Retro Friday: KTLA Morning News Edition

The "KTLA Morning News" celebrates its 20th anniversary next year; here's a glimpse of how it looked in the early days. Check out Carlos Amezcua's hair -- and original co-anchor Barbara Beck's hair and massive shoulder pads. Younger versions of Mark Kriski and Sam Rubin are also here. And what sorta pact with the devil does Eric Spillman have? It's 17 years later, and he still looks the same. Good on you, Eric.

And here below... clips from the very first edition of "KTLA Morning News" in 1991 (as recounted in a later anniversary special):

Dodger Thoughts Slides Into ESPN/L.A.

Congrats to my Variety colleague Jon Weisman, whose popular Dodger Thoughts blog is once again on the move.

A year after his old host shut down and Jon moved Dodger Thoughts to the L.A. Times, Jon is now moving the site to ESPN's brand-new Los Angeles-centric sports site.

He joins several other L.A. Times alums there. Jon writes:

I do think that it will be a positive step for this site and for its readers. For those who come with me, I hope you enjoy the next step of the journey. And for those who don't, thanks for spending the past year with me, and enjoy my successor at The Times.

The people at The Times have been universally pleasant and kind to work with, and I'm very appreciative of that. I don't take that for granted. I want to thank them for their support.

Jon's ESPN/Los Angeles blog starts up on Monday.

L.A. Arbitron Ratings: Christmas Is Once Again Very Good to KOST

The holiday radio ratings are in, and KOST's all-Christmas music format was once again a big winner with listeners.

As you can see above, KOST jumped from 5.5 market share to a 8.1 during the holiday season. (As usual, these total listener numbers aren't used to sell the stations' ad time, but are pretty much just for bragging rights.)

Full ratings can be found here at All Access (registration required).

The View from Schwarzenegger's Desk

The Governator tweeted this photo this other day, I guess to help his poll numbers among Flat Stanley fans. But the interesting parts of this (obviously staged) photo come from what else is on his desk: A sheet of Schwarzenegger's talking points IN A VERY LARGE FONT SIZE... and, of course, the copy of what appears to be some sort of muscle magazine (with what I assume is his photo on the front, of course, under the cover blurb "Train Like An Icon").

Stay Classy, Eyewitness News!

This promo bug popped up on KABC Channel 7 last night during a repeat of last year's "Lost" finale. (So good the second time around, btw, and a nice primer for next week's season premiere.)

Yes, this promo for the 11 p.m. Eyewitness News really does promise a story about "44 LIZARDS FOUND IN A MAN'S PANTS!"

So yes, I watched. And of course, the story didn't show up until near the end. DAMN NEWS TEASES!

Eagle Rock's Rockin' Kids Shop to Shut Down

We've written many times about Eagle Rock's kid-centric corridor -- Swork coffee shop, Twerps, the Kumquat Outlet and Rockin' Kid Shop (not to mention the library around the corner).

Sadly, the bad economy has caught up to Rockin' Kid Shop, which is shutting down at the start of February.

The store is currently selling much of its clothing at 50% -- which meant good deals when we visited this weekend. I picked up a Nirvana tee and another shirt with a subway train for Evan, as well as a onesie for the Blogger Baby 2.0.

I'm not 100% surprised; Rockin' Kid's clothes weren't cheap. In better times, the store did fine. But in this tighter economic era, the store couldn't keep up.

Down the block, Twerps -- which sells mostly second-hand clothes -- remains open.

Ghost Businesses: Long-Lost Printer

A while back we wrote a post about signs that outlived the actual business they promoted. Reader Diallo snapped this shot for us, a printing business that had long since disappeared -- but which left behind a legacy sign.

With so many retailers shutting down in recent years, ghost signs have become all too common. The ones that really fascinate me, however, are the ones that have lasted for decades beyond the actual business they once heralded (such as the Helms Bakery signs in Culver City). Send along your favorites!

The Results Are In: Hollywood and Highland is Your Least-Favorite L.A. Mall

(Flickr pic by Stuck in Customs.)

Our regrets to Hollywood and Highland, which pulled ahead to easily win our survey for worst shopping mall in Los Angeles.

The Beverly Center came closest -- and for me, it's a toss up. The Beverly Center is a hulking mess of an ugly building with no character, but at least it has some actual shopping options.

Hollywood and Highland was terribly designed, with no thought given to where stores are laid out. Some unfortunate shops are found in dead ends, and the corridor next to the Kodak Theatre entrance is particularly sad and un-pedestrian friendly. But at least it's airy, and has views of the hills.

Nonetheless, for being a disappointing example of what could have been -- but wasn't -- Hollywood and Highland wins. Here are the full results:

A River Runs Through Los Angeles

The Atwater Village Newbie took this shot of the Los Angeles River on Jan. 18, between storms.

Look how high up the water reaches -- it's a reminder why the river was encased in concrete in the first place. It was an unfortunate solution to an unfortunate problem: The occasional flooding that would take place when the river banks filled up.

It was the 1938 Los Angeles Flood that led to the concrete encasement. Now, it's little more than a flood control channel.

Hey So Cal Tires, Politics Are Not Your Strength

Spotted in Burbank. Just a thought: Maybe So Cal Tires oughta spend a little less time making political comments and more time fixing my damn tire.

Riding the Rails: The Gold Line's Eastside Extension

A few weeks ago, the Franklin Avenue Foursome (yes, including the baby) finally took the full tour of the Metro Gold Line's newly opened Eastside extension. (Hey look -- an actual correct "Eastside" reference!)

The line now continues after Union Station -- past Little Tokyo and on to Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles.

We took a pit stop at Mariachi Plaza to walk around and have a late lunch at La Serenata de Garibaldi; then, it was back on the train, and all the way to Atlantic -- the final stop, in East Los Angeles -- and then back.

A few sights along the way:


Mariachi Plaza


Entrance to the Mariachi Plaza subway stop.


Turnstiles line up at the train stop.


The Gold Line subway tunnel


La Serenata -- possibly the best-known and revered restaurant on the Gold Line in East L.A.


My favorite part of this mural, of course, is the skeleton's moustache.


Jim's in Boyle Heights


Here comes the train... at the underground Mariachi Plaza stop.


Art at the Indiana stop


East L.A. Civic Center stop


All aboard the Gold Line!


Sunset from a Gold Line stop


24-hour King Taco


I love this Metro house ad -- but wish it included one more scene: The moment where the tagger beats the crap out of the tipster, having spotted him making an anonymous call.

Retro Friday: Ex-Mayor Richard Riordan and "Captain Beautiful"

I vote we remove Riordan's name from the Central Library as punishment for this.

The Secrets Behind In-N-Out: Huell Gets The Skinny

Wow, is Huell Howser really excited about this one. Of course, Huell usually gets excited about, well, anything. But this one may be worth the enthusiasm:

I get an up close and behind the scenes look at the history of In-N-Out Burger - a California icon since 1948. This is the first time television cameras have ever been allowed to shoot inside a store. We'll also visit In-N-Out University and take a look in the safe that holds the original secrets typed out by Harry Snyder himself!

OK, sold.

Press Release of the Day: Retraction Edition

What a difference that three days -- and a call from a high-powered entertainment lawyer -- make. Dana Point's St. Regis Hotel apparently discovered the power of Big Media lawyers.

January 11: St. Regis Monarch Beach, California’s only five-star, five-diamond resort, is offering guests the opportunity to experience “The Real Housewives of Orange County” first-hand with an over-the-top girlfriends’ getaway package that showcases the best that Southern California has to offer. Created in conjunction with the Bravo series’ stars to offer a sneak peak into their lives on and off-camera, the deliciously decadent experience will allow guests to feel like they’re in on the larger-than-life action and includes pampering spa treatments, a limo-chauffeured shopping spree and even a meet-and-greet with one of the Housewives.

January 14: Hey there. I wanted to let you know that this package is no longer going to be available from the resort. My apologies for any confusion.

A Farewell to Army Archerd

Much of Hollywood's remaning golden generation was on hand Monday to pay their final respects to Variety's late legend, Army Archerd.

A mix of speakers, which ranged from Sharon Stone and Steven Spielberg to Sidney Poitier and Angie Dickinson, recalled anecdotes about Army, who passed away last September at the age of 87. Army, of course, wrote the daily "Just for Variety" column at the paper for more than 50 years.



Spielberg (above, below a drawing of Archerd) recalled the first time he appeared in Army's column, after signing his first deal in 1969.

