Lights, Camera, Action
H
ALWAYS READY FOR HER CLOSE-UP, THE DEL HAS A
LEGENDARY HISTORY WITH CINEMA AND CELEBRITIES
otel del Coronado
has enjoyed a long
and extraordinary
relationship
with Hollywood.
lover’s daughter to gain access to the family’s The hotel was also instrumental in launching
fortune. This silent film beautifully showcased the careers of some television giants. Lucille
the hotel’s gardens and beaches. Ball and Desi Arnaz retreated to The Del in
Moviemakers like Even throughout the Great Depression,
Frank Capra, Daryl Hollywood seemed immune to the nation’s
Zanuck and Billy Wilder sought The financial setbacks and moneyed celebrities
Del’s spectacular location, while A-list continued to frequent The Del, often using
luminaries gravitated to the island it as a base for day trips into Mexico during
retreat as a getaway. Coronado’s Prohibition. Frequent guests included Charlie
cinematic roots began with Edison Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Al Jolson, Greta
Moving Picture Company filming short Garbo, Mae West, Rita Hayworth, Stan Laurel,
documentaries back in the 1890s. Anthony Quinn, Ginger Rogers and James
Maiden and Men is believed to be Stewart.
the movie musical Coronado (1935), starring
Johnny Downs, a young man who had grown
up in Coronado and appeared in Our Gang
comedies. In the story of a rich hotel kid
the first feature film shot at The Del
in 1910. Seeing an opportunity in
1915, Del owner John D. Spreckels
offered motion picture giant at the
time, Siegmund Lubin, an expansive
piece of property along San Diego
Bay in exchange for a $1 a year rental
fee to encourage the community’s
commercial development. Once
established, Lubin Studios produced
who falls in love with a Tent City chanteuse,
Downs tap-danced atop The Del’s famous
mahogany bar.
Station North Island became the setting
for many military-themed movies and drew
additional celebrities to The Del like Clark
Gable, Bette Davis, Gary Cooper, Kirk
Douglas, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Lana
Turner, and Robert Montgomery. After the war,
sightings included George Sander as well as
Humphrey Bogart and
Lauren Bacall; and
soon, Hollywood royalty such as Mary
in 1946, America’s
Pickford, Gloria Swanson and Anita
premier dance
Page were flocking here, with The
instructor, Arthur
Del often cast as a playground for the
Murray, established a
wealthy. In 1918, Rudolph Valentino
studio at The Del.
starred in The Married Virgin as a
dashing social climber who marries his
6
Hellcats of
the Navy
a renowned vaudeville performer, and
developed their Ricky and Lucy personas.
The Del was later featured
in an episode of The Lucy-
Desi Comedy Hour. Dinah
Shore, Donna Reed, Doris
Day, Dick Van Dyke. Carol
Burnett and Walt Disney
Coronado
Liberace, the undisputed
king of keys and candelabras, was
discovered playing piano at The Del in
1950. On that fateful night, the audience
was so small that the manager told him he
could cancel his performance. Liberace
luckily declined and in the audience
that night was a television producer who
While the war raged in Europe, Naval Air
more than 20 movies in Coronado and,
the direction of “Pepito the Spanish Clown,”
enjoyed the resort as well.
A high point in The Del’s filmography was
The Married Virgin
1950 to polish their comedy routine under
recognized Liberace’s ability to connect
with an audience and the rest, as they say,
is Hollywood history!
In 1957, Ronald Reagan filmed Hellcats of
the Navy at Naval Air Station North Island,
becoming a frequent visitor to The Del
during his years in Hollywood and later as
Governor of California and as President. He
even proposed to his wife Nancy at The Del.
And when the Coronado Bridge opened on
August 3, 1969, Governor Reagan officiated
the ceremony and was one of the first
passengers to drive over the bridge to a
luncheon in The Del’s Crown Room.