Vincent Minnelli's Abandoned Mansion

On a corner of Sunset Blvd. in Beverly Hills across the street from the world famous Beverly Hills Hotel is an abandoned and decaying mansion. This was once the glamorous home of film director Vincent Minnelli. It was in this house that Minnelli died in 1988. The house was left in his will to his only daughter Liza. The will also had a stipulation in the will that Minnelli's widow Lee be allowed to live there. Lee Minnelli did indeed live in the house but in 2000 Liza wanted to sell the house and offered to buy her stepmother a condo. Lee refused the offer and stayed in the mansion. Liza in an effort to get Lee to move out stopped paying all the bills. The electricity was turned off and the garden was left to grow. There were servants who stayed on working for Lee Minnelli for free. 

Well Liza did eventually sell the house and Lee died. There were lots of problems with the sale and the new owners still have done nothing with the place just letting it decay. Squatters eventually took of residence in what was left of this once beautiful Hollywood Regency style mansion. There it sits sad and neglected in one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in Los Angeles.  

The Vampire of Harold Way

Bela Lugosi's dead
The bats have left the bell tower
The victims have been bled
Red velvet lines the black box

The last years of Bela Lugosi's life were not the stuff of glamour, not those of an international star. Dracula made him famous to the point of infamous and it was Dracula that made his life a hell. His hell came to an end in a small apartment on a quiet street across from an elementary school in an at that time less than fashionable Hollywood neighborhood. The mansion in the hills was long gone, the money and the acclaim as well. What was left was a gaunt pale Hungarian looking very like the un-dead after a long battle with a heroin addiction.

The road from the Budapest stage to Harold Way in Hollywood was a long and colorful route filled with the very heights of stardom and the misery of typecasting. There were five wives along this route as well as a son.

Lugosi after years of drug addiction had a very hard time finding work sometimes making personal appearances at horror conventions. Notoriously bad film maker Ed Wood seeing name recognition value in Lugosi used him in several of his low budget movies. This part of Lugosi's life was captured in Tim Burton's bio-pic "Ed Wood" portrayed by Martin Landau. Wood's films were shot on the fly scenes for "Plan 9 From Outer Space" were shot on the street in front of Lugosi's Harold Way apartment. 
It was in the Harold Way apartment that Lugosi spent his last days and where he died. He was found dead on the sofa in his living room by his fifth wife Hope. Lugosi died at the age of 73 on August 16, 1956. It was rumored that Lugosi was holding a script written by Wood and that his funeral was paid for by Frank Sinatra these rumors are both false. Lugosi was buried in his Dracula costume.

The Pink Palace

Tucked behind hedges and gates on Sunset Blvd. in the Holmby Hills neighborhood in Los Angeles was once a huge 40 room Spanish style mansion. The house was once the home of Rudy Vallee but in 1957 it was sold to Jayne Mansfield. Ms Mansfield loved the color pink ( it was her signature color) so she decided that her dream home should be painted a light pink. The Pink Palace was then born. Jayne Mansfield had her own ideas as to what was right for her dream home and naturally the interiors were also mainly in shades of pink. Carpeting in the living room as well as the walls. The master bathroom was cover in pink fur and included a heart shaped tub. Mansfield's husband Mr. Universe aka Mickey Hargitay was handy around the house and built her a heart shaped swimming pool as well as a heart shaped fireplace. Jayne mansfield also being the queen of publicity stunts was also able to arrange to get over $150,000 (1950's dollars) worth of free furniture by writing to furniture companies and decorating firms asking for free samples in exchange for publicity.

This was her dream home and she loved it! She loved to show it off and have it photographed for magazines. This was her home until her tragic death 1967. Hargitay lived in the home with their children for many years after her death but did in time sell it. The house had several famous owners after the sale including Ringo Starr, Cass Elliot and finally Englebert Humperdinck. Humperdinck sold the home in 2002 and it was sadly raised.

