2-15-20 FREE event 2:00 -4:00pm today; The Museum SFV; special speaker event- History of Pacoima; author discussion and book signing

Special Speaker Series Event

The Museum SFV is pleased and appreciative to have Crystal Jackson return with her new book. Please join us today for this special event.

Saturday, February 15, 2020

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

The Museum of the San Fernando Valley, Northridge

FREE Event

($10.00 suggested donation for adults)

Free parking

 In honor of 2020 Black History Month, The Museum of the San Fernando Valley’s Speaker Series with the Pacoima Historical Society is proud to present:

“The Entrance: Pacoima's Story”

Crystal Jackson, Founder and President of the Pacoima Historical Society, and filmmaker of the 2018 Pan African Film Festival Best Feature Documentary nominee “Pacoima Stories: Land of Dreams”, returns to The Museum SFV to review and discuss her new book "The Entrance: Pacoima's Story". Learn about the Pacoima you never knew and its 1,500 year history.

Author and historian, Crystal Jackson, delivers an authentic and compelling account of one town’s epic journey through American history. Since our nation’s birth, Pacoima has been a microcosm of America’s social development and evolution. From the Mission era and genocide of the area’s natives, into becoming among the country’s first suburban minority communities, Pacoima's diverse cultural history is unlike any other. This amazing new book features hundreds of historic photos from Pacoima's history and more than 600 pages of information about the town.

Crystal was born in Pacoima in the ‘60’s. Her family had moved to the San Fernando Valley in the 1930’s, first North Hollywood, then Pacoima. Crystal graduated Granada Hills High School but went to San Fernando High her last semester to stay close to her Pacoima friends. She majored in Journalism at Cal State Northridge, but it wasn’t until Crystal moved to the Bay area to begin her Pacoima film that she realized the richness of her town’s history.

After the discussion, Crystal will personally sign the books of all in attendance. The books will be sold for $32.00 each with 9.5% sales tax added.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit The Museum of the SFV.

Elevator and ADA access to 2nd floor.

Light refreshments served.

Raffle prizes too!

Please invite a family member, colleague, fellow student too!

The Museum of the San Fernando Valley

SE Corner of Wilbur Ave. and Nordhoff St.

18860 Nordhoff St., Suite 204

Northridge, CA 91324-3885

Posted by Michel Stevens 

Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas dies at age 103

Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch was born on December 9, 1916 and passed away on February 5, 2020). Douglas was an American actor, producer, director, philanthropist and writer.

After an impoverished childhood with immigrant parents and six sisters, he made his film debut in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck.

Douglas soon developed into a leading box-office star throughout the 1950s, known for serious dramas, including westerns and war films. During his career, he appeared in more than 90 films. Douglas was known for his explosive acting style, which he displayed as a criminal defense attorney in Town Without Pity (1961).

Douglas became an international star through positive reception for his leading role as an unscrupulous boxing hero in Champion (1949), which brought him his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. His other early films include Young Man with a Horn (1950), playing opposite Lauren Bacall and Doris Day, Ace in the Hole opposite Jan Sterling (1951), and Detective Story (1951), for which he received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actor in a Drama. He received a second Oscar nomination for his dramatic role in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), opposite Lana Turner, and his third nomination for portraying Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956), which landed him a second Golden Globe nomination.

In 1955, he established Bryna Productions, which began producing films as varied as Paths of Glory (1957) and Spartacus (1960). In those two films, he collaborated with the then-relatively-unknown director Stanley Kubrick, taking lead roles in both films.




Douglas has been praised for helping to break the Hollywood blacklist by having Dalton Trumbo write Spartacus with an official on-screen credit. He produced and starred in Lonely Are the Brave (1962), considered a classic, and Seven Days in May (1964), opposite Burt Lancaster, with whom he made seven films. 

In 1963, he starred in the Broadway play One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a story that he purchased and later gave to his son Michael Douglas, who turned it into an Oscar-winning film.

As an actor and philanthropist, Douglas received three Academy Award nominations, an honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. As an author, he wrote ten novels and memoirs. He is No. 17 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male screen legends of classic Hollywood cinema, the highest-ranked living person on the list until his death. 

 
After barely surviving a helicopter crash in 1991 and then suffering a stroke in 1996, he focused on renewing his spiritual and religious life. He lived with his second wife (of 65 years), Anne Buydens, a producer, until his death.

