Gus’s Smoke Shop

[huntertrw]

I'm glad that this thread wasn't closed due to age. It's a classic bit of tobacconist lore.

Perhaps Kevin might move this thread to the Tobacciana History category?

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[jguss]

How could I have missed this? I’m in a crunch now but will try to post something later, probably after returning from the Chicago Show. For now I’ll say the pre-Fudge era is different from the narrative related above. The eponymous Gus’s surname was not Pfender/Fender, and he actually sold the business in 1955. The buyer, a small time academician with a troubled past, was starting a new life as a shopkeeper after a curious run-in with the law.

 

[NookersTheCat]

I'm glad that this thread wasn't closed due to age. It's a classic bit of tobacconist lore.

Here here... it's finding stuff like this pop up that reminds me why I stick around here amongst the 7,895th "What is Cavendish?" debates

 

[Wiglaf]

I just came across this.

I had the honor to work at "Gus's of the Golden Valley" while in high school in the mid-60's. i would put my pipes in my locker and take the bus from woodland hills to sherman oaks. My time there was extraordinary, not just to teach me about the wonder of pipes and cigars but, most important, human relations. Being a sales person, taught by Norman Fudge, was an experience that has stayed with me all my life.

And the people i met there....wow!

Steve Piser

 

[huntertrw]

Because they got the Star clientele they also sold a lot of star’s collections, which is how I got the Hitchcock and Conrad pipes.

Ah, Sir Alfred, one of my favorite directors. You are lucky to have one of his pipes. Would you be so kind as to post an image of it here?

This quote from the master sums up his approach to capturing and keeping his audiences' attention: "Suspense is like a woman. The more left to the imagination, the more the excitement."

 

[Longridge]

I grew up near Gus’s and I worked in the studio business. When ever a tourist would ask me “where to see a star” I would tell them to hang out at Gus’s. Lol. Funny but true.

 

[Wiglaf]

I grew up near Gus’s and I worked in the studio business. When ever a tourist would ask me “where to see a star” I would tell them to hang out at Gus’s. Lol. Funny but true.

 

[Wiglaf]

Well, I met the great and near great. Alfred Hitchcock's son in law lead me to a painting they kept in the closet of their home on Valley Vista with a dali oil sitting there. it was a prop in a movie. We had so many other folks from hollywood, all of whom were interesting and friendly.

Norm was a fan of great pipes made by Ken Erickson, a local.

And i still have a patent 127 root briar that was one of my best smokers.

when i returned to LA for school, i rented the back house. Those were the days.

 

[Longridge]

Ah. Valley Vista. A beautiful street.

 

[Wiglaf]

apart from that. i have a 120 (bent billard) root that i got from Richard Dunhill. great birds eye cross grain.

oh, i miss pipes.