StardustLosÁngeles

L.A.observation: advertising overkill

2007-10-27T13:36:00.001-07:00

How come everytime the MTA gets an advertising contract, they execute it with such uncreative overkill?

L.Á.resource: New video clips from The Smoking Gun

2007-10-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

The Smoking Gun's collection of video clips has expanded. This clip showcases the new 1952 swimsuits designs from Cole in Hollywood.

L.Á.propaganda: freeways

2007-10-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

Is it totally horrifying that L.A.'s night time traffic can be made to look so peaceful and alluring...? I won't let this pro-car/freeway fetish propaganda piece transform me into one of those in the want of a car, or one who justifies the car for that matter.

I'm not one who shares in the belief that there is a collective unity that freeways somehow bind us Angelinos to. That's a romanticized view of the simpleton's limited perspective that overlooks how freeways and the car have consistently destroyed this city. (Hence why my being mesmerized by this video shall make me go home kneebound and self flogging).

L.Á.moment: Morrissey at the Hollywood Palladium

2007-10-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

Morrissey gave us the chance to see the Hollywood Palladium one last time before it undergoes its overdue overhaul. I hope it doesn't lose its 1940's charm, much of which you have to look hard to actually see. Although the photos don't show it, Morrissey's lighting design was beautiful and his performance was truly memorable in that he represents the true songwriter's singer/songwriter, perhaps one of the last of his kind...

Opening, Kristeen Young could belt it out long and hard and I wish I could sing like her...

After Kristeen Young, there was a great collection of vintage films shown between sets. All were in the vintage mid-century international vein that the Smiths and Morrissey have played with graphically over the years. The true Morrissey believers, our friends from the Latino suburbs of L.A., even in all these films' air of cheekiness, were more mesmerized by the emotion of anticipation...

You can barely see Morrissey, in fact, you can't make him out at all, but can you see the child in front of me? She's sleeping on the shoulder of an audience member (and assumedly her Father)?!!! O.k., I have training in the care and feeding of cats, but doesn't it seem remotely cruel to bring a child to a concert?!!

(All photos taken via mobile phone)...

L.Á.fotos: making up for lost time Part Eww, No

2007-10-10T19:49:00.001-07:00

What the world might look like if all the billboards were erased...

[Boyle Heights]

This MacCarthur Park/Koreatown adjacent development "Circa" has already been gang-graffiti'd...well at least, the "a" of "Circa" has.

[Koreatown/MacCarthur Park]

Once a temple to Art Deco era consumerism, this Bullocks Wilshire is now the Southwestern Law Library

[Koreatown]

The Men's Room at the Gay and Lesbian Center has a baby changing table that has been gang graffit'd...can the 21st Century get any more complicated?

[Hollywood]

(All photos taken via mobile phone)...

L.Á.fotos: making up for lost time...¿por qúe?

2007-10-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

Ugh, I've been job hunting non-stop the passed few weeks and finally after almost 6 months I've gotten myself back in the contributing member of society club...it may not be exactly where I want to be, but for now it's a great job and a great opportunity. So, following are a number of photos I've taken but not have had the time to upload and share...please enjoy responsibly...

Jean-Luc Turbo

L.Á.fotos: making up for lost time Part Dose

2007-10-10T19:36:00.001-07:00

It took me 18 months to get over my inner Orange County-ness so that I could finally partake in this fly by night taqueria that shows up most nights on Cesar E. Chavez and Gallardo. Powered by their own generator, it's tacos only at only a dollar a taco. People driving by and from nearby La Zona Rosa, a local dance place, come to this taco stand mirage. Even parking meter attendants working late night and this last time, a white bedecked guild of mariachis consumed enthusiastically as these are by far Boyle Heights' best tacos...and I don't normally speak in black and white absolutes...(Photos taken via mobile phone)...

L.Á.fotos: making up for lost time Part Trace

2007-10-10T19:26:00.000-07:00

The Library Tower, now crowned the US Bank Building, (and not the "Liberty Tower" as our dear President referred to it when mentioning an Al Qaida plot to crash a plane into it/blow it up/create a controlled implosion of it)...in all its "green" glory.

