For most people, winning the Academy Award for producing the best picture, starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman, would have been enough of a career milestone. But not for Tony Bill. Bill, who produced the 1973 Best Picture winner ‘The Sting’ with Michael and Julia Phillips, and directed the 1980 film ‘My Bodyguard,’ has found success in every corner of the entertainment industry, including acting. He will sign his first book, ‘Movie Speak: How to Talk Like You Belong on a Film Set’ (Workman Publishing Company), at Village Books on Thursday, February 12 at 7:30 p.m. ‘This will be my first book signing,’ Bill says. The Venice resident, 68, tells the Palisadian-Post how ‘The Sting’ took three years between script and shoot, but once it got going, the production ran smoothly, with no pressure from the success of ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,’ the previous Redford/Newman vehicle. ”The Sting’ made three times more box office.’ In 1980, Bill directed his first film, ‘My Bodyguard,’ recently echoed in last year’s Owen Wilson comedy, ‘Drillbit Taylor,’ produced by Palisadian Judd Apatow. ‘I haven’t seen it but it sure does sound pretty much like a descendant of it,’ Bill says. ”My Bodyguard’ is a role model for many movies that have followed it.’ Bill considers ‘Bodyguard,’ along with ‘Five Corners,’ and ‘Flyboys’ his greatest directorial achievements. He also helmed two Dudley Moore comedies”’Six Weeks’ (1982) and ‘Crazy People’ (1990). He misses the late comic actor, with whom he had co-owned a popular restaurant, 72 Market Street, from 1984 to 2000. They opened it as a place where Bill could hold lectures and events, and Moore could play impromptu piano concerts for diners. As an actor, Bill enjoyed a role as a Warner Bros. executive in Tim Burton’s first feature, ‘Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.’ ‘Movie Speak’ is equal parts movie-set etymology and career anecdotes. ‘There’s considerable advice for screenwriters,’ Bill says, ‘but it’s a director’s book. On a ship, the captain has to speak the same language as the crew. You don’t say, ‘go to the right,’ you say, ‘go to starboard.’ Moviemaking has its own specific language.’ Case in point: MOS (‘mitt out sound’). ‘Many people believe it came from a German director in the early years of film who’d yell ‘Mitt out sound!’ In my research, I found out it means something else.’ ‘Movie Speak’ contains glossary explanations of such familiar terms as ‘dailies’ and ‘in the can,’ and less common-knowledge phrases such as ‘buff and puff’ and ‘snot tape,’ plus essays drawn from Bill’s experiences. Aided by assistant Karen Svobodny, whom he calls ‘Detective Karen,’ Bill tracked down former Los Angeles Times illustrator Katie Maratta in Texas to provide the visuals. The idea for Bill’s book came ‘about a dozen years ago when my wife suggested that some of the movie set terms are poetic, mysterious and odd. So I started writing them down to make myself a dictionary of this almost endangered language.’ Bill’s wife, Helen Buck Bartlett, works as a producer and partner in the couple’s Barnstorm Films production company. In addition to their projects, the pair has produced daughters, Madeline, 11, and Daphne, 8. Bill says his book stands out from other filmmaking guides because he has home-court advantage. ‘Immodestly,’ he says, ‘I think that most books about the movies have not been written by people who have been there and done that.’ Village Books is located at 1049 Swarthmore. Contacts: (310) 454-4063; and www.palivillagebooks.com.
