Last Saturday night’s free screening of “The Wrecking Crew” was a huge success with about 1500 people enjoying the outdoor movie and the concert afterward. (I had blogged about it here.) If you wished you could have gone you are in luck as tomorrow night, July 3rd, you get another chance. The Silent Movie Theater is showing the film twice. The film’s Director/Producer Denny Tedesco, son of legendary guitarist Tommy Tedesco, will be there for a Q&A after the screenings.

A synopsis of this important piece of Los Angeles music history:

You heard them playing on the Beach Boys hits, on the Mamas and the Papas’ tunes, on Frank Sinatra records, on Monkees’ singles and they were Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound. Simply put, you heard them everywhere. They have performed on more number-one charted singles than the Beatles, and were one of rock and roll’s most legendary bands, a hit-making machine. Most likely, you never heard their name; if you knew who they were, you called them the Wrecking Crew. Denny Tedesco, son of Crew member Tommy Tedesco, knew their story was too important to leave to just a small circle of friends, and set out to film his father and other members of the Wrecking Crew to capture their story firsthand. The film features conversations with Brian Wilson, Cher, Nancy Sinatra, Mickey Dolenz, Herb Alpert, Lou Adler, Dick Clark, Jimmy Webb, Brian Wilson, Roger McGuinn and many others.

(Tomorrow night’s event is part of the weekly “Don’t Knock The Rock ‘08″ festival in July and August. Click right here, baby, for all the details of this series.)

The Silent Movie Theater
611 N Fairfax Avenue
323-655-2510
Showtimes:
8:00 PM Sold out!
10:30 PM

Tickets are $10 each and you can buy tickets online right here.
(Again, full disclosure: the filmmakers are good friends of mine.)

Ralph wanted to grow up to be a doctor. But, for this day, he was a shoe shine boy. And he was one of the best. Today’s operation: Could he finish his fries faster than Joey could drink his Coca-Cola?

The year was 1966.

Photo from UCLA Library Digital Collections

A stark reminder of L.A.’s Cold War air defense system can be found at the top of San Vicente Mountain, off an unpaved portion of Mulholland Drive.  The official name for this facility is the Cold War-creepy LA-96, a/k/a the Van Nuys/Sepulveda Nike Missile Control Site.  It’s also one of the more scenic spots in L.A., rewarding hikers and mountain bikers at the top of the West Ridge and Sullivan Canyon Trails with stunning 360-degree vistas.

According to the San Vicente Mountain Park website, LA-96 contained a radar tracking station for the Nike-Ajax antiaircraft missiles that were prepared to fire from the nearby Sepulveda Basin at invading Russkie warplanes.  Now the site has picnic tables and bathrooms for hikers and other visitors.

More missile control, after the jump

It’s been said that there are more people alive now than that have ever lived throughout history. It’s not true, at least with respect to the whole planet, but it’s an intriguing thought, anyway. I wonder, though, whether it’s true for Los Angeles? I’m not about to pull out a calculator and figure it out (I can’t come up with the math on my own, and anyway, I wouldn’t know what button to push) but it’s the sort of thing I love to ponder. And where do you think I chose to do my pondering? Check it out, after the jump.

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The world was at their fingertips. A new chapter yet to be written. Would they seize the day?

They were proud graduates of the first Los Angeles High School on Poundcake Hill.

The year was 1885.

Photo from USC Digital Archive

Little Ryan did not have a traditional Christmas. His family, like others, was hit hard by a crumbling economy. They were living in a moving van in the Valley. They were lucky.

The year was 1982.

Photo from UCLA Library Digital Collections

Over at Boingboing (isn’t it weird how we use direction-specific terms like “over at” when talking about other websites? Is anything really “over” anywhere online? These are the things that keep me awake at night.)

Um. Anyway, I was reading Boingboing this morning, and saw this phenomenal video of the Simi Valley wildfires in 2005:


Mark at Boingboing sez it was “Shot with 3 cameras over a period of 28 hours during September 28-29th 2005. Firestorm shows a a unique look at the Simi Valley fire which consumed 25,000 acres. Look for Mars, Orion & the Moon rising in the distance…”

CC-licensed photo by Flickr user CC Chapman

According to KPCC’s Patt Morrison, historic Japanese eatery Yamashiro received its official landmark status today. This is likely a relief to Angelenos worried about the fact that the land upon which both Yamashiro and the Magic Castle sits is for sale.

There it stood. 54 years before the dedication of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. 93 years before the doors opened to Walt Disney Concert Hall. 75 years before it’s own demolition to make way for a parking lot near 5th & Hill in Downtown Los Angeles.

It opened with a performance of “Aida” on the largest stage in the west. It hosted the premier of D.W. Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation”, with a full orchestra to play the score. The Los Angeles Philharmonic would call it home for more than 4 decades.

It stood as a pillar to music and the arts. It stood as a symbol of pride for the city. It was the Philharmonic Auditorium. Clune Auditorium. The Theatre Beautiful.

The year was 1910.

Photo from USC Digital Archive

Forty years ago tomorrow these grieving women were but two of the throngs of mourners who gathered at Los Angeles International Airport for the departure of the plane bearing the body of Robert F. Kennedy, shot at the Ambassador Hotel 40 years ago today. He died at Good Samaritan Hospital.

Photo from the Los Angeles Public Library Photo Database.