Chateau Creepy

Behind a high wall topped by an even higher fence is a building in Hollywood that is possibly the creepiest building in town. On the corner of Franklin Ave and Branson Ave is a very large building set off the road that looms ominously. The Building built in 1927 was named Chateau Elysee.
The Chateau Elysee was commissioned by Elinor Ince the widow of early film mogul Thomas Ince after he died. William Ince was one of the very early silent film makers in Los Angeles coming to the area in 1910. Ince died in 1924 under some murky circumstances. He and his wife Elinor were part of a weekend yachting party on the boat owned by William Randolph Hearst. Ince died of what was deemed a heart attack although there is a school of thought that say he was shot by Hearst. Elinor Ince inherited her husbands estate upon his death. The estate was said to have been $1,600,000. Part of Ince's estate was a lot of land on Franklin Ave. It was on this land that Elinor decided to build a luxury building in the at the time very popular style of Chateauesque architecture. Elinor Ince hired architect Arthur E. Harvey to design her building. It was named Chateau Elysee. The chateau, a seven story luxury hotel featured turrets, a bubbling steam, maid service and a dining room serving meals to its guests. It soon became a very fashionable address in Hollywood appealing to film stars and soon to be film stars. Residents that lived there over the years were Edward G. Robinson, Errol Flynn, Carole Lombard, Katherine Hepburn, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Clark Gable and others. The chateau with all its celebrity glitter also attracted non-celebrity guests who came for the season to stay among the famous in the luxurious rooms and apartments. Through out the 1930's and 40's it was one of the Hollywood's best respected addresses.
Elinor Ince sold the chateau in 1942. The building remained a coveted address. Times in Hollywood slowly changed and Hollywood became less of a desired neighborhood loosing much of its glamour to nearby Beverly Hills. In 1951 the chateau was converted into a luxury retirement home for those in their autumn years who have known gracious living and wish to continue without responsibilities. This was the chateau's raison d'etre for many years.
In 1969 The Church of Scientology rented the building to use as its "Celebrity Center". The chateau was purchased by the Scientologists in 1973. Most of the building is now used by the Scientologists as a hotel for their celebrity out of town guests and the top floors are used as offices. The grand conservatory is now a restaurant. There are tours of the building that can be arranged by contacting the Church of Scientology.

Dorothy Arzner Film Pioneer

It is not at all unusual to day to see a movie directed by a woman but there was a time when there was only one woman directing feature films. That woman was Dorothy Arzner.
Born in San Francisco in 1897 Dorothy Arzner was raised in Los Angels where her father owned a restaurant frequented by the early Hollywood pioneer silent film makers. Ms Arzner started out planning on being a doctor but after a stint as an ambulance attendant in World War I she returned to Los Angeles and visited a movie studio and that visit changed her life.
Through a connection with film director William DeMille she was able to get a job at Paramount as a stenographer. She eventually became a script supervisor and then as an editor. Her first assignment as an editor was on the Valentino classic "Blood and Sand". Arzner then started working as and editor and writer developing an reputation for excellence. She became very much in demand and this gave her enough clout to demand a position as a director at Paramount or she would leave to work at Columbia Pictures. She was given the position and assigned to the film "Fashions for Women" which became a success. Paramount then gave her the assignment of directing Clara Bow in her first talkie "The Wild Party". Arzner in an effort to give Clara Bow freedom to move about on the set attached a microphone to fishing pool creating the first boom microphone.
Dorothy Arzner went onto become an in demand director and the only woman director during what is now called Hollywood's Golden Age. She worked on some of the most successful "pre-code" films that Paramount released. In 1932 she left Paramount and became an independent director working for several studios. She was also the first woman to join the Directors Guild of America. Her films were instrumental in starting the careers of actresses like Rosalind Russell, Katherine Hepburn and Lucille Ball.
In 1943 Dorothy Arzner stepped away from making feature films focusing on teaching at UCLA and making television commercials. She made commercials for Pepsi-Cola when her friend Joan Crawford was married to the head of Pepsi.
Dorothy Arzer was rumored to have had many affiars with the actresses in her films but lived openly with her partner of many years choreographer Marion Morgan. Dorothy Arzner died in 1979 at the age of 82.

