Make no mistake. It’s never exactly a cakewalk getting to and from Los Angeles. And thanks to the folks at American Airlines and their seeming inability to keep a flight schedule, the getting to and fro was downright miserable this time around. But even with all of that crap, it was still wonderful to get away from Ohio and visit time with an impressive number of good friends in the western portion of America.
Unlike my two previous visits to the winter Hollywood Show in 2007 and 2011, this one was not tacked onto a larger trip. And unlike the my attempt at a winter getaway weekend for the Hollywood Show in 2009, this time I actually made it there. The purpose of the trip? A triple whammy: a weekend getaway, see friends, and attend the Hollywood Show. And then of course to mix in some other fun stuff including Disneyland, an awesome play, and more restaurants that had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
I was permitted to leave work about three hours early on Friday, February, 10, 2012, in order to change clothes and then drive to the Dayton International Airport and catch my first flight at 4pm. The first sign of trouble came when we noticed that this flight had been delayed 20 minutes, which later turned into 90 minutes. Apparently, there were weather issues in Chicago where our plane was coming from (and then going back to), and as of 5:30, it still hadn’t left Chicago. I entertained myself by buying some barbecue chips and a vanilla frappuccino at Starbucks, and watching a chubby man eat Sour Patch Kids.
In order to avoid the weather in Chicago, I had them re-route me through Dallas and ended up leaving Dayton at 5:55pm, arriving in Dallas about three hours later, sitting next to a woman who had a hottie on her other side. Just missed that opportunity, but then again luck clearly wasn’t on my side thus far. At the airport, I ate my dinner at McDonalds, left at 9:40, sat between two men who were thankfully small, and arrived at LAX at 11:05 – about four hours after I had originally been scheduled to get there.
This plaque was seen on my final flight into L.A. No relation to the friend I’d be seeing there.
Jimmy picked me up and we went straight back to his house, having missed my opportunity (now for the second time) to have dinner at the Nickel Diner, where I had intended to meet my friend Lori.
The irritation had subsided by Saturday morning. I was now there…and I was going to enjoy it. Jimmy and I got up early enough to pick up Jimmy’s folks, drive from San Pedro to Burbank, and meet David for breakfast at Tallyrand. We had a good meal and then Jimmy dropped me off at the Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel & Convention Center for another Hollywood Show around 10:30. Bob would be showing up about an hour later.
Breakfast in Burbank with David and the Wileys
Although the show overall wasn’t terribly exciting, there were certainly enough celebrities there to keep me busy for almost the entire day. So while I’m always excited to meet the stars, there were very few who got me really excited. The featured event was the reunion of Starsky & Hutch principles, with some minor reunions from the movies Carrie and Star Wars, the TV show Miami Vice, and the kids TV show All That.
The prices this time around were a mixed bag, but overall I’d say they came down on the ‘reasonable’ side rather than the ‘off-the-hook’ side, so I didn’t do too terribly much negotiating… but I did do a bit. I ended up with nearly everyone on my list, save William Katt, Barbara Hale, Julian Glover, and Joanne Linville – who didn’t show up. I bypassed Sandra Taylor altogether when I saw that she was charging $50 for the autograph/photo op combo. She didn’t mean enough to me to even attempt a negotiation. I also bypassed Celeste Yarnell, who although very nice, didn’t have any photos from The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. I was also sad that Don Stark was appearing on Sunday only.
I saw a few of my friends perusing the crowd, such as Randy and Rob, and guy from Paris named Serge whom I had just met through this website and then Facebook. I was delighted to hear his tales of how he ‘crashes’ so many Hollywood parties of the elite. I also spotted Chuck McCann roaming the crowd, as well as Scott Schwartz and ultra-famous porn actor Ron Jeremy. I got pictures with the latter two.
With my new friend Serge, the cunning Frenchman
I had met P.J. Soles twice in the past, but since she enjoys posing with fans, I thought I’d oblige once again
My first photo with porn star Ron Jeremy came out blurry, so I had a nearby fan take a second one. Since people sometimes have trouble hitting the button on my camera correctly, I told him to squeeze it tight until it pops. I then turned to Mr. Jeremy and told him, “now, I wasn’t talking to you.” He liked that.
With Scott Schwartz of A Christmas Story / Kidco / The Toy fame
Celebrities who were attending the show whom I had already met before included: Paul Michael Glaser, Davy Jones, Edie McClurg, Nancy Allen, P.J. Soles, Robert Romanus, Traci Lords, Butch Patrick, David Lander, and Martin Landau. That, I must say, was a delightfully low number considering how many celebs I have met over the years. And out of these, as you’ll later read, I did end up having either autograph or photo op encounters with seven out of ten of these folks.
