Peter the Hermit: The Original Hollywood Character
May 22nd, 2009 § 32 Comments
One of the great pleasures of making documentaries is interviewing someone who not only remembers great swaths of the past but is able to provide some perspective on them. Such a interviewee was Milt Entwistle, Peg’s brother, who at 90 vividly recalled his bucolic childhood in Beachwood Canyon as well as its Depression Era privations.
I had heard of Peter the Hermit, a Beachwood resident who during the 20′s and 30′s made his living impersonating a Biblical character on Hollywood Boulevard, where he posed for photographs with tourists. He was a legend. But Milt actually knew him and was able to report that Peter didn’t like kids. He also described the Hermit’s workday attire: long gray beard, staff and white robes, as well as his omnipresent collie dog. What this getup had to do with Hollywood is unclear, but to my mind proves Peter was the first to ply the tourist trade in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater.
Jack Sparrow, Hollywood & Highland. Photo by Hope Anderson Productions.
Last fall, while I was waiting at Hollywood and Highland for my son and his girlfriend to meet me at a screening, I struck up a conversation with the Jack Sparrow imitator, who can be seen stalking up and down the Boulevard seven days a week. After watching Jack give balloon animals to several kids whose mothers didn’t bother to tip, I felt compelled to give him some money. I also felt compelled to tell him about Peter the Hermit. ”He was the original guy in costume in front of the Chinese,” I said. Not surprisingly, Jack Sparrow hadn’t heard of his patron saint, though he listened politely to the story before asking me for a job.
The main reason Peter the Hermit didn’t make it into the documentary is that I couldn’t find a single photo of him, despite long searches on the Internet and through library collections. Even James Zeruk, Peg’s tireless researcher, couldn’t find one. A lack of photographic evidence is always a dealbreaker in documentaries, but in Peter’s case it was also hugely ironic. How could a man who posed with thousands of tourists leave behind not a single photo of himself? I imagined countless Midwestern attics hiding albums of long-ago trips to Hollywood, complete with photos of Peter, under blankets of dust. But it didn’t help me.
Then today, out of the blue, James sent me this:
peter the hermit
This photo of Peter (and two very well-dressed, unidentified men) comes from Jeanne Ringland. She found it in the collection of her grandfather, Fred Allen Edgeworth, who worked as a still photographer for D.W. Griffiths and Mack Sennett and lived in Hollywood during the 20′s and early 30′s.
It’s always a pleasure to find an undiscovered piece of Hollywood history. Thank you, Jeanne and James. And thank you, Milt, for telling me about Peter the Hermit.
I grew up in Hollywood, as did my father, who graduated from the first graduating class of hollywood high school (i graduated in 69). Anyway, i remember peter, and saw him often when i was a boy wandering the blvd. He spoke to me once, when i was entering an health food store, one of the first, on the blvd. He told me i was doing the right thing and smiled. He after that would always wave a hello to me. Funny, I handt thought of him in many years. Nice article.
Thanks for writing–I had no idea Peter was around so recently. I wonder when he passed away?
After doing some research after buying an old photograph at a car boot sale recently – I came across your blog- and I am sure that your Peter the Hermit is the same as mine. The frame is rather delapidated but the photo sound.
Could you please return an e mail address so I can contact you, if you are interested in the photo. It is by Bruno of Hollywood and hand signed on the back of the oak frame “Peter the Hermit” of “Hollywood” – California – : it really is a stunning black and white foto and the dog is a greyhound.
By the way I am in England, so it would interest me to know that how come a foto of Peter the Hermit made it’s way across the atlantic!!
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
Suzanne
How fascinating that this photograph turned up in England! I know from your description that the picture is of Peter the Hermit. Not only does the description match, but the Bruno of Hollywood imprint makes sense too. Bruno (not to be confused with Bruno Bernard, who was known as Bernard of Hollywood and was famous for his pictures of Marilyn Monroe) was a prolific local photographer. You can e-mail me at http://www.hopeandersonproductions.com
I grew up in the Hollywood Hills off of Cahuenga Blvd. I saw Peter many times either walking up Cahuenga toward the hills or down toward Hollywood Blvd. The time would have been 1950 – 1955. Iwas ten to sixteen years old.
