September 3, 2024 • 31 mins
Interview: Alison Martino: Vintage L.A. //Classic L.A. bars // RIP James Darren and Peter Marshall
// Noory cross / Mo will be back tomorrow
// Noory cross / Mo will be back tomorrow
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
KM I am six forty. You're listening to Later with
Moe Kelly on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
I've been following Vintage LA ever since I moved here
invaluable entertaining researchs resoarch for old photos, videos, lots more,
and for me personally, it's been way to see things
when a deadly pandemic turned me into a real hermit
for most of the time I've lived in LA maybe
more than a lot of people, I admit, but I
also love seeing old TV and movie locations, familiar faces
(00:33):
from entertainment from back in the day and now in
their later years, catching up with them, and so much
more than that. The human behind all of that is
Alison Martino, and she is here with me in the studio. Alison,
I have awful people, Radar, but you seem like such
a fun person and I could not be happier that
you're here with me.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
I'm very happy to be here now.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
I feel like we've secretly been conjoined twins because we
have so many of the same interests. I am especially
into old Hollywood, old showbiz stories. I'm a collector of
old movie posters, among other things. But first we should
cover the basics. For people who aren't already fans of yours,
give us vintage LA one on one.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Please Vintage LA one on one.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
It'll be fifteen years that I started that page on Facebook,
believe it or not, and I thought, oh, bunch of
friends will join it from high school and we'll talk
about places that aren't here anymore. And fifteen years later
it's like half a million people. But really, all I
do is start a subject about something in Los Angeles
isn't here or maybe is here, and the thread just
(01:36):
it just goes and it feels so good to hear people's.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Just living in Los Angeles.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
You can't learn this stuff in a textbook because the
stories are coming from the community, and so that's great.
Thousands of pictures are posted. I'd say there's got ten
thousand pictures on there now the last fifteen years.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Yeah. I love the photos because it's before LA was
all over built and it just seemed like a spread
out place, like you.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Here's something changed a lot.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Everything has it's it's inevitable. But I love the old stuff,
and I love watching old Rockford Files episodes and finding
the locations here, and a lot of them are gone.
But In fact, I went to the I drove to
the what is It? In Malibu where his trailer was
a POS park. It costs a lot just to park
there and walk around. It's prohibitively expensive just to see
(02:29):
a spot in a parking lot where a trailer was.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
Well, you know, those shows have gotten more popular, and
I think even through the pandemic, like Colombo had more
viewers than it ever had before. It just everybody seemed
to find it. And there's so much vintagelly in those shows.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Oh well, I love Colombo, and I think Keno Larber
put out that box set at the time and there
was a big kerfuffle about that because for some legal
reason they couldn't have any of the commentaries or bonuses
on it, and it was a giant ripoff. I absolutely
love Colombo and quote some of them chapter and verse.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
Okay, good, well, I like, you know, kind of pause
it and watch it and see if things are still there.
And there's a lot of shows in the seventies that
were filmed in La a lot.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
I don't think people really have a true sense of
how much people saved money by just shooting stuff in
the backyard here, right, Vasquez Rocks shows up in Star
Trek and every Western you've ever seen, And yeah, it
is my goal when I actually get outside to go
and have a photo on Vasquez Rocks, like I'm Captain
(03:35):
Kirk fighting the Gorn in the Arena episode. But by
the time I left Seattle, I was coming up on
six years ago. I was ready to go, partly because
all the cool stuff that made Seattle Seattle, all the
quirky stuff that gave it character and identity, it was disappearing.
