Topanga Beach and the Sunset Strip
One of my more interesting jobs was working for the International Famous Agency (IFA) on the Sunset Strip. All the top stars in film, television and music were handled between either the Ashley Famous Agency or IFA in 1970.
Initially I was a “floater” secretary but later settled down to be Pervis Atkin’s secretary. He was a famous football player turned Hollywood agent. It was my job to break down movie synopses by character and character type so that he could find the right actors for the parts.
While working there I had been asked to take Country Joe from Country Joe and the Fish to a concert in downtown Los Angeles in my 55 Chevy.
The concert was held the day after the US invaded Cambodia and there was a lot of expectation that anti-war activists and young people would react in protest.
When we arrived at the Los Angeles Coliseum, we noticed that there was a Red Cross station set up outside. When we went in there was a ring of policemen entirely encircled around the seating area of the large round arena.
We were sitting on a blanket on the floor of the stadium and had a large box of doughnuts and coffee with us. Little Richard began to perform on the stage in the center of the arena. There were many huge speakers set up on stage as well as other equipment.
As soon as the music started playing, the cops started rousting the concert attendees. There was a huge scramble and the doughnuts and coffee went flying through the air. One of the giant speakers fell on top of Little Richard and injured him.
We were able to get out and I remember being very shaken-up about the whole thing. I stayed friends with Country Joe for awhile and attended other concerts that he performed in.
It was at that time that I rented a beach house with another secretary in Topanga Beach. Topanga Beach had a small row of houses on the ocean side of the Coast Highway at the end of Topanga Canyon.
Our house was near the end of the street and had a short white picket fence around the small yard between the house and the surf. Our “grass” was ice plant filled with dog turds, which I did clean up and put a sign on the gate. Dogs ran freely on the beach. There were ghostly looking white afghan dogs that would roam at night.
Our house was near the end of the street and had a short white picket fence around the small yard between the house and the surf. Our “grass” was ice plant filled with dog turds, which I did clean up and put a sign on the gate. Dogs ran freely on the beach. There were ghostly looking white afghan dogs that would roam at night.
The beach was one huge party with music blasting and surfers surfing and sail boats sailing. The first weekend we moved in all these people came through the back gate into the house to party with us as we moved in. I thought "Gee, my roommate sure has a lot of friends," and later I found out that she thought "Gee, my roommate sure has a lot of friends." We realized that we didn't know any of these people and kept the gate nice and locked from then on.
One day someone parachuted out of a small plane and landed on the beach. It was a rainbow colored parachute and fit right in with the tone and feel of the community.
One day someone parachuted out of a small plane and landed on the beach. It was a rainbow colored parachute and fit right in with the tone and feel of the community.
My roommate, Kathy, would record hours of music on large reels of tape for our highly popular parties. We had a couch on the roof that I spent a lot of time on, watching the waves crash (which we also could hear all night long.)
Kathy had been the president of the student body at Beverly Hills High School and her mother was friends with Lucille Ball. Kathy took me to Lucille's house one day. It was a square two-story adobe style house and Lucille was playing poker with her hair in rollers and smoking a cigarette. Her house was not decorated like a museum. She seemed to be a very down-to-earth person.
One time I went with a music agent named Rick to a John Mayall concert in San Diego. He had a black briefcase full of decals and promo material that he was passing out to the concert goers from the front of the stage. At one point he switched identical briefcases with me and told me to go sit back stage where I stayed for the duration of the concert with the musicians friends and significant others.
I had been given the "cash" that was needed before the musicians would perform. That was back in the day before internet banking. After the concert we went to a hotel room and dumped all the cash out on a bed and counted it into smaller amounts. There was a succession of knocks on the door as various musicians would come by and get their payment. I babysat "thousands" of dollars."
Getting to know Topanga Canyon was also special. The Rodeo Grounds, the Corral, Will Geer's outside theatre, and various homes of actors and musicians. Everything was so laid back, cool and artistic. The air was thick with a free spirit feeling.
Kathy had been the president of the student body at Beverly Hills High School and her mother was friends with Lucille Ball. Kathy took me to Lucille's house one day. It was a square two-story adobe style house and Lucille was playing poker with her hair in rollers and smoking a cigarette. Her house was not decorated like a museum. She seemed to be a very down-to-earth person.
One time I went with a music agent named Rick to a John Mayall concert in San Diego. He had a black briefcase full of decals and promo material that he was passing out to the concert goers from the front of the stage. At one point he switched identical briefcases with me and told me to go sit back stage where I stayed for the duration of the concert with the musicians friends and significant others.
I had been given the "cash" that was needed before the musicians would perform. That was back in the day before internet banking. After the concert we went to a hotel room and dumped all the cash out on a bed and counted it into smaller amounts. There was a succession of knocks on the door as various musicians would come by and get their payment. I babysat "thousands" of dollars."
Getting to know Topanga Canyon was also special. The Rodeo Grounds, the Corral, Will Geer's outside theatre, and various homes of actors and musicians. Everything was so laid back, cool and artistic. The air was thick with a free spirit feeling.
It was somehow amazing that I could arrive on time to work on the Sunset Strip in the morning.
We had to move in the Summer when the rent doubled in price.
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