Seymour Wasserman, who had lived in Pacific Palisades since 1960, died March 15. He was 92 years old. Born June 7, 1915 in Chicago, Seymour married his childhood sweetheart, Annette, in 1940, and they had two children: Jeff and Marsha. He and Annette moved to Pacific Palisades, and he worked for the TV Fanfare advertising company for 30 years. A great lover of animals, Seymour owned dogs, a parrot and a turtle. His family describes him as a wonderful person who loved to help others and who had a lot of pride in his children and grandchildren. He and Annette were married for 59 years, until her death in 1999. Later in life, Seymour traveled to Europe, Alaska, Hawaii and Canada with his companion, Christa Williams. He is survived by his daughter-in-law Ingert Wasserman and two grandchildren, Annika and Lindsay. His two children preceded him in death. Services will be held at noon today, March 20, at Hillside Memorial Park, 6001 Centinela Ave. A reception will follow at Junior’s Deli, 2379 Westwood Blvd. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Humane Society. Contact: (323)-730-5300.
Ronny Naidoo, former owner of Ronny’s Market, is now in the dry-cleaning business on Marquez Avenue, after purchasing Parklane Cleaners. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
When Ronny Naidoo sold his popular market on Marquez Avenue last June after being in business for 14 years, he planned to travel with his wife, Debi. At the time she predicted, ‘Maybe we’ll get tired of traveling and we’ll come back and do something else.’ After traveling to Hawaii, the Bahamas, South Africa and Mexico on various trips, the Naidoos came back to their condo in Marquez Knolls, and Ronny soon realized that he was already growing tired of retirement. ‘I missed the people, I missed the kids,’ he said Monday. ‘When the opportunity came up right across the street [from his condo] I took it.’ On March 13, the Naidoos purchased Parklane Cleaners from Nurit Rouhparvar, who had owned the business for the past 24 years. The shop is next door to Ronny’s old market (still called Ronny’s Market) and the two owners had been friendly neighbors for years. ‘He is easy and I am easy, too,’ said Rouhparvar, who bought the cleaners from her cousin in 1984. Her cousin had acquired it from the original Parklane owner, who established the business in 1948 at the same location. The Parklane Cleaners sign still reads ‘We give S & H Green Stamps,’ a throwback to a different era. Rouhparvar is now planning to try a limited retirement, continuing in the store on Tuesday and Thursday to work on alterations. It is hard for her to leave because she has been at the store long enough to see the children, who came in with their families, now come in with their own families. ‘I’ve seen three generations,’ she said. ‘I worked 60 hours a week and I have a big family, 10 grandkids, so I’m ready to retire,’ said Rouhparvar, who will be full-time in the store for the next several weeks during the transition. Naidoo has also brought his son-in-law, David Bates, into the business. The two plan to automate the cleaners and add a 24-hour drop box for dry cleaning. Prices will remain the same and same-day service will continue for clothes brought in by 9 a.m. New customers will receive 50 percent off on their first dry-cleaning order. ‘We plan to add a recycle box for hangers,’ said Bates, who has also started researching other environmentally friendly options for the business. Bates and Naidoo plan to institute a delivery service, where customers can call to have their dirty clothes picked up, cleaned and then returned. Customers will be given their own laundry bag to reuse. Store hours will be 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. In addition to regular dry cleaning, the store will continue to clean wedding dresses, rugs, leather and suede, and bedspreads. And Rouhparvar promises if there’s a hole in a garment, she can do the weaving to fix it. One of the highlights of Ronny’s old store was free gummy worms on the counter for the children. They’re back, with an additional draw for parents: free coffee. Ronny’s great smile is back, too.