“Academy” Rewards: Palisadian Expands on Music School Mandate
When the state makes cuts in education, usually the first class on the chopping block is music. But Palisadian Margaret Lysy is doing quite the opposite. Lysy is the founding president and CEO of SOL-LA Music Academy, a new youth program of music instruction taking place on the Westside. Under the credo ‘Music Builds Humanity,’ SOL-LA, Lysy, 43, tells the Palisadian-Post, arrives at a time when the economy is not only sapping education budgets, but is also creating stress on households. More than ever, the performing arts can become a vital outlet to a child or teen’s emotional health and budding self-esteem. The music academy instructs youth 3 months to 18 years. With 15 to 20 instructors conducting such classes as ‘SOL-LA Youth Tango/ Jazz Ensemble Middle & High School,’ ‘FUNdamentals of Music and Movement’ (for early childhood), and ‘Language of Music,’ SOL-LA offers courses on Saturdays, after school on Mondays, and after school on Thursdays. Originally housed last year at Colburn School of Performing Arts downtown, SOL-LA’s curriculum is currently based at Little Dolphins By The Sea Preschool in Santa Monica. ‘This is the first year at Little Dolphins, we’re branching out and the program’s growing. We’re trying to bring it into the 21st century,’ Lysy says, noting that SOL-LA offers instruction in the Garage Band program on Mac computers. But it’s not just about providing state-of-the-art technology. ‘It’s also the type of teachers we’re getting,’ Lysy says. ‘The best of the best. I’m building the curriculum around the teachers.’ One of those teachers is Aaron Nigel Smith of Seven Arrows Elementary. ‘He teaches our choral program,’ Lysy says. ‘They sing African music, they sing German music. A lot of drumming and rhythm.’ Other participating Palisadians include the academy’s Web site designers, Patricia Kovic and her husband, Jeff Morris, and Dr. Victoria Stevens, daughter of local pianist Dolores Stevens, who is on SOL-LA’s faculty. Margaret Lysy knows the importance of music in a younger person’s life firsthand from her childhood in Northern Ireland. ‘When I was growing up in Belfast, I was one of 11 children, and Ireland was experiencing the height of the Troubles,’ she says, alluding to the waves of I.R.A. bombings spanning the late 1960s through the late 1990s. ‘We did not go out that much.’ As a result, Lysy’s parents enrolled her in a music academy, where she studied oral theory, chamber music, violins, piano lessons. ‘Part of what Ireland is about is that, over there, they feel very strongly about culture and the arts,’ Lysy says. ‘Music was the language that both sides [of Ireland’s religion-based political conflict] could talk.’ Lysy eventually moved to England, where she realized that the music education, while very good, was not of the caliber that she enjoyed in Ireland. Lysy moved to Montreal, where she studied at McGill University. What brought her to California five years ago was when she and her husband, Antonio Lysy, accepted positions in UCLA’s music department, where she is a professor of music education, and her husband heads the strings department. Her husband, incidentally, runs ‘In Contri in Terra di Siena,’ an annual music festival in Italy. Education was very much on their mind when they bought their Marquez Knolls home, as they were attracted to area schools. The couple have three children: Sofia, 19, who just graduated from PaliHi, plays piano, and is interested in the fine arts; Clara, 15, who went to Marquez Elementary and St. Matthew’s and plays violin; and Aidan, 9, who also attended Marquez, plays piano and violin, and sings in chorus. When not teaching on the college level, Lsys can be found at SOL-LA, where she enjoys a hands-on role teaching the ‘Beginner Violin’ and the ‘Do-Re-Mi-Fa-SOL-LA String’ classes to young people. ‘What I teach at UCLA is pedagogy, so I need the experience of teaching young children,’ Lysy says. ‘It’s very pertinent to what I’m doing at UCLA.’ SOL-LA Music Academy is located at 1812 Stanford St., Santa Monica. Contact: (310) 828-2912; e-mail info@sollamusicacademy.org; visit www.sollamusicacademy.org
The Lone Ranger Rides Again At Pierson Playhouse Feb. 9
Close your eyes and journey back on the carpet in front of the family’s Zenith radio as the staccato blast of the ‘William Tell Overture’ opening notes ushers in a fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty ‘Hi yo, Silver, away!’ On February 9 at 7 p.m., The Lone Ranger will ride again, straight into the Pierson Playhouse, where he and his loyal Native American sidekick, Tonto, will thrill his fans once again. In honor of the 75th anniversary of the masked cowboy avenger, the Pacific Palisades Historical Society will present ‘The Resurrection of the Lone Ranger and Tonto.’ Ted Ashby, a retired LAPD officer with a life-long interest in the ‘old wild West’ will host the event. While researching famous movie horses 17 years ago, Ashby arrived at the Lone Ranger’s faithful steed, Silver, which led to him unlocking fascinating information on how ‘The Lone Ranger’ radio program came about. His desire to share his knowledge with kindred spirits led him to conducting presentations at such places as the Kiwanis Club of Eagle Rock (where he has been an active member for 25 years) and various schools and organizations. His presentations on the Pony Express and stagecoach routes have become something of a second career for Ashby. ‘Now the Autry Museum wants me to come up there and talk,’ Ashby says of the Griffith Park destination, which, by the way, houses the original saddle from the TV ‘Long Ranger.’ Created by George W. Trendle and developed by writer Fran Striker in 1930, ‘The Lone Ranger’ quickly became a radio staple. The silver bullet-shooting vigilante was portrayed on the radio by several actors, including John L. Barrett (who played the role on the original WEBR-Buffalo test broadcasts), George Seaton, series director James Jewell, Earle Graser, and Brace Beemer, originally the show’s announcer. The last new radio episode aired on September 3, 1954. ‘The Lone Ranger’ radio serial even inspired a popular superhero spin-off: ‘The Green Hornet.’ On television, Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels, as Lone Ranger and Tonto, respectively, popularized the Wild West crime-fighters on ABC from 1949 to 1957. The subject of various feature films, ‘The Lone Ranger’ continues to thrive today in a Dynamite Entertainment comic book series created by Brett Matthews and Sergio Cariello. Ashby’s presentation will feature ‘how and why ‘The Lone Ranger’ program got started. It came about because of the William Tell Overture. George Trendle wanted a kid’s show that featured a character with values, who would leave before you get the accolades. Trendle liked classical music and he could visualize a cowboy riding to the William Tell Overture.’ By 1937, it was the number one radio show. ‘Ninety-four percent of the radio stations carried ‘The Long Ranger,” says Ashby. The program will run about 45 minutes. Expect a visual presentation to accompany the radio recordings. Contact: www.pacificpalisadeshistory.org
“Apollo” Missionary
Palisadian Chris Lancey Looks Back at His Years Producing “Showtime at the Apollo”
Mariah Carey. Beyonce. Stevie Wonder. Mary J. Blige. Usher. Queen Latifah. Diddy ‘ This roster of music’s biggest names sounds like the guest list of this Sunday’s Grammy Awards. In fact, they have all performed on the venerable syndicated variety show ‘Showtime at the Apollo.’ And taking it all in at ground zero was television producer and Palisadian Chris Lancey. If you’ve ever stumbled home from a party in the wee hours with a hardcore case of the munchies, well, then, you’re probably very familiar with ‘Showtime.’ Launched in 1987, the long-running African-American talent showcase, which in most markets has aired on NBC following ‘Saturday Night Live,’ has become a key launching pad for musicians and comedians. The centerpiece of ‘Showtime,’ of course, is the legendary Apollo Theater. Founded in 1914, the Apollo, located on West 125th Street in Harlem, originally did not allow African Americans inside. But in 1934, Ralph Cooper, Sr., staged a live version of his popular radio show, ‘Amateur Nite Hour at the Apollo.’ By then, the theater was owned by the Schiffman family, who loosened up on the segregation rules. Scat pioneer Ella Fitzgerald was one of the first ‘Amateur Night’ winners. That same year, Cooper and Benny Carter dazzled with the theater’s first ‘Colored Revue.’ In 1935, Bessie Smith made her Apollo debut, followed by an unknown singer named Billie Holiday, who mesmerized the Apollo audience. Over the years, the Apollo Theater became legendary for breaking the careers of music icons such as Wonder, Michael Jackson, James Brown and Lauryn Hill. For 17 years, Lancey was one of the executive talents behind the long-running TV version, which debuted as ‘It’s Showtime at the Apollo.’ Lancey oversaw the weekly show with producers Percy Sulton, Bob Banner and Al Jerome. ‘What we could see instantly,’ Lancey tells the Palisadian-Post, ‘was that young people liked the show a lot. It had great numbers and performed best at a late-night slot. It came at a time when rap was just becoming a big deal.’ What Lancey and company did not realize at the time was that, as with rap music, ‘Showtime’ would continue to endure to this day. Taped at the Apollo on Wednesdays for a Saturday night air date, ‘Showtime at the Apollo’ is hosted by a comedian and features live performances from professional and up-and-coming artists. Over the years, ‘Showtime’ has amassed an abundance of highlight-reel riches. Add to the aforementioned list of hot music acts such groundbreakers as Aretha Franklin, Eartha Kitt, Run-DMC, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J and TLC; just a smattering of the notables (many of them Grammy winners). Comedians have included Martin Lawrence, Mo’Nique, Cedric the Entertainer and Paul Rodriguez. In most markets, ‘Showtime’ has aired right after ‘Saturday Night Live.’ Having the venerable sketch-comedy show as a lead-in was, depending on the moment of time, a blessing or an albatross, but generally a blessing, says Lancey: ‘If SNL dipped in the ratings, we dipped, but the percentages were not as much.’ At one point, Lancey traveled nationwide to break ‘Showtime’ into 140 top markets (NBC affiliates), where it averaged a consistent 2 rating (about 2 million households). Lancey says there was a lot of fine-tuning early on. ‘The producers tried shuffling guest hosts, but quickly determined that continuity of a good host was powerful.’ Before the comedian Sinbad became ‘Showtime”s first recurring emcee, Brown, Bill Cosby, Al Jarreau and Mary Wilson were among the rotating hosts. The show’s most popular segment, hands-down, was the loud and unpredictable ‘Amateur Night’: what Lancey calls ‘a show within a show. It worked and it worked big.’ Apollo’s harsh audience did not suffer fools. Lancey reveals that he had to overbook comedians for the segment because ‘so many were always booed off.’ Of the professionals, ‘Chris Rock was huge,’ according to Lancey. And even certain Caucasian comedians won the tough crowd’s respect. ‘Adam Sandler had a good showing,’ he says. ‘Adam and Dennis Miller did not get booed off.’ As for the musical acts: one of the first to perform was the first rap group to achieve mainstream commercial success: the legendary Run-DMC. Other performers who went over well, says Lancey: ‘Michael Bolton killed. Jamie Foxx, Snoop Dogg, Destiny’s Child.’ Tyrese had women fainting, and stuck around after the taping to sign autographs. In the 1990s, Lancey talked up the former Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs, a.k.a. Diddy, while he waited in the wings for ‘one of our biggest appearances. He was at his peak. Great guy, very friendly, and a top-notch performer.’ He also remembers witnessing how one famous comedian’s career skyrocketed after he got his big break hosting the show. ‘Steve Harvey used to warm up the very hostile Apollo crowd,’ Lancey recalls. ‘[Previous host] Mark Curry would be in his dressing room waiting for his call. There was Steve, doing all the work, warming up the audience every evening.’ At one point, when Curry’s star was rising, he was commuting between Harlem and Los Angeles to shoot a sitcom. One day, he missed a ‘Showtime’ taping. ‘So we turned to Steve and said, ‘You’re it,” Lancey says. ‘That launched Steve Harvey, who became the new host.’ Lancey places Harvey in Richard Pryor’s rarified company: ‘One of the most talented comics I’ve ever seen.’ Soon, Harvey fell prey to Curry’s taxing routine when he landed his own sitcom. ‘He was pretty exhausted. The travel does get to you,’ Lancey says, empathetically. During ‘Showtime”s peak, Lancey spent years commuting from his Huntington Beach home to New York, before moving to Pacific Palisades. Some key moments stand out from Lancey’s years on set, such as when rap star Li’l Kim got on stage. ‘She lost her top. Let’s just say that it was an interesting moment,’ he says. Needless to say, her performance was re-shot. Lancey’s personal musical highlight came ‘when Cab Calloway did the hand-jive.’ It turned out to be the singer’s last televised performance. ‘Two of our biggest acts turned out to be two of our oldest,’ Lancey says, referring to Calloway, and to Patti LaBelle, who dazzled with her ‘Over the Rainbow’ rendition. ‘To be a fly on the wall at the Apollo was exciting,’ says Lancey’s wife, Kathryn, who got to see LaBelle, Alicia Keys and Christina Aguilera in person. ‘It’s the Carnegie Hall of Harlem.’ Married 20 years, the Lanceys moved to Pacific Palisades a decade ago from Orange County, after starting their family: Alycia, 18, Cameron, 16, and Victoria, 13. Lancey grew up in Placentia and attended Anaheim’s El Dorado High School. ‘We used to get up every weekend, grab our surfboards, and catch the bus to Newport,’ he says. Conversely, Kathryn says that, growing up, she and her friends used to ride their bikes from Long Beach to Anaheim, spend the day roaming around Disneyland, and make it home for dinner. Lancey attended and played football at San Diego State. ‘That’s where I got into the biz,’ he says. ‘I managed a radio station and I was a DJ.’ He moved to Los Angeles and worked as a videotape editor on the KTLA Evening News. Living near Melrose and Western Avenues, he recalls being at the number-one local news broadcast, anchored by the late Hal Fishman, as an eye-opener. ‘You got a sense of what everyone did and of how hard everyone worked,’ says Lancey, who hopped over to the company that produced the infamous cult classic, ‘Attack of the Killer Tomatoes,’ after a year. In early 1988, he went to Group W”a now-defunct company that sold air time for Filmation cartoons”as a sales assistant. One of the account executives there was Kathryn Hutchinson. Chris and Kathryn began dating and married in 1989. Lancey did not stay at Group W for long. He moved to Blair Television, an advertising rep firm that sold programs such as ‘Divorce Court,’ which was quickly shuttered and sold to Dennis Holt, owner of Western International Syndication. Holt hired Lancey to run his syndication operation. ‘I was part of a revitalization of the company,’ Lancey recalls. ‘In 1988, when I joined Western, ‘Showtime’ was the very first show that I did. NBC had produced a few episodes with the Apollo Theater group, and they brought those shows to me and they said, ‘What do you think?’ I analyzed the show and made a recommendation to ownership to invest in this show. Based on my recommendation, Western went forward with it. I led the distribution and oversaw the production for my company.’ In 1996, as president of Western International Syndication, Lancey aired such syndicated programs as ‘Fight Back! With David Horowitz.’ By then, fantasy fare, such as ‘Hercules: The Legendary Journeys’ and ‘Xena: Warrior Princess,’ dominated syndicated strips, and Lancey got ‘Conan the Adventurer’ and ‘The Immortal’ on the air. ‘It was exciting to be able to work one day with pop and rap, and work the next day on the set of a sword-and-sorcery show,’ he says. Lancey served as president of Western from 1995 through 2000, when he purchased the company. In 2001, Lancey launched ‘Cheaters,’ but left the show over creative differences with its producers. He developed the game show ‘On The Cover’ in 2004. All along, Lancey had continued running ‘Showtime.’ But when Warner Bros. took over the Apollo Theater in 2005, Lancey and his partners moved on. Unfortunately, Lancey spent much of 2006 and 2007 battling lymphoma. While he triumphed over the disease, it took a professional toll on him when he lost oversight and control of Western. But upon his full recovery, Lancey bounced right back by forming a new production company, Creative Arts Entertainment Group, with longtime business partner Mark Terry. Kathryn Lancey has also joined Creative Arts as its director of new development, and she sums up the secret of her husband’s success this way: ‘The entertainment industry isn’t known for scruples, but Chris is an amazing guy who has an impeccable reputation. Kind of like Dick Clark. Chris is really committed to the excellence of what he does.’ Lancey is currently working on ‘Adventure Guides,’ hosted by creator John Dietch, who supervised the fly fishing sequences in ‘River Runs Through It.’ ‘Adventure Guides’ premiers this summer on the Outdoor Channel. But of all the programs Lancey has created, he says he’s most proud of ‘The Desperate Passage Series,’ a docu-series that ran from 1988 and 1994 and won 13 Emmy Awards. One episode even inspired the 2006 football film ‘Gridiron Gang,’ starring The Rock. ‘It had integrity,’ Lancey says. ‘And it became larger than what it was.’ So after a quarter-century career in television, what is it about the entertainment business that keeps Lancey engaged? Like the Gridiron Gang itself, it boils down to one word: teamwork. ‘I love being able to create opportunities for creative people to work,’ he says, reminding the Post that with any given TV program, ‘none of this happens without a group of people.’
Palisadian Introduces SweetFiber, A Natural, No-Calories Sweetener
When entrepreneur Scott Taylor talks ‘sweet,’ it is about his new food product SweetFiber, a sugar substitute that is 100 percent natural, has no calories and contains fiber. Still, ‘it’s a harder sell than I thought it would be,’ said Taylor, a Pacific Palisades resident whose product can be purchased at Gelson’s. In addition to battling established sweeteners such as Splenda, Sweet’n Low and Equal, he has to educate the consumers about why his product is healthier. For example, a teaspoon of sugar has 15 calories, artificial sweeteners have four, and SweetFiber has zero. Artificial sweeteners also use a sugar alcohol, such as sucralose, aspartame and saccharin, and are so sweet, only a minuscule portion is used in each packet, which means the remainder of the white powder is a filler most commonly blended with malt dextrin, a starch with calories, according to Taylor. SweetFiber, by contrast, receives its sweetness from a vegetable in the Chinese melon family called luo han guo, or monk’s fruit. The extract is nearly 300 times sweeter than sugar and has been used in China for more than a thousand years. Luo han guo is generally sold in dry form and is traditionally used in herbal tea or soups for respiratory ailments and sore throats. To make SweetFiber, Taylor mixes luo han guo with fiber from the chicory root [inulin]. ‘I put in fiber for health reasons,’ he said, and the net result is a sweetener that is gluten-free and calorie-free. Taylor, who has worked for 10 years as a brand strategy consultant, decided he wanted to start his own business in 2005. He looked at several food companies before meeting Dr. Michael Murray, who was trying to introduce SweetFiber. ‘I worked with him less than a year, we launched the product and it failed,’ said Taylor, who subsequently bought out his partner and started over from scratch. Their earlier product contained xylitol and tagatose, both artificial sweeteners, but Taylor insisted on producing a natural sweetener. The next issue was the filler. ‘I wanted to make sure that the ingredients would be all natural,’ he said, adding that in the process, he decided to use fiber. ‘I had no idea I was going to become a fiber advocate.’ Taylor explained that fiber has been taken out of most foods, which is contributing to ‘a health crisis in America due to obesity,’ he said. ‘People say that fructose corn syrup is the reason for the obesity. It’s not true. One of the main reasons is that we have stopped eating fiber, while consuming too many processed foods, eating too much and failing to exercise enough. ‘If you eat 25 grams of fiber a day, you’ll avoid weight gain because of the satiated affect,’ Taylor said. One packet of SweetFiber has the same fiber as half a carrot. The other advantage to Taylor’s product is that because of the added chicory root, it can be used in baking. ‘Replacing sugar in baking is hard because sugar serves as a humectant and a bulking agent. It’s one of the most complex food-science problems there is and when I developed this product, I had no idea what I was tackling.’ A downside for some people is that SweetFiber costs about twice as much as artificial sweeteners. In fact, in a survey conducted by Taylor, one-third of the people interviewed admitted they obtained sweetener packets without buying them. Taylor, a Wisconsin native, graduated from Northwestern University with a television/film degree. He spent four years in Chicago working on television commercials, including Wendy’s famous ‘Where’s the beef?’ with Clara Peller, before continuing his business education at Cornell. Upon graduating in 1990, he was hired as a marketing manager for Trident gum. He admits that he tasted gum with artificial sweeteners that hadn’t been approved by the FDA and when he spit it out, it went into a ‘red hazard’ container. With SweetFiber, Taylor doesn’t worry about artificial ingredients or the long-term effects. ‘We’re on the cusp of this whole new way of eating, and SweetFiber is one of those foods that is good for you,’ he said. Taylor and his wife Nancy have lived in the Palisades for 10 years. Their two sons attend Marquez Elementary and New Roads Middle School, and both are active members of Boy Scout Troop 223.
