“The estate of Mrs. Helen G. Roach, deceased”

The 9 May 1916 Los Angeles Examiner had a section on page 5 headed “The Death Roll.” The last entry was:

Helen G. Roach … 50 y. … Pneumonia … May 4

California’s death certificate added that Dr. William R. Jacobs had attended Helen Roach from 16 April until she died of bronchial pneumonia. Her profession was listed as “Housewife.” Her husband was “Harry Roach.”

Evidently Helen Roach left no will because Hal Roach became the administrator, not executor, of her estate. Since she had no children, he was probably also her sole heir. That meant that once he sorted out her investments and debts, everything left would go to him.

In July, the Orange County Register reported that Roach had brought “an amicable lawsuit to determine ownership” of the Lodge Café at Seal Beach, saying his late wife had “invested $14,500” in the enterprise before she died.

Within a couple of months, pianist Jimmie Blyler was no longer being described as one of the Lodge’s proprietors. He started to perform at other clubs instead. Dave Combs’s partner was now Hal Roach.

Another lawsuit in this period involved a Lodge Café cook named Max Benkert who drove “an automobile…used by Dave Combs in the business” into a buggy, injuring three women. One of those victims sued both Benkert and the restaurant, winning $5,700 in September 1916. That December, Roach filed an appeal on behalf of his late wife’s estate.

In November, a Seal Beach proprietor sued Combs and Roach as owners of the Lodge Café, demanding $600 in back rent under a September agreement. The proprietors either paid up or prevailed since they continued to be listed as owners.

If Roach and Combs saw themselves as partners, however, that broke down by 16 July 1917 when the Orange County Register reported:

Dave Combs, manager of the Lodge Cafe at Seal Beach, was arrested last night on a charge of embezzling $343.43 from the estate of Mrs. Helen G. Roach, deceased. Combs has been a prominent figure at Seal Beach since its incorporation. Mrs. Roach, who lived in Los Angeles, was one of the incorporators of the Lodge Cafe. Since her death her estate has been in charge of Harry E. Roach, administrator.

The complaint against Combs was sworn to by L. T. Mayhew, a Los Angeles man, who is manager of the National Board of Credit. Mayhew stated this morning that another complaint would be sworn to charging Combs with disturbing the peace. Combs’ preliminary examination was set for 2 p.m., July 24.

Combs paid bail of $1,000 with one of his sureties being “J. H. Blagge, recalled mayor of Seal Beach.” But his name stopped appearing in connection with the Lodge Café.

Roach must have sold off the restaurant in the next few months because in April 1918 the Lodge reopened as the Seal Café, “Remodeled, Refurnished, and Under New Management.” (By the end of that year its new owners were enjoined for running a place of “ill repute.”)

Meanwhile, on 29 September 1916, or less than five months after his first wife died, Hal Roach married Marguerite O. Nichols (shown above). She was a 25-year-old movie actress, though the paperwork described her as 21 and she maintained an 1896 birth date to her death. Later press reports said Hal had directed Marguerite in some movies, but all her surviving credits are with other studios.

In February 1917 the couple visited Hal’s home town of Elmira. They would have two children in the next few years.

As of late 1917, the Roaches were living at 1624 Van Ness Avenue, the house that Helen G. Woodbury had commissioned for herself when she moved to Los Angeles.

That November, the probate court appointed a referee to take testimony “relative to an accounting filed by the administrator of the [Helen G. Roach] estate”—i.e., by Hal Roach. The Los Angeles Times commented, “The heirs and certain creditors of the $150,000 estate, it seems, cannot agree.” Presumably the referee settled the matter.

Despite starting divorce proceedings, Helen G. Roach had left her young husband assets equivalent to almost $4 million today. In March 1917 Hal Roach and Dwight Whiting each bought fourteen more shares of the Rolin Film Company, putting more capital into producing more movies.

From late 1916 into 1917, the Rolin Picture Company increased its production beyond Lonesome Luke one-reelers. It took a flyer on Harold Lloyd’s idea for a character who wore glasses instead of a funny mustache. It tried a new series starring Dee “Skinny” Lampton. It offered a costly contract to the clown Toto. It moved back into the Bradbury Building. That spending was almost certainly enabled by Helen G. Roach’s estate.

TOMORROW: Making sense of this tale.