Jake “Body by Jake” Steinfeld and actor Tom Hanks flip flapjacks for their neighbors during the Palisades Pony Baseball Association’s 2008 season opener March 15. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Perhaps Tom Hanks missed his calling. Sure, he’s made quite a career for himself as an actor, winning two Oscars, three Emmys and four Golden Globes. Yet he seemed so happy, so poised, so in his element Saturday morning at the Field of Dreams when he wound up and threw a nasty curve ball over the outside corner of the plate and into his son Truman’s mitt to officially open this year’s Palisades Pony Baseball Association season. ‘Let that be the first of many great pitches!’ Hanks declared as he pumped his fist, danced a jig and soaked in cheers. ‘And how ’bout a round of applause for our courageous umps who keep’ em fair.’ Perhaps Hanks would’ve found fame as a manager like Jimmy Dugan, whom he portrayed in the movie ‘A League of Their Own,’ or perhaps even as a major league player. Not that Hanks is complaining about the path he chose, for it ultimately led him to Pacific Palisades, the place he and his wife, actress Rita Wilson, have called home for 20 years. ’Everywhere I travel people tell me that I live in a fantasy world,’ Hanks said. ‘They’re right’ there’s nothing more fantastic than a place where all you have to worry about is a place to park.’ Asked if he had practiced before throwing out the ceremonial first ball, Hanks said he didn’t need to because ‘I’ve been throwing stuff at kids for a long time.’ Turns out, Hanks is as skilled at flipping flapjacks as he is throwing a baseball. Hours before he took to the field he was donning an apron and manning a grill alongside local fitness guru Jake Steinfeld to serve up breakfast for hordes of hungry neighbors. ‘That was a fun movie to make,’ Hanks said about ‘A League of Their Own.’ ‘I got paid to play baseball and hang out with girls. That could’ve gone on for years and I’d have been okay with it.’ Hanks grew up in the Bay Area and was an avid A’s fan. When he was in junior high he sold peanuts, popcorn and soda at Oakland Coliseum while watching the likes of Vida Blue and Reggie Jackson. He ran track in high school but soon gravitated to the drama department because ‘there were more girls, so that seemed like the place to be.’ Several sporting events stand out in the actor’s mind: ‘I happened to be at Wrigley Field (in Chicago) when Pete Rose tied Ty Cobb,’ Hanks recalled. ‘The game was called on account of darkness and Pete broke it [all-time hit record] the next day. I also saw Tom Seaver win his 300th game in Yankee Stadium.’ Hanks is a Palisadian through and through. He dines at local restaurants, shops at local stores and supports local projects’like the new gym and the Field of Dreams. He also takes pride in his pancake-making prowess. ‘I’m finally living up to my potential and destiny,’ Hanks joked. ‘My friend Jake here feels it’s his job to squeeze 108 pancakes on one grill. That’s fine, but if he gives me any trouble I’m gonna’ bounce one right off his gluteus maximus.’ Steinfeld, who admitted he was looking forward to watching his 8-year-old son Zach make his Pinto debut with the Tigers, implored Hanks to stop working on his autobiography and concentrate on the task at hand. ‘Making pancakes is about consistency,’ Steinfeld teased, mixing in a little banter with the batter. ‘This is not a Democratic or Republican issue’it’s a pancake issue. Tom is waffling. He’s all over the place’some big, some small. Mine? All the same size.’ Shortly after 9 a.m., the Pinto Cardinals sang the national anthem and Hanks followed with the first pitch’which was every bit as impressive as the one California First Lady Maria Shriver delivered to former Dodgers first baseman Wes Parker to kick off last year’s festivities. With that, umpires on every diamond shouted ‘Play ball!’ and players ran for their respective dugouts. It was only fitting that Truman Hanks fielded the very first ball for the Bronco Cardinals, snaring a sharp grounder to second base and throwing to first base for the out. Below are the game results from opening day: Bronco Division In the American League, the Orioles outscored the Red Sox, 11-3, and the Yankees beat the Tigers, 7-3. In the National League, the Cardinals edged the Cubs, 7-6, and the Phillies topped the Dodgers, 10-8. Mustang Division In the National League, it was the Cubs ousting the Cardinals, 15-5, and the Dodgers beating the Phillies, 12-7. In the American League, the Orioles outscored the Redo Sox, 15-12, and the Yankees topped the Tigers, 15-6. Pinto Division In a pair of high-scoring American League games the Orioles outlasted the Red Sox, 16-11, and the Tigers edged the Yankees, 10-9. The National League featured a pair of one-sided outings with the Cardinals beating the Cubs, 14-1, and the Dodgers taking care of the Phillies, 13-6.