Cheap Threads in LA

LA is a city about looking good and looking good can cost a mint! If you don't want to spend a small fortune to look good and have the time there is a new store in West Hollywood for you. The store is the $2 Clothing Store on Santa Monica Blvd in the Russian part of West Hollywood. This isn't Boystown this is the working class enclave.
The shop is small but the vibe is big. The clothing is on a pallet in the corner of the store and customers are encouraged to remove their shoes and jump in. If digging for treasures isn't your thing I would suggest avoiding this place but if this sounds fun you will love it! The staff is so friendly and full of fun you have to laugh. Everyone is having fun digging and laughing and just finding a bargain. This is like a lot of the icky Goodwill and Salvation Army places with bins but this place is cool. Fun music is playing and people are laughing and giving advice. "No that isn't your color!" or "Oh you should try this!" There is a mirror in another corner but no dressing room so get over it and try stuff on!
The staff is a lot of fun and when you look like you might be getting overheated will give you a cup of water and words of encouragement. The garments are all clean too. The stuff comes from film and TV sets so some of it is kind of boring but there are treasures to be found! Be it Gucci be it Gap its just $2!

Chinese Theater to Close for Re-model

The Iconic Chinese Theater on Hollywood Blvd. is closing tomorrow for an overhaul that will make it the largest I-Max theater today. The theater was built by showman Sid Gauman opened on May 18, 1927. The first movie was Cecil B. DeMille's "King of Kings". The art deco masterpiece has been the spot for Hollywood premieres for decades and was once the home of the Oscar's ceremony which now takes place at the theater next door. The theater's most famous feature is the forecourt when the stars have put the hand and foot prints in the cement. There is also a nice little collection of classic Hollywood costumes and props in the large Chinese inspired lobby.

Working On a New Play

This week I am not going to be about much as I am involved with the LA premier of "Slipping" by Rattlestick Theater from New York. If you are in LA swing by and see "Slipping" at the Elephant Theater on Santa Monica Blvd. Cool Space. The building is fabled to have once been Harold Lloyd's old silent film studio. Great show (if it wasn't I'd never mention it) and a cool space worth seeing if you can.

The Mawby Triplets

Hollywood has created a few fakes over the years but The Mawby Triplets take the cake. During the late 20's children were hot commodities in Hollywood and The Mawby Triplets were one of the hottest. The three girls appeared in movies with Gloria Swanson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and John Barrymore. They were big stars and had the prints in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theater but there was on little flaw. They aren't triplets. The Mawby triplets were a set of twins Claudine and Claudette and their sister Angella who was 11 months older.
The "triplets" were born in England and discovered by Hollywood in 1927 when they were disembarking from a ocean liner in Los Angeles. They were travelling with their parents as Mrs. Mawby was recovering from surgery and a doctor prescribed warm weather.  Photos of the girls were in all the papers and this brought Hollywood calling. The family lived in Malibu and the girls made their first film with Lew Cody the husband of Mable Norman. They went on to make a handful fo very successful films. The "triplets" were also members of the wedding party of Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Joan Crawford. Even though they weren't actual triplets Hollywood promoted them that way.
After the kidnaping of Charles Lindberg's son The Mawbys returned to England and that was more or less the end of their careers.

Amanda Bynes Makes Lindsay Look Normal

Lindsay is just a regular old alcoholic but Amanda Bynes might possibly a real nut job. Not only does she drive around with a suspended license but she has been seen talking to no one. Amanda Bynes is an ex-child star who had a couple of shows on Nickelodeon and has had a few movie roles and now she is the heir apparent to Lindsay Lohan for bad driving in Los Angeles. She has had two hit and run accidents, one involving a police car and a DUI. She recently locked herself in a fitting room in a West Hollywood shop for over 45 minutes. Then she was seen driving without a license smoking a pipe. Now if she was Popeye that wouldn't be too unusual but how many 26 year old women do you know who smoke tobacco from a pipe? This should be an interesting case to watch. Members of her West Hollywood gym and neighbors have reportedly seen her having conversations with no one and inanimate objects. She behavior makes Lindsay look perfectly sane!

