Martin Beaumon

Martin P. Baumann was born in Youngstown Ohio in 1904. After studying in Catholic school till age 16, in 1920, headed west to California with his older brother, Leon. Both boys figured that being in "Moving Pictures" would be a good life. They decided a name change (to sound more French vs. German) was in order so they legally changed their last name to Beaumon, which means "Beautiful Me". Working hard in "bit parts" (which were not credited in those days), Martin and Leon lived in boarding houses all over Hollywood-On Seward, Wilcox, Vine, Eleanor-all within walking distance of Paramount, Sunset Gower, Raleigh Studios and old Warner brothers. Getting to MGM required a Red Car ride. Standing outside the studios waiting to be chosen for possible roles was standard practice. The Beaumon boys' house mates included John Wayne and Clark Gable. Since they were all broke and the same general size, their shared suit was worn by the man with the "call" that day. Sometime in the mid-twenties, Martin served in the Merchant marine on the infamous "SS Southern Cross" surviving the rough seas and near-disastrous storms. By the 1930s Martin (Marty) was tired of the Hollywood life so ventured to Santa Barbara until the great quake there destroyed the tire store where he was a manager. Back in LA Marty hooked-up with a business partner who was interested in the San Bernardino mountain resort of Big Bear Lake. In 1935 they visited the town and decided to open up a Milk bottle toss for the amusement of visitors for a summer. Marty's business partner Mac, happened to be the brother-in-law of Albert Hanson, who at that time was the President of the West Coast chain of Fox Theatres. With their Hollywood connections and the love of Big Bear, Marty and Mac decided to make a go of staying full-time. This was 1938 and very few souls ever braved the winters in the San Bernardino Mountains! Marty built himself a small cabin in the back of the business. The milk bottle toss evolved into a shooting gallery and eventually amusement arcade. The actual heavy metal target gallery was purchased in the 1940s from the Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier when that amusement Park was in a state of disrepair during WWII. Marty bought out his partner Mac and decided to go it alone. During World War II, Marty served in the US Navy on the USS Pasadena in the Pacific Theatre as a Gunners Mate First Class. His business was held together by a few loyal employees until he returned after the war. Marty's burgeoning business catered to the Hollywood crowd, who spent time off in Big Bear. Frequent visitors were old friends Clark Gable, Mel Blanc, John Wayne, Gene Autry, Andy Devine and Leon's fiancé, Loretta Young, among others. Newer regulars were Michael Landon, Lorne Green,Dan Blocker and all the cast from "Bonanza" which frequently filmed in Big Bear. When the first Technicolor film, "Trail of the Lonesome Pine" was On Location in Big Bear, Marty "signed on" for bit parts and was also hired as the animal keeper. Having a 22 caliber Shooting gallery and an arcade with old Pinball games, the cast and crew spent much of their time off with Marty. He taught little Spanky McFarlane how to shoot a gun. Many child stars of the day had their first experience with a real gun at Marty's gallery - "Beaumon Amusements". At age 44 Marty married a girl that he met through his brother, a Catholic Priest. He had 5 children (who grew-up and worked) for his business - an amusement Arcade, shooting Gallery and Snow equipment rentals until his death in 1972. In addition, Marty was the clerk of the Board of Education of the Big Bear Schools for many years, was the First Exalted ruler of the Big Bear Elks Club, and owned many houses in the Big Bear area.