Wright King got to kiss Vivien Leigh onscreen in 1951’s A Streetcar Named Desire. Connie Sawyer appeared alongside stars like Dean Martin and Susan Hayward in black-and-white movies before acting in TV shows like Ray Donovan well into her nineties. Anne Faulkner played a recurring role as the boss of Roseanne Barr on the ribald comedian’s titular sitcom, appearing in most scenes alongside a young George Clooney – who, to this day, lights up when he sees her.
The performers were brought together by a second act in old age – becoming neighbors in a specialized retirement home for the people who’ve spent their lives making the movie business tick. All three were accepted as residents at the Motion Picture Country Home, a care and retirement community in suburban Los Angeles where Hollywood has been taking care of its own for nearly a century.
Surrounded by everyone from retired directors and producers to techs and other actors, they joined the ranks of a close-knit, still-creative community with an energy far greater than most old-age homes – amidst acres strewn with bungalows, cottages and manicured topiary that, fittingly, look almost like the Hollywood studio lots and sets where they spent decades of their working lives.
It all stemmed from ideas and efforts by stars of Hollywood’s Golden Era such as Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford – and the Tinseltown elite continue to support their ageing colleagues to this day. George Clooney is on the board, and stars such as Jodie Foster and Kirk Douglas have donated millions for state-of-the-art facilities – from a pool for water therapy to a studio and a cinema.
The Motion Picture and Television Fund (MPTF) runs a retirement community in suburban Los Angeles for industry professionals; the home is the focus of new documentary Sunset Over Mulholland Drive, which premieres this week at the SXSW film festival in Austin, Texas
Actress Connie Sawyer, who features in the documentary, passed away at the age of 105 before the film's international debut; she continued acting and auditioning almost until her death and appeared alongside everyone from Susan Hayward to Liev Schreiber during her decades-long career
Director Jerry Sedley Kaufmann talks with fellow resident and actress Dena Dietrich; they collaborated on a film created and produced on the MPTF campus
Residents of the home include producer Joel Rogosin and his wife, Deborah, a psychotherapist; the community is open to the spouses of professionals even if they were not involved in the entertainment business
‘There’s a deep connection between the running business and the retirement home – that’s what I realized,’ says director Uli Gaulke, who spent the last four years working on a new documentary about the community titled Sunset Over Mulholland Drive – which will have its world premiere next week at the SXSW film festival in Austin, Texas.
He tells DailyMail.com: ‘In Hollywood, it’s very present, this project. The Motion Picture and Television Fund is supported by a lot of people from Hollywood … it’s a good idea, because I think the success of the A-list stars, if they realize that the success of the minority is based on the work of a lot of people around. And they give something back.’
He adds: ‘That is a good way to send respect for the people who are not in the focus.’
The campus, open to residents age 70 and over, offers impressive facilities; the grounds include acres of walking paths, rose gardens, a community greenhouse, a putting green, dining options, a café, lounges and game rooms. In addition to options for independent living such as the cottages and bungalows, there’s a long-term care facility with 40 beds and a specialized Alzheimer’s and Dementia unit called Harry’s haven – named in memory of Kirk Douglas’ father, Harry Deminsky.
Perhaps most importantly, however, the home features multiple creative outlets. There’s a 24/7 closed-circuit channel that showcases the original work of residents. There’s a studio, a writing group, and reading and video libraries. ‘Creativity is ageless,’ the MPTF community’s website boasts.
And that’s exactly what filmmaker Gaulke – clearly enamored with the place and its residents – witnessed firsthand.
‘The atmosphere at the retirement home, there was this kind of energy, this kind of creativity – and every one of the residents was interested in doing something, and they had all the facilities to do this,’ he tells DailyMail.com. ‘What impressed me was that their whole life, they were struggling. They had to earn money and they had to work hard, and now they were free to do what they want.’
Gaulke’s film showcases a broad array of MPTF residents, all of them brimming with personality. Among them is actress Sawyer, who sadly passed away at the age of 105 before the film’s international debut.
Growing up in Oakland, California, she dreamed of being an actress, but her father made her go to business school. She lasted three weeks in an office job before she quit and started acting on stage and screen, forging a lifelong career performing. She lights up as she watches herself on screen as a young woman, acting alongside Susan Hayward, Dean Martin and other luminaries.
‘Do you know what she’d eat for lunch?’ she says of Hayward in the documentary. ‘A tomato and a hard-boiled egg. No wonder she had such a little waist.’
Sawyer continued auditioning almost up until her death; in recent years, she appeared in everything from Ray Donovan and New Girl to How I Met Your Mother and The Office.
Other actor residents featured include Faulkner and King – but many members of the MPTF retirement community built their careers behind the screen.
Producer Daniel Selznick, for example, may not be instantly recognizable, but he comes from what is akin to Hollywood royalty – and has been responsible for blockbuster successes himself.
Both of his grandfathers were studio executives, including Louis Mayer, the head of MGM – who’d playfully bite his grandson’s arm when he visited the studio, pretending to be the iconic MGM lion, Selznick grins in the documentary.
His father, David Selznick, was the award-winning producer of Gone With The Wind.
‘My parents didn’t insist that I go into the film business; they said, you know, “You can choose it if you like, but we won’t be unhappy if you don’t choose it.”’
The campus, open to residents age 70 and over, offers impressive facilities; the grounds include acres of walking paths, rose gardens, a community greenhouse, a putting green, dining options, a café, lounges and game rooms
Actress Anne Faulkner, right, played a recurring role as the boss of Roseanne Barr on the ribald comedian’s titular sitcom, left, appearing in most scenes alongside a young George Clooney – who, to this day, lights up when he sees her
Screenwriter Tony Lawrence, right, who worked on projects ranging from The Twilight Zone to Bonanza, moved to the MPTF Home with his wife more than a decade ago. When she sadly passed away, he decided to stay - and unexpectedly met and fell in love with Maddie Smith, left, to whom he is now married
Actress Connie Sawyer, left, was forced to go to business school by her father but only lasted three weeks in an office job before quitting to pursue a lifelong career in stage and film; she is pictured, right, with John Travolta in 1978's The Sweatmobile
Director Kaufmann watches his star, Dietrich, on screen; MPTF residents enjoy a 24/7 closed-circuit channel which features their original works
Initially, he did not follow in his family’s footsteps, despite the fact that his father would forward him offers from many of his high-ranking, influential friends. After the elder Selznick’s death, however, ‘I felt badly about the fact that I’d never worked in motion pictures,’
Selznick was 28, and he took a job at Universal Studios, working in ‘a new unit for low-budget movies that will appeal to the younger audiences under 30.’ One of the films Selznick selected was a screenplay by two USC students,
