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Keeping It Reel!

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Annual Pacific Palisades Film Festival Returns May 14

In March 2008, Pacific Palisades Film Festival honorees Seymour Cassel and Robert Guillaume (second and third from left), surrounded by friends, received their Lifetime Achievement Awards. Photo by Gayle Goodrich
In March 2008, Pacific Palisades Film Festival honorees Seymour Cassel and Robert Guillaume (second and third from left), surrounded by friends, received their Lifetime Achievement Awards. Photo by Gayle Goodrich

Bob Sharka, founder and executive director of the Pacific Palisades Film Festival. Photo: Gayle Goodrich
Bob Sharka, founder and executive director of the Pacific Palisades Film Festival. Photo: Gayle Goodrich

Malibu has one. Santa Barbara has one. Both San Francisco and San Diego have one. And so does Palm Springs. And Hollywood, of course. And, as of six years ago, our town has one, too: an official film festival. Founded by the locally based Friends of Film society, the Sixth Annual Pacific Palisades Film Festival returns Thursday, May 14 through Saturday, May 16, at Pierson Playhouse on 941 Temescal Canyon Rd. Friends of Film just finalized the 2009 program last week, but there are plenty of reasons to look forward to this year’s slate of films, including the riotously entertaining festival opener ‘The Seventh Python,’ billed as a ‘nonfiction musical’ feature, about the life and work of the most elusive of the Monty Python clan, musical satirist Neil Innes; festival centerpiece ‘The Nature of Existence,’ director Roger Nygard’s quest to travel the world and ask people the most difficult questions he could think of; and the documentary ‘Downstream,’ which heralds the return of Academy Award-nominated Leslie Iwerks. A cursory glance at the history of the nascent festival is already ripe with enough notable scenes for a highlight reel. On May 21, 2000, Bob Sharka, a local businessman, founded what he called a Palisades Film Festival at the Pierson Playhouse. The feature film was ‘Bus Riders Union,’ a documentary about a grass-roots effort to improve L.A.’s bus service, directed by multiple Academy Award-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler (‘Coming Home’). Fiction shorts included Judy Chaiken’s ‘Cotillion ’65’ and ‘Kimberly Harwood’s ‘True Confessions of a Sushi Addict.’ In this prototype version of the festival, the programming ran intermittently throughout the latter half of the year, and so Marc Lazard’s ‘Stanley Gig’ (with Faye Dunaway and Marla Gibbs) screened in July 2000, and Mark Anthony Galluzzo’s ‘Trash’ followed in September. From 2001 through 2003, the festival continued in this same loose vein, and highlights included Todd Robison’s ‘Amargosa,’ about legendary Death Valley inhabitant, dancer and painter, Marta Becket and Bob Tur’s ‘Pacific Palisades: The Mockumentary.’ LA Weekly’s film critic Scott Foundas singled out Ara Corbett’s ‘Roof to Roof’ (2001) as one of the ‘exemplary American independent films from the past several years that never surfaced in the local theatres.’ In October 2002, then-Palisades Honorary Mayor Steve Guttenberg held a special PPFF benefit screening of his directorial effort, ‘P.S. Your Cat is Dead.’ Then, in 2004, Friends of Film relaunched the festival in its current format. So that year’s program became what is now demarked as the First Annual Palisades Film Festival. ‘The Palisades Film Fest originally started as a year-round event, with monthly screenings,’ Sharka says. ‘We still continue our ‘monthlies,’ but on a availability basis. We’ve had a three-day fest for the last five years.’ The Second Annual PPFF screened Phil Zlotorynski and Chris Gore’s ‘My Big Fat Independent Movie’ in 2005. On May 11, 2006, Friends of Film honored comic actor Dom DeLuise at the Third Annual PPFF with a lifetime achievement award at Chefmakers Cooking Academy on Via de la Paz. ‘We’re very proud to be honoring Dom, a real class act and a true living legend of the film and television world,’ Sharka said at the time. ‘I can’t think of a better place to hold this event, as Dom is a local guy who, like me, is no stranger in the kitchen.’ On March 6, 2008, the Fifth Annual PPFF’s opening-nighter, Josh Tickell’s ‘Fields of Fuel,’ gripped the Pierson audience and launched a whole program of top-notch documentaries, including Loren Mendell’s ‘Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Greene.’ Afterwards, a VIP party was held in the Huntington, and, on that warm night on the patio of Carol and Mario Smolinisky’s home, actors Robert Guillaume (‘Phantom of the Opera’) and Seymour Cassel (‘Honeymoon in Vegas’) received their Lifetime Achievement Awards from Sharka, surrounded by friends Palisades-based actor Eric Braeden (‘The Young and the Restless’), Marla Gibbs (Florence on ‘The Jeffersons’), producer David L. Bushell (‘The Wendell Baker Story’), and film editor Matt Cassel (supporting father Seymour). In addition to festivals, Friends of Film’s monthly screenings have spotlighted emerging talents, most famously Jason Reitman, son of veteran comedy director Ivan Reitman. His shorts, ‘In God We Trust’ and ‘GULP,’ were screened by Friends of Film in 2000 and 2001, respectively. He went on to direct the Academy Award-winning ‘Juno’ (2007). This year’s Pali Film Fest, while also favoring documentaries, promises no less diversity. Opening 2009’s three-day festival with something completely different will be ‘The Seventh Python,’ directed by Burt Kearns. The profile of peripheral Monty Python member Innes plays on Thursday, May 14 at 7 p.m. Kearns, a longtime Palisadian, tells the Palisadian-Post, ‘Neil Innes is probably the important and influential satirist perhaps since vaudeville, and the greatest songwriter since the Beatles, but he’s deliberately avoided the spotlight.’ ‘Seventh’ will appear with the short film, ‘The Christmas Conspiracy,’ directed by Jennifer Clary and narrated by Dick Van Patten. On Saturday, May 16, at noon, David Wright’s ‘Children of the Valley’ will re-tell a true-life adventure featuring Palisadian Chuck Rapoport, a former LIFE magazine photographer. ‘I was in Wales in 1966 when a major mining-related disaster occurred and a mountain fell on a building and killed 116 kids in a school,’ Rapoport tells the Post. ‘I was there and I took photographs of the aftermath.’ In 2005, Rapoport, who had since become an episodic-television writer (‘Law & Order’), enjoyed a major exhibition at the National Library of Wales of the photographs he had taken. A UK film company caught wind of Rapoport’s exhibit and contacted him about documenting a trip back. Rapoport’s spring 2007 return to the town, 40 years later, and his reunion with those who survived the disaster, forms the heart of Wright’s documentary. ‘It’s very emotional,’ says Rapoport, who had befriended his subjects. A special event for pass holders and invited guests will take place on the night of Saturday, May 16, with a cocktail party and outdoor screening of Academy Award-nominated Leslie Iwerks’ latest, ‘Downstream.’ Iwerks has previously garnered an Academy Award nomination for her documentary short film ‘Recycled Life’ (about life in the depths of the Guatemala City garbage dump) and an Emmy nomination for ‘The Pixar Story.’ She also made a film about her grandfather (‘ The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story’), the legendary animation artist employed by Walt Disney and credited by animation historians for designing Mickey Mouse. Now, Iwerks returns to the PPFF fold with ‘Downstream,’ a real-life drama about an Alberta doctor risking his career to save the lives of the aboriginal people dying of rare cancers downstream from a gross-polluting oil plant. The Pali Film Fest is still young and building a reputation. But such institutions must be nurtured, and there is no better way to support a burgeoning film festival than to attend. Tickets: $10. For a complete screening schedule and advance tickets available by PayPal, visit www.FriendsofFilm.com