By KATHLEEN COREY Special to the Palisadian-Post Steve Guttenberg, the former honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades, certainly represented his town well on the season premiere of ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” Monday night. Who could have known? I had been concerned that he might talk too much, or spend too much time being funny; I was also quite aware that at 49, he was the second oldest of this season’s male competitors. Public opinion is that he is one of this town’s most beloved ‘mayors,’ and maybe now I know why. Steve Guttenberg played a perfect game, somehow avoiding all the pitfalls that have tripped up many a male contestant in the first five seasons of one of TV’s most popular ‘reality shows.’ First of all, he genuinely seemed glad to be on the show, fully knowing the ordeal that being a ‘star contestant’ involves: the extraordinary physical demands of rehearsing for several hours a day; the pressure of ‘live’ TV, where a glimmer of a bad attitude gets magnified many times over in front of 20-some million viewers; the potential personality conflicts that come with working under the close tutelage of a professional dancer whose job it is to try to whip their celebrity into a winner by ‘practice, practice and practice some more until you get it right.’ I think Steve established a whole new fan base for himself in the 90-minute premiere, bowling us over with the respect he showed the judges, his ease in the way he handled every facet of the live show, his relaxed charm, and his comfort with his physical self. The premiere of DWTS always introduces its new season of contestants one at a time, in a close-up shot as they descend a staircase down to the stage, side by side with their professional dance partner, to the pulsating rhythm of the show’s theme music. Not many contestants manage to safely maneuver the stairs in perfect synch with their partner, while looking straight into the camera and managing a warm and relaxed facial expression. Steve did. When all 12 contestants are done taking the stairs and being introduced to the audience, the group forms a sort of reception line, down which the camera slowly pans, giving the audience a second chance to look over the contestants, and the contestants a second opportunity to win over the viewers. A deadpan expression doesn’t cut it in this line-up, or a diva-like attitude. Steve? One could read his lips, saying to the camera, ‘Hi, Mom!’ He instantly started melting hearts, and came across fresh-faced and accessible. Then comes the succession of the professional dancer-celebrity pairings, doing what they’ve spent the last four weeks preparing, knowing there won’t be any re-shoots because this is LIVE–a performance of a uniquely choreographed dance routine in full costume, to their own choice of music. The dancing on the season premiere can sometimes be a bit painful to watch, where contestants are ‘showcased’ by their pro partner, who often resorts to dancing around their ‘star,’ seemingly using the celebrity more as a ‘prop’ than a dance partner. The most suspenseful moment on the show is immediately after each couple’s dance, when they get ‘critiqued’ by the three judges. This is no time to be sensitive about one’s dancing, or worse, by one’s height, weight, natural facial expressions or habits of movement. On Monday’s show, one contestant, who happens to be 6’6′ tall with a heavy build, was described as a ‘Shrek’-like character with “monstrous feet,” attempting to do the cha cha. Steve Guttenberg’s first go-around of dancing, the foxtrot, may not have earned a standing ovation, but there wasn’t much of a downside to the judges’ comments, either, just to work on his posture and arm positioning. The judges all agreed that Steve actually looked like he was enjoying himself, which indeed he was. My prediction is that Steve Guttenberg will be safe until at least the fourth week, with comedian Adam Carolla and magician Penn Jillette facing early elimination. I believe the men to beat are Jason Taylor, a defensive end for the Miami Dolphins, and “Mario,” the 21-year-old R&B/Pop singer. On Monday, March 24, all 12 celebrity competitors (the six women competed Tuesday night) will perform another dance in a different style, and then on Tuesday, one male and one female star will be eliminated from further competition. (Kathleen Corey is a native Palisadian who, under the business name Palisades Dance Connection, teaches those from seven through to their active senior adult years to become adept at everything from social dancing to competitive championship ballroom dancing. Contacts: (310) 729-4160 and www.PaliDance.com.) SAVE SAVE SAVE Tuesday night’s show featured the female celebrities. The no-surprise favorite was Kristi Yamaguchi, the Olympic champion figure skater, while Priscilla Presley, actress and former wife of Elvis, gave an unexpectedly breathtaking performance. The first female celebrities to be voted off may very well turn out to be former tennis champion Monica Seles and actress Shannon Elizabeth. For any DWTS fans and viewers who think they have this season’s outcome already pegged, there may be some surprises in store. It is extremely common for dancers-in-training to be very uneven in the division of their talent between the ballroom (foxtrot, waltz, quickstep and tango) and the Latin (rumba, cha cha, samba, jive, and paso doble) dances. I think the exception may be Kristi Yamaguchi, who trained in both styles as a figure skater. One thing that all the stars agree on is that ballroom dancing is much more difficult than they ever expected it would be. A fitting consensus, given that under the new name, “DanceSport,” ballroom dancing has already been certified as an official Olympic sport, and will probably make its debut as such in the 2016 Summer games. This is why huge numbers of Olympic hopefuls aged five through their teens are already seriously training. Even on college campuses and universities across the U.S., one of the favorite activities is competitive ballroom dancing, with the schools competing against each other to produce the top-winning team.