"You were nobody until Army noticed you," said Spielberg, who also marveled at Archerd's notoriously strong memory. "How can any human being have such an accurate memory? I've been misquoted with seven tape recorders in a room, but was never misquoted by Army."

Spielberg also took aim at today's more contentious press and online sites, noting that "Army never wrote angrily. There was never anger in Army's column."

Given Army's tenure over more than half a decade, Spielberg noted that the columnist was "one perfect link between the golden past and the rapidly evolving present."



Among other speakers, Carl Reiner (above) recounted how he and Army bonded over the fact that they both grew up in the Bronx, and that their mothers were Romanian immigrants. The two became good friends after Reiner brought over an eggplant dish that his mother made.

Then there was "Laugh-In" creator George Schlatter, who left some of us wondering what he meant when he informed us that "Army was rumored to be close -- very close -- VERY close -- to Ava Gardner." Hmm.

Also, Army's son Evan recounted growing up with a father who had access to the glamour of Hollywood. His early memories include getting a tour of Disneyland, before it opened, with Walt Disney as a guide. And then there was the time that he visited the set of Marilyn Monroe's "Some Like It Hot."

"It seemed like Army knew everybody," said motion picture academy chairman Tom Sherak. "And everybody knew Army."

Whatta Day for L.A. Weather: Here's The 30th Floor View from the Miracle Mile

Thunder, lightning, hail, tornado, flooding... it was quite a day for weather in Los Angeles and Southern California. And it ain't over yet.

The clouds parted this afternoon, allowing for some amazing views of the region via our 30th floor perch at Variety's Miracle Mile tower. I was especially wowed by the views of San Fernando Valley clouds peaking over the Hollywood Hills, as you can see above and below.





Fox 11's Mark Thompson just tweeted that "More rain developing tomorrow and tomorrow night and then again Thursday...Afraid it's gonna get even uglier." And here's the round up from the L.A. Times:

A powerful storm that hit the Southern California coast this afternoon caused at least one tornado, four water spouts and winds of up to 80 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

“We have everything going today,” said the Weather Service spokesman Bill Hoffer.

Long Beach, Seal Beach, San Pedro and Huntington Beach were hit hardest by the fast-moving storm, which flooded streets, damaged homes, produced hail and ice and stranded cars on the 710 Freeway.

Witnesses reported seeing a tornado touch down in Sunset Beach and lift boats out of the water as it came onshore, sheriff’s officials said.

Sheriff’s deputies were responding to reports that a tornado or waterspout had touched down near Anderson Street and Pacific Coast Highway, lifting several catamarans 30 feet to 50 feet in the air, according to Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino.

All TV Things Considered: KCRW's "The Business" Tackles The Small Screen

Tune in to this week's edition of KCRW's "The Business" to hear a lively discussion on hot TV topics.

I join my old Variety colleague Joe Adalian, now at The Wrap, and host Kim Masters as we chat about Conan vs. Jay, Simon Cowell, 3-D TV and Roger Ailes, among other things.

The show airs today at 2:30 p.m. PT. Listen live here, or download the show here.

"The Big Bang Theory" Goes To The Roller Rink

"The Big Bang Theory" exec producer Bill Prady sent out this Tweet pic this morning, with the challenge: "Yep, it's the #bigbangtheory crew out on location. Where are we?"

Prady was giddy -- it's rare, after all, for a four-camera comedy (which are pretty rare themselves these days) to go out on location. "We brought big movie trucks to the #bigbangtheory location! Very exciting for us 4-camera types," he later Tweeted.

Just look at that wood flooring and the markings on it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm assuming that "The Big Bang Theory" is shooting at Glendale's famed Moonlight Rollerway!

Retro Friday: Conan O'Brien Edition

In 1993, NBC took a chance on an unknown TV writer named Conan O'Brien, who was tapped to replace David Letterman as the new host of its 12:30 "Late Night" franchise.

O'Brien, of course, started out shaky but eventually developed a loyal fan base. Click on the pic above to watch the opening of Conan's first show.



Above, the opening to David Letterman's final "Late Night" show in June 1993. Dave opens by joking that NBC had just named him "Employee of the Month." Conan just used the same joke on Thursday's "Tonight Show." Coincidence? Or a subtle nod by O'Brien to the fact that he's about to leave NBC under the same cloud that Letterman did?

