Success
The resort was initially a great success, with film and sports stars of the day as regular visitors. Several films were shot at the Norconian, and it was not unusual to see Buster Keaton or Babe Ruth on the golf course (in 1938, actress Lona Andre set a new record for speed in women's golf, shooting 156 holes in 11 hours and 56 minutes). Norma Shearer shot two films at the resort and could be seen riding the trails on horseback on many occasions. Will Rogers, who also shot several films in the vicinity, regularly utilized the Norconian air field. Tragically, in 1933, famed aviator Marshall S. Boggs (who piloted the first "blind" landing made entirely using radio signals in 1931) crashed and was killed while making a routine approach to this airfield.
The outdoor diving and swimming pools were in constant use for exhibition matches and AAU-sanctioned competitions, and many Olympic-caliber athletes swam and dove there, including Mickey Riley, Buster Crabbe, Esther Williams (destined for the cancelled 1940 Olympics and movie stardom), Sammy Lee, Dorothy Poynton, Georgia Coleman, Duke Kahanamoku, Arne Borg and many others. On May 20, 1928, the Norconian pools' grand opening was held (the resort opened in stages), and 18-year-old Cecily Cuhna (heir to the Cuhna fortune) set the world record for the 400-meter swim. On Lake Norconian, some of the fastest speedboat races of the day were held, including legendary female racer Loretta Turnbull ("The Queen of the Seas") and her boat "The Sunkist Kid".
Several films were shot at the resort – three in 1929 alone. The site became so popular that Fox Studios built complete Norconian sets in the sound stages of Hollywood. Norma Talmadge's first "talkie", New York Nights, premiered in nearby Corona (and quickly killed her career) with dozens of Hollywood stars in attendance. Before and after the premiere, many of them stayed at The Norconian.
Read more about this topic: The Norconian Resort Supreme
Famous quotes containing the word success:
“In looking back over the college careers of those who for various reasons have been prominent in undergraduate life ... one cannot help noticing that these men have nearly always shown from the start an interest in the lives of their fellow students. A large acquaintance means that many persons are dependent on a man and conversely that he himself is dependent on many. Success necessarily means larger responsibilities, and responsibilities mean many friends.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“A tragic irony of life is that we so often achieve success or financial independence after the chief reason for which we sought it has passed away.”
—Ellen Glasgow (1873–1945)
“When you think of the huge uninterrupted success of a book like Don Quixote, you’re bound to realize that if humankind have not yet finished being revenged, by sheer laughter, for being let down in their greatest hope, it is because that hope was cherished so long and lay so deep!”
—Georges Bernanos (1888–1948)