The First Five Years: A View from the Top

By BOB SHARKA Special to the Palisadian-Post Times, indeed, are changing. As the Pacific Palisades Film Festival (PPFF)”produced by the nonprofit Friends Of Film”gears up for year six, one thing is certain’the PPFF is on the map. What started as a small festival, the PPFF is really seeing the benefits of sticking around during the initial few years when it’s typically more difficult getting the momentum going: increased submissions, better quality films, returning filmmakers, substantial press coverage and more and more local interest in the FOF events that will be part of the three day event from May 14 through 16. The festival’s submissions are up 80 percent this year alone as more and more filmmakers (particularly L.A.-based ones) are recognizing that the Palisades is a great place to showcase their work. Last year, supporters Mario and Carol Smolinski opened up their Huntington home for the opening-night party, where actors Robert Guillaume and Seymour Cassel were honored with our Lifetime Achievement Awards. It was truly a classy night all around and one of the most memorable events in the history of our five-year event. A close second, dare I say, was recognizing Palisadian Dom DeLuise with a Lifetime Achievement Award as his good pals and living legends Burt Reynolds and Charles Durning looked on. I still get calls from folks wanting to see the highlight reel of Dom’s work that we screened that night. We’ll be taking advantage of the wonderful weather again with two outdoor events on tap for this year’s festival; FOF Gold Supporters Bob and Teresa Akerblom have stepped up their support of the nonprofit by hosting the VIP opening-night party where Golden Globe winner Stacy Keach will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award after a 15-minute highlight reel of his very distinguished career. Another more intimate film event is slated at the home of Michael and Diane Ziering the following evening.   A limited number of festival passes”which include admission to both VIP events”are on sale for $100. I am often asked, ‘How can we help, Bob?’ Well, here’s your chance. We need a home this year where the festival will experience another first: honoring an Academy Award-winning actor. Did I mention the PPFF is on the map?   Bob Sharka lives in Pacific Palisades with his wife, Debbie, and their miniature dachshund, Pencil.

Actor Stacy Keach to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

Actor Stacy Keach, star of such films as ‘The Long Riders,’ TV’s ‘Mike Hammer,’ and, most recently, of the Fox series ‘Prison Break’ and the traveling production of ‘Frost/Nixon’ at the Ahmanson, will be honored by Friends of Film at its opening night VIP party on Thursday, May 14. The party will be held at a private residence in the Huntington Palisades. When Keach receives the Friends Of Film Lifetime Achievement Award, he will join distinguished company. Actor Robert Pine won the festival’s inaugural award. Past recipients have included several Palisadians, including the Academy Award-winning editor Paul Hirsch (‘Star Wars’), actress Nanette Fabray and actor Dom DeLuise. In 2008, the festival’s highest accolade went to a pair of veteran thespians with risky and varied resumes: Seymour Cassel and Robert Guillaume.

