Hollywood Professional School
Encyclopedia
Hollywood Professional School (also known as Hollywood Conservatory of Music and Arts) was a private school
in Hollywood, California
, United States
, for children working in show business
, operating mornings only so that the children could work in the afternoon. It operated from 1935 and closed down in 1984 due to insufficient enrollment and the death of the owner that same year.
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
in Hollywood, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, for children working in show business
Show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side to the creative element ....
, operating mornings only so that the children could work in the afternoon. It operated from 1935 and closed down in 1984 due to insufficient enrollment and the death of the owner that same year.
Notable alumni
- Beverly AadlandBeverly AadlandBeverly Elaine Aadland was an American film actress.She appeared in films including South Pacific. As a teenager, she co-starred Errol Flynn's Cuban Rebel Girls and had been considered for the role of Lolita, opposite Flynn in a planned production of Lolita, although it was James Mason who was...
, actress - Donna AtwoodDonna AtwoodDonna Atwood was an American figure skater. She competed in pair skating and won the gold medal at the 1941 United States Figure Skating Championships with partner Eugene Turner. In 1949, she married John H. Harris, the first owner of the Ice Capades, with whom she had two children...
, figure skater - Sharon BairdSharon BairdSharon Baird is an American actress and dancer who is best known for having been a Mouseketeer.-Early life:Sharon Baird was born in Seattle, Washington to Eldon Baird, an aerospace worker, and Nikki Marcus, a future talent agent. She has one younger brother, Jimmy Baird, also a former child actor...
, actress, dancer - Elaine Ballace, actress, professional
ice skater, coach - Sara Ballantine, actress
- Todd Baron, actor, writer
- John Drew BarrymoreJohn Drew BarrymoreJohn Drew Barrymore was a member of the Barrymore family of actors, which included his father, John Barrymore, and his father's siblings, Lionel and Ethel...
, actor - Valerie BertinelliValerie BertinelliValerie Anne Bertinelli is an American actress, best known for her roles as Barbara Cooper Royer on the television series One Day at a Time , Gloria on the television series Touched by an Angel and Melanie Moretti on the sitcom Hot in Cleveland .- Early years :Bertinelli was born in Wilmington,...
, actress - Linda BlairLinda BlairLinda Denise Blair is an American actress. Blair is best known for her role as the possessed child, Regan, in the 1973 film The Exorcist, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and two Golden Globes, winning one. She reprised her role in 1977's Exorcist II: The Heretic.-Biography:Blair...
, actress - Jimmy BoydJimmy BoydJimmy Boyd was an American singer, musician, and actor. He was best known for his recording of the novelty song "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus".-Early years:...
, actor, singer - Todd BridgesTodd BridgesTodd Anthony Bridges is an American actor. He is best known for his childhood role as Willis Jackson on the NBC/ABC sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, and for his recurring role as Monk on the UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris...
, actor - Lonnie BurrLonnie BurrLonnie Burr was born on May 31, 1943, in Dayton, Kentucky. He is an American actor, dancer/choreographer, singer, director and author of Danish, French, Scots-Irish and German descent, best known for having been a star on the original Mickey Mouse Club television show from 1955 to 1959...
, actor, dancer - Tony ButalaTony ButalaTony Butala is an American singer. He has been the lead singer for the vocal group The Lettermen since 1958, and is the only original member left.-Early Life:...
, singer (member of The LettermenThe LettermenThe Lettermen are an American male pop music vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959...
) - Tim Cagney, actor, writer
- Jodie Carn, dancer, actress, talk-show host
- Jo Ann CastleJo Ann CastleJo Ann Castle is a noted ragtime pianist. She adopted the stage name "Castle" from a type of accordion, another instrument she played with great proficiency...
, pianist - Lauren ChapinLauren ChapinLauren Chapin, born May 23, 1945 in Los Angeles, California, is an American former child actress, most remembered for her role as the youngest child "Kathy Anderson" in the television show Father Knows Best, which was produced between 1954 and 1960. Chapin was awarded five Jr. Emmy's for Best...
, actress - Tommy ColeTommy ColeTommy Cole is an American make-up artist, a former actor and singer who is still best known for having been a Mouseketeer.-Early life:...
