Little Walking Man - Photo Courtesy of Fleur Philips

I’m still on somewhat of a high from Sunday’s Memorial Walk for Dr. Marc Abrams. Near the end of the walk, I met a reporter for BBC America who said, “I’ve been searching for a sense of community ever since I moved to L.A. and this is the first time I think I’ve found it.” To me, that summed up the entire experience perfectly.

Looking out at the crowd of people gathered to walk for a man most of them didn’t know – families with kids and dogs in tow, everyone smiling and in good spirits – it restored my outlook on our neighborhood and once again made me realize how privileged I am to live in a community where people will join together for something as simple as remembering a man who walked our neighborhood almost every day for 30 years.

I’d like to extend a special thanks to:

• Brandon Fuller for creating the Facebook event page and silverlakewalkingman.com
• Howie via NeighborGoods.net for letting us borrow the megaphone for the event
• Christopher Daniels for helping with coordination, creating the flyer and for communicating with Dr. Abrams’ friends and family for us
• Kevin West for being there, despite his grief over the loss of his friend, and for sharing the note from Dr. Abrams’ wife, Cindy
• Nick Potter for stimulating the initial idea for the walk
• My lovely fiance’ Harold for holding the megaphone during all of the speeches
• L.A. City Council President Eric Garcetti and Councilman Tom LaBonge for their presence and support

Below are some comments from the community that I’d like to share and also a round up of some press coverage of the walk.

“Thanks Marc, you made our city a neighborhood.” – Nicky Gagliarducci, muralist who portrayed Abrams on Sunset

“Marc desperately loved Silver Lake. Somewhere along the way in him doing what he was doing without trying, he just created this regularity and this routine that the people who lived here could count on, and it was a part of their lives and part of their day just to see him walking down the street. And that’s something a lot of us don’t have. It became a part of just living here and that’s gone.” – Kevin West, a close friend of Dr. Abrams

“A piece of the soul of Silver Lake is gone…we’re a quirky, weird, funky place where people do take their shirts off and walk around and you don’t know whether they have a job or not, and we still love them. For all the changes in Silver Lake has gone through and the positive things that have happened, we’ve never lost our soul until now — there’s a piece of it that’s just missing. I know it’s a complicated story and I know so many people here who loved Marc and who were served by him and he really was the community… We will find a fitting tribute.” – L.A. City Council President, Eric Garcetti

“Sunday couldn’t have been a more perfect day for the hundreds who gathered for the walk. Some even honored him with green shorts, a newspaper in hand and going shirtless, just as Abrams would every day.” – Zach Behrens, LAist

“This afternoon my husband and I went to Silver Lake to walk in honor of Dr. Marc Arbrams, the man known for strolling shirtless throughout this east side neighborhood. It was, hands down, one of the best Sunday afternoons I’ve ever spent in L.A…It was quite a site to behold that many men, women, kids and dogs all walking together to honor someone…I bumped into several good friends (Adam, Patrick, Jen, and Vicki – great to see you all!) then capped the whole afternoon off with a very delicious brunch at Millie’s. I can only imagine that if Dr. Abrams were able to look down from on high and see us all, he’d be very, very proud.” - Alex Cohen – KPCC, All Things Considered Blog

“Thanks so much to those who organized and participated in this wonderful tribute and community gathering in honor of Dr. Marc. I wasn’t sure I could do the whole walk, but I made it! I know that chatting with people I met along the way was one big reason why. The sadness is lifted a bit by realizing how the good doc …is still encouraging us to all be strong walkers and kind neighbors.” – Jill Fields, via Facebook event page

“Thanks for putting this event together. It was a great turnout and wonderful to see tributes to him along the route. People even waved and clapped from their front porches in support. RIP Marc.” – Paul Shkut, via Facebook event page

“Thanks for organizing, it was a great day and memorial. Awesome to see the community get together.” – Saveida Vazquez, via Facebook event page

“What a special way to remember Dr. Marc. The memory of all of us coming together will fill the emptiness I see in that bike lane where he always was! Thank you to everyone in the neighborhood. I’ll be there anytime to do it again. The energy from the group was amazing.” – Calethia DeConto, via Facebook event page

“How wonderful to see the community come together! Let’s do that walk once a month!” – Kista Cook, via Facebook event page

“It IS great to walk! Thanks Silverlake walker for showing us the light!” – April Napier, via Facebook event page

Photo Courtesy of Harold Pichol-Thievend

Some Coverage of the Walk:

• Saying goodbye to “Walking Man,” with a walk.— New York Times
• Friends remember Silver Lake Walking Man with a walkabout.— L.A. Times
• Silver Lake Walking Man memorial.— KPCC
• Silver Lake Walks for Silver Lake Walking Man – Huffington Post
• Walk to honor Walking Man Marc Abrams underway in Silver Lake.— LAist
• A Moving Tribute to the Walking Man of Silver Lake –The Eastsider LA
• Hundreds Turn Out For Walking Man Memorial Stroll In Silver Lake – LA Weekly
• Photos: Hundreds Walk in Honor of Silver Lake ‘Walking Man’ Dr. Marc Abrams – LAist
• Walk this way — WildBell.com

(Photo courtesy of Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times / May 6, 2010)

For those of you wishing to join us this Sunday in remembrance of a local icon, below is the proposed route for Sunday’s Memorial Walk in honor of Dr. Marc Abrams, who passed away this week.