J.J. Abrams Adds ‘Star’ Power to ‘Fringe’ Panel at Paley Center

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J.J. Abrams may have ‘Star Trek,’ one of this summer’s most anticipated featured films, coming out on May 8, but last Thursday, he enjoyed some ‘Fringe’ benefits. The producer/director, who co-created Fox’s TV show ‘Fringe’ with hot screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, toplined a panel discussion of the supernatural series about paranormal investigators, now ending its first season. The evening, at Hollywood’s Cinerama Dome, was hosted by the Paley Center for Media. After previewing an upcoming episode of ‘Fringe’ intermingling a commercial airliner crash with a bio-terrorism plot, the Beverly Hills-based Paley Center welcomed the show’s creators and stars. Abrams, who grew up in Pacific Palisades (PaliHi class of ’84) and still resides here, participated on a panel with Orci and Kurtzman, showrunner Jeff Pinkner, executive producer Bryan Burk, and ‘Fringe’ stars Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson and John Noble. At ease in front of a full house, the panel’s participants were relaxed and jocular as they interacted with the moderator, Entertainment Weekly critic Ken Tucker, and audience members, and Abrams himself was in top comedic form. As actress Torv (whose character speaks with an American accent on the show) answered one of Tucker’s questions in her native Down Under drawl, Abrams interjected, ‘She’s Australian! How cool is that?!’ Abrams explained the genesis of ‘Fringe,’ which began when he and Orci and Kurtzman (Abrams’ ‘Star Trek’ screenwriters) threw around the names of science-fiction works that they had enjoyed over the years. ‘We loved David Cronenberg-type stories [such as] ‘Altered States,’ ‘The Twilight Zone,’ ‘X-Files,” Abrams said. The challenge, he continued, was creating a show that was accessible enough for audiences to jump right in. ‘Having worked on ‘Alias’ and ‘Lost,’ that was clearly not us!’ Pinkner argued that shows such as ‘Fringe’ get a bad rap for being inaccessible: ‘If it were ‘ER,’ you’d have no problem tuning in and seeing who is dating whom’There’s a fear it’s going to be harder to understand because it’s a genre show, but it’s about character relationships and we try to make it trackable.’ Later, Abrams commented on his admiration for veteran actress Blair Brown, whom he hired on ‘Fringe’ (‘She brings a wonderful ambiguity to the role’) and ‘the beauty and the fun and the terror’ of planning and executing a series once he learns ‘it will keep going.’ An evening highlight was when Abrams discussed working with the original Mr. Spock on his much-anticipated ‘Star Trek’ prequel. ‘Obviously, working with Leonard Nimoy on ‘Star Trek’ was an insane honor,’ said Abrams, excited and ‘intimidated’ by Nimoy, who took some coaxing to bring aboard the new U.S.S. Enterprise. Abrams went through similar emotions enlisting Nimoy to guest-appear on upcoming episodes of ‘Fringe’ as a colleague of Noble’s character. ‘We’re proud to have him on the show. ‘I tend to work with the same people again and again and again,’ Abrams added, to which Orci exclaimed, ‘Thank God!’ For more information on the Paley Center for Media, visit www.PaleyCenter.org.

‘Welcome Back, Robert’

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‘Kotter’ Cut-Up Hegyes Returns with Webisodes

“Welcome Back, Kotter” actor Robert Hegyes, a de facto Pacific Palisades resident, has created the Internet drama “The Venice Walk.”
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer

Venice, California. Where teens talk a mean blue streak that could make sailors blush. Where students deal drugs outside the police station. Where juvenile delinquency officers shoot firearms to keep kids in line. Welcome to ‘The Venice Walk,’ an online series created by producer/director/co-star Robert Hegyes, who first gained national attention in the mid-1970s, appearing as Juan Epstein on the hit sitcom ‘Welcome Back, Kotter.’ Hegyes, 58, is now exploring the Internet as an artistic outlet. His latest show is a dramatic twist on his old show, wherein he plays the frizzy-haired Kotter figure, Paco Santana, a juvenile probation officer charged with delinquent students. On a recent afternoon, the Palisadian-Post caught up with Hegyes to look back”and look forward”with the actor. A Venice resident, Hegyes is a fixture in the Palisades, where his girlfriend, home furnishings dealer Jessica Miller, is based. The erstwhile ‘Kotter’ actor welcomes the challenge of distributing ‘Venice Way’ online. ‘You don’t make money on the Internet, you create awareness,’ Heyges tells the Post. ‘I like the fact that this is hard. Henry Ford had three companies fail before he started his car company.’ His goal with ‘Venice’ is to sell it as a limited series on cable, and stream 150 half-hour Webisodes onto mobile phones. Born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Hegyes grew up in neighboring Metuchen (he’s a cousin of Jon Bon Jovi). After graduating Glassboro State College (today Rowan University), Hegyes hit Manhattan. ‘Those were the days when they used to go to Broadway to discover actors,’ says Hegyes, who got his big break when producer James Komack saw the 24-year-old playing a Puerto Rican gang member in ‘Don’t Call Back.’ ‘I tortured Arlene Francis with a knife for two hours every night on stage,’ Hegyes says. ‘I didn’t even have time to change and I wore the same thing to my audition for ‘Kotter.” That denim cut-off vest became Hegyes’ signature Sweathog look. ‘Welcome Back, Kotter’ (1975 to 1979) starred stand-up comic Gabe Kaplan as a Brooklyn high school teacher Gabe Kotter, assigned to a motley crew of wise-cracking inner-city youth known as ‘The Sweathogs”’Vinnie Barbarino (John Travolta), Arnold Horshack (Ron Palillo), ‘Boom Boom’ Washington (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs) and Hegyes’ character, the half-Jewish/half-Puerto Rican dual-purpose token, Juan Epstein. Recalling a typical ‘Kotter’ one-liner, Hegyes quips: ‘Half of my family was making pants, the other half was stealing it.’ (For an actor known for portraying Puerto Ricans and Jews, he is, in fact, Hungarian on his father’s side, Italian on his mother’s.) Hegyes recalls how close-knit the young actors were: ‘We were highly competitive, in a positive sense. We would give each other lines we thought belonged to the other characters. I marveled at how talented everyone was. No one knew each other when we met, but here’s the key: we were all Broadway actors.’ Briefly on NBC before airing on ABC, ‘Kotter’ began as a vehicle for Kaplan, before the meteoric rise of cast mate Travolta, whose blockbusters ‘Saturday Night Fever’ and ‘Grease’ took theaters by storm, overshadowed everyone. Originally, says Hegyes, ‘Larry Jacobs was the movie star. He had played in ‘Death Wish.” The Sweathog actors had no problem with Travolta’s sudden career ascension: ‘John set out on day one to leave to do features.’ Tension between Kaplan and ‘Kotter’ producer/creator Alan Sacks affected the sitcom, which ended atop the Neilsens. During its 95-episode run, Hegyes directed an episode (‘Aliens land in Brooklyn and it turns out to be a dream sequence’) and began writing at the encouragement of then-agent Ron Meyer, the CAA co-founder now running Universal. Heyges rejects any blowback regarding non-Latinos playing Latin roles: ‘That’s utter B.S. God forbid Brando should not actually be Polish [in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’]. Ridiculous. The role goes to the best person. That’s why it’s called acting.’ When he arrived from New York, Hegyes landed in Toluca Lake, close to NBC’s lot, and spent 11 years in the Valley before discovering Santa Monica. In the 1980s, Hegyes landed the recurring role of detective Manny Esposito on ‘Cagney & Lacey. ‘I would not go to my dressing room,’ Hegyes says, mesmerized by the consummate talents of Emmy-magnets Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly. ‘I would just watch them rehearse. ‘Kotter’ taught me comedy. ‘Cagney’ taught me how to act.’ Hegyes credits his teens from his first marriage”Mac, 18, and Cassie, 21”for ‘Venice.’ ‘They inspired me to write about what I know,’ he says. Which includes Venice High, where Heyges taught for three years. Combining his ‘Kotter’ and ‘Cagney’ roles, Hegyes originally dubbed his program ‘Epstein,’ envisioning a serious re-imagining of his ‘Kotter’ role (think CBS with ‘Lou Grant’). With screenwriter Craig Titley’s (‘Cheaper By The Dozen’) input, it evolved into ‘Venice.’ Jimmy Hanks (Tom’s brother) will direct upcoming episodes. Hegyes views edgy Venice to New York’s Lower East Side; its imagery as a hook. ‘It’s all about branding,’ Hegyes says, grinning. Referencing his ‘Kotter’ role, he adds, ‘You see me as a teenager forever.’ To view the pilot, visit www.TheVeniceWalk.com/

