Blue Skies Smiling at Me!

A vintage view of Blue Skies Trailer Village - Rancho Mirage, CA

Are you sick of our desert posts yet?  Neither am I.   If you are a stinker (among a small minority to be sure) and you are a little tired of all the wacky tacky bounty that the Southern California desert has to offer, trust me, we're almost done.  

Rocky the Rock Jockey says,
"Welcome to Blue Skies."

Part of our recent trip was a reconnaissance mission to Blue Skies Trailer Village in Rancho Mirage.  Blue Skies Trailer Village is a private mobile home park founded by Bing Crosby in the mid-1950's.  Original investors included many Hollywood stars including Phil Harris & Alice Faye, Jack Benny, and Claudette Colbert.  I guess none of these stars really lived at Blue Skies, but the history is there and the park is worth the visit. 

Phil and Bing making hot cakes for the opening day festivities.

Since it's November 5, 1955 opening, Blue Skies has lived a pretty uneventful life as a regular, old mobile home park with relatively-low security.  But you know we wouldn't bring you just a boring, old mobile home park.  There just has to be something wacky tacky!

Several years ago while visiting the desert, I was bound and determined to get into the impenetrable fortress known as Blue Skies.  I parked outside and walked up to the pedestrian gate and found that it was as easy as reaching through the gate, running my key between the gate and the post, depressing the latch, and letting my self in.  High on my MacGyver-level skills, I walked into the park earnestly searching for the secrets of Bing's old stomping grounds.

This time, the management, somehow alerted to our arrival, had installed protective, metal plates on both sides of the gate thus preventing our stealthy entry to the park.  Thank goodness for the kindness of landscapers who saw us trying to trespass and entered the gate code.  There is no shame in easy access.

Blue Skies was built around Starlight Circle and a spacious, central, putting green complete with water feature.  One of the highlights of the park is the street signs; every street is named after one of the original investors.  I am not sure of the exact changes the park has lived through over the years but currently there are fewer streets resulting in fewer star tributes than the park initially offered.

One change is glaringly obvious.  Blue Skies is home to ONE parking meter.
Originally, the meter was given pride of place on Jack Benny Rd. as a tribute to his miserly ways.
Benny took a cue from Monopoly and charged a fee for stopping on his street. 

Betty Bacall and George Burns & Gracie Allen grudgingly feeding Jack Benny's meter.

Many of the original spaces were filled by travel trailers.  Over the years, more traditional-style mobile homes planted roots.  It may seem weird, but I love mobile homes.  I attribute it in part to the fact that my paternal grandparents lived in a mobile home park for a short time and they made a beautiful home no matter where they lived.  To me, however, there is something especially old-timey and neighborly about parks like Blue Skies.  Here are a few of the mobile homes for which we developed a fondness.

Clearly, great minds think alike and Jane Wyman
had a fondness for mobile homes as well.

And now for the really good stuff!  Part of Blue Skies' unique charm is found in the themed homes that dot its landscape.  It is my understanding that there is a waiting list to get into the these homes.  As morbid as it seems, the "waiting list" in a 55+ park means waiting for the previous owner to move on to that great mobile home park in the sky.

The Egyptian Temple

When in Egypt...

The most impressive of all is the Asian-themed home.

Pan-Asian details abound and the perimeter is enclosed by a decorative, block wall.

It seems the details including the red, torii gate are mostly Japanese in influence.

A newer addition to the party is the Polynesian Palace

Palms, a thatched roof, and bamboo screens add to the south seas allure.

Sadly, the themed homes seem to be dwindling in number as new residents mainstream their airstreams.  Since my last visit, at least two of the once-themed homes have disappeared or have been stripped of their wacky tacky details.  I was a little steamed by this so we went to cool off at the pool.

Phil & Alice preserving life.

Bill Holden and friends enjoying
 the sunny, poolside weather.

As I mentioned before, the landscapers let us in but we were on our own to get out!
Blue Skies is a particularly-sleepy, little park and we couldn't even find a car to follow out.
Eventually, we found a hidden gate that was unlocked and made our not-so-subtle get away.

Coincidentally, the only blue skies we saw that day were directly above
Bing's Blue Skies.  I think he was looking down on us - disappointedly.

Listen to Der Bingle croon

Blue Skies (1946)

It may seem like just another senior citizen trailer park, but to wacky tacky, it is a piece of Hollywood history and we were happy walking in Bing's footsteps (minus the bag of oranges)!

Where's my two dollars?

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

wacky tacky Tunes: Getting Sentimental

My friend Beth over at V is for Vintage (who, with her husband, makes one of the best dancing teams this side of creation) posted a clip of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra with Frank Sinatra playing "Blue Skies."  This great song got me to thinking about Tommy Dorsey.  My grandma always had a radio in the kitchen and when it wasn't blasting talk radio it was humming with the mellifluous melodies of music makers from the swing/big band era.  From my earliest days I was hooked!  As a kid, one of my very first tapes was a compilation of Tommy Dorsey tunes.  I wore the cassette out by rewinding and playing "Snootie Little Cutie" over and over and over again.

There is something magical and transporting about the combination of The Pied Pipers' harmonies, the vocals of Frank (who has never really been one of my favorites), the charm of Connie Haines, the horn section and the silly slang lyrics.  I wish I still had that tape!  Known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing," Tommy Dorsey had a reputation as anything but sweet and sentimental.  Even playing a whitewashed version of himself in The Fabulous Dorsey Brothers you could see that he had a red-hot temper.  There are legendary stories of him being a stern task-master with his band members, even charging fines for misbehavior.  Despite - or maybe because of - his reputation, he had a great sound and made his trombone sing and swing!  Hearing that beautiful noise, I couldn't help but think of another magical Dorsey moment - this one from the 1943 film DuBarry was a Lady. 

DuBarry was a Lady (1943)

I have made mention of this film before in a previous blog post, but only in reference to the amazing high-Hollywood style.  The film stars Lucille Ball, Gene Kelly and Red Skelton.  The first time I saw this movie I was blown away at just how beautiful Lucy was.  I think the iconic, zany "Lucy" character made me forget that she was actually a stunning woman.  

Yowza!

Overall, the film is pretty lame.  In its adaptation from stage to screen, much of the Cole Porter music was cut and the the plot serves mostly as a vehicle for the slapstick antics of Skelton.  Again, it is worth watching for the fashion and for the amazing musical sequence toward the beginning of the film that begins with The Oxford Boys (performing a mostly a cappella impersonation of several famous bandleaders/bands) and culminates in The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra performing a medley of "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" and "Well, Git It!"

This footage is wacky tacky excellence!  Any time you can  make a realistic trumpet noise using just what God gave you (from the waist up), you are alright by me!  The impersonations are spot-on and the ability of the performers is incredible.  "Well, Git it?"

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny