A Post-Oscar Visit to the Max Factor Building

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A small group of members from the Beverly Hills Women’s Club today were treated to a private tour at the Historic Max Factor Building which is now the Hollywood Museum and is located steps away from where the Academy Awards Ceremony was held this past Sunday.?

Our personalized tour was led by Donelle Dadigan, who passionately purchased and restored this famous landmark to its original art deco?decor in 1996, and filled it with over 10,000 props, costumes, and memorabilia from famous Hollywood stars and films.

On the first floor of this magnificent building, we walked through one room called “Blondes Only” which was a blue room named for Marilyn Monroe. ?We learned that Marilyn was born with medium brown hair, and Max was the one in 1950 who created the original “platinum blonde” and named the room in her honor. In addition, there is a “Brunette’s Only” room with memorabilia from Judy Garland and where the makeup king was responsible for creating Jaclyn Smith’s look for the television series, Charlie’s Angels.

The “Red heads Only” room was painted in green and was named in honor of Lucille Ball who was a blonde until Factor decided she looked better as a lady in red. And there was a “Brownette’s Only” room where the make up king created Rita Hayworth.

We strolled through the second and third floors which were filled with costumes from famous films including Nicole Kidman’s attire from the film, Moulin Rouge and took a peek at Cary Grant’s Rolls Royce. We ended our tour in the basement where we viewed Hannibal Lecter’s jail cell and mask from the film, Silence of the Lambs.

The Hollywood Museum is truly a gift to this city and the visitors who come here for a taste of Hollywood. There is so much more behind these closed doors that are now open to the public.

The museum’s hours are 10:00 am-5:00 pm, Thursday through Sunday and the fourth floor is available for private parties.

Their site is www.TheHollywoodMuseum.com.

Julie Spira is the Digital Matchmaker® and America's Top Online Dating Expert. She's an award-winning certified dating coach who's been helping singles find their perfect match for over three decades. Follow @JulieSpira on IG and @digitalmatchmaker on TikTok.