A likely beginning
Eisenmann later said that he acquired London as a watchdog. His sequence of baseball and nightclub work, newspaper-office years and then Hollywood points to an early-1950s start. Baseball became one of the first places where their partnership was visible to the public.
What we do not yet know
We do not know the original London’s exact acquisition date, birthplace or earlier owner. Eisenmann told the story more than once in his books, but those retellings remain his own memories of the beginning.
Publicly visible by 1955
By 1955, a photograph from the filming of Seven Little Foys and a LIFE caption placed Eisenmann and London together in a working Hollywood setting. They give us a firm public glimpse of the partnership.