Historian Discusses Beverly Hills Estates

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  Marc Wanamaker, author of ‘Early Beverly Hills and Beverly Hills 1930-2005,’ will treat Pacific Palisades Historical Society members and guests to an interesting perspective on Beverly Hills on Thursday, May 7, from 7 to 9 p.m., at the Aldersgate Retreat Center, 925 Haverford.   Burton Green, one of the three original land developers of the Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas, named this place of severe terrain after Beverly Farms, Massachusetts, a 19th century spa. Since its establishment in 1907, Beverly Hills has been a crossroads for the great movers and shakers of the entertainment industry, tycoons and world leaders.   Initially, Beverly Hills was established as a residential community broken into three units. North of Sunset Boulevard was reserved for large estates and mansions; south of Sunset was devoted to medium-sized estates and mansions; and the modest single-family homes and apartments were located south of Wilshire Boulevard.   Wanamaker’s presentation will focus on estates north of Sunset and will cover the more famous estates, the people who built them from 1909 through the 1980s, and the intrigues associated with them. He will share secrets that most people do not know about the early days of historic personalities who have helped to shape a universally recognized part of the Westside community.   Wanamaker, an expert on film history, is probably the most accessible celebrity in the world. He publishes his telephone number on the Internet and actually answers the telephone himself. In 1971, he formed Bison Archives, a production and research organization. The meeting is free and open to the public.

Kentucky Bound

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Palisades Owner & Breeder Bo Hirsch’s Papa Clem Runs for the Roses Saturday

Papa Clem nibbles on a carrot in his stable before a workout. Bo Hirsch's three-year-old bay colt is one of 20 entries in this year's Kentucky Derby.
Papa Clem nibbles on a carrot in his stable before a workout. Bo Hirsch’s three-year-old bay colt is one of 20 entries in this year’s Kentucky Derby.

It is called “the most exciting two minutes in sports” and when the 135th Kentucky Derby is run Saturday afternoon at Churchill Downs you can bet your bottom dollar the loudest cheers from the grandstands will be those of Pacific Palisades resident Bo Hirsch. The 60-year-old owner and breeder has been around the sport almost his whole life. This year, however, he has more than just a rooting interest. That’s because one of his horses, Papa Clem, will be competing for the biggest prize in all of horse racing. “My father was in the business his whole adult life and never got a horse to the Derby–which proves that it’s just luck,” Bo said. “So it’s only fitting that the horse I named after him is the one that made it.” Clement Hirsch, Bo’s father, had a passion for the Sport of Kings and was royalty in California, so much so that he even had two stakes races named after him–one at Del Mar and one at Santa Anita, where he started the fall Oak Tree Meet in 1969. Clement died in 2000 after breeding several successful thoroughbreds, including Figonero, who won the Hollywood Gold Cup in 1969, and Grade I winner Magical Maiden, Papa Clem’s grandmother. Bo not only bred Papa Clem, he owns and races him. The horse is one of 16 (most Kentucky breds and a few Cal breds) that Hirsch currently owns, from broodmares to foals. “I think he’s strong enough to go a strong mile and a quarter,” Hirsch said. “There are so many factors that go into a horse race. Time is not the only variable.” Papa Clem has won twice in five starts, including the $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 11 when he overtook Old Fashioned down the stretch of the nine-furlong race. Kentucky Derby post positions were announced Wednesday with Papa Clem drawing Gate 7 and opening at 20-1 odds. I Want Revenge was the favorite at 3-1 despite pulling the unlucky #13 spot. When asked to describe the three-year-old bay colt Hirsch could barely contain his excitement: “Oh my goodness, he’s my favorite. He’s Kentucky-bred. His mother is Miss Houdini, a yearling I purchased from my dad’s estate, and his father is Smart Strike, the leading sire in the country.” Early forecasts predicted a 40 percent chance of rain for the latest edition of the “Run for the Roses”–the first and richest jewel in horse racing’s Triple Crown (the purse is $2 million)–and Hirsch has confidence in horse, trainer and jockey. “The horse ran second in the mud at the Louisiana Derby so I think he can handle a sloppy track,” said Hirsch, who first lived on Alma Real and later on Amalfi growing up. “Gary Stute is one of the best trainers in the business and on Papa’s back will be Rafael Bejarano, the leading rider on the West Coast.” Bo’s wife Candy, who accompanied him to Kentucky, shares her husband’s optimism about Papa Clem, whom she described as “very sweet and a very fast three-year-old… as all Kentucky Derby runners are!” Hirsch is also hoping for some divine intervention. When he attended a service at Palisades Presbyterian Church last week several parishioners offered him their prayers and best wishes. “I couldn’t believe it,” Hirsch exclaimed. “The support I’ve gotten from the community is unbelievable. I’m very grateful.” Hirsch graduated in 1967 from Palisades High, where he was a pitcher for the JV and varsity baseball teams under Dick North and Jerry Marvin and a flanker back for the Bee football team then coached by Paul Thomas. “How can you not like the Palisades,” said Hirsch, who now lives in the cove above Bel-Air Bay Club. “I can still remember going to Dilly Dilly’s ice cream parlor across the street from where CVS is today.” Hirsch knows he will return home from Kentucky on Sunday night richer for the experience, no matter where his beloved Papa Clem finishes. He won’t be surprised if that means a win, place or show. “Papa has speed so if he gets fair fractions at the start I think he’s got a shot to finish in the money [first, second or third],” Hirsch said Monday evening while packing for Tuesday’s 6 a.m. flight to Louisville. “He has a lot of guts and if he’s leading at the eighth pole I really like his chances.” Race coverage begins Saturday at 2 p.m. on NBC. Post time is approximately 3:04 p.m.