(Check out the ending of that episode as well here. His description of the host set to replace him, Conan O'Brien, is particularly funny.)



From the first "Tonight Show with Jay Leno," Leno introduces original band leader Branford Marsalis. Wow -- back when it was a bona fide jazz ensemble.



What a cool find -- a rare black and white 1963 clip of "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson."



From the very first episode of "Tonight" in 1954. Host Steve Allen warns: "This show is going to go on forever!" How true he was. (Of course, he was actually talking about the length of the show -- 11:30 to 1.) Allen also downplays the show, warning that it would be "monotonous."

FREE L.A.: Coffee Bean Goes Back to the Basics

Is it me, or does it seem like Coffee Bean is enticing its customers with more freebies these days?

Not that I'm complaining. The chain is passing out free cups of its so-called "heritage drinks" Cafe Mocha, Sunrise Ice Blended and Berry'd Treasure Ice Blended on Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Unless you're in San Francisco, Nevada, Hawaii, Ralphs, military base, campus and airport locations. Because apparently the Coffee Bean hates grocery stores, the military and San Francisco. Draw your own conclusions. I'll be busy getting an ice blended.

Land of the 99 Cent CDs

I'm a sucker for used record store clearance sales, having spent hours searching through unorganized stacks of CDs, all for a few diamonds in the rough.

Rhino and Aron's always held great sales -- and I developed quite a few sunburns over the years as I stood outside flipping through stacks. Sadly, those stores are long gone -- but at least Silver Lake's Rockaway Records is still keeping the faith.

Rockaway's pop-up clearance store made a few appearances over the holidays -- and now it's back, the weekend of Saturday, Jan. 23 and Sunday, Jan. 24.

Once again, all CDs are 99 cents -- ditto LPs and DVDs. I walked away with several cool finds the last time the clearance store was open, and I plan to dig my way through several more boxes next weekend.

The best part: It's inside. So no bargain CD-related sunburns for me.

It's Official: The Ambassador Hotel School Will Be Named After Robert Kennedy

It obviously makes sense that the high school rising from the ashes of the late, great Ambassador Hotel be named after Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy, of course, was assassinated at the hotel in 1968, moments after giving a victory speech for winning California's presidential primary.

The historic value of the Ambassador was one of the arguments used in the attempt to save the hotel from destruction. Students might have once been able to go down to the actual pantry where RFK was shot; instead, they'll have to make do with knowing they're on the same grounds.

The Kennedy family weren't so nostalgic about the site, having put their weight behind tearing the hotel down in order to more quickly build a school.

On the bright side, there does seem to be an effort to at least pay tribute to history. The school itself has been built over the exact same footprint as the hotel -- which means it takes the same shape as seen from the street. And the LAUSD has restored the old entryway to how it once looked.



Here's the details from the L.A. Times:

he education complex at the site of the once-grand Ambassador Hotel will be named in honor of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who was killed there by an assassin in 1968. The long-expected honor, approved by the Los Angeles Unified school board this afternoon, faced no opposition. The discussion quickly evolved into a tribute to the senator, who was cut down as he celebrated his win in the Democratic presidential primary at the storied Wilshire Boulevard hotel.

“We can now continue the legacy of Robert F. Kennedy,” said Kennedy friend Paul Schrade, who has worked with local allies for years to create a school as a fitting memorial for the senator.

The Ambassador school project has become “a symbol of hope for so many of us,” said board member Nury Martinez, who like others struggled to keep her composure.

The effort that resulted in the Kennedy complex began in the 1980s, when the school district battled over the decaying Ambassador Hotel with developer Donald Trump, who wanted to build the world’s tallest building on the site. That tug-of-war persisted for more than a decade, even after Trump ceded his interest to other developers.

I guess that's one other bright spot -- thank goodness Trump's nutty idea of building the world's tallest building on the site never got anywhere.

Amp Radio vs. KIIS-FM: Two Very Different Takes on a "Sexy" Problem

You're a top 40 radio station with a dilemma: The new song by David Guetta (featuring Akon) is catchy and destined to be a hit. The problem? It's titled "Sexy Bitch." And what's more, the phrase "Sexy Bitch" is said over and over again throughout the song.

The solution at Clear Channel-owned KIIS-FM (102.7): Play the tamer alternate version -- "Sexy Chick."

