures Guild and had
been part of the community for 80 years. Don't confuse the Church
of the Good Shepherd with the nearby All Saints church. Both churches
have tile roofs, but the Good Shepherd is the one on the west side of the cactus garden; it features two tall steeples and a statue out front of Christ holding a lamb.
The
Church of the Good Shepherd is at 505 N. Bedford Drive (Santa Monica
Blvd.) Beverly Hills. It was built in 1924, dedicated on February
1, 1925 and seats only 600.
It
is in fact the oldest church in Beverly Hills. It was a very new
building when Mabel Normand became a member, it was the local parish
for most of the movie stars living in Beverly Hills. The interior
is rather simple and modest. Through the years it was been the
sight of notable weddings and funerals and has even been seen in a
number of movies
Rudolph
Valentino's funeral (1926) was one of the largest one. Recently
on the PBS program Antique Road Show a card and handkerchief which were
from the Valentino funeral that had been Mabel Normand's was on the
show.