Peg Entwistle Hollywood Sign Girl

80 years ago today was the worst day in Peg Entwistle's life it was also the last. Peg was an actress born in Wales and raised in London with the name Millicent Lilian Entwistle. Peg and her family emigrated to the US and she eventually settled in Boston where she studied acting at Henry Jewett's Repertory (now know as the Huntington Theater). She once performed the role of Hedvig in Ibsen's "Wild Duck" and inspired a young Bette Davis to be an actress "Just like Peg Entwistle". In 1925 Peg moved to New York having been recruited by the New York Theater Guild. In New York she performed with George M Cohan, William Gillette, Lilian Gish and Laurette Taylor. Peg met and married fellow actor Robert Keith. It wasn't until after they were married she discovered Keith had been married before and had a son Brian Keith. Brian Keith went on to star in TV's "Family Affair" as Uncle Bill. Their marriage was short lived. Peg was cast in a touring company and ended up in Los Angeles in 1932. She co-starred in the play "Mad Hopes" with Billie Burke. Humphrey Bogart was also in the cast. When "Mad Hopes" closed she was cast in the RKO film "Thirteen Women". This was a pre-code film produced by David O Selznick starring Irene Dunne and Myrna Loy. It is considered to be the first female ensemble film made in Hollywood. Ms Entwistle was living with an uncle on in Beachwood Canyon down the hill from the Hollywood Land development. She was dead broke at the time and spent most of her time looking for work as an actress. It was Friday night September 16th 1932 she told her uncle she was going out to the drugstore and would be back later. She never returned. It is now known she walked up through the canyon to Mount Lee. There she walked to the Hollywoodland sign and climbed a workman's ladder to the top of the "H". On Sunday morning of the 18th an anonymous woman called the Hollywood police station telling them she had left a package on their steps. She said she found a jacket, shoes and purse while out hiking near the sign. The police found the body of a blond woman in a ravine 100 feet below the sign. This was Peg Entwistle. She was later identified by her uncle. There was a note left in her purse stating simply: "I am afraid, I am a coward. I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago, it would have saved a lot of pain. P.E.

There is a story that a letter arrive the next day offering her a job. This is just Hollywood lore, it makes a good store but has no basis in truth.
Peg Entwistle was 24 years old.

Calling All Ladies in Black!

It was 86 years ago that Rudolph Valentino left this mortal coil. The Sheik was a mere 31 sexy years old when he died in New York of pleurisy. What is pleurisy you ask yourself, well it is a disease that really doesn't exist anymore thanks to anti-biotics. It is the kind of disease that many a heroine in a romance novel falls prey to.
Rudolph Valentino the Latin lover and biggest grossing star of the 1920's was more than a just dashing figure he was a heart throb. He was the original matinee idol. The announcement of his death made women literally swoon. His funeral in New York was a mad house. 100,000 mourners stood in line to view the body. Polish actress Pola Negri collapsed upon seeing the casket. Valentino's body was then sent via train to Los Angeles where another equally elaborate funeral was arranged. As Valentino was a young man and had been in good health he had no final resting spot and one had to quickly arranged. His friend and mentor June Mathis offered her crypt in what is now Hollywood Forever Cemetery. This was meant to be a temporary resting spot but here it is 86 years later and there he lies.

One of the oddest of all results of the icon's death is the Lady in Black. The Lady or as it must be assumed Ladies in Black appear at Valentino's crypt dressed in widows weeds leaving roses. As he died 86 years ago and the Lady in Black still appears one must assume that the mantle has been passed down through at least two generations. This is just a myth I hear you saying but I am here to tell you the Lady in black is real! I have seen her with my own slightly disbelieving eyes. She puts on a show too! The weeping is world class. The Lady in Black I have seen also added a bit of low singing in a vaguely foreign language that was indecipherable. It was an over all mind boggling effect.

Dial M for Marlene

A new play is opening in Hollywood written by Gary LeGault. "Dial M for Marlene" is a farce set in the Park Ave. apartment of a fading glamorous star. Based on a possibly actual event this comic play about two movie queens has lots of laughs. Is it true or is it a fantasy? Who is to say.
The hostess "Marlene" is performed by Victoria Valentino. A classically trained actress Ms Valentino first came into the national spot light as Playboy Magazine's Miss September 1963. The guest of honor in "Dial M for Marlene" is "Marilyn" performed by up and coming actress Ariane Bellamar. Ms. Bellamar is one of the stars of the upcoming ABC Family Channel's "Beverly Hills Nannies". These iconic blonds drink champagne and expose themselves to each other and the audience with tongue in cheek performances.
The play also has the supporting cast of Sophie Brabenec, Peter Cluff, Bruce Culpepper and Jeremy Ebenstein playing a variety of roles.
"Dial M for Marlene" opens on June 28th for a limited run ending July 15th. Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 8pm and Sunday matinees at 2pm. Tickets are $25 and can be reserved via phone at: (310) 360-7064.

