Dutton's Books was among "the best-known and best-loved of Los Angeles’

independent bookstores An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned. Usually, independent stores consist of only a single actual store (although there are some multi-store independents). They may be structured as sole proprietorships, ...

," known for its friendly and knowledgeable staff, sizeable and affordable used and rare book collection. There were four locations; two in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

, one in Brentwood, California and another in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

. Bill and Thelma Dutton opened the first shop on New Year’s Day 1961, in a former liquor store on the corner of

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and Magnolia Boulevard. In the mid-70s, Dave and his wife Judy took the reigns of that store and a second

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

location, offering such unique services as book buyback, book signings, and in-store reading events with community authors. Dave and Judy were extremely knowledgeable and happy to speak with customers regarding literature, Southern California history or any other topic. The store also provided books for various movie and

television shows A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platfo ...

. Steady customers, friendly staff and the welcoming owners, made the store an ideal place to while away a Sunday afternoon. In 1984 Judy & Dave's brother, Doug Dutton, opened a third location in Brentwood, California that included a staff poet in Scott Wannberg. In 2004 Doug opened a fourth location in Beverly Hills, California. As with most independent bookstores, the impact of

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led to the closing of the Burbank store in 2005, Valley Village in 2006,

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

in 2007, and finally Brentwood in 2008. The loss of Dutton's was a blow to customers and authors alike; among them

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and

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

.https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-feb-26-me-duttons26-story.html

References

* * {{coord, 34.164211, -118.395707, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-CA, display=title Independent bookstores of the United States Bookstores in Los Angeles Bookstores established in the 20th century North Hollywood, Los Angeles American companies established in 1960 Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles Retail companies established in 1960 Retail companies disestablished in 2006 1960 establishments in California 2006 disestablishments in California

Further reading

References