Highlands resident Clayton Bland took firefighting into his own hands last Thursday by using his garden hose to squelch a fire at the Hidden Cafe Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
The former Hidden Cafe n the Palisades Highlands caught on fire last Thursday evening, but thanks to quick action by nearby residents Jamie and Clayton Bland, the blaze was quickly contained and damage to the restaurant and building was minimal. Highlands resident Carmel Kadrnka e-mailed a first-person account to the Palisadian-Post:, writing: ‘We were driving home up Palisades Drive at 8 p.m., when we noticed a fire in the back area of the old Hidden Caf’. We turned the car around to take a closer look, and found the glass had blown out of the window, and flames were shooting out. ‘A Highlands resident, Clayton Bland, had apparently seen the same thing, and was there, trying to splash water in the broken window. His wife ran up to one of the townhomes across the street and grabbed a garden hose, which she threw to her husband. He then hooked up the hose to a water outlet and sprayed water through the window. ‘Unbelievably enough, there were virtually no more flames when the Fire Department came. I can’t imagine what would have happened if that husband and wife team didn’t act so quickly and take care of business!’ Friday, the Blands explained the role they played. They had just put their one- and four-year-olds to bed, and Clayton was going into town to have a beer with a friend. He pulled out of his driveway, which is almost across the street from the Hidden Caf’ building, and saw flames in the window. He called his wife to tell her what he had seen, then ‘I put the car in reverse and went back to take a closer look. The window popped and I called 911.’ Bland tried to fill some empty clay pots with water to throw on the fire, but ‘it kept draining out, so when my wife came over, I told her to get a hose.’ Jamie ran across Palisades Drive to their garage, grabbed a garden hose and ran it back to her husband. He hooked it to the spigot outside and started spraying the inside of the restaurant through the broken window. ‘It wasn’t that big of a fire,’ Clayton said. ‘By the time I got it out, the fire trucks had arrived.’ One of the firemen paid him the ultimate compliment: ‘It looks like you have things under control here.’ Ironically, at the time of Bland’s 911 call, firefighters from Palisades Fire Stations 23 and 69 were receiving special recognition from Councilman Bill Rosendahl at the Community Council meeting for their efforts in fighting the January blaze on Michael Lane, also in the Highlands. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Wally Miller, who owns the Highlands Village building, said that thanks to the Blands’ quick action, only one wall suffered fire damage and just one window needs to be replaced. ‘It was a wonderful thing for them to do,’ Miller said. The space is currently undergoing a remodel before reopening in April or May as an Italian restaurant that will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week. The owner, Paolo Marazzi, told Clayton that he wants to treat him and his family to a dinner when the restaurant opens.
Pacific Palisades resident Anita Finie, prodigious volunteer in the service of the elderly and children, received the Papal Honor of Dame Commander of St. Gregory the Great in a service at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels in early March. The honor, bestowed by Pope Benedict XVI, was given by Cardinal Roger Mahony in recognition of Finie’s service in the parish, the archdiocese and the civic community. The Order of St. Gregory the Great was established in 1831 by Pope Gregory XVI as a way of honoring people of ‘unblemished character who had promoted the interests of society, the Church and the Holy See.’ In 1994, ten women in the Los Angeles Archdiocese were received into the Order as Dames of Saint Gregory, the first women in the world to be so honored. Finie is a volunteer par excellence who claims memberships in four parishes, including Corpus Christi, St. Monica, where she serves on the baptismal committee; Our Lady of the Bright Mount Polish Church, where she was married; and the Cathedral. At Corpus, she coordinates the visitation ministry to three area convalescent hospitals. On Sunday, Finie and her committee of five parish volunteers take Communion to hospital residents. ‘We say prayers; some have Alzheimer’s so we’re lucky to make the sign of the cross and give Communion,’ Finie says. Finie grew up in Poland through World War II and suffered the devastating loss of her home, possessions and family. Her sister was shot by the Nazis; her brother and father died at Auschwitz. She and her mother survived German occupation and immigrated in 1947 to the United States, where she met her husband Philip. The couple raised two sons and lived on Catalina Island until 1974, when they moved to Pacific Palisades. Finie’s volunteer work revolves around youth and education. ‘I stress education, I support education because that is how young people’s character develops,’ she says. She earned a nursing degree in Poland and another from St. Joseph’s College in Maine, where she sponsors a nursing scholarship. For three years, Finie was involved in Child Help USA, focusing on abused children. Along the way, Finie became active in the PTA and the Palisades Woman’s Club. Despite her recent honors’last year she was honored with the Cardinal’s Award’Finie remains humble. ‘In my mind, I could always do more,’ she says. ‘ I find so much more satisfaction in giving than receiving, and I expect nothing in return.’