Dark Shadows at Grauman's Chinese

Its Memorial Day weekend and Hollywood is packed. Sidewalks are filled to the curb with wandering tourists. This seemed like a good day to go to the movies. It was a great day for the Chinese Theater. The movie playing was Tim Burton's Dark Shadows; perfect movie for the Grauman's Chinese. Parking was going to be abominable but we had a trick up ours sleeve. There are little side streets tucked away off of Hollywood Blvd. your run of the mill tourist would never know. Score! Eureka a free spot and its a free spot! Off we go into the fray. The two and a half blocks to the theater from the car were an adventure. On a sunny Saturday in the summer season all humanity stops by for some fun. We wove our way over Charlie Sheen, Dolores Hope and Marin Sheen's sidewalk stars until we met Spiderman. He was right outside of the forecourt being photographed by people no longer interested in footprints. Naturally, we greeted him and passed on to the box office. $26 later we had our tickets in hand and charged head first into the fray of the forecourt towards the doors. The nice ticket guy tore our tickets and welcomed us into the lobby of Grauman's. Ornate is a mild word to describe the lobby of the theater. Over the top is a more apt phrasing. There is a lot of red and gold and oriental je ne sais quoi to take in. On either side of the candy counter are alcoves that lead to double doors. In the alcoves displayed in cases are costumes and jewelry from classic films. Bette Davis' dress and Elizabeth Taylor's jewels from Cleopatra. We entered and went down the stairs into the main theater selecting aisle "C".  The interior is even more elaborate and ornate. Lush one might say is a good description. A high, no a very high ceiling painted to the teeth covers the auditorium. The screen is covered by a lotus and bamboo drapery that parts when the previews start. The room went dark and "Dark Shadows" started. A fun Hollywood movie in the palace of Hollywood what better way to start the summer.

Polite Police Pursuit

A man in a tow truck had an unpleasant confrontation with a member of the LAPD around 4:45pm on April 24th. The confrontation started in the Studio City neighborhood. The tow truck took off from the scene and proceeded to drive through Studio City, Los Feliz and Hollywood eventually ending in Glendale. The tow truck was pursued by the LAPD at a low speed. The driver evaded the police and their tactics to end the pursuit in many ways. This "chase" happened to take place during rush hour while all of the local news stations were broadcasting. Police and news helicopters were also in pursuit. The driver proceeded to drive from neighborhood to neighborhood following all traffic rules even using directional signals. He drove through the center of downtown Hollywood passing the tourists and pedestrians on Hollywood Blvd. He headed out toward the valley but saw that there were spike strips place in the road so he made a legal turn and headed back into Hollywood. He then headed east on Sunset Blvd returning to Los Feliz. He was still being followed. He drove politely and safely along Los Feliz Blvd. into Atwater Village and finally into Glendale. When in Glendale the driver eventually surrendered to the Glendale Police. He pulled over, got out of the tow truck and laid down on a sidewalk.
The driver got more than his 15 minutes of fame. His adventure was broadcast live for an hour and a half. He in that time developed a fan base. People on sidewalks waved as he passed and watched from balconies. He may well have committed a crime but behaved as a gentleman the whole time. He waited in traffic always stopping the correct distance from the vehicle ahead of him. He was the model criminal. The driver has been identified as Ambartsum Sarkisyan, 31.

