My husband Will Zeilinger and I co-write the Skylar Drake Murder Mysteries. A hardboiled detective series that takes the reader to 1950s Los Angeles and other areas of the west. Our next book, GAME TOWN, the fifth of the Skylar Drake Murder Mystery series, is available now!
Cocktail Parties were all the rage in the 1950s and into the 60s. It was a chance to get dressed up, relax with friends, socialize, impress others and gossip. What would the 1950 have been without Cocktail Parties?
Private cocktail parties were held at people’s homes. They would invite the neighbors, friends, business associates, their boss, or co-workers. There were all kinds of reasons for a get together. We call it networking today, but on a much smaller scale.
For the host, the food and drinks served were very important. The beverages and the canapés complimented each other. The rule of thumb was tart and salty blended best with gin, while heartier foods went with whiskey and beer.
Champagne: caviar, chicken l’orange, hearts of palm salad
Highballs: liver paté, stuffed eggs, cheese balls,
Whiskey Cocktail: cheese tarts, curried peanut butter rolls
Gin Cocktail: marinated vegetables, asparagus tips in ham rolls
Beer: stuffed olives, cheese balls, turnovers
Sherry: Apple, raisin and cream cheese balls, bacon balls, chipped beef rolls with mushrooms, stuffed mushrooms, peanut rolls, peanut butter rolls, peanut butter tarts, nut and stem ginger tarts, ham tidbits, chicken, lobster or liver paste puffs, turnovers, cheese straws, sausage tidbits and smoked hickory cheese balls.
Whiskey cocktails: guacamole, anchovy fillet tidbits, bacon and curried peanut butter rolls, East Indian beef balls, clam spread tidbit, pizzas–miniature, smoked oysters in blankets, Camembert cheese and ham tarts, chicken livers and bacon, roast beef snacks, kippered herring and bacon rolls and meat balls (beef in blankets).
Gin cocktails: guacamole, anchovy ham rolls, artichoke hearts, asparagus tips in ham rolls, onion and cheese snacks, onion egg snacks, stuffed olives, codfish balls with cheese, sardine onion snacks, sausage in blankets, sardine macaroni snacks, stuffed dill pickles and marinated vegetables.
Beer: Anchovy fillet tidbits, stuffed olives, cheese straws, turnovers, cocktail frankfurters and sauerkraut, garlic popcorn, cheese balls, chipped beef and sardine rolls, kippered herring and bacon rolls, and tongue rolls or pinwheels.”
A full-size bar would offer all cocktails. But smaller bars in individual homes usually had only a sampling to offer. Thus, making tidbits easier to manage.
Of course, a fruit and cheese plate was a good finish for all cocktail parties
Published authors Will Zeilinger and Janet Lynn wrote individually until they got together and created the Skylar Drake Mystery Series. These hard-boiled tales are based in old Hollywood of 1956-57. Janet has published seven mystery novels and Will has three plus a couple of short stories. Their world travels have sparked several ideas for murder and crime stories. This creative couple is married and live in Southern California.
The next Skylar Drake Mystery, fifth in the series, GAME TOWN is available now and yes . . . they’re are still married!
In addition to Janet’s and Will’s monthly column, Partners in Crime, each week in April they will share with us some of the research they used to write GAME TOWN.
My husband Will Zeilinger and I co-write the Skylar Drake Murder Mysteries, a hard-boiled detective series that takes the reader to 1950s Los Angeles and other areas of the west. Our new book, GAME TOWN, is set in Hollywood and exposes a scandal that rocks the Toy Companies in Los Angeles.
While doing in-depth research into 1950s Hollywood, we came across news that amazed us! We discovered that the Emmy Awards and the Academy award were ten days apart. We wrestled with which one we should us in our novel. Since we couldn’t decide, we chose to begin the novel with the Emmys and end with the Academy awards.
The 9th Emmy Awards was held on March 17, 1957 at NBC Studios in Burbank. The ceremony was hosted by Desi Arnaz of I LOVE LUCY fame. Hence the book begins here.
Best 1/2-hour series – Phil Silver Show
Best 1-hour series – Caesar’s Hour
Best New Program Series- Playhouse 90
Best actor in a comedy series – Sid Caesar for Caesar’s Comedy Hour
Best actor in a drama series – Robert Young for Father Knows Best
Best actress in a comedy series – Nanette Fabray for Caesar’s Comedy Hour
Best actress in a drama series – Loretta Young for Loretta Young Show
My husband, Will Zeilinger and I co-write the Skylar Drake Murder Mystery series, a hardboiled series that takes the reader to 1950s Los Angeles and other areas of the west. Our new book, Slick Deal, begins News Year’s Eve 1956 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the first murder and clues lead to Avalon, Catalina.
