In the old days of going to California – like in the 1980’s and 90’s – my trips to southern California were usually to see Bob, and thus I would generally spend most of my time with him. But usually during my weekends, it doesn’t often work out that I get to spend much time with Bob as he lives about an hour and a half away from the Hollywood Shows, and I am usually out of there by Sunday or Monday. For this particular trip, I chose to set aside two days so that he and I could maneuver about the L.A. area like the old days. So he took off Monday from work and we planned out a few things to hit on Sunday and Monday.
I was still at Jimmy’s house (in my new digs, the old room being re-modeled for the upcoming baby) on the morning of Sunday, January 13, 2013. Bob was heading to the Hollywood Show that morning as he wasn’t able to make it on Saturday, so the plans were to meet up with him there once he was done around noon.
So while Bob was at the show, I was having breakfast with the Wileys. Being a Sunday morning, we really didn’t think about how busy the restaurants would be so we had to try three different ones before finally settling on Denny’s. It was good to hang out with Jimmy’s parents and his wife Ellen (now with a really little Jimmy or Jimmette inside her).
Breakfast with the Wiley clan
Jimmy dropped me off at the Westin, where I waited in the lobby while Bob finished up inside – naturally waiting insane amounts of time for Donna Douglas, as I had the day before. Eventually he came out and we hit the road.
Our first event of the day was to attend a memorial service for silent Our Gang member Peggy Ahern Blaylock. Peggy had passed away on October 24, 2012, but there had been no formal service. This gathering was meant to be a celebration of her life. She had been cremated and her ashes were on display in front of a backdrop of a slide-show playing on the TV that included photos of Peggy from her Our Gang days, with friends and family, and her days visiting the Sons of the Desert.
I had last seen Peggy at the banquet commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Way Out West Tent in 1997, so it had been a long time since our last encounter. At that time I met her sister Lassie Lou (who had also been in the Our Gang). I was hoping to see Lassie Lou again at this event, but she had to cancel at the last minute due to illness. (You may recall I had just missed her in Arizona two years earlier).
The memorial took place at Peggy’s home in Hidden Hills, and was hosted by her sweet daughter Beth. It was a nice, very casual affair, with mostly friends and family present. Bob and I were the only ones representing the Sons, but we did so proudly. We also didn’t mind the awesome layout of snacks including pigs-in-blankets. It was nice to see the great slideshow and browse her home to see some of the mementos hanging on the walls – including a poster from Hollywood Party (a color short film starring Charley Chase in which both Peggy and Lassie Lou appeared), and even more fun, a giant bulletin board filled with fan letters that Peggy had received from around the world.
Shortly before we left, Bob was asked to stand up and say some words about Peggy’s involvement with the Sons of the Desert and how she had been involved with meetings and Hollywood ’80.
Signing the guest book at Peggy’s celebration
Video slide montage with Peggy’s remains on display
A final photo with Peggy – with an oddly hilarious slide on the TV screen
Peggy’s wall of fan mail, with plenty of accolades sent from abroad, especially from Germany
Bob reminisces about Peggy to the group of friends and family
After filling ourselves with mini-hotdogs at the gathering, it was appropriate that we’d fill ourselves with some big ones at our next stop – which would be my first visit of 2013 to a restaurant featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. This one was located in Reseda and had been featured on the episode Burgers, Tacos, and Dogs. It was called Fab Hot Dogs and I’ll give you three guesses what they served.
The location of this restaurant was somewhat unusual, as they had re-located since the show had first aired on DD&D. In fact we realized this when we showed up at the old address and they were no longer there. We had to call to get the new spot. Apparently, with all the publicity, they had outgrown the old joint. Presumably, the food was the same though. I went with one of the dogs featured on the show (or so I was told): the LA Street Dog which was a bacon-wrapped hotdog with green peppers and onions, tomato, mayo, mustard, ketchup, and jalapenos.
In retrospect, I should have noted that this dog contained a few things that I didn’t like, so it was not the best decision. The dog was okay, but it was a bit too spicy for my taste and I’m not a fan of peppers or tomatoes. I did try Bob’s Texas Burrito Dog and it was outstanding. Next time I’ll know better. This was my first DD&D of the year and my 56th overall.
DD&D #56: Fab Hot Dogs in Reseda, California
Enjoying a very spicy dog with my very spicy friend
From there it was on to the Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles. This was something Bob and I had talked about doing for quite a while, and finally we worked it in. It was a moderately enjoyable visit and I’d equate it to a poor man’s version of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There were certainly some cool exhibits – with my favorite being the Pet Sounds album that Brian Wilson signed to Paul McCartney and the Sgt. Pepper album that Paul signed to Brian. These items were located in the 50 Years of the Beach Boys exhibit. Other special exhibits included Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and the History of Heavy Metal. And of course there was an emphasis on the history of the Grammy. Overall, we spent about an hour here. No photos were allowed inside, so that was a bummer.
Visiting the Grammy Museum in L.A.
Two tickets to paradise… or the Grammy Museum…or whatever
Another irritating museum where photography is not allowed. Bob reacts thusly.
Not having a great deal to do on a Sunday night, the plan was to hit the El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard and see a screening of Disney’s Peter Pan. But after driving all the way there, we arrived to find that the theatre was closed for a ‘special party’ – which I believe actually involved some renovations being made to the Disney-owned theatre.
My feelings about the nonsense at the El Capitan. Closed. Ugh.
So we roamed around Hollywood Boulevard for a bit and I took some photos with a few stars of interest on the Walk of Fame, then we ducked into Disney’s Soda Fountain & Studios Store for an over-priced and under-impressively mediocre ice cream sundae. Then we drove over to Amoeba Music on Sunset Boulevard, which is the world’s largest independent record store. It was certainly the largest one that I had ever seen. I didn’t buy anything and spent most of my browsing time chatting with Carolyn on the phone.
A slow burn reaction at the star of Edgar Kennedy
Back at the Chinese Theatre…now officially known as the TCL Chinese Theatre. Sigh.
Little Rascal Jackie Cooper’s prints at the Chinese Theatre, embedded in 1931 after he had just left the Our Gang series
The star of fellow glasses-wearer Harold Lloyd
A very apropos star since Carolyn and I had been watching episodes of The Twilight Zone
Disney invades Hollywood Boulevard
Cuddled up to Mickey, who is seated over Donald Duck’s star
A trio of extraordinary gentlemen
The ice cream eats. Bleh.
The gigantic Amoeba Music store
It was a little before 8pm by the time we left, but I was bushed. We’d had a two very late nights at the Disney parks and I was still on Ohio time, so I couldn’t wait to get to sleep. Bob treated us to a stay at the Safari Inn, a motel in Burbank that had been used in the movies Apollo 13, Coach Carter, and most notably, True Romance. We attempted to watch the latter movie on Bob’s portable DVD player inside the room, but after about 45 minutes, I could keep my eyes open no longer.
Swell neon at the Safari Inn
Bob gets ready to fire up True Romance. The film, that is.
The Hollywood trip will conclude in the next posting…
Nice comments about Peggy Blaylock. Peggy was my piano teacher in the 60’s and a friend of my mom’s. I remember the powder room covered in photos from the Our Gang days. I loved goig to her house just to see the pictures. I never got tired of thek.Mom got Christmas cards from her until 2009 or so. Mom told me Peggy was still teaching at least in her mid 80’s. Great lady. Thanks for the pictures. It brought back memories. I love growing up in Hidden Hills.
Tom Cleary
August 10th, 2013