Lili VonSchtupp Interview

In a down and dirty part of Hollywood, Hollywood the way it used to be, there is a grey cinderblock cube of a bar with a seedy strip mall attached. I pulled into the parking lot early and got a spot right by a door labeled “stage door”. It was a little early but my partner Millard and I wanted to be there on time. The front door was locked and had a sign reading “before 8pm, knock”. We decided to have a bite to eat at a Thai restaurant in the attached strip mall. We met a punch drunk boxer and watched a woman with a shopping cart duke it out with her boy friend (?). Welcome to “Monday Night Tease!” at the Three Clubs. After our meal Millard and I headed to the door that was at this point unlocked. We stepped in and back in time. The room was dark and vintage-y, Mae West could possibly be in that back very dark corners. We saddled up to the bar and ordered our cocktails. The room reeked of 1949 except for the Stooges on the juke box. Unfortunately it is the 21st century and we had to smoke outside. Suddenly fabulous girls started darting around. On the far wall from the bar a set of sliding doors opened and quickly closed with the fabulous girls disappearing behind them. The night was truly starting to look exciting. We knew we were about to see Burlesque. This was “Monday Night Tease!” produced by Lili Von Schtupp. This evening’s show featured Kitten on the Keys from San Francisco. The sliding doors finally opened and revealed another fabulous room, the show room! There was a small stage surrounded by two levels of tables and chairs. There is not a bad seat in this house. We loved the show and I knew I needed to contact Ms Von Schtupp.