But you can't really say that about La There's a
lot of stuff. It's a massive city, and it's a
(03:57):
gold mine of old stuff still here.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
To look for it a little bit more, but yes,
i'd say there's there's still a lot left, and we're
trying to preserve as much as we can and stop
losing so many amazing structures, like the Sunset Strip that's
being currently stripped.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I call it Sunset Strip. Yeah, I mean it's completely different.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
I mean I grew up not too far from the
Sunset Strip, and I still live near the Sunset Strip,
so it's very.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Near and dear to my heart.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
But to see buildings that were like kind of mascots
of our city and familiar landmarks, familiar corners are completely gone.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Now house the Blues House, and I'm.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
Sorry for what more overpriced condoct I mean, that's not
fun when you come to the Sunset Strip. You want
to go to the strip and you want to see entertainment,
and they're stripping away all the entertainment. Luckily, places like
the Whiskey and the Rainbow are landmarked owned by the
family that still own it. But now the Viper Room
is in trouble. Yeah, that whole block is going to
(04:59):
come down for another hotel.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah, that's exactly what happened in Seattle. All these old
places were torn down and replaced with condos with a
retail level on the ground floor because the people who
owned like the old you know, Mama's Mexican Kitchen or
whatever dive that we're talking about, maybe they wanted to
retire and they couldn't turn down that kind of money
because it's you're operating on a thin margin if you
run a bar or a restaurant.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Well, when they say, well we'll make the Viper Room
a museum, it then don't touch it. It is a
museum like it's it's fine. I mean, don't don't don't,
don't take it down. But it's very hard to fight
City County. Is that very exactly what I was doing?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Very hard? And they're a little snarky, and I just
you know.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah, now that you loved Quentin Tarantinos upon a time
in Hollywood every bit as much as I did. I
think it's the best thing he's ever done. And I've
watched it two or three times and I'm going to
watch it at least that many more times, and I
read the book afterward.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Uh good, Yeah, I think you are.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
As much of an expert as anybody to talk about
how well he captured that area, or it would be
the late sixties because it was around the time of
the Manson killing.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
It was so astonishing to see him turn the streets
back to nineteen sixty nine in the place in where
those places were. That's what's amazing about it, you know,
turning you know, the Doughnut stand back to where it was,
Peaches records back to where it was, and then just
having all the cars on the street cruising and just
really fun.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
He let us watch, He let the.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
Residents and whoever wanted to watch those scenes.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Wow, you know, so I.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Went to like five or six different locations, and then
when the movie came out, we really felt like we
didn't know what it was about, you know, because there's
there was no way you were ever going to know
the ending of that film until you saw it. But
it was the closest thing to a time machine probably
the city has ever seen. Yeah, I really raised the
bar for a lot of films they're going to be
on location.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
It rang true to me that whole movie, and the
ending I thought was just magical because it was the
exact same thing he did in Inglorious Bastards, Yes, which
was gave you a happy ending to something traumatic, and
it was so satisfying. But I'm not sure everybody was
on board with it. There are certain people who work
here who really dislike that movie, and their opinions are
(07:13):
completely worthless. I want them to know that.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Don't tell me who they are.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
I want to like them.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
So some people don't understand it.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
I remember being in the theater, ones going, why are
we following this blonde lady around all time?
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Yeah, No, I know it's it's.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
You have to I think really want that ending and
it makes you cry, it makes you laugh, it makes
you get up and cheer.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
It makes you just go if only it's everything you want.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
It to be and what you wanted it to be,
if you if it could have been, and if.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
You like all those old shows from that period. I
think I mentioned to you, so the character of Rick
Dalton in the movie as a guest shot in an
FBI episode.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
With Burt Reynolds is the real one.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Yes, of course I went and I watched that immediately afterward,
and then I couldn't stop watching FBI episodes. Yeah, so
I watched like two seasons, and back in the late sixties,
a season was around thirty episodes long, so that's a
lot of time. But I loved every second.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
And he copied that episode to a t.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
I mean, it's astonishing to see how meticulous he is.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah, he was a savant.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Yeah, but you know this was his.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
Love letter to La, especially the scene where he's like
where Brad is driving and you see the big knee
on sign sort of above him through That was Quinton's
view of La when he was younger, in the back
of the seat of his parents' car.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Well, he got so many other little things too. His
eye for detail is incredible. I am a horror nerd
and during the brief, brief period I lived here when
I was geez. I don't know, five, six, seven years old.
I can't remember exactly, and my mom isn't around to ask,
but I recall being traumatized by a late night horror
show host called the Sinister Seymour when I was up
(08:57):
by myself and I wasn't supposed to be watching things.
They've had a Sinister Seymour clip in this movie, sure
it is. It's such a deep cut, and of course
that leads you down a rabbit hole. So you'll find
a documentary about him on YouTube with a surviving family members.
Was there anything else.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
In it that's well, you know, you have to see
it at the New Beverly if you ever. When you
see it again, go see it at Quentin's Theater because
it's like a rocky horror picture show experience.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Because the people who see that film know that film.
They're like us.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
It feels like a club, you know, it's like a
private club in there, and they know every line and
we're screaming and stuff. But you know, just to hear
the music, even though we've heard all these songs before,
I did feel like I was hearing them for the
first time because the characters are hearing them for the
first time in the car.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
My favorite LA night, and again, I haven't been out
much since the pandemic, but my favorite LA night is
a movie at the New Beverly because they show old
cult films all on film thirty five millimeter, followed by
some drinks and some food at El Coyote right down
the block. What is your favorite LA Night?