...and, speaking of "green", I now believe my camera phone is taking these crazy colorized photos due to the camera phone's white balance being tweaked, of which, as of this moment, I have been unable to de-tweak...not that I'm itching to, come to think of it. The colors remind me of that process of developing slide film as picture photos...where colors become surrealized and saturated...Could anyone share how I could fix this color issue, if, if ever I decided to have a more established reality in photo color depictions? (Photos taken via mobile phone)...

L.Á.inthenews: L.A.-based American Apparel in The Onion

2007-09-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

14 American Apparel Models Freed In Daring Midnight Raid

LOS ANGELES—"There were girls everywhere," FBI agent Curtis Froman said. "Draped over furniture, sprawled spread-eagled in the corner, and huddled close like animals."

L.A.moment: Allen Ave. Goldline Station, Pasadena

2007-09-10T10:31:00.001-07:00

Another beautiful view of the mountains...(Photo taken and sent via mobile phone)...

L.Á.television: MV3

2007-09-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

New Wave alternative to MTV, Richard Blade of the original KROQ brought videos and live performances from local L.Á. new wave bands as well as ones that were in town. Lo-budget yet compelling to this at the time junior high school kid...

L.A.moment: Drinx at Banquette

2007-09-08T22:39:00.001-07:00

Casual drinks at this small cafe downtown...oh how great life is in the big city...(Photo taken and sent via mobile phone)...

L.Á.resource: The CSUN Oviatt Library's San Fernando Valley History Digital Library

2007-08-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

Covering the region's Natural Resources, Social Life and Customs, Transportation, Industries, Politics and Labor...perhaps the Valley is different from the rest of us. What a diff'rence a chain of mountains makes...

For the main page of Cal State University, at Northridge's Oviatt Library San Fernando Valley History Digital Library (whew...), CLICK HERE

L.A.architecture: Wells Fargo Tower downtown

2007-08-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

Bunker Hill's Wells Fargo Tower at the Wells Fargo Center (330 S. Grand Avenue) faces Grand Avenue with all the stereotypes one would apply to a symbolic L.A. building: anorexic, thin on substance, seemingly artificial facade... It stands tall on Grand but appears paper thin as if there were no offices behind its tall exterior...

L.Á.event: 'When The Saints' screening at Fais Do Do

2007-08-28T21:23:00.001-07:00

2 years to the day when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Robert Greenwald's documentary was screened to a non-typically FRIENDLY L.A. crowd--but then we were at Fais Do Do and not The Viper Room.

L.A.moment: Singing on the Red Line

2007-08-28T17:22:00.000-07:00

L.A.moment: Dead Elmo in Boyle Heights

2007-08-26T03:01:00.000-07:00

An after midnight roadside taco stand stop leads to the grisly vacant lot discovery of a dead Elmo. (Photo taken and sent via mobile phone)...

L.A.location: Charlie O's

2007-08-26T00:46:00.000-07:00

Remodeling is not gonna' stop Charlie O's from servin' liquor or stop DJ Mirko from spinnin' at this up and coming Alexandria Hotel hotspot (photo taken and sent via mobile phone).

L.A.history: The Flag of the City of Los Ángeles

2007-08-24T15:18:00.000-07:00

Almost rastafarian in appearance, L.A.'s flag (a.k.a. the "Fiesta Flag"), was designed for the city's 1931 Sesqui-Centenial (150th Anniversary). Designed by Roy E. Silent and E.S. Jones, the red represents the city's vineyards of the time, the yellow representing the orange groves (again, of the time) and the green represents the olive trees (unbeknownst to this rider that there were olive trees)...allegedly these colors are also purposefully meant to resemble the flag colors of both Spain and Mexíco.

L.A.event: V's Treintañera at the Alexandria Hotel's Ballroom

2007-08-23T20:52:00.001-07:00

"She missed her Quinceañera and her prom..."; so what better way to resurrect the past than to complete this trinity of celebration with a 30th Birthday at the Alexandria Hotel's Ballroom. V (of Bar 107 fame) lived any closeted princesses' dream fantasy: her big frilly dress that seemed potentially hazardous for dancing, accompaniment by 6 gents in white tuxes, all of whom adored and showcased her and her feminine prowess in a choregraphed dance. ¡Felíz Cumplaños V! (Photo taken and sent via mobile phone)...