, actor, makeup artist - The Collins KidsThe Collins KidsThe Collins Kids are an American rockabilly duo featuring siblings Lawrencine "Lorrie" Collins and her younger brother Lawrence "Larry" Collins . Their hits in the 1950s as youngsters, such as "Hop, Skip and Jump", "Beetle Bug Bop" and "Hoy Hoy", were geared towards children, but their infectious...
, singing group - The CowsillsThe CowsillsThe Cowsills are an American singing group from Newport, Rhode Island. They specialized in harmonies and the ability to sing and play music at an early age. The band was formed in the spring of 1965 by brothers Bill, Bob, and Barry, then shortly thereafter added John...
, singing group - Quinn CummingsQuinn CummingsQuinn Cummings is an American inventor, businesswoman, television and film actress, and author best known for her Oscar-nominated role in Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl and her humorous memoir "Notes From The Underwire" She is currently working on a second book, "The Year of Learning Dangerously",...
, actress
- Joan DavisJoan DavisJoan Davis was an American comedic actress whose career spanned vaudeville, film, radio and television. Remembered best for the 1950s television comedy, I Married Joan, Davis had a successful earlier career as a B-movie actress and a leading star of 1940s radio comedy.Born as Madonna Josephine...
, actress, comedienne - Gloria DeHavenGloria DeHavenGloria Mildred DeHaven is an American actress and a former contract star for MGM.-Early life and career:DeHaven was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of actor-director Carter DeHaven and actress Flora Parker DeHaven, both former vaudeville performers.She began her career as a child...
, actress - Bobby DriscollBobby DriscollRobert Cletus "Bobby" Driscoll was an American child actor known for a large body of cinema and TV performances from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of The Walt Disney Company's most popular live-action pictures of that period, such as Song of the South , So Dear to My Heart , and Treasure Island...
, actor - Petra Eymert, singer, dancer
- Peggy FlemingPeggy FlemingPeggy Gail Fleming is an American figure skater. She is the 1968 Olympic Champion in Ladies' singles and a three-time World Champion...
, OlympicOlympic GamesThe Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
gold-medal-
winning figure skater, television
sports commentator - Annette FunicelloAnnette FunicelloAnnette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to appear in a series of beach party films.-Early life and early stardom:...
, actress - Judy GarlandJudy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, singer, actress - Leif GarrettLeif GarrettLeif Garrett is an American singer and actor. He became famous in the late 1970s as a teen idol, but received much publicity in later life for his drug abuse and legal troubles.-Early life:...
, actor - John GaryJohn GaryJohn Gary was an American singer and a technically accomplished vocalist.-Early life:John Gary Strader started singing at the age of 5. He joined his older sister, Shirley Strader. At the age of 9, he won a 3-year scholarship to the prestigious Cathedral School of St John in Manhattan. He...
, singer - Mitzi GaynorMitzi Gaynor-Life and career:Gaynor was born as Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber in Chicago, Illinois to Pauline Fisher, a dancer, and Henry von Gerber, a violinist, cellist, and music director. The family first moved to Detroit and when she was eleven to Hollywood, California.She trained as a ballerina...
, actress, dancer - Wally GeorgeWally GeorgeWally George, born George Walter Pearch , was an American conservative radio and television commentator...
, talk-show host - Barry GordonBarry GordonBarry Gordon is an American film, television and voice actor and political talk show host and producer. He was the longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild, having served from 1988 to 1995.-Biography:...
, actor, former Screen
Actors GuildScreen Actors GuildThe Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
President - Betty GrableBetty GrableElizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
, actress - Gigi GracietteGigi GracietteGigi Graciette is a television and radio personality in the United States and Mexico. She is a news reporter for FOX 11 News and MY 13 News in Los Angeles and the host of Ella Es….Gigi Graciette a syndicated radio show on the Radiovisa Network.Graciette was born and raised in California...
, television journalist,
radio personality - Bobby Granite, actor, producer
- Billy GrayBilly Gray (actor)William Thomas "Billy" Gray , is a former American actor known primarily for his role as James "Bud" Anderson, Jr., in 193 episodes of the NBC and CBS situation comedy, Father Knows Best, which aired between 1954 and 1960. Gray's fellow cast members were Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue,...