Speaker 4 (09:59):
Well, that you just named it, I mean, I've done
that several times. You know, I'm a creature of habit
I like old places. You know, I love Dantana's, I
love Musso and Frank you know. I mean, I kind
of go to the same ten places. But lately I've
been hitting the dive bars.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
I know.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
We're going to talk about that later.
Speaker 5 (10:16):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
We're back with Alison Martino, the mastermind behind Vintage LA. Alison,
please list all the joints where people can find your content,
your Vintage LA stuff.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Well, everywhere every platform. It's either going to be under
my name, Alison Martino or Vintage Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
But you have a Facebook page, yes, as well as
a Twitter.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
X all under either Alison Martino, but Vintage La on
Facebook and Instagram or my Instagram my babies.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Okay, so those those two things. Now you have done
a feature for is it Spectrum? Is that correct?
Speaker 5 (10:58):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (10:59):
I've been on Spectrum for about five years. It's been
a true gift being able to report about places that
I love and frequent all over town. And usually they
have historic stories behind them. And I did pitch a
series earlier this year about vintage bars and dive bars,
and it's been really fun to go in and shoot
there and get the stories. A lot of these places
(11:20):
are going on fifty sixty years, some of them even
eighty years.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Oh well, well, it is my pleasure to live exactly
down to the newspaper man's stereotype and focus on the
dive bars. I of course, The La Confidential is one
of my favorite movies, and I've been to the Foremosa.
Is that on your list?
Speaker 3 (11:35):
I've done the Formosa twice for perspective.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
How to pro you are?
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Oh yeah, I was their opening night because you know,
they were down for a while. We didn't think they
were going to come back, and my friend Bobby Green
brought it back. So we were there for the opening
and that was fabulous. And is that with us now
for the direction, Yes, yes, it looks it's spectacular. I
mean they put it back exactly how it probably looked
in the nineteen thirties, but better than it ever looked.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
And you walk in there and you see some bimbo
cut to look like Turner and drink in your face.
What's uh?
Speaker 4 (12:05):
Yeah, I mean it is walking into a time capsule.
I mean, you know, I don't even think set designers
could make it look that good. I mean, it really
is a time capsule. But some of the ones I
just shot at a shaj which is incredible.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Have you ever been there?
Speaker 2 (12:18):
No tell me about you have to learn? Yes?
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Yes, didn't you need my help? This is why my
show is good. Uh well that's in Santa Monica. But
you have been the Frolic Room. I've driven past the Pantagious.
You know, when you're talking about doing like a night
where you go to a movie and dinner, like two things.
You can go to the Frolic Room for a drink
and then hit the Pantagious right next to each other.
(12:41):
And by the way, there's scenes of that in Eli Confidence.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Yeah. I feel like like Bud and Ed walked into
the Frolic Room and got into some mischief. What else
is on your list?
Speaker 4 (12:50):
The Blue Room in North Hollywood and it's not far
from here.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Shall we go?
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Shall we go out after?
Speaker 4 (12:58):
It's got greatest old signs. That's one of the great
things I love about old old bars, or the signs
and the cozy booths inside. And they're dives. They're small,
you know, and they get the locals, they have the stories.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
And so if somebody like me walked in there, like hey, guys,
look at this fun local dive bar, they I'd be
risking my life.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Well, it's not just dive bars.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
It's a bar with you know, kind of like counter eating,
like you know, I love a counter you know, you
go into a restaurant, some of them have a bar
in the restaurant, like D'antana's.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
You know, there's like a bar, so you could sit
at the bar and eat. And some people like that.
I do.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
But if you've got regulars, like when I lived in Seattle,
I lived around the corner from the best dive bar
in the world. It was called the Tin Hat and
you had all the regulars, and I was one of them.
And when a new person came in, it's like it's
like a scene out of the Old West in a
saloon when somebody comes in wearing clothes they're a little
too fancy, and you think, well, they're going to get
messed up before they leave.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
Don't know your wardrobe? I don't. You might have to
go with me. I might have a little advantage was
I put them on the air.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
But I think you'll be okay, okay, HMS Bounty have
you ever been that?
Speaker 6 (14:03):
I was, Oh my gosh, somebody knows what I'm talking about.
Let me tell you why gosh. I literally I live
near HMS Bounty. It's one of my favorite restaurants. I
was I blanked on the name sitting here because I'm
thinking of all these other places, and I'm literally on
my phone right now googling my address and like keywords,
HMS Bounty is one of my favorite And how about
(14:24):
the Prince and the.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Print all of that, right, don't you think Mark has
a shoo? Places? You should should?