Pali Track Has Field Day

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Mariah Fisher clears the bar on her way to winning the varsity high jump.
Mariah Fisher clears the bar on her way to winning the varsity high jump.
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer

Thanks in part to their dominance in the field events, Palisades High’s varsity boys and girls track squads outscored University in last Friday’s dual meet at Stadium by the Sea. Erika Martin won the long jump with a personal-best distance of 16′ 9″ and teammate Lauren Gustafson was second at 15′. Martin also won the 100 hurdles in 14.94 seconds. Brock Earnest won the shot put with a throw of 44′ 1″ and Kolmus Iheanacho threw 38′ 10″ to finish second. Palisades swept the top three spots in the girls’ shot put. Chidera Izuchukwu (30′ 8″) won, followed by Leslie Ota (29′ 10″) and Kiki Bailey (27′ 5″). Junior Mariah Fisher won the girls’ varsity high jump (clearing 4′ 8″) and ran the first leg of the Dolphins’ victorious 4 x 100 relay team. Fisher was the City frosh/soph high jump champion last year. Carlos Bustamante, Palisades’ top distance runner doubled for victories in the mile (4:41) and 800 meters (2:04) while Deborah Abber won the girls’ 1600 in 5:30. Baseball It took a strong relief effort from pitcher Dylan Jeffers and a bases-loaded single by Jon Moscot in the 12th inning for the Dolphins to prevail over Hamilton, 5-4, last Thursday at George Robert Field. The Dolphins won despite stranding 17 runners. After Saturday’s 5-2 victory over Torrance in a Redondo Tournament game Palisades (16-9-1) routed LACES, 12-5, and improved to 13-0 in the Western League. The Dolphins host University on Friday. Lacrosse The boys’ varsity remains undefeated in league despite nonleague losses to a trio of Southern Section schools: Brentwood, Redondo and Beverly Hills. Palisades hosts Jordan Friday at 6 p.m. Boys Tennis On Monday, Palisades defeated LACES, 6-1, with Oliver Thornton, Brandon Clark and Kenneth Choi combining to lose just one game in their three singles matches.

Kehrer Reaches Ojai Finals

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Walker Kehrer hits a backhand volley. He and doubles partner Daniel McCall reached the finals of the high school division at the Ojai Tournament. Photo: Kaye Kittrell
Walker Kehrer hits a backhand volley. He and doubles partner Daniel McCall reached the finals of the high school division at the Ojai Tournament. Photo: Kaye Kittrell