Betty Bradshaw, 80; Valuable Member of SM Canyon Board
Elizabeth (‘Betty’) D. Bradshaw, who had lived in Santa Monica Canyon since 1963, passed away on January 27 at St. John’s Hospital. She was 80. Born in 1928 in Alaska when it was still a territory, Betty spent her formative years in Dawson City, Yukon, Canada. Her family moved to Oakland during World War II, and four generations of her family moved through the house, located (appropriately enough) on Fairbanks Avenue. After graduating from Mills College, Betty married World War II veteran Thomas Bradshaw in 1954. They moved to Los Angeles in 1961 and bought a home in Santa Monica Canyon two years later. Betty was a legal secretary, an avid supporter of Theatre Palisades and active in the Santa Monica Canyon Civic Association. ‘She was secretary of our association for many years and a board member for over 35 years,’ said SMCCA chairman George Wolfberg. ‘Her institutional memory, insight and perspective will be greatly missed.’ Though Betty’s health diminished in her last year, she had a brilliant mind, a smile and useful advice for anyone and everyone. ‘To know her was to love her,’ said her son, Andrew. Betty was predeceased by her husband, Thomas, a longtime employee of the City of Los Angeles, who died in 1995. She is survived by her two children, Elizabeth Hall (husband Richard) of Lancaster, and Andrew (wife Beth) of Santa Monica Canyon, both of whom graduated from Palisades High School. Private services will be held February 7.
Mary Sadie Crook, 91; Active In Various Westside Charities
Mary Sadie (n’e Ficovic) Crook, a longtime resident of Pacific Palisades, passed away on January 22, surrounded by her family. She was 91. Born January 2, 1918 in Anacortes, Washington, Mary grew up in Los Angeles. At 14, she started her lifelong social and charitable activities when she was accepted into the Brush & Quill Club and became a charter member of the Old Maids Club at Los Angeles High School. After graduating in 1935, Mary attended the Dress Design School at Madame Charlotte’s in Los Angeles. She had the ability to design and make a party dress to wear the same evening. She also contributed articles to the Los Angeles Times society page. Mary started dating Peter Crook when they were 14 years old and attending Mt. Vernon Junior High. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1940 and proposed to Mary while they were dancing at his senior prom. Instead of simply saying ‘Yes,’ Mary decided to answer him in a novel way. She borrowed a quarter from his best friend and sent him a telegram, saying that she would marry him. After their wedding on July 12, 1941, the Crooks lived for three years in Oklahoma City, where Peter worked for Douglas Aircraft. They moved to Santa Monica in 1945 and in 1965 they bought a home near the Getty Villa. Mary lived a very social life and was active in many charities in Santa Monica and Los Angeles, including the Girl Scouts, Assistance League, Westside Charity League, Red Cross, ARCS, the Republican Club, and The Muses. She, Peter, their daughter Pam (and later Pam’s daughter, Wendy) participated in many Charity League Follies. In 1958, Mary and Betty Jo Charnley started a thrift shop for the Assistance League, the Bargain Bazaar in Santa Monica, which is still thriving today. While involved in charity work, Mary took on various jobs: publicity, fundraising, president, benefit chairman’whatever was needed, she excelled at. As a lifelong chocoholic, she also enjoyed her membership on See’s Candy’s Connoisseurs’ Test Panel. In addition to her husband of 67 years, Frank Peter Crook, Jr., Mary is survivived by her daughter, Pam Gray of Pacific Palisades; her son, Gordon of Westlake Village; and grandchildren Wendy Gleason and Kevin and Kelly Crook. A celebration of life will be held on Tuesday, February 10 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the home of Peter Crook. E-mail Pam Gray at graypw1@yahoo.com for directions. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to S.T.A.R.S., a Westside/Valley charity that raises money for neurological research at The Burnham Institute in La Jolla. Checks can be sent to Pam Crook Gray, 1557 Michael Lane, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272.
