Stateside with Gavin Wood in West Hollywood ENTERTAINMENT LEGEND TURNS 86

■ Hi everyone, remotely from my suite at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Suites in West Hollywood comes this week’s news.

Hello Fellas, Hello Girls

■ John-Michael Howson OAM is an Australian writer, reporter, entertainer and former Melbourne radio commentator.

His involvement in the Australian entertainment scene as a writer, producer and performer spans more than 50 years.

John-Michael was at his best when he was the showbiz reporter on the Mike Walsh Show

I couldn’t guess how many actors he spoke to in Hollywood

His reports were always informative and a whole lot of fun. John has written many books and has also written stage musicals, Dream Lover’ and ‘Dusty’.

John’s list of achievements are vast and it’s wonderful to see him at the Marquee Club entertainment lunches every month. Happy Birthday Mr Entertainment.

Take a Barbie tour

■ Barbie is a candy-coloured smash. Greta Gerwig’s tribute to LA’s favourite doll enjoyed the biggest opening of the year, earning $162 million on its first weekend.

Fans turned it into an event, dressing up in their favourite pink confections and enjoying pink cocktails or downing a whole Barbie Brunch.

Some 200,000 moviegoers stayed at the theatre another three hours for a double feature with Oppenheimer.

Odds are you’ve already seen the movie, but here’s a reason to go back and watch it again.

Production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer were so inspired by Barbie’s birthplace that Barbieland is brimming with nods to the glamorously quirky architecture of midcentury California. Here are a few of the favorites to guide you on a Barbie field trip.

Premiere Lanes Santa Fe Springs

Perhaps the googiest of googie bowling signs has outlived its atomic-age lanes and taken a trip over the hill to the Valley Relics museum in Van Nuys.

The three-dimensional stars and neon-lit akimbo letters live on at what might be LA’s only museum with pinball machines set to free play.

Theme Building Los Angeles International Airport

The spider-legged landmark at the center of the “jet age” redesign of LAX in the 60s is an icon of Los Angeles architecture and Historic-Cultural Monument #570.

The restaurant inside got a groovy space-age makeover by an ex- Disney Imagineer in the 90s but sits closed today. A USO branch on the ground floor welcomes visiting servicemen.

Randy’s Donuts Inglewood

Leave it to the engineer who figured out the math that made the Theme Building work to also help craft this giant concrete donut just down the road. Cruise up in your pink Corvette at 3am and maybe you’ll be lucky enough to enjoy a hot apple fritter.

Laurel Canyon Car Wash Studio City

The kings of googie architecture, known for Norms, Pann’s and a slew of 1950s coffee shops, tried their hands at a car wash which stood at the corner of Laurel Canyon and Ventura Boulevards (look for its cameo in Earth Girls Are Easy) before being demolished in 1990. The massive steel boomerangs lived on in a Sun Valley wrecking yard for decades, and recently joined the collection of the Valley Relics museum.

Fremont Theatre

San Luis Obispo

California’s most famous theatredesigner said that “The show begins on the sidewalk” and his merry movie houses were dripping with colour and light and excitement. You can see his work locally at the Bruin in Westwood and the Los Angeles on Broadway, or take a three hour tour up the 101 to the Fremont in San Luis Obispo.

Kaufmann House Palm Springs

OK, the real modernist landmark is not painted pink (even though it once received a glittery makeover by singer Barry Manilow ). The iconic photo ‘Poolside Gossip’ by Slim Aarons inspired the film’s designers to base all the homes in Barbie land on this restored desert masterpiece. Hop on a bus and get a glimpse of the rooftop ‘Gloriette’.

Out and About Eagles member dies

■ Randy Meisner, founding member andbBassist of the Eagles, has died at 77

“Randy was an integral part of the Eagles and instrumental in the early success of the band,” the Eagles said in a statement.

Randy Meisner, co-founder of The Eagles, died in Los Angeles from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease complications. The rock legend was 77.