L.A.event: V's Treintañera

2007-08-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

(photo taken and sent via mobile phone)...

L.A.roadtrip: Wilshire Blvd.: 10 steps a photo, downtown to Santa Monica

2007-08-23T15:17:00.000-07:00

I love obsessive approaches to simple ideas: "tobiaswac" walked all the way from Wilshire Blvd.'s beginning in downtown Los Angeles to its end at the Pacifc Ocean, a mere 16 miles away...and took a photo every 10 steps...

L.A.moment: Downtown

2007-08-18T12:12:00.001-07:00

Downtown, bright and hot, with my camera phone barely able to handle the light and heat...(photo taken and sent via mobile phone)...

L.A.roadtrip: Train to San Bernardino Mountains

2007-08-10T16:29:00.000-07:00

Train trip from Union Station to San Bernardino's old train station for a visit to Lake Arrowhead and Crestline. For some reason, lately, my mobile phone's camera is freaking out when there is bright light present. That's why the train station looks all Resident Evil and Lake Gregory looks post-nuclear...(photos taken and sent via mobile phone)

L.A.news: Beckham's contribution to American Soccer via The Onion

2007-08-09T15:47:00.001-07:00

Beckham An Inspiration To Children Who Never Get Put In Game

LOS ANGELES—Whether intently watching the on-field action or waving to his family in the stands, David Beckham's impressive display of...

Posh's contribution to American Motherhood's identity to be studied and explained in next week's issue...

L.A.trivia: Sister City Spotlight: Tehran

2007-08-08T17:37:00.001-07:00

One of Los Ángeles' Sister Cities is Iran's Tehran. In the photo above, a young woman in the north of Tehran wears a nose bandage after plastic surgery. The bandages are a status symbol for the city's young elite. (Photo: Aslon Arfa)

L.A.resource: Spruce Goose flight video @ TheSmokingGun.com

2007-08-07T15:42:00.000-07:00

The Smoking Gun's new collection of news reels and non-fiction videos even features Howard Hughes' one-time Long Beach Harbor flight of the Spruce Goose...

L.A.event: Thai Food at the North Hollywood Thai Buddhist Temple

2007-08-05T13:17:00.001-07:00

Saturdays and Sundays with everything you'd want and more...our group's faves: mango and sticky rice and Kanom Krok! (Photo taken and sent via mobile phone).

L.A.moment: Wild cats in Weller Court, Little Tokyo

2007-07-26T19:27:00.001-07:00

L.A.moment: Hawt cholo cars

2007-07-26T19:04:00.001-07:00

Toy District: You can get me out of Anaheim but you can't get the Anaheim out of me...(photo taken and sent via mobile phone)...

L.A.passing: Sherman Torgan of the New Beverly Cinema

2007-07-26T15:53:00.000-07:00

Sherman Torgan, the owner of the last remaining L.A. revival movie theatre, the New Beverly, made his transition from this world July 18th. Cause of passing was due to a heart attack. As you can see from the memorial photos (credit: C. Hunt), the New Beverly's marquee says it in the bittersweetest way possible...

For more, read the L.A. Weekly's coverage HERE

The Los Angeles Times obituary for Sherman Torgan is HERE

L.A.culture: Hookah smoking @ Stars Cafe, Little Armenia/Silver Lake

2007-07-23T22:45:00.001-07:00

New owners and now outdoor seating so that we had a great view of the Griffith Observatory, Wendy's and the Union 76 station while drinking great tea! (Photo taken and sent via mobile phone)...

L.A.chain: Famima!

2007-07-23T22:44:00.001-07:00

This Japanese-based chain of convenience stores is perfect for us Pacific Rim-centric Southern Californians...(photo taken and sent via mobile phone)...

L.A.experience: Disney's Soda Fountain and Studio Store, Hollywood

2007-07-23T16:49:00.001-07:00

A surprisingly choiceless menu in terms of "real" food, every employee is super happy in that way that is super off-putting...(photo taken and sent via mobile phone)...