He did like kids and would talk to us at any time. He was older than the photo you have, was somewhat stooped and used a cane. He was always dressed in white and wore sandals. No dog, but often had a donkey or burro.
Cahuenga Blvd is maybe a couple of miles from Beachwood Canyon. I never saw Peter walking anywhere but up and down Cahuenga, which would have hinted that he lived above the Hollywood Bowl or on the other side near the Hollywood Dam (now Lake Hollywood). I hiked those hills and often came on matted grass and where a fire had been built.
He often left us with a saying of some sort, I think to give us kids some insight to what was important in life. I can’t remember any of them, but I suspect they are still in my head somewhere.
How fascinating! Thanks for writing–and please let us know if you remember any of Peter’s sayings.
It might interest you to know that in 1921 Ralph Barton drew a caricature for Vanity Fair which depicts a number of Hollwood personalities, among which it appears, is Peter the Hermit. You can see it at the Wikipedia article on Barton–Peter is the first figure on the left.
Thanks for the tip–I’ll check it out.
I am an intern at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles and we actually do have some pictures of him in our archives. In fact, a few moments ago I was researching negatives of him to enter into our database, and I stumbled onto your blog. It would probably interest you to know that because he was such a local celebrity, he was actually one of the featured “stars” in a 1927 women’s personality pageant hosted in Hollywood.
Thanks for writing–I didn’t know the Natural History Museum had photo archives. I relied on the LA Public Library and USC collections for my documentary.
It is all so interesting as my father, George Morrison, painted 2 pastels portratis of Peter the Hermit when I was very small (around 1935). I have the larger one in my home. It is a fabulous portrait of Peter. The other hung in the Hollywood Men’s shop on Hollywood Blvd for years. It was of Peter standing on a hill with his Greyhound. I don’t know where that is. I wiash I did.
I spoke with him around 1960 at Hollywood & Highland near then Lee’s Drugs. He remembered sitting for the portraits and asked where they were. I told him. He passed away not long after.
Lila
Thanks so much for writing, Lila. I’d heard about the portrait in the Hollywood Men’s store from an interviewee. It would be fascinating to see the portrait you’ve kept–do you have a picture of it?
My Mother lived on Wunderland in Laurel Canyon in the 1920S and oftern played around the Hollywood sign, she told me of a “Hermit” that was a sometime actor that lived in a cave by the sign the kids would visit. from her description sounds like Peter. Ill show her some of these pics and ask her.
Yes, that was definitely Peter the Hermit. According to a newspaper interview, he moved to Laurel Canyon because construction on Hollywood Blvd. had made his life unbearable. Nevertheless, he returned to Hollywood after a year or two to pursue his livelihood.
Thanks for writing!
Talked to my Mother, That was the guy she said his name was Peter, she puts it at 1929 remembers a dog, and said he had a fig tree, which interested the kids.
In 1951 I was 6 years old and lived near Mullholland Dr. in the hills between Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley. Peter the Hermit was my friend. I used to hang out with him in his hard scrabble garden and corral where he kept his mule. He loved that mule and would give me rides on him as he walked him thru the hills. I always thought he was special and that I was too because Peter liked me and considered me his friend. I read that “he didn’t like kids”. From my experience I would say NOT TRUE!
Michael McDaniel
I recently found two bronze bookends of The Hermit at a local thrift store. The label on it says “Peter the Picturesque, Beloved Hermit of Hollywood”. They were produced by Novel-Arts of Hollywood, Copyright 1927. I would send pictures but I can’t figure out how to include them in this message. If you are interested, please reply back.
Thank you,
Jean
Hi, I too have recently found a bronze of the “Hermit” exactly as described in your 8/18/10 message except I doubt that mine is a bookend, not heavy enough but it depicts him as a smiling, bearded, casually dressed happy type person. It looks like a desk piece. I can send you a picture if you are interested. Thanks for the information, it was very interesting. Richard
Hi Richard,
sure, I would love to see a picture of your bronzed piece of THE HERMIT. My bookends are marked on the front bottom “THE HERMIT” and also have a paper label identifying him as the Hollywood Hermit along with the maker, etc. You can email me at jbower8849@aol.com.