Bob and I had hoped to maybe visit the Grammy Museum and scout a couple of new Laurel and Hardy locations in Los Angeles, but it was clearly going to be taking most of the day at the show. Therefore, we decided to skip those two things this time around and take a nice lunch break at one of the nearby restaurants that had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. This would be my first visit of the year and my 31st overall.
David picked Bob and I up and took us to Mambo’s Cafe, which had been featured on the episode Family Style. The featured item was anything that included roast pork including their signature Cuban Sandwich. Although the pork was a little skimpy, I thought it was pretty tasty. Bob didn’t agree and only ate half of his. There was a bit of confusion on whether we ordered the tostones or maduros. DD&D featured the tostones, but I think we got the maduros. Either way, they are both made from plantains, and thus both pretty good in a banana-y sort of way.
DD&D #31: Mambo’s Cafe in Glendale, California
Enjoying the Cuban delicacies of Mambo’s with Bob and David
We finished up at 2:30 and headed back to our car, stopping for a minute to get a picture in front of the convenience store that we parked near. Why, you ask? Because it was the precise location used in the film Superbad, when ‘McLovin’ attempted to utilize his fake ID. Just a little bonus, as Bob would say.
The convenience store as seen in Superbad
The new McLovin’
Flash forward several hours to 5:30 and the end of the celebrity show…and Bob and I were ready to eat once again, choosing yet another DD&D location – the one that I had now missed eating at twice: The Nickel Diner. This one had been featured on the episode Blast from the Past. It had a cool retro feel and some mighty fine eats – probably the best of the California lot thus far. But making dinner even more special was the fact that my friend Lori was able to join us last-minute with her boyfriend Jason. It had been a year since we had hung out during my February visit in 2011.
One of the food items featured on the show had been bacon donuts, but unfortunately they weren’t serving these for dinner. But I did have the other featured item: Catfish with Corn Cakes and Pecan Sauce. The accompanying hashed bacon brussel sprouts weren’t too bad either, although the sprouts themselves were a little hard. In lieu of the bacon donuts, we all picked a different exotic dessert and I opted for the root beer crème brûlée. I don’t think there’s any way I could have gone wrong with that.
DD&D #32: The Nickel Diner in Los Angeles, California
Jason, Lori, Bob, and I and the Nickel delights
Looks awfully good for catfish, doesn’t it?
Root beer crème brûlée. Swell.
Lori and me under the retro signage
It was great to visit with Lori as we ate, and by 7:30, Bob and I were on the road again, heading over to the Greenway Court Theatre on Fairfax in L.A. We had tickets for the I Love Lucy: Live on Stage show. Although I knew it was inevitable that I would nod off once or twice, this was one of the most entertaining shows I had seen in a long time. It began promptly at 8pm, which was when we arrived. I boasted that our incompetence worked in our favor, as they held two seats for us in the front row on the end, so that we’d have an easier time getting to them when we came in late.
Awesome, awesome show!
The show was presented as if we were present during the filming of two I Love Lucy episodes in the early 1950’s. This included the emcee warming up the audience, an applause sing, and live commercials for the products of the day (Alka-Seltzer, Brylcreem, Mr. Clean, and Palmolive Soap). The actors and actresses portraying Lucy, Ricky, Fred, and Ethel were top-notch and very funny. These were Lisa Joffrey, Bill Mendieta, Bill Chott, and Sirena Irwin.
The terrific cast of I Love Lucy: Live on Stage
The particular night was attended was some sort of benefit that included a cookie reception in which we were supposed to able to mingle with the cast. Although I had hoped they would be out in costume for photo ops, we waited around for a bit and never saw them, so assuming that they were changing and since it was getting late, we headed out after having a couple of the swell cookies.
Outside the mock “Desilu Playhouse”
Bob hearts Lucy…and cookies
Bob dropped me off at David’s house at about 10:30am. We chatted for a short time and then called it a night, knowing we’d be back up quite early for another day of California fun.
The trip will conclude with the first Disney visit of the year…
Follow the trail of celebrities from the Winter 2012 Hollywood Show here…
There is something almost poignant about that last photo. Bob looks like he really *does* love Lucy, and it’s all represented in that heart that he holds with such delicate care.
Maybe Bob is the Tin Man?! And that *is* his heart!
Peter
February 27th, 2012