25 September 2026

A False Lead on Mrs. F. E. Woodbury

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While researching the story of Hal Roach’s first marriage , I encountered a story that appeared in many American newspapers in late 1915. ...
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24 September 2026

Separate Ways

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We know what happened to movie producer Hal Roach and movie star Harold Lloyd after 1916, but what about the other people who appeared in th...
23 September 2026

Interpreting the Story of Helen and Hal Roach’s Marriage

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What’s sort of story does the marriage of Helen and Hal Roach produce? As I traced Helen Grant Duncan Woodbury Roach’s life in Los Angeles...
22 September 2026

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

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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...
21 September 2026

“Owners of the Lodge Cafe and Hotel at Seal Beach”

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In October 1915, developers incorporated the northwestern corner of Orange County, California—an area previously known as Motuucheyngna, Ana...
20 September 2026

“She accused her companion of the theft”

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Yesterday I quoted two news stories from 29 Jan 1916 on Helen G. Roach’s complaint that a man had stolen her jewels. That day’s Los Angel...
19 September 2026

Divorcing, Dating, and Drugged?

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At the end of January 1915, the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Tribune reported that Bonnie Bounce, the pet of “Mrs. Hal Roach,” had wo...
18 September 2026

“We better stick at comedies and make good ones”

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The Pathé company, founded in 1896 as Société Pathé Frères, was a giant in early cinema. In the first decade of the twentieth century, it wa...
17 September 2026

The Fortunes of Dwight Whiting

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Helen G. Woodbury’s financial support helped Hal Roach to set up the Rolin Film Company, but it didn’t keep the new enterprise going. In 1...
16 September 2026

The Rolin Film Company Seed Money and When It Ran Out

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On 21 Oct 1914 the Los Angeles Times , Los Angeles Morning Tribune , and Los Angeles Evening Express all reported that a marriage license h...