Thank you,
Jean
In August of 1963, before returning to my final year of graduate school—in a last fling of summer and a final procrastination of my architectural thesis project—I bought a circle ticket for an extended bus tour, with stops to visit friends in El Paso, Tucson and Carlsbad Caverns, ultimately reaching Los Angeles. There I met up with Bonnie, a friend of my sister’s, who kindly acted as my chauffeur, guide and companion on my Southern California tours. She showed me the Riverside Inn—an historic hotel with its many picturesque architectural features added over the past century—the La Brea tar pits and the L. A. Zoo, among other marvels. On one sunny August day I decided to look up my great Uncle Peter Howard, my namesake and one of my grandmother’s twin brothers. Their other brother Jerry had long been deceased, but Peter, having chosen a nomadic, outdoor existence, had apparently benefited from a healthier life style.
A family legend, he had migrated from Chicago to California—a mecca for him to seek, if not fortune, a bit of fame, and the state’s noted tolerance of unconventional people. Characteristically, he was featured in the November 21, 1938 issue of Life magazine in an article entitled, “Cuckooland: Screwy California May be the Future Athens of America.” There in stark black and white, on a page headlined, “California’s Deep Desire for Population Filled the Land with Odd & Eccentric Folk,” stands Great Uncle Peter. He is shown bestriding a hillside pasture, braced by a rugged walking stick in his left hand and a trusty greyhound at his right, clad only in a dark, monkish robe and hiking boots, his white mane and beard flowing in the wind, looking mystically skyward,
beyond earthly concerns. The caption reads, “Peter the Hermit, formerly Peter Howard of Chicago, is one of the many hermits who live in wooden shacks in the hills around Hollywood. Peter likes to be close to nature. His only companions are a burro, a herd of goats and a dozen greyhounds.” I had briefed Bonnie on our eccentric family, and her eager anticipation matched mine, as we entered the city of Hollywood and began to look for Peter’s house…
If you would like the whole story, please send me an e-mail address. I appreciate seeing the studio photo from England. If I ever work up an act about my great Uncle Peter, I’ll need a proper model for the hair and beard. Thanks for your research.
Dear Peter Green,
You have no idea how many people I have told throughout my life that Peter the Hermit was my friend.
I would really like you to send me the “whole story”.
Thanks,
Michael
Michael, I’ve sent it to Hope Anderson, author of this blog, since she had a way to give me her e-mail address, and I’ll figure out how to release on the web soon.
Thanks for your continued interest. He was a character, all right. I feel lucky to have met him.
[...] Hope Anderson's blog on Peter the Hermit [...]
The “whole story” is now available at http://www.peterhgreen.com/blog. I hope you enjoy it! Peter
[...] blogged her first picture of Peter the Hermit in the spring of 2009, and this past weekend shared yet another relayed vintage snap (pictured) of one of [...]
As a boy growing up on Cahuenga Blvd a few blocks north of Hollywood Blvd, we saw Peter the Hermit many times. He often stopped by our house for a drink of water and to sing with us at an old pump organ my mother played. He was always dressed in his spotless white outfit that smelled of eucaliptus. We visited his home one day and met his pet donkey. I have a 8″ by 11″ black and white photo of him in good condition. I’d be happy to send it along to another admirer.
Please do! I’d love to post it, with your permission. Thank you for writing.
He had a powerful singing voice, and would dance around the floor demonstrating it. You can see my description of our meeting at the link with the “whole story” referenced above.
Please send me your mailing address so I can mail you my photo of Peter. Thanks.
i HAVE QUITE A FEW PICS OF PETER THE HERMET. They are from the 1930′s. In one he is riding a donkey,in several others he is posing with my aunt and some other children. They are from our family album.
I would love to see them. You can email me at hopeanderson09@gmail.com
It’s amazing that my Great Uncle Peter still lives on in the memory of so many. For my post about the time I traveled to Hollywood to meet him, see: http://peterhgreen.com/blog/?m=201011
Peter