Bring water and sunscreen! We will assemble for the walk on Sunday, July 25 at noon. Meet in the grassy field next to the Silver Lake Recreation Center at 1850 W. Silver Lake Drive. Parking may be a challenge in this area, so I suggest riding a bike, walking or taking the Metro to the starting point. The # 201 bus stops at W. Silver Lake Drive and Moreno, which is walking distance to the Silver Lake Recreation Center.

Please stay on sidewalks and observe all traffic rules. No jaywalking or impeding traffic.

12:30 PM – Begin at Silver Lake Recreation Center at 1850 W. Silver Lake Drive, continue north on W. Silver Lake Drive for 1.3 miles

1:00 PM – Turn left on Rowena, continue for 0.2 miles

1:05 PM – Turn left on Hyperion, continue south towards Monon for 0.2 miles

1:10 PM – Turn left on Griffith Park Blvd, stay on Griffith Park for 1.3 miles, until it dead ends at Sunset Blvd. (in front of Mornings Nights Coffee Shop)

1:45 PM – Stop at the triangle park across from Mornings Nights Coffee Shop at 1523 Griffith Park Blvd for a break, get water, etc.

2:00 PM – Turn left on Sunset Blvd. towards downtown

2:10 PM – Stop at the mural at 2943 W. Sunset Blvd, next to Local restaurant

2:20 PM – Turn left on Silver Lake Blvd, continue for 0.8 miles

2:30 PM – Arrive back at the Silver Lake Recreation Center

Those wishing to do an extended walk at this point should continue around the Reservoir on Silver Lake Blvd for 0.8 miles, turn left on Armstrong for 0.3 miles, then left on Tesla Avenue, then left on W. Silver Lake Drive for 1 mile.

Photo courtesy of Will Campbell

As many of you have heard by now, Marc Abrams (known to most as Silver Lake’s Walking Man) passed away last night. To honor the man who became such a fixture in our community, a few of us have decided to organize a memorial walk in his honor, beginning this Sunday at noon. We will meet at West Silver Lake Drive and Moreno, We will meet in the grassy field next to the Silver Lake Recreation Center, near where he began his daily walks, then follow his usual route.

In 2004, Abrams outlined his route in an interview:

“I usually loop around the lake, and then go down West Silverlake to Rowena, and then Hyperion, and then Griffith Park Blvd. down Sunset, back down Silverlake to the reservoir, and then back and loop around the lake again. So it’s about 15 miles altogether.”

All are welcome to join. Details below:

What: Memorial Walk to Honor Marc Abrams

When: Sunday, July 25 at noon

Where: LOCATION CHANGE! The response has been so overwhelming that we need to accommodate a larger number of attendees. For safety purposes, we have moved the starting location a few blocks away to the grassy field next to the Silver Lake Recreation Center, right at the edge of the Silver Lake Dog Park – a much better place to congregate as numbers arrive. The Silver Lake Recreation Center is located at 1850 W. Silver Lake Dr. 90026. CLICK HERE FOR AN OUTLINE OF THE ENTIRE ROUTE.

Pour on the sunblock, don your short shorts, bring along a folded New York Times and just walk – that’s what he would have done.

The only problem: They need another 50 children (ages up to 18) to sign up before Monday, July 5 to keep the clinic open past the second week of July. That’s where you come in! Help us spread the word to families and organizations that can help. Parents will need to fill out an application (available in English or Spanish) before Monday, July 5.

For an application, please contact Robert J. Menz, President of the Hollywood / Los Feliz Kiwanis Club at robmenz31@yahoo.com or visit hollywoodlosfelizkiwanis.org for more information.

On June 18th, start your politically incorrect internal combustion engines for the 2010  Rental Car Rally (RCR), a 36-hour competitive road trip from Los Angeles to Tombstone, AZ.

RCR is a single leg competitive road trip in which teams of costumed players compete for cash and prizes. There is no set route, but each team must hit pre-defined checkpoints, the locations of which will be revealed in the rally booklet provided at the starting line. Each team must furnish photographic evidence of each checkpoint. Teams are scored by a combination of odometer reading, team style and hijinks (details on the RCR web site).