Jimmy Alexander, 47; PaliHi Grad, Town’s Popular “Weatherman”
Jimmy Alexander, an employee of Ralphs Market in Pacific Palisades, died unexpectedly in November after collapsing at his home in Santa Monica. He was 47. Alexander, who was also known around town as ‘Jimmy the Weatherman,’ attended Paul Revere Junior High School and Palisades High School. ‘I first met Jim when I was 13 and had just started surfing,’ Palisadian Richard Evans wrote in an e-mail to the Palisadian-Post. ‘Back then, there was no good forecast for waves. Jim would always assure me of the systems brewing off the coast that would bring us either wind or ground swell and on what days the waves would peak. I always admired the dedication he had for his passion.’ ‘The surfers loved him because every day he brought a surf report to school,’ Post graphic designer Tom Hofer said of his high school classmate. Chris Demos, the service manager at Ralphs, said that he had known Alexander for more than 25 years. Alexander had started working in the store in the 1980s, stopped for a while, but returned several years ago. ‘He loved the Palisades and especially liked participating in the Fourth of July parade,’ Demos said. ‘We all know how much he loved the weather and really connected with everyone through it. He not only knew the local weather, but he’d see someone who had a relative in another part of the country and he’d know the forecast for that area as well. ‘He was a great guy and I loved seeing him at Ralphs,’ said Pepperdine’s Vice-Chancellor of Athletics Sam Lagana, who graduated with Alexander from PaliHi in 1980. ‘If I told him that I was going to New York, he’d send me e-mails about the weather in New York.’ ‘I’ve worked at the store for over 30 years and I can’t recall anyone who brought a smile to as many faces as Jimmy did,’ Demos said. Alexander is mourned by his wife Margie and his teenage daughter Jasmine. He was proceeded in death by a sister, Julie. There was a small gathering for Alexander and his father (who passed away on December 29) on January 25 at a private home in Mar Vista.
Nicholas Rosser, 18; Multi-Talented Youth
Palisadian Nicholas ‘Nick’ Rex Rosser, 18, died on Saturday, January 31, in an automobile accident on Palisades Drive. Nick was a senior at Palisades Charter High School. He played midi on the varsity lacrosse team and forward on the Venice High club ice hockey team. He was a longtime lifeguard and employee at the Santa Ynez Recreation Center and a camper and counselor at St. Matthew’s Day Camp. He was also an avid surfer, skateboarder and budding photographer. Nick is survived by his 14-year-old sister, Alessandra ‘Ali’ Ponticello Rosser, an eighth grader at Paul Revere; his parents, Stacey and Richard Rosser; and grandmothers May Ponticello and Linda Rosser. He leaves four aunts and uncles and three cousins. Born on December 21, 1990 in New York City, Nick spent his earliest years in Brooklyn Heights, just outside Manhattan, before the family moved to Short Hills, New Jersey. In June 1999, the Rossers moved to Pacific Palisades, living first on Las Lomas and quickly becoming deeply involved in community life. Three years later, the family moved to the Highlands, where Nick was immersed in what his parents fondly refer to as the ‘Highlands Crew,’ a group of adventurous playmates including Gray and Conor Ishimatsu, Max and Chris Groel, Timmy Galier, Evan Biscow, Zach Sherman, Nicky Giggins, and Matt Girard, all of whom roamed between houses and the Santa Ynez Rec Center to skateboard, swim or play airsoft and videogames. Nick graduated from Marquez Elementary and St. Matthew’s Parish Middle School. A regular St. Matthew’s Sunday school and youth group attendee, he became a confirmant of the Episcopal Church while in the eighth grade. The highlight of Nick’s summers was as a camper at St. Matthew’s Day Camp, where he had so much fun he could hardly wait to become a counselor himself. After sixth grade, his father asked Nick how he would spend the summer. Nick came up with the idea of a Videogame Camp and presented his concept to the board of the Santa Ynez Rec Center. After hearing the 14-year-old’s proposal, the board unanimously approved. With Timmy Galier, his business partner and fellow gamer, Nick’s camp hosted four to eight kids two times a week all summer. The next summer, Nick participated in the Los Angeles Junior Lifeguard program and ultimately became an American Red Cross certified lifeguard. The summer following ninth grade, Nick’s greatest childhood dream came true. His winning smile, solid work ethic and desire to work with children got him hired for a coveted spot on the St. Matthew’s Day Camp staff. For the next three years Nick served as a co-counselor, but this job was not enough to satisfy his love of working with kids. Each of the following two summers he worked a second job, first as a lifeguard at the Santa Monica Beach Club, then at the Santa Ynez Rec Center, where he continued working until the afternoon of his death. Nick loved to read and was rarely without a book in progress. It started with Harry Potter in the second grade and continued as he read Philip Pullman, and later Michael Crichton, Robert Ludlum and Orson Scott Card. Nick had eclectic musical tastes, ranging from rap and hip-hop to techno and classic rock. He loved watching ‘Scrubs,’ ‘Lost’ and ‘The Office,’ especially when relaxing with family. He was fond of hanging with an extended group of friends, often talking late into the night. Inspired by his graphic arts class at PaliHi (taught by John Buse), Nick bought a camera with his own money and was becoming quite a photographer. As an East Coast kid by birth, Nick appropriately became a hockey enthusiast and player in elementary school. In the days when a blacktop area at the Palisades Recreation Center was surrounded each Friday night by curb bumpers, he played rollerhockey for three years. During his middle school years he transitioned to the rollerhockey program at the Mar Vista Recreation Center. Rollerhockey led to ice hockey. Nick started playing at Culver City for the in-house league and subsequently embarked on a three-year stint at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, where he spent his freshman, sophomore and junior years playing for the Venice High club team. These hockey years paid off as Nick discovered his true sports passion. His junior year, a friend suggested he try out for lacrosse at PaliHi. Having never played the sport, Nick was hesitant but tried out for fun. He made the junior varsity team. Coach Scott Hylen claims Nick was a natural and bumped him up to the varsity team after less than a month. Fast on his feet and adept with a stick, Nick played varsity midi his junior year and had begun practice for his senior season two weeks before his death. Nick approached his college applications with the same focus, ethics and solidly developing manhood that he brought to his various jobs and sports. His essay recounted the challenges and satisfaction experienced as a co-counselor for a special needs camper. Nick knew he wanted to play lacrosse in college and this became his priority selection criteria. He received invitations from coaches at UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz and Chapman University and San Diego State, and visited a number of teams. Within hours of Nick’s death, a stunned community reverberated with memories of his constantly flashing smile and reached out to the family with meals, prayers and shared loss and grief. There will be a visitation on Saturday evening from 6 to 9 p.m. at Gates Kingsley & Gates, 1925 Arizona Ave., in Santa Monica. The memorial service will be held at St. Matthew’s this Sunday February 8, at 2:30 p.m., with a reception immediately following. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to: The Nick Rosser Memorial Fund, 15332 Antioch St., #419, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. ‘BETTY-JO TILLEY
Paulo Emanuele, 46; Local Pilot, Entrepreneur, Lover of Animals
Paulo Emanuele, 46, of Pacific Palisades died on a flight from Santa Monica Airport at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, January 28. Paulo, along with another passenger, were heading out on one of his many flights along the beautiful coast that he called home. Immediate family survivors include Paulo’s beautiful daughter, Eden, of Pacific Palisades; his parents, Anna Louise Fournet and Peter Vincent Emanuel of Lafayette, Louisiana; and his brothers Christopher John (wife Anne Bellipanni Emanuele) of Rayne, Louisiana and Philip Vincent Emanuele of Atlanta, Georgia. Paulo is also survived by his girlfriend, Stephanie Quayle, and an extensive and loving family of 32 first cousins as well as aunts and uncles in Lafayette, Louisiana; Westerly, Rhode Island; and Northern California. Paulo was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on August 9, 1962. He attended high school at Jesuit-now Loyola College Prep in Shreveport and continued his education at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. While at LSU, Paulo was an active and contributing member of the local chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, as well as many other educational and social organizations. After college, Paulo joined Motorola, Inc., in the Annapolis/Washington, D.C. region. He moved with the company to the San Diego area and stayed there until the calling for more entrepreneurial ventures took control. While in San Diego, Paulo opened the popular Green Circle Bar. However, his true love came with his direct relationship with Demand Media and his position of general manager of Airliners.net as well as other aviation-based Web sites. Along with his love of flying, Paulo also established and was active up to his death with the Air Conditioned Bar in Santa Monica and San Diego and the Air Conditioned Supper Club in Venice Beach. Paulo was a profound lover of animals and always had one near his side. This included many dogs that he rescued from his trips to the beautiful beaches of Punta Chivato in Baja, Mexico. While Paulo will be missed, his spirit will be found on any given day along the coast of this beautiful area of Southern California. The family of Paulo wishes to express their profound gratitude to all those who called and wrote to them during this time, and especially to the love and hope given to them by the Corpus Christi Church in Pacific Palisades, the friends and patrons of Santa Monica Airport, and the community of Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades and San Diego. Contributions to Paulo’s daughter’s college education can be made by calling Nathan at (310) 443-0510 for details.