Book Reviewed: Celebrities in the 1930 Census: Household Data of 2,265 U.S. Actors, Musicians, Scientists, Athletes, Writers, Politicians and Other Public Figures, by Allan R. Ellenberger

Interesting features of the 1930 Census

This book documents the census data of about 2,200 celebrities as of April 1930. The data pertains to home address, the list of family members, age, rent or amount of purchase and if they owned a radio. The book also has information about the servants in the family. The author focusses on the personalities of entertainment industry. Others included are; sports personalities, politicians, religious leaders and other major figures during the depression era. Some individuals could not be found in census, they were gangsters, mobsters, vaudevillians, and some politicians.

I was mainly interested in the address and family information of well-known Hollywood and stage actors of 1920s, but it turns out that many of them were young and lived with their parents; hence their names appear with the census information of their parents. Some actors avoided being in the census perhaps because they did not want their age listed. Examples include, Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Billie Burke, Greta Garbo and a few others. There are some interesting information; Director Frank Capra, an Italian citizen lived at Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in California; actor John Gilbert lived in Beverly Hills with his actress wife Ina Claire; Actress Doris Day’s info resides with her parents’ home in Cincinnati, OH; actress Colleen Moore’s house on St Pierre Road in Bel Air was owned at $340,000, a staggering amount for 1930; and actress Alla Nazimova lived at Hotel Buckingham on 57 Street in Manhattan.

The U.S. Congress violated the constitution under Section 3 and Article 1 in 1920s. They were supposed to use 1920 census data to distribute the congressional seats for each state but they had used the 1850 census data. With significant increase in population, the new apportionment to congress was conducted on 1930 data and it yielded interesting results. The house delegation of 11 states increased by 27; and 21 states lost about 21 representatives. CA and MI were the big winners, but MO lost three seats.

This book is of no value to a modern day enthusiast of celebrities, but useful for someone interested in history and the beginnings of Hollywood.