The event is organized by Supreme Commander, the co-founder of a huge, ludicrous water gun tournament, StreetWars, which I personally participated in a few years ago, and The Pants, who throws big video game parties.

The race begins Friday, June 18 and ends Sunday, June 20. A “Basic Team Ticket” will cost you $179 and includes entrance to the rally, admission to the rally pre-party, with drink specials and a briefcase stocked with mischief-making swag (which you can use to mess with the other teams). Each ticket covers one vehicle and unlimited teammates.

To register for the race or for more information, visit the RCR web site at rentalcarrally.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s included in the price of my ticket?
The ticket includes admission to the rally, the rally briefcase for your team (the rally booklet w/ rules and coordinates for checkpoints, the rally contact sheet with info on other drivers, bottle rockets, smoke bombs, condoms, cigarettes, chaw), a rally pre-party and drink specials before the rally begins, a post-rally party at the destination, and the chance to win money, the respect of your competitors, and a golden gas pump.

Can I use my own car? Yes.

How many people to a team? As many as you want.

How long is the drive?
Route times vary from rally to rally, but total drive time is usually around 12 hours.

What are the checkpoints?
The checkpoints will be printed in each rally driving booklet given to each team at the rally starting line.

Is GPS necessary? No, but it helps.

Where are the starting and finish lines?
The starting line will be revealed one week prior to the rally start. The finish line will be revealed in the rally booklet each team gets at the starting line.

Are accommodations included in the ticket? No.

How much will all this cost?
After your ticket, you’re looking at about $100 in gas plus food and your hotel room.

Sock Puppet Sitcom Theater is the brainchild of Mark Hayward (pawubu), whose unmatched master sock puppetry skills have been thrilling audiences for generations. Check out this link for a preview of what you can expect to see Friday night: www.youtube.com/user/pawubu.

The puppet show begins at 8:00 PM and will be followed by three bands, The Edges at 9:00 PM, Irradio at 10:00 PM and Ray Argyle’s “Saving Grace” EP CD release show at 11:00 PM.

Admission is $5 ($20 including open bar).

wheremmm.com

(image courtesy of Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce)

The Kiwanis Club of Hollywood / Los Feliz is holding their 46th annual Kid’s Day Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser this Saturday, May 8. The Kiwanis Club of Hollywood / Los Feliz is a non-profit organization that supports a wide range of charitable needs in the community with the help of member dues, donations and annual fundraisers.  The annual Pancake Breakfast  provides up to 60 percent of their annual operating budget.  The middle and high school students that sell tickets to the event maintain 50 percent of the proceeds for their respective Builders and Key Clubs, which Kiwanis sponsors and mentors.  In addition to breakfast, there will also be a raffle, balloon animals and children’s fingerprinting.

$3 doesn’t go very far these days, so it’s great that you can get a decent breakfast while supporting your community. Stop by this Saturday and chow down for a good cause. Details below.

The film that spawned one of the most overused Vegas quotes of our time isn’t about Las Vegas at all. Swingers is so L.A.

Location. Location. Location. For me, the thrill of watching Swingers is noticing all of the familiar locations around town. The characters in this film never stay in one spot for long, always on the move from one bar to another bar, to a Hollywood Hills party, then to a coffee shop for a late night breakfast. All in their own separate cars of course. It’s laughable, but even today I notice that most of my friends in L.A. drive separately, despite that we all live in close proximity of each other and are meeting at the same place.

When I relocated to L.A. in 2003, the very first bar a friend took me to was The Dresden Restaurant to see Marty and Elayne perform. Immortalized by the film, The Dresden remains one of my favorite lounges in L.A. Located at 1760 North Vermont Avenue in Los Feliz, The Dresden makes its appearance in the scene where Mike (Jon Favreau) hits on the Starbucks waitress at the bar.

The Dresden Restaurant

By-the-way, Marty and Elayne, who are featured in the film, have been performing at The Dresden for 18 years and you can still catch their show nightly.

Los Feliz Municipal Golf Course

Also in Los Feliz, Mike and Rob (Ron Livingston) hit the links at the Loz Feliz Municipal Golf Course, a 9-hole 3-par course located just east of I-5 at 3207 Los Feliz Boulevard.

Another famous Hollywood location used in Swingers is the 101 Coffee Shop, adjacent to the Best Western at 6145 Franklin Avenue. According to movie-locations.com, this is also where the filmmakers devised much of the script. I have spent many late nights in the 101 Coffee Shop, with its mid-century rock walls and retro brown booths, feeling like a member of Sinatra’s crew after a long night of boozing and broads.

Back in Los Feliz, the crew enters through the back entrance of The Derby in the scene where Director Doug Liman pays homage to Martin Scorsese’s famous tracking shot from Goodfellas. Now closed down, The Derby (formerly located at 4500 Los Feliz Boulevard) was hugely popular during the swing revival in the 1990s, which was central to the mood of the film. This is also where Mike meets and dances with Lorraine (Heather Graham).