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Are these bars that would be featured on Grinder? What
are you trying to say?
Speaker 6 (14:37):
Not quite unless you are into the nautical theme of
than which, yes, but you should totally go to HMS Bounty.
You should take fantastic baseball steak. Now we're gonna cause
the line to be out the door. Amazing, love that baseball.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
Yeah, you're the only one that knows that what I'm
talking of him talking about?
Speaker 2 (14:56):
All right, Now, I have to ask you, as a
dive bar fan, what is generally the tattoo to tooth
ratio in these places.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
I have tattoos, but I have all my teeth.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Okay, pretty strong, all right, but they can be it
can be.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Miss not there. It's very old, La, it's old. Yeah,
it's like it's like walking into nineteen forty.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
It is. Okay, there's one more I want to ask about.
What about the baked potato?
Speaker 3 (15:22):
Oh that's fantastic, is it?
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Now?
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Are you kidding? Have you been there?
Speaker 2 (15:25):
No? Not yet.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
Well, you know it's owned by Don Randy, who was
in the wrecking crew, who was who probably backed every
single record you've ever you've heard the wrecking Crew.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
I only know the d Martin matt Helm wrecking Crew.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
To an educating your show, need we need a few
days here?
Speaker 2 (15:41):
This was an errand of Mercy.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Well, that's a whole other show.
Speaker 4 (15:44):
But but yes, the Baked Potato is a gem right
here on Ventura Boulevard. And they have live music and
Don Randy's the greatest keyboard players in the world who's
been playing on every session record back in the sixties.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
And they have karaoke there. They have karaoke. But live
music is pretty a way to go.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
And potatoes and potatoes get you, absolutely get you, absolutely
get a potato.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
They're literally they specialize in potato.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
Their signage is true, it's a baked potato.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Well what goes better than jazz potatoes?
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Nothing?
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Any other last one you want to mention before we go.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
To break Mosto Frank's bars great, but that's not dive.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
But you know, well, you know where I work. I
don't think I can afford to go there.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
You can get a martini. I think you can afford that.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Okay, I can afford a drink.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
I'll get you all right.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
It's killing me to have to cut this off to
go to breaks, because I feel like we could talk
for like three hours and it would just disappear like that.
When we come back, we're going to talk about a
couple of very very beloved, well known people that we've
lost With Alison Martino Vintage LA.
Speaker 5 (16:42):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
My guest is Alison Martino from Vintage LA. Now, when
I knew I was going to start doing some hosting here,
you were one of the very first people I wanted
to talk to. Vintage La is terrific. People need to
is it your accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter X. I
bet if I had your Rolodex, I would be spoiled
(17:09):
for choice for guests for the rest of my natural life. Also,
rolodex deep dive there. Nobody knows what the word rolodex means.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
Tiffany, I absolutely know.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Okay, Foush, do you know what a rolodex is? I
sure do. Really, I will bet you, Okay, you know
where I work. I'm not going to bet you any money.
I'll bet you Keana doesn't know what a rolodex is.
She probably doesn't. Okay, let's just assume. Let's assume that
I won that bet. Now, you've also been friends with
a lot of well known people, Allison, because you grew
(17:40):
up in the entertainment industry with your father, who maybe
people don't know about. Tell us about your father.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Who's dad.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
My dad was a singer named al Martino. You may
have known it from the Godfather. He was Johnny Fontage,
but he was actually a singer in real life. So
he was friendly with a lot of comics, uh huh,
and entertainment people because they would like open for them
back then, and you know, like back then, Joan Rivers
would open for you know, someone like my dad.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
And so I got to know a lot of really funny,
amazing people and we lost so many of them. I mean,
it's it's just astonishing and they are gone.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Let's get right into that. We lost James Darren today
and you knew him.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Yes, yeah, My dad is from South Philly and so
was James. And those guys are you know, they're Italian
singers from back then. It's Frankie Avalon, Eddie Fisher, yeah,
you know, even Chelby Checkers back then, you know, and
so those there, I mean, Frankie's Avalon, Thank god, he's okay,
everything's fine, but we did. It's a very sad day
and James Darren passed away. It was a little bit
we didn't know that till today and now.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
He was in his uh later eighty eight. Now I
remember James Darren from reruns. I'm not that old reruns
of the Time Tunnel, and I guess I am old
enough to remember TJ. Hooker.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Well that's not as old as Time Time Tunnel.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
But you know, a lot of people don't realize with
with James Darren, he directed some of those TJ Hookers.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Yeah, I never knew that but until you mentioned it.
