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’
‘Kotter’ Cut-Up Hegyes Returns with Webisodes
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
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
Palisades Owner & Breeder Bo Hirsch’s Papa Clem Runs for the Roses Saturday
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
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
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
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
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
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.
LADOT Hopes to Widen Sunset Blvd.
In an effort to relieve eastbound traffic congestion on Sunset Boulevard, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation has proposed widening Sunset from west of Barrington Avenue to Gunston Drive. ‘I want to emphasize that this is a proposed project and that the preliminary plans and proposed designs are still very conceptual in nature and not a foregone conclusion,’ LADOT Transportation Engineering Associate Michael Hunt told the Palisadian-Post. ‘If we ever obtain funding for this proposed project, there will be more thorough community outreach performed.’ LADOT hopes to receive funding from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Call for Projects program, a competitive process that provides discretionary capital transportation funding for regional projects. The application deadline is April 24. The proposed project is estimated to cost approximately $6.1 million and LADOT is asking Metro for about $4 million with plans to contribute $2.1 million from its Proposition C funding. If LADOT receives money from Metro, construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2016-17. Hunt presented the proposal to the Pacific Palisades Community Council at last Thursday’s meeting, but the Council did not take a position and plans to further discuss the matter at a future meeting. So far, several Brentwood community groups have expressed opposition, partially because it violates the Brentwood-Pacific Palisades Community Plan, which prohibts street widening on Sunset Boulevard (a scenic highway) for the purpose of increasing capacity. The groups further argue that the widening would result in the loss of green buffer space between homes and Sunset. Brentwood Hills Homeowners Association, Brentwood Park Property Owners Association, Brentwood Glen Association, Bel-Air Skycrest Property Owners Association, Mandeville Canyon Association and Upper Mandeville Canyon Property Owners Association have sent letters of opposition to City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, representing District 11. ‘The problem is that Sunset has become a popular short cut to the 405 for those commuting from Santa Monica and other Westside areas,’ wrote Tom Freeman, president of Upper Mandeville Canyon Property Owners Association. ‘If a new lane is added, it will simply make the shortcut more popular, bringing in more traffic volume.’ Rosendahl told the Palisadian-Post that he has not yet taken a stance on the issue because he wants to hear from more residents. He added that he has also received letters supporting the project. ‘This is the beginning of a process,’ Rosendahl said, adding that if LADOT receives the funding, a town hall meeting will be held this summer. The goal is to have three eastbound lanes to the 405 from Beverly Court (west of Barrington Avenue) and two westbound lanes into Brentwood from the freeway. Because of right-of-way issues, Sunset will be widened by 10 feet on the south side between Beverly Court and Barrington Avenue and expanded between two to 10 feet on the north side of Sunset between Barrington Avenue and Barrington Place. From Barrington Place to Gunston Drive, Sunset will then be expanded by about seven feet in both directions. ‘The city currently has 25 feet of available right-of-way (from curb face) on both sides of Sunset Boulevard through this segment,’ Hunt said, adding that Sunset has already been widened from Gunston to the 405. Two landscaped medians are proposed between Woodburn Drive and Gunston and one near Barrington Place. Barrington Avenue (south of Sunset) will also be widened by two feet on both sides from Sunset to the shopping area at Barrington Court. ‘The widening will allow the northbound left-turn pocket on Barrington Avenue to be extended and provide much needed additional northbound left-turn storage,’ Hunt said. In addition, Barrington Avenue (north of Sunset) will be extended about five feet on the east side to accommodate two southbound left-turn lanes, Hunt said. There will also be a six-foot sidewalk installed on the east side of Barrington that will wrap around onto the north side of Sunset and end across from Barrington Place. Based on a traffic analysis by LADOT traffic engineers, the widening will reduce travel delay in that entire segment, Hunt said. The expansion would provide a savings of 114 seconds per vehicle or a 39-percent decrease in the morning and 65 seconds per vehicle in the evening or a 50-percent decrease. It would save 75,750 vehicle hours per year in the mornings and 49,500 vehicle hours per year in the evenings. ‘It is a short amount of time for an individual, but it adds up,’ Hunt said, arguing that the project would improve air quality, quality of life, and pedestrian safety. The project will also tie into California Department of Transportation’s (Caltrans) efforts to widen the Sunset overpass, Hunt said. Caltrans has already obtained funding and completed an environmental impact review for the project. The northbound 405 off-ramp to eastbound Sunset will be widened to include one more lane, according to Caltrans spokeswoman Judy Gish. Two left-turn lanes will be added on westbound Sunset, so that drivers can merge onto the 405 northbound from Sunset. Right now, drivers must take Sepulveda Boulevard to Moraga Drive to merge onto the freeway.
