Tom Lyle Williams and Emery Shaver, together in life and death.

Tom Lyle Williams and Emery Shaver..... Family men, and Entrepreneurs. 

Tom Lyle Williams, Emery Shaver's sister and brother, Emery Shaver sitting on the ground with the dog, another sister, Ches Haines and TL's sister, Eva Williams-Haines.
This picture of the Williams and Shaver's, was taken after Tom Lyle bought his new 1921 Packard.  The second outstanding automobile TL would own over his lifetime. 

TL's, first car, was the Paige Detroit, bought in 1916.  The reason he loved his new Packard so much, was because the entire family could squeeze into it for a Sunday drive. 

 I had a picture of my father, Bill Williams as a baby, with his parents, Preston and Evelyn and the whole Williams family, cruising in TL's big black Packard, and it looked a little like the picture below! 

(My picture was lost in the Laguna Beach firestorm, in 1993, when my home was burned to the ground.)

              The Memphis Police Department's 1921

TL's first custom made automobile was the Paige Detroit.  Known as the most beautiful car in the world.

Tom Lyle and Emery were together for nearly 50 years and are entombed together in death. 

Tom Lyle and Emery ran the advertising division of the Maybelline Company, at the Villa Valentino in the Hollywood Hills.  When the Villa was torn down to make room for the Hollywood freeway, in 1949, they moved to a modern stone and glass estate in Bel Air California.

After Emery's sudden death in 1964, Tom Lyle decided to sell the Maybelline Company.  Which he did in December, 1967. 

Read the whole story in The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It. 

Be sure to get your signed copies for Christmas gifts, at www.maybellinebook.com.

The Latin Lovers Villa becomes the Maybelline King's private estate in the 1930"s.

Here is a picture of The Villa Valentino in the Hollywood Hills, owned by Rudolph Valentino when he was engaged to Natacha Rambova. They lived there while their home in Beverly Hills, Falcon Lair was being built. Sadly, Natacha divorced him shortly after he bought the property and he was forced to live the lifestyle of the rich and famous alone.  After Valentino's untimely death in 1926 Tom Lyle Williams, Maybelline's founder bought it and did a complete  renovation inside and out. 

The Villa Valentino was located in the Whitley Heights section of Hollywood at 6776 Wedgwood Place, but was eventually razed to make room for the Hollywood Freeway in 1949.  When Tom Lyle bought the Villa he loved it's old world feeling, but didn't like the lack of privacy, so hired a gardener who planted over a hundred Italian cypress, Palm trees and exotic tropical plants to hide the Villa from curious spectators.

An arrow points to the Villa exposed to the public and you can just imagine how a good pair of binoculars might cause gossipy neighbors to spread unwanted rumors.  Check out Tom Lyle's brand new 1937 Packard parked on the street where he shot this photograph with his Kodak.  What a life he must have had in Hollywood in the 1930's, working with major motion picture studios, preparing contracts with the biggest stars and entertaining at the Villa Valentino.

Stay tuned for more pictures of the Villa Valentino before the restoration and after. You can also read about Tom Lyle in Hollywood and the Maybelline company in my book The Maybelline Story.  Purchase an autographed copy from me at maybellinestory.com.