L.A.resource: What's the walkability score of your neighborhood?

2007-07-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

Out of a 100 points, my section of Boyle Heights scored a 64. Which isn't so great in my opinion.

In my neighborhood, there aren't a lot of businesses like stores or restaurants but REGARDLESS, see how your neighborhood scores at Walkscore.com calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc.

L.A.changes: Metro Goldline extension

2007-07-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

Is it late 2009 yet? (taken and sent via mobile phone).

L.A.culture: ¡Ask A Chola!

2007-07-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

¡Lookit! "Ask A Chola" has all the answers you not thought you needed...check it:

¡y oye! Hay mas respuestas aquí, buey...

L.A.event: Jalisco's Thursday Nite Show

2007-07-20T00:51:00.001-07:00

Women singing who are not women but more of a woman than I am a apparently a man...(taken and sent via mobile phone)...

L.A.moment: The Moon over Los Ángeles...

2007-07-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

Did anyone catch the crescent moon last night?

L.A.moment: King Eddy's

2007-07-17T21:13:00.001-07:00

This is what 'Saturday at 12' looks like to my Navajo friend...(Photo taken and sent via mobile phone)...

L.A.history: Dutch documentary recreates the Culver City of 1920's Hal Roach films...

2007-07-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

Ugh, if anyone out there speaks Dutch and can create a transcript, it'd be much appreciated. This documentary follows pop culture historian, Piet Schreuders, as he researches and recreates via computer rendering the 1920's era Culver City that we've seen in the Laurel and Hardy, Our Gang and other Hal Roach films.

L.A.event: Grand Performances

2007-07-13T22:51:00.001-07:00

Summer is here and so it's time for the Grand Performances concert at California Plaza...(photo taken and sent via mobile phone)...

L.A.event: Downtown Art Walk

2007-07-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

The Downtown Art Walk unfolds in the Old Bank District every 2nd Thursday of the month. What I love is that each gallery has its own unique personality, standing out separately and equally from one another. Last night's attendance seemed bigger than last time and there was a number of works that I perversely coveted...

L.A.event: El Ten Eleven @ The Bordello

2007-07-12T13:34:00.000-07:00

Went out to the Bordello for El Ten Eleven, 2 guys (a drummer and a guitarist) with the invisible power of pedals and electronics always surprise first timers with their deep and full sound. (Too bad the pictures kinda' look like caca--I hate using flash on photos, yet do not have the needed stillness a tripod would). Also caught The Harmony Brothers/Charlie Wadhams (different bands, same people) and Broken Remotes. Loved the Zombies-like sound of The Harmony Brothers/Charlie Wadhams. I got to meet Charlie afterwards (like, the nicest most sincere guy in the world) and am looking forward to playing some tracks of his on the killradio.org show I co-DJ, "Hear, Here". Broken Remotes were a surprise, beautiful sound, beautiful harmonies--I could go on but don't want to sound so uber-gushy...BUT, wow we were batting 3 for 3 last night--haha!!

L.A.moment: Downtown

2007-07-10T20:03:00.001-07:00

I need to go more places in L.A...(taken and sent via mobile phone).

L.A.resource: USGS/Cal-Tech earthquake meter

2007-07-10T16:54:00.000-07:00

Non-SoCal natives don't believe me when I say that we pretty much have an earthquake everyday here in Southern California. So here's a site that can let us better understand this bit of trivia: Cal Tech has a seismic graph that shows the past earthquakes that happened during the past hour, the day before and the previous week. Go there to see if any happened in your neck of the woods. Don't go there if you'd rather not know...

L.A.event: Sunday, July 15th @ Lost Souls Cafe

2007-07-10T15:20:00.000-07:00

O.k., shameful plug for the "Hear, Here" fund raiser for the non-profit and non-commercial L.A.-based internet radio station, killradio.org. Come for the bands and stay for the after party at Bar 107...remember, for some, it's all about the after party...

I co-DJ "Hear, Here" with DJ Jon Hershfield and we webcast on Mondays from 2pm - 4pm Pacific Time @ killradio.org...it's an all submissions show where bands from all over the country and the world send us their CDs and mp3s and we play it with no hesitation...