, actor - Melanie GriffithMelanie GriffithMelanie Richards Griffith is an American actress. She is an Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner for her performance in the 1988 film Working Girl...
, actress - Jana Howard, actress
- Sherry JacksonSherry JacksonSherry Jackson is an American actress and former child star. She made her film debut at seven years old in the musical You're My Everything, starring Anne Baxter and Dan Dailey. During the course of appearing in several of the Ma and Pa Kettle movies during the 1950s as Susie Kettle, one of the...
, actress - Larry KertLarry KertLarry Kert was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He is best known for creating the role of Tony in the original Broadway version of West Side Story.-Early life:...
, actor, singer - Lance KerwinLance KerwinLance Kerwin is an American actor, perhaps best remembered for his starring role in the TV series James at 15. Since the mid-1990s, however, Kerwin has not acted, instead focusing on his Christian religious beliefs, having become a pastor...
, actor - Bill Kickbush, lighting designer, dancer
- Val KilmerVal KilmerVal Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
, actor - Tommy KirkTommy KirkThomas Lee "Tommy" Kirk is a former American actor, and later a businessman.-Disney years:Kirk was discovered by talent agents at the age of thirteen in a production of Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California...
, actor - Christopher Knight, actor
- Marta KristenMarta KristenMarta Kristen is an American actress.The naturally blonde-haired Kristen is best-known for her role as Guy Williams's and June Lockhart's beautiful daughter, Judy Robinson, in the television series Lost in Space...
, actress - Piper LauriePiper LauriePiper Laurie is an American actress of stage and screen known for her roles in the television series Twin Peaks and the films The Hustler, Carrie, and Children of a Lesser God, all of which brought her Academy Award nominations...
, actress - Brenda LeeBrenda LeeBrenda Mae Tarpley , known as Brenda Lee, is an American performer who sang rockabilly, pop and country music, and had 37 US chart hits during the 1960s, a number surpassed only by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Ray Charles and Connie Francis...
, singer - Peggy LiptonPeggy LiptonPeggy Lipton is an American television actress. She played "Julie Barnes" in The Mod Squad, and Norma Jennings in Twin Peaks.- Personal life and background :...
, actress - Julie LondonJulie LondonJulie London was an American singer and actress. She was best known for her smoky, sensual voice. London was at her singing career's peak in the 1950s. Her acting career lasted more than 35 years...
, actress, singer - Mike LookinlandMike LookinlandMichael Paul "Mike" Lookinland is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the youngest brother Bobby Brady on The Brady Bunch from 1969 until 1974.-Early life:...
, actor - Donna LorenDonna LorenDonna Loren is a singer and actress. A very prolific performer in the 1960s, commenciong while still attending Venice High School in western Los Angeles, she was the Dr Pepper spokesperson from 1963–1968, prolific vocalist on ABC-TV’s Shindig, and a cast member of the American International...
, actress, singer - Dawn LynDawn LynDawn Lyn is an American actress best known for her role as Dodie Douglas during the last three seasons of the long-running CBS family comedy My Three Sons.-Career:...
, actress - Sue LyonSue Lyon- Lolita :Sue Lyon was 14 years old when she was cast in the role of Dolores "Lolita" Haze, the sexually charged adolescent and the object of an older man's obsessions in Stanley Kubrick's 1962 film, Lolita. She was chosen for the role partly because her curvy figure suggested an older adolescent...
, actress - Maureen McCormickMaureen McCormickMaureen Denise McCormick is an American actress, celebrity and recording artist. She is most widely known as a child actress who played Marcia Brady in the television series The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974.- Early life and career :...
, actress - Patty McCormackPatty McCormackPatty McCormack is an American actress with a career in theater, films and television.She achieved success as a child actress, and received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Bad Seed...
, actress - Ann MillerAnn MillerJohnnie Lucille Collier, better known as Ann Miller was an American singer, dancer and actress.-Early life:...
, actress, dancer - Yvette MimieuxYvette MimieuxYvette Carmen Mimieux is a retired American movie and television actress.-Early life and career:Yvette Mimieux was born in Los Angeles, California, to a French father and Mexican mother, Carmen Montemayor...
, actress - Donald O'ConnorDonald O'ConnorDonald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor was an American dancer, singer, and actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred alternately with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule...