Palisades High animation instructor Lindsey Son in her computer lab with Mr. Palisades himself, Christopher Alexakis. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer Palisades High film teacher Kerry Feltham guides one of his students. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer Characters from PaliHi student cartoon Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
It’s the last day of class before spring break, and Lindsey Son, Palisades Charter High School’s animation teacher, throws a party in class for her 30 students. Everyone’s in a festive mood, but what they’re celebrating today is not merely the pending week-long hiatus, but the sophisticated cartoons Son’s pupils have created. The elephant in the room is that the fact that these teens”some as young as 14”get to learn how to make professional animated shorts while still in high school, which is something of a miracle. And Palisades High’s Visual and Performing Arts Department, which offers Son’s animation courses and film classes taught by filmmaker Kerry Feltham, may well be the NYU Tisch School of the Los Angeles high school system. With high-caliber teachers and state-of-the-art film equipment (Macintosh computers, high-definition cameras, etc.), these college-level technical art classes are not your father’s”or even your older brother’s”film courses. ‘These kids don’t know how lucky they have it,’ Son tells the Palisadian-Post. As Son projects the latest student work to the class, she arrives at a two-minute short in which a stick figure goes through some comical contortions set to speed metal. ‘I asked [the student animator] why he wanted to do that, and he said that he just wanted to create some chaos,’ Son says to her class, eliciting laughter. Sahar Askarinam’s music video assignment tackles James Brown’s R&B classic ‘I Feel Good,’ while another student cartoon milks Right Said Fred’s campy ‘I’m Too Sexy.’ Son, who teaches seven periods a day, has taught animation at Pali since 2002. She’s enjoyed every second of it’12 frames at a time. ‘I feel lucky and honored to be teaching here,’ says Son, a West Los Angeles resident. ‘The students are heaven. I’ve been teaching for 14 years and the kids and the staff are the best I’ve ever worked with.’ Son immigrated to Hollywood from Korea right before entering junior high, and graduated from UC Berkeley and Cal State L.A. After spending her first two years at Pali teaching Web design concurrently with animation, Son scaled back to give the animation curriculum her full attention. Students in first-semester animation learn the basics, while those who take second semester apply those fundamentals toward developing longer and more sophisticated pieces. One such animation project, ‘Back to Tokyo’ (set to The Rubinoos’ tune ‘Go Go Go Tokyo’) helped Christopher Alexakis clinch the Chamber of Commerce’s Mr. Palisades title earlier this month. In awe of CG features like ‘Toy Story,’ Alexakis now toys with pursuing an animation career. In Son’s class, the students, focused on their iMac monitors, love their work. And they clearly respect and appreciate their easygoing teacher. Jocular, energetic and youthfully dressed, the petite Son blends in with her laidback kids. The class feels less student/teacher, but busy and collaborative”as if one visited Pixar Animation Studios on a Monday morning. ‘She’s really nice,’ says Max Groel, 14, working on a cartoon featuring a galloping horse. ‘She knows a lot about Flash.’ Among the Flash techniques Son teaches Groel and his classmates: a motion tween movement, which is the cycled movement of a bouncing ball or passing clouds; and a guided tween, which puts an animated object on a less predictable path, such as the amok U.F.O. that advanced animation pupil Eric Romani, 14, features in his funny and imaginative space aliens short, about a flying saucerful of grays seeking and destroying Earthlings to Slipknot’s raucous ‘Left Behind.’ Several doors down, Kerry Feltham instructs pupils to tag credits on their live-action shorts. Standing before 30 students in typical filmmaker attire (open dress shirt over collegiate T-shirt and Dockers), Feltham, who teaches three film classes, is animated enough to be a character in one of Ms. Son’s student cartoons. Feltham, married to local playwright Diane Grant, recently won a 2008 Best Buy Teach Award of $2,000, and he brings impressive credentials to his position. He served as a producer on the TV mini-series ‘Shogun’ and directed live-action shorts of his own that have garnered acclaim, such as ‘Chicago 70.’ His ‘Great Chicago Conspiracy Circus’ screened at the 1970 Berlin Film Festival, while shorts ‘The Waltzing Policemen’ and ‘Too Much Oregano’ went to Cannes (in 1979 and 1983, respectively). Feltham has seen his class’s equipment change dramatically over the five years that he’s been conducting film courses. ‘When we started, our room had two working cameras, and 12 working computers, but no projection facilities for the students to see their work,’ Feltham recalls. ‘We slowly acquired more cameras and microphones and booms and lights over the years. We’ve put in the film projection area by scrounging two screens from the school scrap yard.’ During summer vacation, ‘we painted the room cabinets and work areas, sewed and installed blackout curtains to darken the place for screenings,’ says Feltham, who also purchased movie posters from garage sales. ‘The technology committee was far-seeing and generous in getting us 30 new Apple G-5 computers for editing. We have eight DV cameras, five HD video cameras, microphones, tripods, lights.’ Screening student-made commercials for the Post, Feltham delights in the wit, sophistication, even cynicism employed by his pupils. After all, sarcasm is a teenager’s greatest weapon, and PaliHi’s film students have an arsenal at their disposal via such adverts as the faux Coke ad, ‘It’s Time to Make Friends.’ Anokhy Desai, Ranna El Naga and Parisa Aframian, all 14, huddle around their station where they use iMovie to edit the commercial they created with Amanda Alvarez, 14. Product of choice: Nike. Desai, who takes Son’s class, explains how she recently had trouble viewing the second ‘Harry Potter.’ ‘I can’t look the same way at movies again because now I know how movies work. There’s no magic to it. It’s all just special effects!’ In another Feltham class, Mychal Creer, 17, messes around with the score for his action film, ‘The Backstab.’ When he’s not playing varsity basketball and football, Creer appreciates rounding out his education by making movies. The future engineering major’s favorite part of the process: editing and laying in special effects. Feltham stresses that his classes are not merely film labs, but critical thinking forums. ‘We spend half the time learning about the media,’ he notes. ‘The Freedom of Information Act, the First Amendment. It makes it really, really real for the students.’ ‘I always drew and painted, I’m pretty good with computers, so I chose animation,’ student Mike Jones says. No regrets from this 17-year-old, who enjoys ‘getting to see my work and the pride I feel after completing a cartoon.’ On one project, Jones went above and beyond his assignment, borrowing the scatological Mr. Hankey”from his favorite cartoon, ‘South Park”’as its star. Son says that her students make her job worthwhile. ‘When I was in school, I had horrible teachers,’ Son recalls. ‘It took me 10 years to learn English. I always wanted to be the opposite of those teachers.’ Son’s LAUSD-subsidized class is technically not a PaliHi course. Son and another technical arts teacher, John Buse of Graphic Design, are on the school district’s payroll, while Feltham receives his paychecks from Pali. But that’s splitting hairs, as parents and students benefit from access to these programs. Son loves it when students take the skills she teaches them and ‘apply this knowledge into other disciplines and use animation for presentations and projects in other classes. It’s a very powerful tool.’ One of Son’s gifted students is Elizabeth Chang, who is currently working on school satire with loose, illustrative designs for her goofy characters that appear Nickelodeon-ready (think ‘Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist’ meets ‘Daria’). Chang, 18, even made a few shorts outside of class assignments and an animated icon for her brother’s clothing Web site. ‘This is my escape class!’ she says. At film, students seem equally enamored with their course. ‘He’s a great teacher,’ says Askarinam of Feltham. ‘He gives us freedom!’ On Feltham, Creer says, ‘He taught me how to do a lot. A teacher can only do so much, then it’s up to you.’ Creer makes a good point. For, on the walk back from PaliHi, this reporter runs into a familiar face: Joan Graves, wife of Palisadian Peter Graves, the actor who played opposite William Holden in 1953’s ‘Stalag 17.’ Of course, ‘Stalag”s director, the legendary Billy Wilder, was no one-trick pony, having helmed ‘Double Indemnity,’ ‘Some Like It Hot,’ ‘The Apartment,’ ‘Sunset Boulevard,’ classic after classic. So this reporter remarks to Mrs. Graves how lucky these students are to have such impressive facilities which iconic filmmakers such as Wilder didn’t have access to as teens in their day. ‘Yeah,’ quips the good-natured Joan Graves without missing a beat. ‘And look what happened to him!’ To download the work of PaliHi’s animation students, hit the ‘Students’ button and ‘Web Pages/Animation’ link at palihigh.org.
Two 20th Century chamber works, the world premiere of a new piano trio by Jane Brockman, plus a Baroque chamber piece headline Chamber Music Palisades concert on Tuesday, March 25 at 8 p.m., at St. Matthew’s, 1031 Bienveneda. In addition to Brockman’s work, the program features selections by Quantz, Poulenc and Joaqu’n Turina performed by Leslie Reed, oboe; Judith Farmer, bassoon; Mark Menzies, violin; John Walz, cello; Susan Greenberg, flute; and Delores Stevens, piano. KUSC’s Alan Chapman is the evening’s host. The concert opens with a Baroque flourish via Johann Joachim Quantz’s (1697-1773) Trio for Oboe, Flute and Piano performed by Stevens and Greenberg, co-founders and co-artistic directors of Chamber Music Palisades, and Reed, principal oboe of the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra since 1987. Changing the pace considerably, Reed, Stevens and Farmer”principal bassoon of the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra and former principal bassoon with the Austrian Radio Orchestra”continue with a Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano, written in 1926 by French composer Francis Poulenc. Music by Poulenc (1899-1963), a 20th century master, derived its influence from the Dada movement. The program concludes with two piano trios including the world premiere of a new piano trio by American composer Jane Brockman (b. 1949), a Santa Monica resident and the first woman to earn a doctorate in music composition in the University of Michigan’s 150-year history. Brockman taught music theory and composition at the University of Connecticut for nine years, and, after a composer-fellowship at Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute, Brockman left her Connecticut post and resettled in Santa Monica, where she began scoring for film and television and now focuses exclusively on concert music. The other piano trio is by Joaqu’n Turina (1882-1949), a native of Seville, Spain, whose work was greatly influenced by traditional Andalusian music. Both piano trios will be performed by accomplished talents Menzies, Walz and Stevens. Tickets are $25; students with ID are free. Contact: (310) 459-2070 or visit www.cmpalisades.org.
