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Reading Something Into Some Books (Marboro Books, Richard Farina and Daniel Deronda)
At 14, I had never read a book outside of school assignments — certainly not for pleasure. I was more of a comic book kid. My parents were concerned and even asked one of my friends to talk to me. I just wasn’t interested. But I liked hanging out at Marboro books in Manhattan. Marboro was a New York book chain that sold books and posters and had large tables with discounted books stacked on them, many for 99 cents.… -
Making L.A. Real (Developer Larry Fields and architect Frank Gehry)
This weekend the story of Los Angeles, and its future, is all about one building, the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Critics have already hailed our new symphony hall as a triumph of design, determination and a marriage of form, function and acoustic feng shui. But more significantly, in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles is finally acknowledging Frank Gehry’s central role in our culture. One building, as Gehry taught us with Bilbao, can change a city (even as the… -
Reality of Their Own (Reality TV Producers)
Reality TV is nothing new. Since the dawn of television, there have always been unscripted formats and game shows of one kind or another. However, the current incarnation of reality programming — shows such as "Survivor," "The Bachelor," and "Fear Factor" — may be the most durable and successful shows in the history of reality programming. What’s more, reality TV is the most innovative area of current programming, far more creative than sitcoms, hour-long dramas, sports, news or movies and… -
Budapest in L.A.
In the coming weeks I will spend many dreamy hours inside Wilshire Boulevard Temple. Two blocks east of Western on Wilshire, the landmark building is an imposing and awe-inspiring architectural gem that belongs to that school of temple architecture that says: We Jews are citizens, and our house of worship is as glorious as any non-Jewish one — maybe more so. Wilshire Boulevard Temple was completed in 1929, the same year as New York’s Temple Emanu-El, the world’s largest synagogue.… -
Summer Reading (Sandor Marai's "Embers," Gunter Grass' "The Crab")
I had planned to spend my summer in Hollywood. I had teed up on my reading list "Maneater" by Gigi Levangie Grazer, "Action!" by Robert Cort and "San Remo Drive" by Leslie Epstein. But, as Primo Levi used to say, life proved otherwise. I had high hopes for "Maneater." I like Grazier’s scripts and, as the wife of producer Brian Grazer, she is uniquely poised to see and hear a lot of dish. However, the accumulation of sordid details overwhelmed… -
Maahj Cracks Fashionistas (The Maah-jong craze)
What, you may be asking yourself, is the next hot trend? The style universe looks to Los Angeles in general, and this column in particular, for those cutting-edge trends that define the culture. No wonder this column has become such a favorite of trendsetters and fashionistas everywhere. (Nonetheless, I continue to deny "sexing up" reports for W, Ingrid Sischy, Kal Ruttenstein, Bonnie Fuller or Hello! Magazine — no matter what the BBC claims.) But back to the future: A movement… -
A Guilty Pleasure Swings With Style ("Mr. S. My life with Frank Sinatra by George Jacobs with William Stadiem")
"Mr. S, My Life With Frank Sinatra" by George Jacobs and William Stadiem is this summer’s guilty pleasure. Jacobs was Frank Sinatra’s valet from 1953 to 1968, and his memoirs are the excuse for a polished backstage tour of Sinatraland, a roller-coaster ride of the high life and the lowdown on almost every scandal, scoop, star, starlet, call girl and politician of the ’40s ’50s and ’60s. I enjoy good gossip. Not the malicious betrayal of personal confidences, but the… -
The Heroes of Jewish Comedy
On Monday, July 7, Comedy Central will premiere the first of a six-part series called, "Heroes of Jewish Comedy." Unfortunately, the series suffers for being a clip job not up to its subject. Less documentary and more comedy would help. Produced in Britain, the show already seems dated (the series has high hopes for NBC’s "The In-Laws," a show that has already been canceled). The narration, read by iconic TV Semite Judd Hirsch, is equally underwhelming. As my mind wandered… -
Kitaj the 'Diasporist'
Six years have passed since painter R.B. Kitaj moved from London to Los Angeles, following a hail of criticism and counterattacks (more on that later). Recently, I visited the artist at his home and studio on the occasion of "Los Angeles Pictures," a breathtaking exhibit at Venice’s LA Louver Gallery. Kitaj’s show in Venice includes more than 20 works, paintings, drawings, even a few abstracts. Clearly, Kitaj’s time in Los Angeles has been productive. But can a self-proclaimed "Diasporist" ever… -
Delightful Offensiveness Key to 'Producers' Genius
src="http://www.s121907096.onlinehome.us/tommywood/articleImages/producers.06.06.03.jpg" width="200" height="222" align="right" vspace="5" hspace="10"/>To understand something of the success of "The Producers," it helps to understand something of its history. There is probably no person on the planet who doesn’t know the story of how this sensation of a musical came to pass, but let me quickly recap: In the early ’60s, Mel Brooks writes the book for the Charles Strouse-Lee Adams musical "All American." Their last musical "Bye Bye Birdie" was a hit. "All American" was not.… -
Affirmative Actions (A Place Called Home; The Accelerated School; PS ARTS)
Affirmative Actions by Tom Teicholz If you want to talk about education, if you want to discuss affirmative action, you need to take a trip with me down the 10 Freeway. Let’s head east past the 405 and the 110 and exit on Central Avenue, heading south. That’s right — South Central, recently renamed South Los Angeles. Driving on Central Avenue, you get inured to a certain version of urban neglect — you begin to take gang tagging as a… -
Dylan Is the Key to 'Masked' L.A.
"Masked and Anonymous" is a new movie starring Bob Dylan that premiered at Sundance. Director Larry Charles has described his film as an "apocalyptic spaghetti noir western." No surprise: The reviews were not kind. Nonetheless, "Masked and Anonymous" is a great title. It seems the perfect phrase to describe Dylan, even as a metaphor for his many personas over the years. At the same time, it is also a great metaphor for the city of Los Angeles and the lives…