After the crew departs the Hollywood Hills party scene, they pass a few other familiar locations such as Canter’s Delicatessen, located at 419 N. Fairfax Avenue (also seen in Enemy of the State), and Hollywood Star Lanes (torn down in 2002), the bowling alley best known for its role in the Coen brothers’ film, The Big Lebowski.

The Derby

If you’re still hungry for more Swingers trivia, check out the list below, swiped from IMDB:

• Trent’s license plate reads “THX1138″, a reference to George Lucas’s THX 1138 (1971).
• Vince Vaughn’s father plays the lucky gambler at the $100-minimum blackjack table.
• Jon Favreau’s grandmother, Joan Favreau, is the lucky gambler at the $5 minimum blackjack table.
• Some of the film’s casino scenes were filmed without a permit. At one point, they were asked to leave the casino by a police officer, who let them finish filming the scene before they left. If you look at the left side of the screen during the scene where Mike is betting on the $100 table, a police officer can be seen in the distance watching the filming taking place.
• 

  101 Coffee Shop

  The 1964 Convertible Mercury Comet Caliente driven by Vince Vaughn was actually owned by co-star Jon Favreau.

• The exterior and interior of Mike Peter’s apartment was the actual building and room that Jon Favreau lived in at the time the film was filmed. Favreau’s downstairs neighbor was actor Adam Scott.
• Nicole LaLoggia, the film’s line producer, also plays two roles in the film: she plays Michelle’s voice on the phone, and she appears as one of the bar patrons at the Derby (the brunette sitting to the right of Trent when Mike leaves the table).
• When asked to approve use of the theme music for Jaws (1975) in a scene, Spielberg saw footage of Vince Vaughn, whom he hired for The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).
• The Word “Fuck” is used 95 times, “Bitch” is used 31 times and “Asshole” 13 times.
• The movie is loosely based on the experiences writer Jon Favreau had when he first moved to L.A. He had just broken up with a long term girlfriend and counted on his friends Vince Vaughn and Ron Livingston to cheer him up. The characters they play in the film are based on themselves.
• The “Bear” monologue that Trent delivers to Mike is almost verbatim something actor Vince Vaughn told Jon Favreau one night at a bar. Favreau liked it a lot and incorporated it into the script.
• When director Doug Liman first sent the script to studios, they were interested in financing it. When Liman said he wanted to cast the writer and his friends as actors, the studios backed off. The money to shoot the film was raised independently and Liman cast who he liked.
• Some of the bar scenes were shot in actual bars during business hours. A sign was posted near where they were shooting warning patrons that if they came any closer, they would be unpaid extras in the film.
• The sequence where Trent, Mike, and Sue enter the club through a side entrance closely resembles the way Henry and Karen enters a club in Goodfellas (1990), which the group refers to earlier in the film, calling it one of the best shots ever.
• The scene with Mike and Trent talking in the car on the side of the road was also filmed without a permit (not only could the production not afford one, it is actually impossible for any film production to acquire one to film on that particular highway). Originally they had planned to film just an establishing shot of the two of them in the car, and a shot of them driving away, and then film the dialog shots later. But director Doug Liman decided instead to film the entire scene on the actual side of the road. During filming, several police showed up, and demanded to see a permit. The assistant director held up the police by telling them that they had a permit, but it was in the office across town, several miles away. To get away with the rest of the scene being filmed, Liman had to pretend he was not filming, and didn’t look in the viewfinder, and used a microphone inside of the car instead of a boom. Most of the scene was filmed like this, with the police waiting just out of shot, and the two actors and the director pretending they were in fact not shooting.
• Since the filmmakers couldn’t afford to pay extras, the scenes filmed at parties were filmed at actual parties that were taking place, with many Hollywood up-and-comers in attendance. Among the people in the crowd of the first party (who turn and look at the group as they enter): screenwriters Stephen Gaghan and Mike White.
• The band in the film are retro swing jazz band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.
• There is a reference to Reservoir Dogs (1992) while the actors are playing poker. They refer to the scene in the beginning when they walk in slow motion as “a great scene”. As the characters in Swingers leave the poker game to go to a party, they are shown walking in slow motion in a similar fashion to the scene in Reservoir Dogs.
• A Reservoir Dogs (1992) poster can also be seen in one of the scenes.
• The scene in which Trent angrily yells at Sue, after Sue insulted Mike, was written specifically at Vince Vaughn’s request. Vaughn wanted to show that beneath Trent’s bravado and swagger, he truly cared for Mike as a friend.
• Trent, Mikey, Sue, Rob, and Charles represent the five members of the original Rat Pack: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop, and Sammy Davis Jr..

(This post is part of the “LA Plays Itself in the Movies” series).