Actor Tom Hanks Hams It Up for Fellow Palisadians at PPBA Pancake Breakfast
Actor Tom Hanks shows off the ball he’s about to throw to his son Truman to officially begin the Palisades Pony Baseball Association’s season. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Perhaps Tom Hanks missed his calling. Sure, he’s made quite a career for himself as an actor, winning two Oscars, three Emmys and four Golden Globes. Yet he seemed so happy, so poised, so in his element on Saturday morning at the Field of Dreams when he wound up and threw a nasty curve ball over the outside corner of the plate and into his son Truman’s mitt to officially open this year’s Palisades Pony Baseball Association season. “Let that be the first of many great pitches!” Hanks declared as he pumped his fist, danced a jig and soaked in cheers. “And how ’bout a round of applause for our courageous umps who keep’ em fair.” Perhaps Hanks would’ve found fame as a baseball manager like Jimmy Dugan, whom he portrayed in the movie “A League of Their Own,” or perhaps even as a major league player. Not that Hanks regrets the path he chose, for it ultimately led him to Pacific Palisades, the place he and his wife, actress Rita Wilson, have called home for 20 years. “Everywhere I travel people tell me that I live in a fantasy world,” Hanks said. “They’re right–there’s nothing more fantastic than a place where all you have to worry about is a place to park.” Asked if he had practiced before throwing out the ceremonial first ball, Hanks said he didn’t need to because “I’ve been throwing stuff at kids for a long time.” Turns out, Hanks is as skilled at flipping flapjacks as he is throwing a baseball. Hours before he took to the field he was donning an apron and manning a grill alongside local fitness guru Jake Steinfeld to serve up breakfast for hordes of hungry neighbors. “That was a fun movie to make,” Hanks said about ‘A League of Their Own.’ “I got paid to play baseball and hang out with girls. That could’ve gone on for years and I’d have been okay with it.” Hanks grew up in the Bay Area and was an avid A’s fan. When he was in junior high he sold peanuts, popcorn and soda at Oakland Coliseum while watching the likes of Vida Blue and Reggie Jackson. He ran track in high school but soon gravitated to the drama department because “there were more girls, so that seemed like the place to be.” Several sporting events stand out in the actor’s mind: “I happened to be at Wrigley Field (in Chicago) when Pete Rose tied Ty Cobb,” Hanks recalled. “The game was called on account of darkness and Pete broke it [all-time hit record] the next day. I also saw Tom Seaver win his 300th game in Yankee Stadium.” Hanks is a Palisadian through and through. He dines at local restaurants, shops at local stores and supports local projects’like the new gym and the Field of Dreams. He also takes pride in his pancake-making prowess. “I’m finally living up to my potential and destiny,” Hanks joked. “My friend Jake here feels it’s his job to squeeze 108 pancakes on one grill. That’s fine, but if he gives me any trouble I’m gonna’ bounce one right off his gluteus maximus.” Steinfeld, who admitted he was looking forward to watching his 8-year-old son Zach make his Pinto debut with the Tigers, implored Hanks to stop working on his autobiography and concentrate on the task at hand. “Making pancakes is about consistency,” Steinfeld teased, mixing in a little banter with the batter. “This is not a Democratic or Republican issue’it’s a pancake issue. Tom is waffling. He’s all over the place–some big, some small. Look at mine… all the same size.” Shortly after 9 a.m., the Pinto Cardinals sang the national anthem and Hanks followed with the first pitch–which was every bit as impressive as the one California First Lady Maria Shriver delivered to former Dodgers first baseman Wes Parker to kick off last year’s festivities. With that, umpires on every diamond shouted “Play ball!” and players ran for their respective dugouts. It was only fitting that Truman Hanks fielded the very first ball for the Bronco Cardinals, snaring a sharp grounder to second base and throwing to first for the out. Below are the game results from opening day: Bronco Division In the American League, the Orioles outscored the Red Sox, 11-3, and the Yankees beat the Tigers, 7-3. In the National League, the Cardinals edged the Cubs, 7-6, and the Phillies topped the Dodgers, 10-8. Mustang Division In the National League, it was the Cubs ousting the Cardinals, 15-5, and the Dodgers beating the Phillies, 12-7. In the American League, the Orioles outscored the Redo Sox, 15-12, and the Yankees topped the Tigers, 15-6. Pinto Division In a pair of high-scoring American League games the Orioles outlasted the Red Sox, 16-11, and the Tigers edged the Yankees, 10-9. The National League featured a pair of one-sided outings with the Cardinals beating the Cubs, 14-1, and the Dodgers taking care of the Phillies, 13-6.