But a lot of these people, including Darren, have such
the scope and depth of their career, we had no idea.
We know him for the things that they're best for.
What else do you know about Darren, especially since you
actually hung out with him in real life.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
Well that he that he was a director, and he
was a you know, pretty serious director. He did a
lot of television when you go him too, IMBD. He
directed episodes of nine O two one.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
Oh.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
I don't think anybody knows that songs.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
Yeah, and I mean obviously he was an entertainer on
the road. But how cool to come back and Starr
is you know in TJ Hooker, be a character in
t J Hooker and direct t J Hooker. He has
everything going for him, and he was the most gorgeous
man I've ever seen.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Not only I guarantee you that William Shatner was jealous
of his hair. He had some. He had some magnificent
eighties feathered hair. I could never get mine to do that, and.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
He had it. I mean, he just continued to be gorgeous.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Yeah, And so what kind of guy was he like
in real?
Speaker 5 (20:01):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (20:02):
He was fantastic. You know, he's still Philly guy, so
kind of tells you like it is and a street
smart and funny, charming and just a very very nice guy.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
I saw a video of James Darren on YouTube showing
somebody around some of his old haunts. I think someplace
that maybe he was roommates with.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
I shot that video. Oh my god, Yeah, I took
Jimmy around. I took well, Jimmy liked Green Blats a lot,
which we lost that one. And he used to live
in the apartment behind it with with with some of
the old Sky Saxon and people like that and who.
He had a lot of a lot of friends. He
was friends with James Dean, James Dean hung out on That's.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
The name I was trying to remember.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
Yes, de Yeah, James Dean and him used to hang
out a Googe's coffee shop across the streets. I know,
I know, And so he took me to the apartment
that they used to live in.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
It's still there. Isn't that amazing?
Speaker 2 (20:55):
That is you were so lucky and you were also
lucky enough to be actual real life friends with Peter Marshall.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Yes, and that when that was that We lost him
about ten days ago.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Peter Marshall, for anybody who doesn't know, what he's best
known for as being the longtime host of the Hollywood Squares.
But again, this is another one tip of the iceberg
on this guy. Right, Yeah, he did so much stuff.
He was a singer, he was an actor, and I
only knew a little bit of this, and then I
listened to like an hour and a half interview with
him on Gilbert Gottfried's amazing Colossal podcast and Gilbert's no
(21:30):
longer with us, but they get into some of this stuff.
I had no idea all the stuff that Peter Marshall
did and how talented and versatile he was, well he.
Speaker 4 (21:39):
Was, yes, I mean, he was the perfect host for
Hollywood Squares, but he was also a singer and an entertainer,
and you go into his house and you just cannot
believe all the memorabilia on the wall.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
I want to hear about this specifically.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
That kind of stuff. I mean, I live for that stuff.
Speaker 4 (21:54):
And just packed your Glorin Awards and Emmy's and and
he's so so humble, and he would love to tell stories.
He knew everyone, you know, he knew everybody. Fred Willard
was a very good friend of his, and I got
to meet friends from Peter and Robert Morse, another great
friend of Peter's, also gone. That was an amazing dinner
I got to have there and they're all gone.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
It's really really.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Hard, but you will have these memories for the rest
of your life. And that is so amazing. So when
you just were hanging out having a meal and a
drink with Peter Marshall, what was the evening? Like? What
what did you do? What did you talk about?
Speaker 3 (22:31):
That's the thing, you know. I live for for history.
Speaker 4 (22:34):
So it was really nice to be able to go
to Peter's house for dinner and just sit him down
and ask.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Him about paul In. Give me paul In Stories.
Speaker 4 (22:43):
And I used to produce this show called mysteries and scandals,
and I was doing a segment on Paul In and
I could not afford to license Hollywood Squares.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
And Peter gave to the rescue and gave me his outtakes.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Much from his personal collection, and I'm like, I look
what I got.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
I don't have to lie.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
I don't have to lie the outtakes. How much of
that could you actually use?
Speaker 4 (23:02):
Oh, it was a lot of bleeping, a lot of
b bang, but how fun, you know, and to see
a little bit of Paul Lynn and his you know
sort of.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Yeah, you in my mind that I wanted to talk
about Paul Lynn because because I've read, among other things,
that Paul Lynn was a huge drunk and also kind
of nasty when he got in his cups.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
I asked Peter about it. I mean he did say
there were some horrific nights, but yeah, I mean that
was exact quote exact quote details.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Please, I don't think he got into details. That was enough.