L.A.resource: UCLA digital photo archive

2007-07-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

UCLA's digital photo library is addictive...visit at your own risk...

L.A.location: L.A. River

2007-07-09T20:30:00.000-07:00

Continued walking home to Boyle Heights and the dismal nature of the L.A. River was more apparent than ever before...even the Cesar Chavez Bridge was a picture of decayed beauty, inherited by people who no longer appreciate it...

L.A.moment: Union Station

2007-07-09T20:12:00.001-07:00

Homeward bound via the concourse at Union Station...(taken and sent via mobile phone)...

L.A.moment: Red Line to Union Station...

2007-07-09T16:47:00.001-07:00

Here comes the train at Beverly/Vermont...(photo taken and sent via mobile phone).

L.A.moment: Union Station

2007-07-09T11:02:00.001-07:00

Close up of the gates inside the Station...(taken and sent via mobile phone)

L.A.moment: Union Station

2007-07-09T10:56:00.001-07:00

Passing through...(taken and sent via mobile phone)

L.A.past - Commercials from the 70's and 80's

2007-07-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

After posting the Zody's commercial (see L.A.moment: killradio.org fund raiser @ Safari Sam's July 2nd), I got hawt and bothered for the local L.A. commercials from whence I was but a wee one:

CONTROL DATA INSTITUTE

THE FEDERATED SUPERSTORES

I can't find my favorite though, an anti-drinking and driving p.s.a. where I distinctly remember the wife chasing her drunk husband out of the house pleading, "Don't take the car, you'll kill yoursel--!"

L.A.moment: Sunday afternoon @ Lost Souls Cafe

2007-07-08T14:53:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday afternoon, hot out...what better to incline oneself to drink iced coffee @ Lost Souls Cafe downtown...

L.A.event- RIDE-Arc July

2007-07-07T18:48:00.000-07:00

First time I had ever taken part in SCI-Arc's RIDE-Arc. For July, this architectural and urban anthropological tour of downtown Los Angeles looked at Homelessness, Gentrification and Incarceration. From SCI-Arc's L.A. River adjacent location, about 200 of us biked south to an area between the 4th and 6th Street bridges where the homeless of L.A. were sweeped up by the LAPD, then we traveled further south to the Biscuit Company Lofts for a surprising dose of gentrification. (The whole downtown loft explosion is exciting but I wouldn't want to live so far from downtown, Metro Red Line, etc. while having a gazillion factory and manufacturing buildings as neighbors), next we traveled west into Skid Row. Although our numbers caused some attention and concern from the area's residents we had a great informational lecture in front of the Midnight Mission from the night manager and a current resident. Someone asked the resident how long he had been living there and after he yelled back that he'd been there since October, he got applause from everyone which I thought was touching and beautiful. We biked east to the Hart Hotel, an SRO upstairs that has a non-profit clean needle exchange program on the street level. Since the sweeps of homeless people downtown, these non-profit clean needle exchange groups have a harder time helping those people wishing to exchange old needles for new ones. Because of this, the clientèle has shifted to middle class people coming from the suburbs wishing to exchange old needles for new ones rather than from the homeless population.

We then continued west up 3rd Street to Hill Street where we drove past the backside of Grand Central Market, the hopefully someday will be resurrected Angels Flight and ended up in the South Park neighborhood at the soon to open Ralph's. Our numbers in front of this yet to open supermarket made both the store's security guards as well as the neighbors in the balconies across the street question everything.

From there we rode into the Civic Center all the while reclaiming streets from cars to end up across from the new jail opening next door to the LAPD's Parker Center. Finally we ended up at the Twin Towers Men's Jail adjacent to the MTA Building.

I have to share that this was a powerful experience to bike throughout my favorite neighborhood of downtown L.A. But also there was a sense of responsibility I felt I had to learn about what one might think are 3 separate issues that actually overlap considerably...

(photos to come...!)

L.A.moment: 4th of July in Boyle Heights

2007-07-04T03:31:00.000-07:00

After a barbecue in Eagle Rock it was back home to the 4th of July war zone of Boyle Heights...it reminded me of being a kid when fireworks were (albeit oddly when you think about it) LEGAL.