Punk Globe: Punkglobe readers may not have heard of you yet so can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Lili Von Schtupp: I’m not sure what has kept them from knowing about it me? I’m an extremely famous (okay, mildly famous) producer and performer of burlesque in Los Angeles, California. Maybe they have a life? Hmmm… Anyway, I’m a burlesque enthusiast who found her way onto the stage at 37. I produce LA’s longest running weekly burlesque show, “Monday Night Tease!” (http://MondayNightTease.com), as well as a few other shows. Oh, and I created“The Burlesque Podcast” (available on iTunes) to talk about, and with other burlesque artists to spread my love for the art. And I’m a 44DD natural for those who care. ;) Punk Globe: What drew you to burlesque? Lili Von Schtupp: What didn’t?!? I was collecting since I found my first Playboy under my Dad’s bed. I watched old movies and musicals with my mom and had no idea many of the performers came from the burlesque circuit. The comics were amazing and the beautiful women in gowns and jewels, oh how I wanted to be one! I was fan of burlesque and didn’t know it. Slowly, as my collection grew I heard the word burlesque and then went on a hunt to understand it. Burlesque (in it’s current neo burlesque scene) is everything you love about women and entertainment. It’s sexy, smart, funny and always a good time. It encompasses parody and comedy with sexy, that’s great. For me it highlights and empowers women who may not be the ideal perfect image. Color, body shape, age, sexual orientation…none of it matters when you put on an outfit that makes you feel sexy, that confidence taking it off makes you sexy. It allows women and men to share a sexy tease in an innocent way (most of the time,) and connect again. I love strip clubs, but with burlesque it’s a journey of playfulness sometimes with a story, not really the end the result of being naked or actually having sex. I think of burlesque as foreplay on stage. Who doesn’t like that? Originally it was something a bit different; it’s gone through some big changes as society changed. It started out as parody of politics, culture and made fun of and pushed sexual morals at the time. It was racy because women showed flesh tights in public. How scandalous! With every celebrity photo showing naughty bits getting out of a car available on the Internet, burlesque seems tame now. Punk Globe: Can you tell us about “Monday Night Tease!”? Lili Von Schtupp: Why yes I can. “Monday Night Tease!” evolved out of the show I made my burlesque debut in, Derby Burlesque. It’s been running every Monday Night for 7 years. I’ve been producing it for over 3. I run it like a traditional burlesque show. I book 7 burlesque acts and a variety artist for each show and it changes weekly. I felt the need to keep the variety part of the show. Originally burlesque was more about the variety arts; comics, jugglers, plate spinners, singers, magicians and the like, with a pretty girl dancing. It wasn’t all about the dancing girls then. And now it’s mostly burlesque stripping. But the amazing thing is our dancers are the variety artists now. I book amazing acts that sing and strip, hula hoop and strip, strip while juggling and more. It’s pure entertainment with a sexy twist. Punk Globe: How did you find 3 Clubs, your venue? Lili Von Schtupp: I was lucky. I mentioned I debuted at “Derby Burlesque.” Well, the show was at the “Brown Derby” for a few years and was moved to 3 Clubs by the original producer. The 3 Clubs offers something not easily found in LA, a three-quarter stage with a great view from anywhere in the room. It was used in the movie “Swingers” and is perfect the show I do. It’s a local favorite and once you visit you’ll know why. I love that it is my home in LA. Punk Globe: What is the burlesque scene in Hollywood like? Lili Von Schtupp: Growing! When I started 7 years ago there was monthly show and the show I took over. Last night there were 5 burlesque shows in LA and tonight there are 5 more. Amazing. We have several burlesque schools, a few pole dancing classes, weekly burlesque exercise classes and arsenal of amazing talent to draw from. LA is a city built on talented people trying to break into movies and so have we a ton of homegrown talent and imports as well. There are shows themed to pirate burlesque, theater productions and we have the styles of Pussycat Dolls and Café Was (formerly Forty Deuce). Not to mention Jumbo’s Clown Room, strip clubbing at its finest. They just celebrated the 40 anniversary and had aerial strippers outside the venue with the circus party they threw. What’s not to love about Hollywood burlesque! Punk Globe: You have had some fun shows in the past what do you have planned for the future? Lili Von Schtupp: Well, we just had our “Inglorious Burlesque: The 3rd Quentin Tarantino Burlesque Film Festival” which we do every year. We also are bringing back “The Muppet (of burlesque) Show” based on Jim Henson’s works, and Lili’s Laugh In” based on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, as well as the really popular “maydonna” show, yep you guessed it all Madonna themed acts. As for new shows, I am just starting the “I Love Mel Brooks” show for February 2011, and I’m finalizing a new show this week. It’s exciting. As much as love the theme shows, I really enjoy booking a solid classic show full of gown and glove numbers and big fan dances. Punk Globe: What would be your dream show/venue? Lili Von Schtupp: Wow, I’ve done so many shows I’m proud of and have plans for some killer stuff in the future, but I have to say my dream show happened August 29th. Quentin Tarantino finally saw the show. I got an email with the subject line “Quentin Tarantino” the night after “Monday Night Tease!” did Inglorious Burlesque. I opened it and it was from Quentin’s people and he wanted to see the show but couldn’t come on Monday. I pulled he cast back together and we did a private showing him and the people from his company, actors from his movies, writers, Ads, prop people and his friends. He basically booked the show for his friends. He is such a sweet guy! Honestly, when he jumped on stage at curtain call and said it was amazing, it was the highlight of my career. So much time was spent on details and things only people who worked on the movies would get, to have them cheering though our acts was awesome. Watching the reactions of people who worked on those films laughing and cheering n the sexy strips was pretty fucking cool. I have an amazingly successful show that is surviving in LA on a weekly basis and friends I work with that are talented, smart, beautiful and sexy. I am managing to make a living doing what I love. Hell, I’m living the dream every day. As long as there is a stage and I can work with my amazing friends, I’m a happy. So there you have if right from the producer’s mouth! There is a great Burlesque scene in LA and Variety entertainment is here in a new and fresh format. Check out her show if you are in town it is well worth the trip.

Museum of Death

“The bats have left the bell tower The victims have been bled Red velvet lines the black box”

