Cort Fox Ford was also in the movies
A short segment in a movie called “No Time to be Young” with Robert Vaughn was filmed on the Cort Fox Ford Used Car lot on Hollywood Boulevard.
The only known Hollywood production to ever depict an honest used car salesman
This movie was filmed in 1957. I happened to be flipping through the channels late one night and came upon this scene. I was able to find a copy of the movie. This scene has a comedic side. The salesman does not take Robert Vaughn seriously at first when he wants to buy a new car. When Robert says I’ll pay cash, the salesman throws his newspaper in to the bushes as he realizes he has a serious buyer.
In 1958, the same Used Car Lot on Hollywood Boulevard was used in the movie, “The True Story of Lynn Stuart”. Betsy Palmer and Jack Lord starred in this movie. The top four photos below show the Used Car Lot and the Office. Notice the Used Cars lot sign has Cort Fox covered up with “Docs”. Just below Doc’s, you can make out the Fox head on the sign. That is Brucks Oldsmobile dealership sign in the background on the top right photo.
The two bottom photos captured from the movie show Betsy Palmer working at Stan’s. Stan’s was very popular Drive In restaurant located on N. Virgil Street. This was a huge intersection with Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Boulevard and Hillhurst Avenue. This intersection is shown on the Cort Fox Boom Town map shown on previous pages. Notice Cort Fox Ford in the background on the bottom left photo.
Another movie caught a glimpse of the east wall of the dealership and was released in 1962. The name of the movie is “13 West Street”, with Alan Ladd. The Richfield Gas Station on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Hillhurst Avenue can also be seen. Years later this gas station was removed. The lot sat empty for several years, eventually an Auto Zone parts dealer was built very close to the east wall of the dealership. See bottom photo for comparison. The east wall is also captured in the lower left photo above. That photo captured a night time view with the Cort Fox Ford signage lit.

As you can see the ability to advertise on the east wall was not an option anymore.

It is obvious this Google Street view photo was taken during the Hollywood Ford era.

TV Series Mannix
In 1967, the Television Series Mannix also captured Cort Fox Ford as the star drives past the dealership. This series starred Mike Connors and he played Joe Mannix. In Season 1, Episode 17 called “Deadfall Part 1”, he was following a Taxi Cab and drove West on Hollywood Boulevard past the dealership. This segment only lasts 20 seconds, but captures the dealership in Color. Not only does it capture the main dealership building, it also captures a portion of the Used Car lot as seen on the History page..
You can clearly see the large “FORD” sign over the showroom entrance door. Note the green awning that covers the showroom windows and the showroom entrance. As you move further west you can see two painted signs on the building. The blue sign says, “A LEADER IN SERVICE FOR 33 YEARS” then the famous red Fox head. Next is the Service Entrance with a Mustang ready to enter. As you pass the Used Car Lot, it appears there are both new and used Mustangs and other Fords in view. The year is 1967 and the Mustang was a hot seller. These photos answer a lot of questions of what the dealership looked like on Hollywood Boulevard.
Cort Fox Ford mentioned in a best selling book

Cort Fox Ford is mentioned in the national best selling book, “Hellhound on his Trail” by author Hampton Sides. This book details the FBI search for James Earl Ray who assassinated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968.

James Earl Ray went through great lengths to escape capture by going under many aliases. When Ray was using the alias Eric S. Galt, James Earl Ray took his 1966 Mustang to Cort Fox Ford for servicing on February 22, 1968, just five weeks before the assassination.

In the book, this account and processing of Ray’s Mustang starts on Page 294. One of the garage Service Specialists and Cort Fox employee named Budd Cook Jr. handled Eric S. Galt’s service for the Mustang.

Budd Cook Jr. retrieved the Service Record noting Eric S. Galt gave his address as 5533 Hollywood Boulevard. This address is not far from Cort Fox Ford which was located at 4531 Hollywood Boulevard. The Service Manager at this time was Henry Longhurst.

Both pictures shown below were taken in the alley behind the main dealership building. The composite picture at left was taken by Motor Trend magazine at Cort Fox in 1957. The picture on the right was taken in the same location 26 years later in 1983, when it was Castle Ford.