L.A.moment: killradio.org fund raiser @ Safari Sam's

2007-07-02T03:07:00.000-07:00

The relatively new Safari Sam's in the shopping center where the 99 Cents Only Store used to be a Zody's and the Safari Sam's used to be a strip club. Non-profit and non-commercial L.A. based internet radio station, killradio.org, with the help of Valerie of The Ghost Lullaby, raised a pretty pretty penny. Thanks to all the bands: Ready The Jet, Jessie Deluxe, Peach Fuzz, The Ghost Lullaby and The Dirges!

L.A.roadtrip: Lake Arrowhead

2007-06-25T15:40:00.000-07:00

Quick getaway in the nearby mountain communities of San Bernardino to spend Mom's birthday with Mom (!) and family. From downtown L.A., I'm always surprised it's a mere hour and a 1/2 drive. Though, since I rented a Mini Cooper through Flexcar, I could've driven to Canada...Had dinner at Finn McCool's in Twin Peaks to see Wake The Bard...(where I had 3 Smithwicks and 3 Irish Coffees and couldn't barely get a buzz--must've been the altitude)...

visited nearby Crestline and had lunch with some family at Rocky's in Sky Forest.

L.A.moment: Looker @ El Cid

2007-06-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

What a great way to spend a first date: dinner at Hollywood Thai in Thai Town followed by NYC-based Looker @ El Cid. Too bad their plane was delayed, meant they couldn't perform live on killradio.org's "Hear, Here"...but I'm glad that I was able to see them as well as get to better "know" my date (sorry, no photos of that) at this "authentic replica of a 16th Century tavern."

L.A.services - Flexcar

2006-04-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

04/05/06 - Next I drove over to Grand Central Market to get some produce. After dropping off everything at my house and returning the car, the whole trip was 1 hour and 30 minutes, which works out to $15. Check out Flexcar at www.flexcar.com

L.A.services - Flexcar

2006-04-05T14:15:00.000-07:00

04/05/06 - I drove over to Silver Lake to the vet's so I could get the 20 pound bag of cat food my "kids" adore.

L.A.services - Flexcar

2006-04-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

04/05/06 Flexcar is a car rental service that rents by the hour. Cars are at many locations downtwon, Mid-Wilshire and Westwood. Today I used it for the first time. Most cars are Honda Hybrids, but here was the Honda Odyssey waiting for me at Union Station.

L.A.moment - Financial District

2006-04-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

04/03/06 California Plaza

L.A.moment - Union Station

2006-03-31T15:47:00.000-08:00

03/31/06 - [via mobile phone] Union Station, home to the Amtrak, Metrolink, MTA Red Line and Gold Line Trains as well as MTA buses and Flyaway Union Station to LAX express buses.

L.A.media - "Hear, Here" on killradio.org

2006-03-30T10:43:00.000-08:00

O.k., this is a plug... I'm a DJ at L.A.-based internet radio station, killradio.org. Well a fellow DJ, John Hershfield, and I have started a submissions only show for bands and artists called "Hear, Here". Check out the archive and listen in on Mondays from 12pm to 2pm Pacific Time

L.A.moment - L.A. River

2006-03-28T08:11:00.000-08:00

03/28/06 [via mobile phone] L.A. River, after some rain

L.A.moment - Civic Center

2006-03-27T15:31:00.000-08:00

03/27/06 Once again the Los Angeles Police Department was using my place of work, the Los Angeles Times, as a temporary staging area for their monitoring of the City Hall protests . I had to show my work I.D. to officers on the corner of 1st and Broadway just to be allowed to continue down 1st street. The L.A. Times cafeteria was filled with about 30 officers relaxing and shooting the excretement. All this was because of the student protests taking place at City Hal against the anti-illegal immigrant bills before Congress. All the while the Eddie Murphy film production of Dreamgirls (starring Beyonce) was upstairs on the 6th floor (No photos of the cops--or Beyonce--for that matter, I was too chicken to ask or to snap clandestinely)...