But I think that he also was great.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Well, he was hilarious.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
He could be and hide.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
There they're jecky and hide at times, so they could
be absolutely the best, and then they could just be
a horror show.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
And Paul Lynn died at a fairly young age. I
believe alone as well.
Speaker 4 (23:50):
I mean, he kind of got pigeonholed into that center
square sort of syndrome, and I think it drove him crazy,
and he wanted to do serious acting. And you know,
he had he was on Bewitched and he had his
own show for a little while. A pol On Shout
didn't it didn't get picked up. But I think he
really wanted to go into serious acting and maybe he
could have. And I think he could have if we had,
if he had gone into the eighties, I think there
would have been a lot of parts for him.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
I think we look at game shows a little differently
now than we used to, and we don't look at
him as like low rent things that stay at home
moms watch. We look at them and realize how brilliant
some of them were. Like I'm a huge match game fan.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Yeah, they're fun to watch, aren't they? In the Game
show Network.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
They're very fun, and they get away with some stuff
that maybe went over our heads when we were kids too.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
It is kind of shocking.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
Okay, we're gonna have to break here, but we're gonna
have a little bit more with Alison Martino from Vintage LA.
After the break. This is killing me. I feel like
you're the first person I should have called when I
moved here six years ago.
Speaker 5 (24:51):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on Demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Mark Ronner with Tiffany hobb In from MO and coming
up in the ten pm hours Coast to Coast with
George Nori and we got George right here with us.
Speaker 5 (25:06):
Hey, Mark, Hi, Tip, how's everybody?
Speaker 2 (25:09):
George. I'm usually the news anchor and I'm sitting in
for Mo. Is this bitterly disappointing for you tonight?
Speaker 6 (25:14):
Absolutely not.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
You do a great job for KFI, my friends.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
I'm recording that and I'm playing it for everyone I know. George,
what do you got going on tonight?
Speaker 5 (25:23):
I'm going to talk about miraculous healing techniques and later
on a little bit of life after death on Coast.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
To Coast, So there is life after death? Absolutely well.
I will be sure to listen. Great talking to you, George.
We'll do it again, see you in minutes. And we
still have Alison Martino here from Vintage LA. Let's Alison
remind people of some things you've got coming up that
they can consume.
Speaker 4 (25:49):
Well, my bar series well air next Thursday if you
have Spectrum News at nine and it'll be all about
the bars. And then I have an interview coming up
with artist Edward sha next week well, who has an
amazing exhibit right now at the Museum of Art. Everything
he's ever done is there. So I highly recommend going
because it's like only going to be there till October.
(26:10):
And my Houdini Estate show airs on Halloween. I know
that's a while back from here, but I'm really excited
about it.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Oh, it's spooky season. All rookies.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Yeah, talking my language, and I tell us more about
the Houdini stuff.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
So it's a.
Speaker 4 (26:26):
It's a mansion and it literally is right there in
Laurel Canyon and it was built by a man named
Ralph Walker, and he was a friend of Harry Houdini
and it's been sitting up there since the early nineteen hundred.
Some of it had burned down, but it has been
restored and be built on and it has caves and
hidden tunnels and terrace gardens. And Houdini kind of used
(26:47):
the property as he kind of practiced his magic there
and used the pool, and.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
It's got a lot of spirits because I'm.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
Telling you I was there. It was there in the
day and I was I was freaking out. You feel it,
and I'm a native and I'm kind of a hard sellic.
Oh really really no, It's fantastic and maybe one day
it'll be open to the public, which I think it's
gonna happen soon.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
All right, this is important for you to know, Alison.
My last name is Runner r A. H and e
Er and you know who shared that last name.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
Tell me, I think I know, but's.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Wife best Runner.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
So I can't prove this. I don't I don't have
like Mariy Povich here to verify anything. But I'm just
going to say that I'm related to Houdini, and anybody
who wants to dispute that, that's on them. So I
believe I should have access to this place. Now, we
were talking about places around LA that have gone extinct,
(27:43):
and I wanted to tell you about the Captain's Table
because I don't I don't think a lot of people
remember that the Skipper from Gilligan's Island had a restaurant
in LA called the Captain's Table. Wasn't it some kind
of a lobster jointer.