Walker Kehrer may be one of the top singles players in the country but the Stanford-bound Palisadian is just as accomplished at doubles. In fact, many of his biggest victories have come in doubles–like winning the Easter Bowl in 2007. So it came as no surprise that Kehrer, a senior at reigning Southern Section champion Brentwood School, paired with Santa Monica’s Daniel McCall to reach the finals of the Boys CIF doubles division at the 109th Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament last weekend in Ventura County. Kehrer and McCall did not drop a set in four matches leading up to the championship match, where they fell, 6-2, 6-1, to Billy Grokenberger and Chase Melton of Santa Barbara. Competing in the same division, the Palisades High duo of Jeremy Shore and Che Borja lost in the first round to Nick Chang of San Marino and Lester Yeh of Arcadia. Clay Thompson, who trains at the Palisades Tennis Center and plays for Crossroads High, lost to Marcos Giron of Thousand Oaks, 6-3, 6-3, in the Boys CIF singles final. Thompson beat PaliHi’s Justin Atlan in the second round. In the Boys 16s, PTC juniors Alex Giannini and Connor Treacy each advanced to the quarterfinals, as did Palisades High’s Oliver Thornton. Spencer Pekar made the second round and Dolphins teammates Kyung Choi, Max Licona and Brandon Clark lost in the first round. Palisadian and Corpus Christi student Robbie Bellamy lost to top-seeded Gabe Brymer, 7-6 (7), 6-3, in the semifinals of the Boys 14s. Palisadian Samantha Kogan reached the quarterfinals of the Girls 16s singles, PTC trainee Elizabeth Profit reached the third round of the Girls 18s division and sister Mary lost in the first round of the Girls 14s.

Greenberg Wins Pole Vault

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Palisades High's Jamie Greenberg cleared nine feet to win the frosh/soph pole vault last week at the South Bay Championships. Photo: Debbie Price
Palisades High’s Jamie Greenberg cleared nine feet to win the frosh/soph pole vault last week at the South Bay Championships. Photo: Debbie Price

In only her second meet of the season Palisades High freshman Jamie Greenberg finished first out of 19 competitors to win the frosh/soph division pole vault competition at last Friday’s South Bay Track & Field Championships. Following in the footsteps of her older brother Bryan, who was a two-time City pole vault champion for the Dolphins, Jamie set the meet record by clearing nine feet and tying her personal-best height, which she first achieved last June when she won her age group at the Southern California Junior Olympics.

Relay for Life at Palisades High

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The annual 24-hour Relay for Life, a major fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, began at noon on Saturday with a Survivors Walk around the new track at Palisades Charter High School. (See this week’s Palisadian-Post for more photos.)

Chamber Organizes a Community Expo for Sunday, May 17

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The Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce is organizing its first Community Expo, an event designed to involve the Chamber’s membership”businesses of all stripes”on Sunday, May 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Antioch Street and Via de la Paz, in the heart of the village. The Community Expo will include booths promoting local health, environment, technology, financial, home and garden-related businesses, nonprofits and other businesses, vendors and organizations. Other highlights will include a display of classic and exotic cars, plus featured entertainment. The goal, according to the Chamber’s Community Expo Committee, ‘is to provide the residents of the community with a wide variety of information and education in a relaxed, familiar setting that encourages interaction between the attendees and participating vendors.’ To participate, applications must be completed and returned by Friday, May 8. The early-bird deadline is Monday, April 27. Set up and teardown hours and instructions will be provided upon registration. For more information and to get an application, contact the Chamber at (310) 459-7963, or stop by the office at 15330 Antioch. Ramis Sadrieh, founder and owner of Technology for You!, is chairing the hard-working Community Expo Committee, which also includes Brett Bjornson, Esq. (Professional Law Corporation), Joyce Brunelle (Suntricity, Inc.), Roberta Donohue (publisher, Palisadian-Post), Sandy Eddy (SJE Nonprofit Consulting), Angela Parker (Body Inspired Fitness), Christopher Scott (C. Scott Design Group) and Greg Wood (chief financial officer at Palisades Charter High School). Heading the various sub-committees: Brunelle (Environmental), Bjornson (Financial), Eddy (Health), Scott (Home and Garden) and Sadrieh (Technology). Donohue is in charge of the Classic Auto Display Committee, while Wood has been designated Special Envoy.

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