This 1941 street honors Hollywood gossip columnist Jimmie Fidler (1898-1988), who had a show on the CBS radio network at the time. (See Autry Avenue for more Lakewood streets with CBS tie-ins.) James Marion Fidler was born in St. Louis and went by “Marion” while growing up in Brookhaven, MS and Memphis, TN. After serving in the Marines, he came to Los Angeles in 1920 to get into movies. Soon he was working as a publicist for cinema impresario Sid Grauman while simultaneously launching a career in entertainment journalism. More years as a publicist followed – Gloria Swanson was a client – but in 1933 Fidler started interviewing celebrities for the radio program Hollywood on the Air and before long would become one of America’s top gossipmongers, along with Walter Winchell, Hedda Hopper, and Louella Parsons (the latter two represented by Hedda and Premiere avenues). Fidler had a reputation as the most caustic of the four and took pride in irking studio flacks with his frankness. On the personal front, Fidler was married five times and had four daughters, one of whom died in childhood. He retired in 1983 and spent his final years in Westlake Village.
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