Dante never did realize his dream of having a school of magic. It is regrettable that more films were not made of him or the show. But whoever saw him, and there were millions, will never forget him.
Pop enjoyed his retirement, his special rooms in the “barn” with the huge workshop and of course the bar with the walls covered in pictures.
When we moved to Northridge, Mom bought a car but it was some time before she learned to drive. And I think Pop was very nervous driving with her. He still had the Cadillac but we weren’t given many gas rationing coupons. It used most of them just going to the gas station! So the chauffeur left.
For the first time in her life, Mom was able to relax her strict dress code. She enjoyed wearing shorts around the ranch and she would go to the market wearing bobbie socks and a mink coat! And of course, always her diamonds!
Dolly came back to this country in 1945 with her three children Mary (9), Helen (6) and Bill (3). Harold joined her when he was discharged from the R.A.F. and they stayed at the ranch for awhile.
I know the grandchildren have some fond memories of being there. My son Jack remembers the animals the most. There were always dogs, a rhesus monkey, peacocks, chickens, two cows and at one time over four hundred rabbits. During the war Pop thought raising rabbits would be a good investment. It wasn’t.
Rabbit was the one meat that was not rationed. So in one of the big buildings, Pop built cages. Feeding and hosing off the cement floor was a big job. Another family project! They multiplied rapidly. When it came to killing them, Pop didn’t want anything to do with that. He hired a man but it wasn’t many months before he sold them all.
He bought a lot of property in California. He had at least ten houses. He rented them very cheaply believing that when rent was low the tenants would be willing to keep the houses in good repair. So he would get very upset when a tenant would call to ask for a new water heater or to have a roof repaired.
John and I had bought a four-unit apartment building in Hollywood, but after we adopted our son Jack we wanted a house with a yard and Mom talked Pop into renting us a small house in Sherman Oaks. At first he was very agreeable and even came over and put up a small fence on the side of the driveway.
Then he started drinking again. He would just walk in, usually with his brother Bill, who had recently gotten his realtor’s license. They would walk through the house discussing how much it would sell for. I went about whatever I was doing but I would catch Pop looking at me and I knew he was just trying to provoke me. He had no intention of selling the house.
I would always call Mom before I went to the ranch and avoided going when he was drinking. But in June 1955, on impulse I drove out there alone.
I met Pop in the house and he invited me out to the bar for a drink. He poured us each a soft drink and we had a very pleasant visit. I was six months pregnant with my first daughter, Jeanne. He showed concern and even asked about John. I am thankful we had that visit.