One of the challenges of writing a period piece is finding the right styles to dress our characters to match their personality. The rich matron, Mayme Wright, was a challenge because she was an integral part of the story. She lived in a mansion in Avalon. So I researched the beautiful fur coats I remembered ladies wearing in New York, (I was born in Queen) in the 1950s. The feel and the weight of these coats were etched in my memory.
Fur coats were glamorous and dressier than the everyday coat used by most people, i.e., the shopping, doctor appointments, etc. They were cut in the same shapes as everyday coats of the fifties. Certain furs looked better in certain styles. The box coat and swagger style looked best with thick fox, sable and seal fur. Faux furs were an option for the less affluent as well as the cheaper squirrel and marmot dyed to look like sable.
The sleeves were wide and open and collars were high and closed with a longer hair fur piece trimming the collar. To keep with the polished style of fur coats, closures were two or three buttons or clasps on the upper part of the coat. Some box styles coats had a single clasp at the neckline. Pockets were slash openings on the coat sides. The wealthy woman showcased themselves by the fur and beauty of her 1950s fur coat.
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While most fur coats were full length or at least hip length, a few came in shorter waist length styles. The cape coat, popular in the 1940s, remained common into the 1950s. Coats like the short fur Diamond brand coat became increasingly popular in the late ’50s and ’60s when styles changed to the slim sheath dress rather than the full circle dress.
For those who could not afford a full-length coat, fur stoles, muffs and shawls were a popular alternative. Fur trim on short or long jackets also added a touch of richness without the outrageous price tag.
Mayme Wright was wearing her sable full-length coat when she went missing in Avalon.
SLICK DEAL is the fourth in the series and…yes we are still married!
Website: Janet Elizabeth Lynn
Website: Will Zeilinger
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While researching the 1950s, we came across memoirs of Los Angeles. Since our Private Eye character, Skylar Drake, moonlights as a stuntman for the movie industry, the Hollywood scene during that time is an intricate part of each book.
The regular family life of the rich and famous was not at all typical of everyday life. In fact, it was pretty exhausting! The executives were in constant fear of making the wrong decisions and losing their position (lots of backbiting). There were endless days of being “on” for the public. They were forever giving lunches, dinners, and cocktail parties at their homes for celebrities or visiting dignitaries. Their dinners were lavish and beautiful, as were their homes. Entertaining was constant with little private time.
The regular family life of the rich and famous was not at all typical of everyday life. In fact, it was pretty exhausting! The executives were in constant fear of making the wrong decisions and losing their position (lots of backbiting). There were endless days of being “on” for the public. They were forever giving lunches, dinners and cocktail parties at their homes for celebrities or visiting dignitaries. Their dinners were lavish and beautiful, as well as their homes. Entertaining was constant with little private time.
I found stories of lunch with Barbara Hutton (heiress of the Woolworth’s chain) at the lavish garden of Merle Oberon, or a candle light dinner at the home of Edie Goetz, (daughter of Louis B. Mayer, co-founder of MGM.) And don’t forget entertaining royalty, moguls, and titans of the day. You couldn’t just throw hamburgers on the BBQ, whip up a potato salad and lounge by the pool!Tent parties in which the pool was covered to create a dance floor were a regular Saturday night event in Hollywood and Beverly Hills. On Sundays,
Tent parties in which the pool was covered to create a dance floor were a regular Saturday night event in Hollywood and Beverly Hills. On Sundays, church was not like your typical worship services. The Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills was nicknamed Our Lady of the Cadillacs due to the expensive cars that filled the parking lot for 10 am Mass.
Incorporating Skylar Drake’s assigned visits by his agent or the studio or working security into the stories has been fun. We’ve enjoyed dressing the characters, describing the gardens and homes, and the food served by the rich and famous of Los Angeles, 1950s.
Janet Elizabeth Lyn
My husband, Will Zeilinger and I, co-write the Skylar Drake Murder Mystery series. These hard-boiled tales are based in old Hollywood of 1955. Our third book in the series, Desert Ice, was released in January of this year.
www.janetelizabethlynnauthor.com
http://www.willzeilingerauthor.com
www.themarriedauthors.blogspot.com
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