PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Allegedly, Palm Springs became Palm Springs through a quirk in contracts old-time Hollywood bosses used to write for their stars: a “two-hour rule” stipulating that no famous face should be more than 120 minutes away in case it was needed for an urgent film shoot. Palm Springs was within that radius.
At that point, the town was already known for its resort clientele. First came the wealthy tuberculosis patients (the dry, desert air made it an attractive spot to build sanitarium hotels) followed by the general wellness-retreat crowd.
Soon, the stars started tumbling in: Marilyn Monroe; Bob Hope; Sammy Davis Jr.; Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz; and the rest. Now Palm Springs is known as a picture-postcard fantasy for hoi polloi like you and me, sipping cucumber-infused water poolside while humming bars of “The Girl from Ipanema.” Or something like that.