"Randy was an integral part of the Eagles and instrumental in the early success of the band, His vocal range was astonishing, as is evident on his signature ballad, 'Take It to the Limit'.

He started playing Hollywood nightclubs in the 1960s with the country rock band Poco, made up of former members of Buffalo Springfield

The bassist later left to play in the band of former teen star Rick Nelson. In 1971, he teamed up with Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Bernie Leadon to form The Eagles.

David Geffen quickly signed the group to his new Asylum Records label, and they released their first album the following year.

Trump indicted again

■ The former president, Donald Trump, stands accused of conspiring to defraud the United States and obstruct official government proceedings, following a comprehensive federal investigation into his efforts to contest the 2020 presidential election results.

The indictment allegedly implicatesand six unidentified co-conspirators in a multi-faceted attempt to retain power post-election.

Gavin Wood From my Suite at the Ramada Plaza Complex on Santa Monica Blvd

Pee-wee Herman dies

■ Paul Reubens, the actor famous for the signature role of Peewee Herman, died on July 30 after a long and private battle with cancer. He was 70 years old.

“Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” wrote Reubens in a statement posted to the actor’s official Instagram account after his death.

“I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”

“Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit,” reads a caption that appears beside the regretful statement from Reubens

“A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.”

Reubens rose to fame in the 1980s by playing the quirky, child-like character Pee-wee in film and TV.

Hqappy holidays

■ If you are considering coming over to California for a holiday, then I have got a special deal for you.

We would love to see you at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Suites, 8585 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood.

I have secured a terrific holiday deal for readers of the Melbourne Observer and The Local Paper.

Please mention ‘Melbourne Observer’ when you book to receive the ‘Special Rate of the Day’ for your advance bookings.

Please contact Jennifer at info@ramadaweho.com Happy Holidays, Gavin Wood.

Trump was indicted on four counts, including defrauding the US, obstructing a government proceeding, and illegally denying citizens their right to have votes counted.

The indictment portrays Trump’s wide-scale efforts to spread false claims of election fraud and manipulate Justice Department investigations to his advantage.

Although co-conspirators were not named, descriptions suggest links to former advisors and personnel including Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman.

Former President Trump was summoned for initial court appearance, with trial proceedings likely to extend throughout the next presidential campaign.

Mid-20s brain damage

■ Taking cannabis regularly in your mid-20s can cause permanent damage to the brain and its legalisation in some states has wrongly suggested to many that it is safe, the head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse recently said.

Dr Nora Volkow, who has led the agency for almost two decades, warned that cannabis use among young adults was a “concern” and called for more “urgent” research into the “potential health risks” for the age group.

Her agency which is part of the National Institutes of Health revealed that a record number of 19 to 30-year-olds were using cannabis in 2021, with one in 10 admitting to using it every day.

Around 30 per cent used the drug at least once a month, with 4-in-10 having used the drug at least once last year.

Numerous studies have warned that regularly using cannabis can harm brain development which continues into the mid-20s and that repeated users are more likely to struggle socially and face career and relationship problems.

But it is now only fully illegal in just four states Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina and Wyoming with 19 approving it for recreational use and nearly every state already giving it the green light for medicinal use typically to treat chronic pain.

Experts warn that legalizing the drug has led to it gaining acceptance in recent years, leading more people to try it. Stress from the COVID-19 pandemic has also driven up the number of people using it.