L.A.moment - Silver Lake adjacent

2006-03-27T12:31:00.000-08:00

03/27/06 Outside the killradio.org studio, pro-immigration rights student walkout...

L.A.moment - Boyle Heights

2006-03-26T16:11:00.000-08:00

03/26/06 Boyle Heights, Cesar Chavez and Chicago St.

L.A.visit - West Los Angeles

2006-03-26T13:50:00.000-08:00

The Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park (1218 Glendon Avenue, south of Wilshire, in Westwood, 310-474-1579)

Visiting any of Los Angeles’ cemeteries makes for a unique (and to some, morbid), visit with the famously dead. Stand where their famous friends stood, place flowers where a famous spouse might have and consummate a dead celebrity obsession that has been going on for some time now.

Just a headstone’s throw from UCLA and Westwood Village, sits the final resting-place for many of the famously dead. The Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park is home to an eclectic group of actors, musicians, filmmakers, and other famous mortals. Visitors may be surprised and puzzled as to whom they’ll find buried in Westwood.
As a reminder, please keep in mind that cemetaries are not museums. Families for both the famous and non visit as well. So maintain an un-L.A. attitude that is both respectful and discrete.

Marilyn Monroe’s (1926 – 1962) life and death is thought of as one of tragedy and mystery. With cause of death declared as an overdose of Nembutal, a barbiturate, the coroner signed it off as probable suicide. But missing personal documents (including her diary) and the sudden stop of the investigation to her death, along with missing phone records, a lost routine death report, the quick destruction of organ specimens, and lack of remaining medical photos, lead many to believe murder as a more probable cause. (Corridor of Memories, #24)

Famous for her angelic face and catchy mantra, “they’re here” from Poltergeist, Heather O’Rourke (1975 – 1988) died at the age of 13 of intestinal stenosis. The story is that she was discovered by Steven Spielberg in the MGM commissary. (New Mausoleum, outside along the bottom)

The death of Dominique Dunne (1959 – 1982) follows a trend started in such films as Rebel Without A Cause and The Barbarian where many cast members of an entire film die unexpectedly. On-screen sister of Heather O’Rourke's in Poltergeist, Dominique Dunne, daughter of Vanity Fair writer cum laude, Dominick Dunne, was strangled in her driveway by her estranged boyfriend. (Section D, #189)

As previously mentioned, the untimely and strange deaths of celebrities can affect an entire film’s cast. Natalie Wood’s (1938 – 1981) death off Catalina Island completes the trinity of dead prinicipal cast members from A Rebel Without A Cause. Preceded by Porsche-crashing James Dean and the murdered Sal Mineo, Natalie Wood’s body was found floating in the Pacific Ocean, dressed only in a nightgown, woolen socks, and a red down jacket (Section D, #60).

Although a supporting cast member of A Rebel Without A Cause, Jim Backus’s (1913 – 1989) death was neither sudden nor strange. Better known for his roles as the Millionaire in Gilligan’s Island and the lead voice of the animated cartoon Mr. Magoo, Jim Backus died of Pneumonia and Parkinson’s disease. (Section D, #203)

Maybe one of the last people expected to be buried in L.A., let alone Westwood, Truman Capote (1924 – 1984), Southern Gothic novelist, journalist, and darling-about-town, is entombed a number of steps from that cute pixie, Heather O’Rourke. Allegedly, his cremated remains were in the possession of dear friend, JoAnne Carson (ex-wife of Johnny Carson). when they were stolen along with her jewelry. Although later returned, sans jewelry, half of his ashes now reside at Westwood Village, while the other half remains in Ms. Carson’s possession. (New Mausoleum)

Big Band drummer extroidinaire, Buddy Rich (1916 – 1986) had the natural knack and rythmn to be what many consider as the greatest drummer of all time. Raised by vaudvillian parents, Buddy Rich picked up the drums at a young age and became a child star known as “Traps, The Drum Wonder”. Roommates with Frank Sinatra during the Big Band era, Buddy Rich was a member of Tommy Dorsey’s Band and was especially known for being “resoundingly disliked”, to put it nicely. (Sanctuary of Tranquility)

Burt Lancaster (1913 – 1994) didn’t start acting until he was in his 30’s, which may be part of what led him to take greater control of his career. He is perhaps best known for his performances in Birdman of Alcatraz, From Here To Eternity, and Elmer Gantry, the latter winning him an Academy Award for his performance opposite Shirley Jones.