But new KIIS rival Amp Radio (KAMP-FM 97.1), owned by CBS Radio, decided to go racy and stick with "Sexy Bitch."

Amp, after all is trying to make inroads on KIIS, and has got to be a little more edgy to make some noise. At the same time, CBS has been extra cautious in recent years when it comes to content standards -- still smarting from the Janet Jackson/Super Bowl debacle -- so I'm surprised they're going with the racier version of the song.

Above, a recent screen grab of both stations' playlists.

I asked Sean Ross, a radio consultant and the expert behind the newsletter Ross on Radio, to give me his take on the "Sexy Bitch" vs. "Sexy Chick" decisions:

I think Amp has tried to position itself from the outset as a little edgier than KIIS – somewhere between that station and Power 106’s Hip-Hop format. Mostly, however, I hear the “chick” version, including on Amp’s New York sister station, WXRK (Now FM). On the other hand, when Mariah Carey’s “Obsessed” was on the radio, Now FM did play the “must be the weed, must be the ‘e’” line, while WHTZ (Z100) edited it.

After the Janet Jackson/Super Bowl incident, stations seemed to default to the safest available edit, including all those stories of stations that suddenly edited Pink Floyd’s “Money” and Steve Miller’s “Jet Airliner” after three decades. But there were still a lot of inconsistencies based on what edit was provided by the label.

Recently there have been a number of other records that have tested radio. I’ve also heard stations switching to the safer versions of songs in the middle of their chart runs, including David Guetta, “Obsessed,” and Jay-Z’s “Run This Town” where most stations somehow let the second half of Kanye West’s “everybody on my d---, no h----“ line go for weeks, then seemed to all edit it around the same time.

Ross notes that stations have stopped airing the gunshot ending of Rhianna's "Russian Roulette" -- or have even stopped playing it all together.

Bodhi Tree Bookstore to Shut Down

Looks like the Bodhi Tree Bookstore has lost the Melrose battle. As LA Weekly reports, the famous bookstore is set to shut down:

Owners Phil Thompson and Stan Madson informed their staff last Wednesday that the cozy Melrose Avenue shop, a nationally renowned and much beloved spiritual center, will be shutting its doors in a year's time.

After some eight months of discussion, Thompson and Madson decided to sell the property to a local business owner who leases space to several other nearby retailers. The Bodhi Tree opened in 1970. Land values in the area have risen dramatically since then. Meanwhile, the business of selling print books has been on a steady decline. For years, real estate agents had been circling the Bodhi Tree like vultures. In the end, selling the property became a much more profitable option than continuing to sell books.

Get ready for another fashion design studio you'll never visit.

MIKE ON TV: Blame Conan and Jay For My Media Blitz

Video Games - E3 2010 - The Loop

Sorry for the light postings this week -- it's the Television Critics Assn.'s Winter press tour in Pasadena, and for once the networks are giving us some real news.

First it was NBC's whole Jay Leno/Conan O'Brien debacle, and then yesterday Simon Cowell's I'm-leaving-American-Idol-to-start-my-own-show announcement caused quite a stir.

People keep asking me to come on to talk about the news, and being the good media whore, I'm a boy who can't say no.

Above, I talk to G4's "Attack of the Show" on Monday afternoon about Jay/Conangate.

I've also been chatting a lot with reporter Brian Rooney and the fine folks at ABC News -- check out my appearances on "Good Morning America" and "World News Tonight" here and here.

Dining with the Ambassador: Rare Look at an Old Cocoanut Grove Menu

Thanks to regular Franklin Avenue reader Tess -- who's a huge Ambassador Hotel buff (she even bought an Ambassador table I had to unload) -- we get these cool images of an old Cocoanut Grove menu.

The menu dates all the way back to March 4, 1945. It's pretty fascinating to see just how differently restaurant goers ate back then -- bleech. Lucky we live in modern times.

MIKE ON TV: My Conan/Leno TV Punditry Spree

The whole NBC Jay Leno/Conan O'Brien debacle has helped once again unlock by inner media whore -- and I outdid myself in that whoredom today, particularly when I appeared opposite myself on both ABC's "Good Morning America" and CBS' "The Early Show." I also wound up talking to BBC World News America, AP TV News, KABC-TV and KNX Newsradio. Here are a few clips (click on the pic for each):


AP Television News


Good Morning America


KABC Channel 7