, actor, dancer - Sammy Ogg, actor
- Susan OlsenSusan OlsenSusan Marie Olsen is a former American child television actress and current animal welfare advocate. Olsen is best known for her role as Mike and Carol Brady's youngest daughter, Cindy Brady, on the 1970s television sitcom The Brady Bunch for the full run of the show, from 1969-1974.-Early...
, actress - Ryan O'NealRyan O'NealCharles Patrick Ryan O'Neal , better known as Ryan O'Neal, is an American actor best known for his appearances in the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place and for his roles in such films as Paper Moon , Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon , A Bridge Too Far , and Love Story , for which he received...
, actor
- Tatum O'NealTatum O'NealTatum Beatrice O'Neal is an American actress best known for her film work as a child actress in the 1970s. She is the youngest to win a competitive Academy Award, at the age of 10, which she won for her performance as Addie Loggins in Paper Moon opposite her father Ryan O'Neal...
, actress - Annette O'TooleAnnette O'TooleAnnette O'Toole is an American actress, dancer, and singer-songwriter. She is most recently known for portraying Martha Kent, the mother of Clark Kent on the television series Smallville.-Early life and career:...
, actress - Warrene Ott, actress
- Debra PagetDebra PagetDebra Paget is an American actress and entertainer who rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s in a variety of feature films including Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments and Love Me Tender, the film début of Elvis Presley.-Early life and career:Paget was born in Denver, Colorado...
, actress - Butch PatrickButch PatrickButch Patrick is a former American child actor. He is widely known for his role on the TV show The Munsters where he played Eddie Munster, the son of Herman and Lily Munster...
, actor - Melody PattersonMelody PattersonMelody Patterson is an American actress best known for her role as Wrangler Jane in the 1960s TV series F Troop...
, actress - Mackenzie PhillipsMackenzie PhillipsMackenzie Phillips is an American actress and singer best known for her roles in American Graffiti and as rebellious teenager Julie Cooper Horvath on the sitcom One Day at a Time...
, actress - Tommy RallTommy RallThomas Edward "Tommy" Rall is an American ballet dancer, tap dancer and acrobatic dancer who was a prominent featured player in 1950s musical comedies...
, dancer - Milissa Robinson, Actress, singer
- Angel RomeroÁngel RomeroÁngel Romero is a Spanish classical guitarist, conductor and former member of the guitar quartet Los Romeros. He is the youngest son of Celedonio Romero, who in 1957 left Franco's Spain for the United States with his family....
, guitarist - Mickey RooneyMickey RooneyMickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
, actor - Peggy RyanPeggy RyanMargaret O'Rene "Peggy" Ryan was an American dancer, best known for starring in a series of movie musicals at Universal Pictures with Donald O'Connor and Gloria Jean....
, actress, dancer - Jill St. JohnJill St. JohnJill St. John is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Tiffany Case, the lead Bond girl in Diamonds Are Forever.-Early life:...
, actress - Roy Steiner, actor, dancer
- Connie StevensConnie StevensConnie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:...
, actress - Steve Stevens, agent, actor
- Doreen Tracey, actress, singer
- Tuesday WeldTuesday WeldTuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
, actress - Andy WilliamsAndy WilliamsHoward Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
, singer - David WilliamsDavid Williams-Musicians:* David Williams , Aboriginal musician and artist* David Williams , Welsh bassist* David Williams , Welsh guitarist and bassist in Son of Dork...
, singer - Carl WilsonCarl WilsonCarl Dean Wilson was an American rock and roll singer and guitarist, best known as a founding member, lead guitarist and sometime lead vocalist of The Beach Boys...
, singer, guitarist
(member of The Beach BoysThe Beach BoysThe Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
) - Lana WoodLana WoodLana Wood is an American actress and producer. She was born to Russian émigré parents, Nikolai and Maria Zakharenko, and is the younger sister of the late actress Natalie Wood. Her first major role was at age 9 in the John Wayne western The Searchers. She was a regular on the soap opera Peyton Place...
, actress - Natalie WoodNatalie WoodNatalie Wood, born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko was an American film and television actress. After first working in films as a child, Wood became a successful Hollywood star as a young adult, receiving three Academy Award nominations before she was 25 years old.Wood began acting in movies at the...
, actress