Another performer who died at a young age, Minnie Ripperton (1947 – 1979), is most famous for her song "Loving You". She died at the age of 31, of breast cancer. (Section D, #41).

Remembered for her performances in It’s A Wonderful Life and From Here To Eternity, Donna Reed came to Los Angeles at the age of 16 to complete her education and become an actress. Although she was in over 40 films during her career, she will probably be best known as the quintessential 50’s T.V. mom in the show that bore her name, The Donna Reed Show. She passed away from Pancreatic Cancer at the age of 65. (Section D, #142)

At the opposite end of the cultural icon spectrum from Donna Reed lies Playboy model, Dorothy Stratten (1960 – 1980). Before her death, she entered the acting world via the sci-fi comedy Galaxina, but the world came to know her more through the film story of her life, Star 80. Although the sentiment rings true, Dorothy Stratten’s headstone is a/the unique example of a rambling and contradictory epitaph. (Section D, #170)

One of rock and roll’s most diverse, satirical, and non-conformist renegades, Frank Zappa (1940 – 1993) is buried in an unmarked section of the cemetery. Known for his distrust of authority both on the record and on the record, he lead the charge against the Parents Music Resource Center, calling them “a group of bored Washington housewives” who wanted to “housebreak all composers and performers because of the lyrics of a few.” He died of prostate cancer. (Section D, #100, unmarked)

Texan rocker Roy Orbison (1936 – 1988) follows Westwood Memorial’s rocker trend by being buried in an unmarked area of the cemetery. Although he knew of his heart troubles for a while, Roy Orbison refused to cut short his exhausting comeback tour. He died of a massive heart attack. (Section D, #97, unmarked)

Although her grave doesn’t give her birth date, it is believed that Eva Gabor (1921/1922 – 1995) was 74 when she died.

Best known for the television and radio versions of the play, Our Miss Brooks, Eve Arden (1908 – 1990) is also remembered for her portrayals in Stage Door, Mildred Pierce, and the film version of Grease. (Section D, #81)

One of the last of the 1930’s male stars, Lew Ayres (1908 – 1996), may be remembered by some audiences for his work in the 70’s and 80’s on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Highway To Heaven, Damien: Omen II, and Battle for the Planet of the Apes. Others may remember him as Dr. James Kildare in the nine Kildare movies. But he will probably be best remembered for his work in the 1930’s anti-war Oscar winning film, All Quiet on the Western Front as the disillusioned German solider. Later when he declared himself a WWII conscientious objector, he was shunned by the studios and movie audiences, only to revive his career when he eventually volunteered as a medic and chaplain’s aide (earning three battle stars)

Everyone’s favorite nanny, Mr. French, from Family Affair is buried here. Granted, his headstone reads Sebastian Cabot (1918 – 1977). He was also the voices of Bagheera from The Jungle Book, the narrator in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and Sir Ector in The Sword in the Stone. He died of a stroke. (Large Urn Garden, near front of office, top row, nine from right)

Many people remember John Cassavetes (1929 – 1989) for his acting work in such films as Rosemary’s Baby and his Oscar nominated performance in The Dirty Dozen. But it is his work as a director, where he was most prolific. Films like Faces and Shadows from the early part of his directing career as well as Opening Night and A Woman Under the Influence are considered not only his best work, but important films of the American independent cinema. (Lot 308)

Editor's note: Some gravesite listings do not have location information due to unacertainable information. Go to the Find-A-Grave website for GPS coordinates, if so determined.

L.A.moment - Civic Center

2006-03-25T16:52:00.001-08:00

03/25/06 [via mobile phone] Immigration Rights march, Downtown Civic Center, Los Angeles

L.A.moment - Civic Center

2006-03-25T16:52:00.000-08:00

03/25/06 [via mobile phone] Immigration Rights march, Downtown Civic Center, Los Angeles

L.A.moment - Red Line

2006-03-25T15:26:00.000-08:00