Across

Lovatts Crossword No 39 Across Down Down

168. Remove errors from

169. Automobiles

171. Addis ..., Ethiopia

172. WWII German sub (1-4)

175. Yawns

176. Baghdad is there

179. From Sydney or Perth

180. Rope-making fibre

182. Head cook

184. Take no notice of 185. Flesh of fruit 186. Jet-bubble bath

188. Quickly (1,1,1,1) 189. Fulfilled (demand) 190. Source

Mother sheep

Mentally sound

Unhappily

Brave man

Wild goat

Waters (garden) 200. Colleges 205. Much ... About Nothing 207. Arrange in print 210. Tormented by nightmares (3-6) 211. Chattering idly

212. Identical sibling 213. Not stereo 214. Crack army force (1,1,1) 216. Infatuated, ... over heels 218. ... & twos 219. Korean karate, tae ... do 220. Female boarding house proprietor

Songwriter

The M of YMCA (3'1)

Mexican currency

Judge

Make speech

Scamps

1. Cycling's ... de France

2. Cremation vessels

3. Nun's attire

4. Outdo

5. Snooty person

6. Granny Smiths or pippins

7. Dorks

8. Ahead (2,5)

9. Queen's ceremonial chair

10. Outlaw

11. Pearl-bearer

12. Conifer (3,4)

13. Lodge firmly 14. Samples

15. Deserve 16. Artist, ... Picasso

17. Beginning 18. Mediterranean volcano 19. Unwell

Salt Lake City state 28. Dublin republic

Test 31. Cocktail, ... colada 33. Rosebush pests 35. Hollywood's movie accolades

Note well, nota

142. Stewardesses

143. Thefts

145. Wear best clothes (5,2)

151. Magic potions

154. First appearance

156. Downward distance

159. Also titled (1,1,1)

164. Meadow (poetic)

169. Manages

170. The Constant Gardener actor, ... Fiennes

173. Expresses sorrow over

174. ... speak louder than words 177. Stands on hind legs 178. Search 181. Overturned 183. Stiffly 187. Study of body tissue 192. Heftier 195. Myths 199. Become rusty 201. Cries like crow 202. Pig noise 203. Devonshire tea cake

Holy book

Lukewarm

Vagrant

Cupid

Former lovers

Move listlessly

Pale-looking

Study table 221. Bus terminus 222. Sufficient 223. Louts 224. Shakespearean king 225. Horse-taming display 226. Computer input device (1,1-3)

Removes surgically

Pleasant tasting

Meal courses

Chopping tool

Persona ... grata

Worshipping

Globes

Pilot's emergency aid, ... seat

Pest

Annoying

Influence

Bemuse

Set free

Ireland's ... Fein

Promissory notes (1,1,2)

Porridge cereal

Match before final

Comprehend (4,2)

Zoom 265. Greatest in age

Opted

Earth lumps 269. Rowing teams 275. Genuine, ... fide

Snow monster

Concerning

Terminating

Long time 283. Termites, white ...

Rope tangle 287. Hate

Profane oaths 290. Declare to be true

High standards

Ribbed

Leg joint

Written composition

Trap

Merit 302. Steeple top

Horrify

From Athens 306. Stingy 307. Sketched 308. On Her Majesty's Servic e (1,1,1,1) 310. Pack (cargo) bird

Crossroads

By Rob Foenander info@countrycrossroads com.au

Mi-Sex returns

■ Party like it’s 1985 with eighties super group Mi-Sex who return for one night only – to revive the soundtrack of a generation, with a massive live show that features all their greatest hits and more.

Merging new wave with their unique blend of rock, transcending pop, punk, and discotheque, get-set for a visual spectacular that’s as energetic as it is awe-inspiring.

Memo St Kilda. Friday, Noember 3. Tickets at Trybooking.com

Destiny wins

■ Gippsland husband and wife duo, Destiny Band Oz, have won the New York based LDM Radio Music Awards with their song Who I Might Be, topping the Country category.

“That makes back-to-back award wins for us”, says an elated Tessa and Thomas Libreri, after also winning the same category last year with This Is Our Land.

Johnny and June

■ Get Rhythm – The Johnny Cash and June Carter Show will hit The Palms at Crown Casino on October 12.

Mark and Joanne Caligiuri have entertained crowds around Australia as Johnny and June for 16 years.

Featuring a full backing band, you’ll hear your favourites and many more.

Bookings at Crown.