Speaker 4 (27:55):
It was a lobster joint, and it was on restaurant
Row okay, And it was right next to Xavior. Kugat
had a restaurant too, called Kugats, of course. And you
know who performed there if we're like, because we're really
old here, Uhli.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
It was his wife.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
So what a cool spot like neighborhood? Had those two
right near each other. Now was restaurant Row Lost Sienega.
This was a little bit north of that above Melrose.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
This is the saddest thing you're ever going to hear, though,
And I'm not making any of this up. When I
was really really young, like jeez, I don't know, five
or six years old, my mom and my stepdad, pardon me,
my stepdad took me to the captain's table. Of course,
every kid back in the day you watch Gilligan's Island.
It's the law, you have to. And my dad was
(28:41):
connected somehow, and he brought the skipper to the table
and I was terrified. I was so terrified that I'm
not kidding you. I dove under the table. I dove
under the table and I wouldn't come out and I
wouldn't say anything because it's the Skipper and he couldn't
have been nicer. So I'm hearing from outside the first
of all, it's my mom. It's like Mark, get out
(29:02):
of there, Mark. But then I'm also hearing the Skipper
talking to me like I'm Gilligan and he's going, hey,
it's okay, little buddy, come on out, little buddy, it's
the Skipper, Come on out. And I was petrified. I
could not do it because I was just cripplingly shy.
And to this day, I'm bitter that I didn't come
out and like have him slap me with his hat
(29:22):
or something like like Gilligan.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
That blew my dad, blowing my mind.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
But look at what I'm talking to. You must have
a million stories.
Speaker 4 (29:32):
But you know, growing up in the business, that's a
great story because that was one of your favorite shows.
And he's coming to your table and there he is,
and you're under the table.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
Yeah, I mean, it's kind of like I mean, I mean.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
My dad knew Paul Freeze. You know, he was the
voice of them on the Mansion, and he did that
for me as a little girl. I went under the table.
I get I get to go under the table for that,
that's scary. I don't know about the skipper, but no, no,
for people who don't know.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
Who Paul Freeze was, he had one of the most
magnificent and instantly recognized voices in all of entertainment. In fact,
just a last weekend, I watched a movie on two
be called Dark of the Sun, and I thought, this
German guy's voice is dub Hey, that's Paul Freeze. I
would recognize that anywhere. You knew.
Speaker 3 (30:13):
This guy in this room actually stretching. I mean I
had him do that for me. I mean I really
was terrified.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
Yeah, you know, I mean it was very and then
once he did it, like five or six times, I
realized it was just it was a you know character
he was doing. Yeah, And then I would go to
Disney World.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
Doesney want to go? I know him? I know him.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
That is amazing. Well, we're just about out of time here, Allison.
I cannot thank you enough for being my guest on
our second night. And if we haven't burned the joint
to the ground, maybe you can come back again sometime.
I want to thank everybody. Tiffany, thank you so much
for everything and for making sure you ever you ever
see one of those James Brown concerts where Brown kind
(30:56):
of feigns that he's fading. Right now, is that we're
doing Need I Need the Cape. Thank you to Fush,
to Keana too, of course, Jackie Ray, thank you to
Robin and of course Chris Little. I'll be back in
the news chair tomorrow and I believe we're going to
be filling it in again here the following Monday night.
(31:19):
So it's anybody's guests who will have as a guest.
And thank you listeners, especially the ones who sent me
some really nice emails with some kind words. Very much appreciated.
We'll see you next time. We'll see you tomorrow, Mark Ronerd,
Tiffany Hobbs, KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the
iHeart app. It's later with mob Je. You've been listening,
(31:40):
so later with mo Kelly.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
You can always hear us live on KFI AM six
forty seven pm to ten pm every Monday through Friday,
and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
KM I am six forty. You're listening to Later with
Moe Kelly on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
I've been following Vintage LA ever since I moved here
invaluable entertaining researchs resoarch for old photos, videos, lots more,
and for me personally, it's been way to see things
when a deadly pandemic turned me into a real hermit
for most of the time I've lived in LA maybe
more than a lot of people, I admit, but I
also love seeing old TV and movie locations, familiar faces
(00:33):
from entertainment from back in the day and now in
their later years, catching up with them, and so much
more than that. The human behind all of that is
Alison Martino, and she is here with me in the studio. Alison,
I have awful people, Radar, but you seem like such
a fun person and I could not be happier that
you're here with me.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
I'm very happy to be here now.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
I feel like we've secretly been conjoined twins because we
have so many of the same interests. I am especially
into old Hollywood, old showbiz stories. I'm a collector of
old movie posters, among other things. But first we should
cover the basics. For people who aren't already fans of yours,
give us vintage LA one on one.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Please Vintage LA one on one.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
It'll be fifteen years that I started that page on Facebook,
believe it or not, and I thought, oh, bunch of
friends will join it from high school and we'll talk
about places that aren't here anymore. And fifteen years later
it's like half a million people. But really, all I
do is start a subject about something in Los Angeles
isn't here or maybe is here, and the thread just
(01:36):
it just goes and it feels so good to hear people's.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Just living in Los Angeles.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
You can't learn this stuff in a textbook because the
stories are coming from the community, and so that's great.
