Do You Believe in Ghosts?

I am a HUGE Montgomery Clift fan.  I have been a fan since I was 13 years old.  When I was a teenager, my sister and her boyfriend would drive me to Hollywood once a month so I could splurge all my savings on Monty Clift memorabilia.  I have quite an extensive collection.  Realizing I may impress upon you even more.. my utter weirdness, let me tell you how big of a fan I am....I started writing in a journal when I was 13, and my journal is written to "Monty".  Additionally, I went to New York and I visited his brownstone and the street he lived on.  I tried to visit his grave, but it is in a private cemetery in Brooklyn.  I have read every bio on him.  Why am I so into Monty Clift?  I am quite abnormal.  I have always been off centered---too passionate, too sensitive, too deep, and a little f-uped. When I was younger, I was insecure and ashamed about who I was, but I identified with Monty Clift, and because of that, Monty Clift, in an indirect way, gave me confidence in who I am and made me love all that is different about me.  I have no desire to be normal.  I love who I am.

Edward Montgomery Clift (October 17, 1920 - July 23, 1966)

When Monty was filming From Here Eternity, he spent three months living in the famous Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard in Room 928. (The Roosevelt Hotel was also the site of the very first Oscars.)  Monty would practice playing the bugle and recite his lines in the hallway in preparation for his role as Private Prewitt.  The room is now rumored to be haunted by his spirit.  Guests have complained about coffee pots being turned on; strange noises, being touched and brushed against, and ghostly apparitions. Additionally, maids have also uttered the same complaint.  Room 928 is probably the most famous room in the entire hotel.  I have wanted to stay in this room since I was a teenager, and almost 30 years later, the dream is finally realized.

I ran the 2nd Annual Hollywood Half Marathon, and because the race began at the insane hour of 6 a.m., Lance and I had to stay overnight, and moreover, because the start line was literally in front of the Roosevelt Hotel, I made reservations with the specific request for Room 928.  The management must have thought I was a little cuckoo because they received multiple calls from me to confirm I was booked in Room 928.  In fact, when we checked in, the front desk lady had a smile on her face.  She must have been forewarned of the nut job who kept calling to confirm she was booked in Room 928.  Every Roosevelt Hotel staff member knows of Room 928. In fact, I asked a maid who was in the hallway of the 9th floor if she had experienced any strange haunting.  With her limited English, she told me no, but that her friend had seen the ghost of Monty Clift.  Lance and I toured the hotel and when we told the staff that we were staying in Room 928, they all knew of that room.

I took this photo from Hollywood High School when I was walking from the half marathon finish line to the hotel.  You can see Room 928.  The hotel is 12 stories, and Room 928 is next to the stairwell on the left side)

I had mixed feelings.  I was excited, but I was also scared.  I was not afraid of Monty, but what scared me was the fact that it may have been another spirit?  Why would Monty haunt the Roosevelt?  If he was going to haunt any place, wouldn't it be his brownstone in New York? Why Hollywood? He hated Hollywood. He didn't die there and he only spent three months there so why would he haunt it?

The decor of the Roosevelt is very dark and masculine. It looks like a cigar room. The hallways are incredibly creepy.  The walls and the ceilings are painted a very, very dark brown color, and the lights are so dim.  I was very scared walking in the hallway.  Room 928 is a corner room with a great view of Hollywood and downtown L.A.  There is also a great view of Hollywood High School where a baseball game was being played on Friday night. (Monty use to run the track every morning at Hollywood High.)  We checked in the hotel.  The room was notably insignificant.

Hollywood High School Track and Baseball Fields View from Room 928

This trip was also our anniversary present to each other.  Lance and I prefer not to exchange gifts, but instead plan some getaway as a gift to celebrate our marriage.  We walked a half mile to the famous Musso and Frank Grill which has been in Hollywood since 1919.  Every famous actor/writer has eaten here (Chaplin, Fairbanks, Pickford, Barrymore, Valentino, Garbo, Cooper, Gable, Hemingway, Faulkner, Huxley, Monroe, Dimaggio, Flynn).  Lance and I love history, and it was really cool to be in a restaurant that has been around since 1919. 

While sitting there, guess who was seated in the next booth to us? Yes, the lead singer of the 1980s band Duran Duran.  We were seated next to Simon Lebon.  I would not have recognized him because he had a beard, but his companion introduced him to the restaurant manager as Simon Lebon.  I then heard him speak with his English accent, and then a few others came up to introduce themselves.  I was never a big Duran Duran fan, but it was actually kind of cool to be seated 2 feet away from Simon Lebon.


Dinner at Musso Frank Grill (Est. 1919)

 We returned to Room 928, and I had the worst night ever.  Frankly, nothing extraordinary happened.  However, I was extremely scared. My imagination got the best of me. I built a pillow fortress to my right side and slept suffocatingly close to Lance.  I also made him keep a dim light on all night.  I was so hot and sweaty, but I could not expose myself so I buried myself with the blanket as if it was some shield of protection.  I would drift into a light slumber and then wake up, each time glancing at the clock.  I was counting the hours to daylight.  I never in my life was so eager for morning.  I even made Lance get up in the middle of the night to walk with me and stay with me while I used the bathroom.  When it was time to get up for the half marathon, I could not have been happier.  (Lance doesn't believe it is haunted, but he had his pants, shoes, and shirt right next to him on the spare bed so that he could quickly grab it and bolt out of there if something strange happened at night.  He was prepared just in case.)

nothing spectacular about the room (except for sleepy Raul next to me)

I ran the Hollywood Half Marathon in 2:15--It was not a particularly beautiful course; there were hills.  What I love about this race though is the medal.  It is one of my favorite medals.  Lance did the 10K. We had our good friends, Jorge and Raul Duran, meet us in the morning at the hotel. They joined us in the race.

We spent the late morning after the race, touring the famous Mann's Chinese Theater.  Wow! It is exceptionally extravagant and breathtaking inside...so full of opulence.  I have never seen a more beautiful theater.  The silk curtain cost half a million dollar.  Our tour guide advised us there is an average of 50 premieres held there annually. The theater opened in 1926 and much of the infrastructure is still original.  Celebrities sit in rows S and T so he showed us where Angelina and Brad sat.  Lance had to rub his ass in the seat Angelina sat in once upon a time.

At the premier of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Marilyn immortalized her hand prints in front of Mann's.  She also put one of her earrings into the cement.  Many have tried to remove it.  You can see the earring marking the "i" in her name.

lobby of Mann's

This Chinese lady has been in the theater since he opened so she is almost 100 years old.  Many have rubbed her shoulder for good luck.

Women's bathroom in the Mann's Theater. I am seated in the spot where Marilyn Monroe is rumored to have sat many times.

It was truly a great weekend.  I love touring Mann's Chinese theater.  The photos do not do it justice because it does not capture the absolute luxuriousness of the theater. In regards to Room 928, I will not stay in Room 928 again.  In fact, if someone offered me $10,000 to stay overnight by myself, I would quickly decline.  Don't get me wrong.  I am happy we did stay, but the room and the hallways kind of give me the creeps.  I dont really believe its haunted, but I am not going to discredit those stories either.  If it is haunted, it can't be Monty's spirt.  I can cross this off my bucket list.  I stayed in Room 928.  I got to experience it once, and frankly, for me, that is enough.