It is a beautiful sunny LA day. I pull into the parking lot on Hollywood Blvd. and park. On the street I walk to the door recessed in bougainvillea I have arrived. I am at the Museum of Death. At the door of the inner sanctum of the museum (I guess this would be death’s door) I am met by JD the owner/curator of the Museum and gallery next door. “Welcome to the Museum of Death” he extends his tattooed arm and we shake. He is warm; very friendly and totally punk rock. I am directed through some velvet curtains into the Serial Killer room and told if I have any questions to let him know. BAM there I am alone in a room with an electric chair and walls covered by paintings from the hands and minds of serial killers. This is the Museum of Death get into it and over it. I move on after my fill of John Gasy’s creepy clown paintings. There is room after room of ghastly treasures to come! Caskets, bones, autopsy tutorial videos, cases filled with various mortician tools the list is endless. I was totally enthralled by a wall covered in matchbooks from funeral homes. There is a plenty of death ephemera in every room. This is Hollywood so celebrity deaths are not forgotten. There is a room dedicated to the Manson Family with plenty of gruesome Sharon Tate photos and creepy Charlie art. Heaven’s Gate has its own little room too complete with authentic costumes and bunk beds. Dead rock stars are always a crowd pleaser and the Museum of Death pulls out all the stops with its G G Allin collection. I personally loved the juxtaposition of Marilyn Monroe’s autopsy photos and JFK’s. There is a small room of taxidermy that is very interesting. The animals are mainly albino and eerily beautiful. One of my favorite rooms is a screening room decorated in a funeral home fashion. I watch a little punk rock while I gathered my thoughts before heading out to the real world aka the gift shop. JD is ushering a small group of tourists into his chamber of horrors as I enter the room. We chat about the museum and the gallery next door. He tells me the museum started out in San Diego and moved to Hollywood about 10 years ago and into this Hollywood Blvd. space fairly recently. The building was once a recording studio owned by Ray Charles in the 1960’s and a slew of punk bands recorded in a studio in the section of the building around the corner. Enough people come to the museum to keep the doors to his collection open and JD seems to like it that way. This isn’t Madame Tussaud’s it’s the real thing. That’s a real decapitated head in there! The admission is worth the price believe me! I walk out to the sidewalk after meeting JD’s Siamese two headed turtle. I get into the car and radio is playing “Detachable Penis”. How odd I think to myself, “I just saw a picture of one.”

Real Rock and Roll Movers

Moving is a big pain in the ass.  It is never fun. My partner I and I live in LA and found a new place to live in the hills. Naturally we needed to get all our stuff up there. We are both too old and too lazy so hiring movers was our only option. My job was to find the movers. I hit the internet and my first site was Yelp. I entered “movers” into their search engine and opted for the highest rating first. Up pops “Real Rock ’n’ Roll Movers”. They had a rating of what looks to be 4 and ¾ stars. I checked out the reviews which are 98% 5 star reviews with a couple of 1 star whiners thrown in.  I checked out their website (www.realrocknroll.com) and decided that they seemed worth the shot.

The company has an online check list that is really thorough; this is how you get your estimate. It took me a while to go through it but I was able to fill it out and submit it. So far so good; I swear it was in the next instant we got an email from a guy named Sean who was confirming our request and gave us a number to call.

The company is just what its name purports they are, Rock ‘n’ Rollers who move furniture between gigs.  Who better to move your stuff than rocker dudes? I mean they move equipment all the time and have to do it fast. We exchanged emails and a couple of phone calls and it was decided what size truck we needed and how many rockers it would take.  Everything was falling into place.  The day of our move came and Ta Da they were there and on time. We lived on the top floor of a big old 1920’s building at the end of a really long hallway that turned before you got to an equally old elevator. Then there was a ridiculously large lobby and cobblestone courtyard with a sputtering fountain to contend with and oh yeah we own an insane amount of shit. These guys had their work cut out for them. We were scheduled to have 4 rocker dudes but at the last minute one of them had an angry girlfriend incident and couldn’t make it. So there they were 3 dudes dressed in black with their Real Rock ‘n’ Roll Movers’ truck ready to go.  The three guys that came to move us were Justin Newhart, Roman Kovalik and Josh Robinson and were all dudes total rocker dudes.  Not only did they have the long halls and distances to the truck to contend with they had our freaky ass cat that got loose and basically annoyed anyone and everyone. They did all this while happily carrying out huge pieces of furniture.  I was very impressed.

We got to our new place which is on the top of a seriously huge hill and they unloaded our chattel in a flash.  I was so psyched I whipped out a bottle of champagne and we toasted to our new place.  The guys were great and we couldn’t have been happier with our rocker dudes! 

The concept of Real Rock ‘n’ Roll Movers is genus. Why they aren’t in every city is beyond me.  Who is better than rock dudes and roadies at moving heavy awkward stuff and doing it fast without damaging the stuff? Music is not one of the higher paying professions in the world and a dude’s gotta eat and pay his rent right? My advice to anyone in the LA area looking for a moving company, get these guys! Check out their website and you can like them on Facebook too.