Larchmont Chronicle
VOL. 59, NO. 2
• DELIVERED TO 76,439 READERS IN HANCOCK PARK • WINDSOR SQUARE • FREMONT PLACE • MIRACLE MILE • PARK LA BREA • LARCHMONT •
IN THIS ISSUE
FEBRUARY 2021
Neighborhood regular sparks chats and compassion
n Shoppers buy Giorgio coffee, pain meds — hear about Sinatra
VALENTINES tell how they met. 4
SCOUTING, pre- and mid-pandemic. 10
By Helene Seifer Frank Sinatra liked Italian food and regularly downed three shots of bourbon while waiting for his table at Chasen’s. Hitchcock preferred champagne, fruit and French cuisine. Mick Jagger showed up at restaurants after a gig at the Roxy in a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce. So recalls Giorgio, the 56-year-old Larchmont Boulevard regular from behind his possession-piled shopping cart, a man who I got to know over several months of conversations. Windsor, Chasen’s Giorgio used to have an apartment in Hollywood and a girlfriend from Kiev named Leonida and a succession of restaurant jobs in some of the most famous celebrity haunts:
MASTER architect portrayed. 2-9
For Information on Advertising Rates, Please Call Pam Rudy 323-462-2241, x 11 Mailing permit:
Same great bite-size joy, Girl Scout cookie sale n Iconic booths transitioned to a virtual campaign By Talia Abrahamson Girl Scout cookies are always met with great delight, but especially with an ongoing pandemic, local Girl Scouts
Wilshire police move fast, arrest murder suspect GIORGIO, HOMELESS, walks the Boulevard.
MLK remembered by Big Sunday. 2-10
CHEVALIER’S BOOKS welcomed customers into its new space last month. Photo by Gary Leonard
the Windsor and Chasen’s, among others. He once went to Jack Nicholson’s house as part of the Chasen’s events catering team and, reports Giorgio in his typical staccato delivery, Nicholson is a nice man and a very heavy drinker. “He liked Scotch. Black Label on the rocks. Very smart man.” Giorgio remembers that he made him a food tower with caviar and all the accoutrements. Fixture on the street But now, on nearly any See Giorgio, p 20
Miracle Mile 2021
Our year-round guide to lifestyle, entertainment, residential and business news, “Miracle Mile 2021,” will be published in the March issue of the Larchmont Chronicle. Advertising deadline is Mon., Feb. 15. For more information contact Pam Rudy, 323-462-2241, ext. 11.
By Billy Taylor An intense manhunt conducted by Los Angeles Police Department officers last month led to the arrest of a murder suspect thanks in part to help from the local community. The investigation began after police were called to a local See Wilshire police, p 9
hope their cookie-sized bits of happiness will provide much needed smiles this season. “They bring people joy,” Hanna Allee of Troop 17125 said, “and they taste good, too.” The cookie kick-off began on Jan. 11, but nowhere to be found were the iconic cookie booths and troops setting up shop on Larchmont Boulevard. That is because Girl Scouts have transitioned to a largely virtual cookie campaign this year. The national Digital Cookie platform, launched in 2014, allows each Girl Scout to set up her own virtual booth and See Girl Scout Cookies, p 11
More change to Larchmont in New Year
n Some businesses find homes; others close By Billy Taylor It’s anything but business as usual on Larchmont Boulevard, where a number of storefronts are struggling with landlord and pandemic related issues. A few of the former tenants from the Lipson Building, which is now under construction — like Chevalier’s Books and Landis Stationery — have found new homes, while other longtime businesses on Larchmont have either signaled trouble, or have decided to close all together. Here’s what’s happened in the first month of 2021. Chevalier’s Books First, the good news. The See Larchmont, p 12
Los Angeles’ ‘cheerleader,’ Tom LaBonge, 67
By Suzan Filipek Former City Councilman Tom LaBonge brought his love of Los Angeles and enthusiasm everywhere he went, from his regular hikes in Griffith Park, to dining at Pink’s Hot Dog stand and to city streets, where he would help city crews pick up trash. He lit up the Larchmont Chronicle offices when he walked in with a boisterous hello, and, during the holidays, he brought loaves of pumpkin bread and yearly calendars featuring photos of Los Angeles landmark vistas shot
by the avid photographer. He continued his Chronicle visits even after he had retired from District Four in 2015, with the last time being the Tuesday afternoon before his unexpected death Thurs. Jan. 7. No one was a bigger spokesman for Los Angeles than LaBonge, whose drives throughout the city in his Ford Crown Victoria were legendary, with his passengers reporting on LaBonge’s frequent stops to help a pedestrian cross the street or showing up to get pot holes filled See LaBonge, p 23
TOM LaBONGE celebrates his favorite city’s birthday.
Photo by Gary Leonard
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