When I was a very young man, just starting out in show business, I took part in a publicity stunt at the famous Brown Derby Restaurant in Hollywood. We staged a gangland gunfight to publicize an upcoming show about 20's era gangsters. It was such an event that we made the evening news, the Los Angeles Times and Time, Newsweek and People magazines. Tom Snyder covered it live for his old 'Tomorrow Show.' I kept the magazines featuring me blazing away in front of that special location. I am sure glad I did. Some years later, I came back to town after working on a film in the Midwest and when I drove down Wilshire Boulevard, the Brown Derby was gone. Razed to the ground. Hollywood's famous landmark had been destroyed to make way for a strip mall. This deeply insulted the romantic in me. It still does. I hope all of you reading this will indulge me a little here and by so doing, entertain your own sense of romance and help preserve the 4th Avenue Theatre for future generations. And save it from a possible similar fate as Hollywood's late, great Brown Derby. Sincerely, |