For his centennial birthday in 2016, Douglas was feted by family and friends at a star-studded gathering in Beverly Hills. Among the guests was Steven Spielberg, who told Douglas, “I’ve worked with the best of them, and you’re the only movie star I’ve ever met.”

Douglas spoke briefly, thanking everyone for coming, and he capped the party with a sip of vodka, which his doctor had promised him years before if he made it to 100.

A centenarian, he was one of the last surviving stars of the film industry's Golden Age.

Robert Conrad Dies: Star Of ‘The Wild Wild West’ & ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’ Was 84

Robert Conrad, the actor best known for his role in the television show The Wild Wild West, died today in Malibu, Calif. of heart failure on February 8th. He was 84 and his death was announced by a family spokesman.

Conrad was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 1, 1935. He moved to Los Angeles in 1958 and found almost instant success, booking a recurring role on the TV show Hawaiian Eye in 1959.

The Wild Wild West show ran from 1965 to 1969, but became an even bigger hit in syndication. The premise followed West and sidekick Artemus Gordon as the country’s first Secret Service agents, taking on the super villains of the era during the Ulysses S. Grant administration.



Under the name Bob Conrad, he recorded several albums during his career . He starred in commercials with many people remembering representing Eveready batteries. People on the street would mimic him, place a battery or other object on their shoulder and say "I dare you to knock it off."

Other accomplishments included being the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award in Broadcasting and an inductee of the Stuntman’s Hall of Fame.

is family has asked for donations to the Wounded Warrior Project and The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. A private service is scheduled for March 1st. Conrad is survived by 18 grandchildren and eight children, shared with ex-wives LaVelda Fann and Joan Kenlay.

Robert Conrad, playing James West and Ross Martin, playing Artemus Gordon.

The legendary television executive Fred Silverman passed away at age 82

The legendary television executive Fred Silverman passed away at his home in the Pacific Palisades. He was 82 years old. 

Unquestionably, he was one of the most powerful people in the three-network era, secured positions as a top executive at ABC, CBS and NBC.

He was behind some of the most popular as well as controversial shows of the times with ones such as “All in the Family,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “M*A*S*H,” “Laverne & Shirley” and “Hill Street Blues."

In the 1960s, CBS, was looking to enhance its image and television lineup.  At the time, it had hit shows such as “The Andy Griffith Show” and “The Beverly Hillbillies.”  Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin’s show “All in the Family,” which offered content not readily seen on TV was an opportunity waiting to be seized.

From left, Jean Stapleton, Sally Struthers and Carroll O’Connor in an episode of “All in the Family.” 

Mr. Silverman played a key role in that show’s success.Credit...CBS

  
During its prime, Hill Street Blues was must-watch television. Much of the show was filmed in the valley at Mary Tyler Moore studios now CBS on Radford in Studio City.

Daniel J. Travanti, left, and Dennis Franz in the police drama “Hill Street Blues,” one of Mr. Silverman’s successes at NBC.Credit...Shout! Factory/20th Century Fox

Another great show that everyone enjoyed during its day was Sanford and Sons with Redd Foxx.

Fred Silverman, left, with Redd Foxx in 1976 - Mr. Silverman, who was president of ABC at the time, announced that Mr. Foxx, the star of the hit NBC show “Sanford and Son," was moving to ABC.Credit...Associated Press

Soon thereafter, he recalled being on flight listening to music when Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers in the Night” came on. “I hear him say, ‘Scooby-dooby-doo,’” Mr. Silverman said, slightly misrendering Sinatra’s “doo-bee-doo-bee-doo,” “and it’s at that point I said: ‘That’s it. We’ll take the dog, we’ll call it ‘Scooby-Doo’ and move him up front, and it’ll be the dog’s show.’”

“Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” premiered in September 1969 and became an enduring franchise.

Here is a 30 minute interview with Fred on his life. Enjoy.


Excerpts of this entry are taken from article in New York Times by Neil Genzlinger. Neil is a writer for the Obituaries Desk. Previously he was a television, film and theater critic.

Congratulations again to the 1970 San Fernando Valley State College national championship baseball team

Congratulations again to the 1970 San Fernando Valley State College national championship baseball team that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.

A team, like most teams, enjoys reliving the fond memories and experiences with past teammates and their families.  

A special bond is generated on any team, with some, most or all players and coaches and support staff. You do not need to win a national championship to create these bonds. Just think how much more time you can spend with teammates, coaches and staff when there was not any cell phones and social media?  People could actually really get to know one another. 

Enjoy the video below from LA This Week.