Coach Charlie Naimo Expects Residents To See World Class Soccer in Palisades
Coach Charlie Naimo is happiest at Stadium by the Sea, which will serve as the Pali Blues’ home field in the club’s inaugural season. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
All it takes is one look at Charlie Naimo to recognize how excited he is to be doing what he’s doing. Not only is he the head coach of the Pali Blues, a new W-League expansion soccer team that will, as he said “bring world class soccer to Pacific Palisades,” Naimo has also embraced the community his team will call home. “The whole setting here has a European feel to it,” Naimo said. “Even if you’re not an avid fan, the fact that you’ll have a team of this caliber in your own backyard is pretty cool.” Naimo traveled across the country to take on his latest assignment–and that was part of the job’s appeal. After all, he’s always looking for a new challenge. “One night I’m playing a men’s indoor game and I was chatting with another coach who suggested I get in touch with Ali [Mansouri] about this new team he was putting together,” said Naimo, who grew up in New Jersey. “The rest, as they say, is history. Ali flew me and my girlfriend Tracy out here and we were impressed with the whole situation from day one.” Mansouri co-owns the Blues with fellow Palisades resident Rudy Bianchi and first on the priority list was finding a top-level coach for their fledgling team, which will play its home games at Palisades High’s newly-renovated Stadium by the Sea. “We believe Charlie possesses the skills to create a winning tradition for our club,” Mansouri proclaimed. “His enthusiasm for the game is matched only by his record of success.” Over the last four seasons, Naimo’s teams have amassed a 53-3-0 regular season record. In his most recent stint he led Jersey Sky Blue to a 12-2 mark in the franchise’s first season. He expects the Blues’ inaugural campaign to be even more successful. “This will be one of the best women’s teams in the world by May,” Naimo predicted. “We have a future pro in every position and we’re very diverse. Half of the players are from California and the others are from all over who have played in the World Cup and the Olympics. It’s fantastic to be a part of this–it’s really rejuvenated me as a coach.” Naimo liked what he saw from the Blues in their very first game at Stadium by the Sea–a 1-1 tie against Beijing in an international friendly January 4. “That night I was convinced that we can play with anyone,” Naimo confessed. “We had about a 30-minute tactical discussion beforehand and that was it. We pretty much dominated. Chinese teams are very technical, very organized and on top of that they’d just finished their season so they were used to playing with each other an yet they couldn’t crack us.” In February, the Blues won the Silver Mug Tournament in Las Vegas, further bolstering Naimo’s belief that the sky’s the limit for his team’s success. “We may lose a game but we won’t be outplayed this year,” he said. “I’m not married to one system but I think we’ll be very methodical, very relentless. There’ll be some great combination passing and fans will get to see an attractive style of soccer.” Being from the East Coast, Naimo brings an “old school” mentality to his trade, one predicated on results. “You’re not going to see too many smiles from me,” Naimo promised. “Seven out of 10 wins I’m unhappy anyway. I think it’s critical’in soccer and in life’to always being learning lessons and the sooner you learn them, the better. My players are like family, yes, and sometimes they need tough love.” The Blues train 15 hours a week at the Santa Monica Airport fields. Playing well is important, but Naimo strives for greatness. “The bottom line is that results are everything in the pros,” he said. “The motto I adhere to is that you can’t let a win get to your head or a loss to your heart.” Naimo landed his first head coaching job with the Central Jersey Splash in 1998 and he was named W-League Coach of the Year in 1999. He demonstrated the ability to build a team from the ground up when he turned a struggling New Jersey Wildcats team into a powerhouse, compiling a 41-1-0 record and piloting the club to the W-League championship in 2005. “Charlie has a wealth of experience working with players at all levels and has an unbelievable pool of players from which to draw,” Pali Blues Director of Operations Kenzo Bergeron said. “The Southern California soccer culture will embrace him as a professional and hard working talent.” Naimo has not only made a commitment to the Blues, but to the Palisades as well. “When Tracy and I first moved out here we were looking to buy a home,” Naimo said. “But with the market being what it is Ali suggested we rent around here for awhile and we found a great condo right on Sunset that’s walking distance to the high school. We love with this place already, especially the village’we eat there everyday.” While Naimo takes pride in what he’s accomplished he prefers to look ahead, not behind. In fact, he’s bursting with anticipation for the Blues’ season opener May 10 against the Ventura County Fusion. Up next on the schedule, though, is a preseason game against USC on March 29 in Los Angeles. “The reality is that I don’t miss home at all,” Naimo said. “My experience with the Wildcats was wonderful but that’s in the past. I made a commitment to be here, I’m focused on making the Blues the best we can be and there’s no turning back.”
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