The Racquet Club Vacation

In the 1930s, Palm Springs was a sanctuary for Hollywood stars such as Charlie Farrell and Ralph Bellamy. Farrell, who brought elegance to his roles, and Bellamy, ultimately the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winner, were not only good friends, they were also ardent tennis players as were fellow actors Peter Lorre and Gilbert Roland. They were the best-known of the movie industry luminaries who escaped to the desert, not because it was the perfect place to “winter” or because of its embryonic health resort notoriety, but to play tennis among other things.

And it seems they did to the point of being named the “Court Hogs,” dominating the venue at the El Mirador Hotel, where they stayed.

The Beginning

Deciding that they wanted to have a place of their own, (and the full story is complicated), Farrell and Bellamy bought 52 acres of sand swept desert land and started The Racquet Club. It opened, with two courts, ten days before Christmas in 1934. Tennis enthusiasts were charged a $1.00 to play all day and allegedly on the first day December 15th, $18.00 was collected.

Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Douglas Fairbanks, Carole Lombard, Frank Morgan, Mary Pickford, Ginger Rogers, Robert…