Thousands of pictures are posted. I'd say there's got ten
thousand pictures on there now the last fifteen years.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Yeah. I love the photos because it's before LA was
all over built and it just seemed like a spread
out place, like you.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Here's something changed a lot.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Everything has it's it's inevitable. But I love the old stuff,
and I love watching old Rockford Files episodes and finding
the locations here, and a lot of them are gone.
But In fact, I went to the I drove to
the what is It? In Malibu where his trailer was
a POS park. It costs a lot just to park
there and walk around. It's prohibitively expensive just to see
(02:29):
a spot in a parking lot where a trailer was.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
Well, you know, those shows have gotten more popular, and
I think even through the pandemic, like Colombo had more
viewers than it ever had before. It just everybody seemed
to find it. And there's so much vintagelly in those shows.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Oh well, I love Colombo, and I think Keno Larber
put out that box set at the time and there
was a big kerfuffle about that because for some legal
reason they couldn't have any of the commentaries or bonuses
on it, and it was a giant ripoff. I absolutely
love Colombo and quote some of them chapter and verse.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
Okay, good, well, I like, you know, kind of pause
it and watch it and see if things are still there.
And there's a lot of shows in the seventies that
were filmed in La a lot.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
I don't think people really have a true sense of
how much people saved money by just shooting stuff in
the backyard here, right, Vasquez Rocks shows up in Star
Trek and every Western you've ever seen, And yeah, it
is my goal when I actually get outside to go
and have a photo on Vasquez Rocks, like I'm Captain
(03:35):
Kirk fighting the Gorn in the Arena episode. But by
the time I left Seattle, I was coming up on
six years ago. I was ready to go, partly because
all the cool stuff that made Seattle Seattle, all the
quirky stuff that gave it character and identity, it was disappearing.
But you can't really say that about La There's a
lot of stuff. It's a massive city, and it's a
(03:57):
gold mine of old stuff still here.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
To look for it a little bit more, but yes,
i'd say there's there's still a lot left, and we're
trying to preserve as much as we can and stop
losing so many amazing structures, like the Sunset Strip that's
being currently stripped.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I call it Sunset Strip. Yeah, I mean it's completely different.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
I mean I grew up not too far from the
Sunset Strip, and I still live near the Sunset Strip,
so it's very.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Near and dear to my heart.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
But to see buildings that were like kind of mascots
of our city and familiar landmarks, familiar corners are completely gone.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Now house the Blues House, and I'm.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
Sorry for what more overpriced condoct I mean, that's not
fun when you come to the Sunset Strip. You want
to go to the strip and you want to see entertainment,
and they're stripping away all the entertainment. Luckily, places like
the Whiskey and the Rainbow are landmarked owned by the
family that still own it. But now the Viper Room
is in trouble. Yeah, that whole block is going to
(04:59):
come down for another hotel.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah, that's exactly what happened in Seattle. All these old
places were torn down and replaced with condos with a
retail level on the ground floor because the people who
owned like the old you know, Mama's Mexican Kitchen or
whatever dive that we're talking about, maybe they wanted to
retire and they couldn't turn down that kind of money
because it's you're operating on a thin margin if you
run a bar or a restaurant.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
Well, when they say, well we'll make the Viper Room
a museum, it then don't touch it. It is a
museum like it's it's fine. I mean, don't don't don't,
don't take it down. But it's very hard to fight
City County. Is that very exactly what I was doing?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Very hard? And they're a little snarky, and I just
you know.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Yeah, now that you loved Quentin Tarantinos upon a time
in Hollywood every bit as much as I did. I
think it's the best thing he's ever done. And I've
watched it two or three times and I'm going to
watch it at least that many more times, and I
read the book afterward.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Uh good, Yeah, I think you are.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
As much of an expert as anybody to talk about
how well he captured that area, or it would be
the late sixties because it was around the time of
the Manson killing.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
It was so astonishing to see him turn the streets
back to nineteen sixty nine in the place in where
those places were. That's what's amazing about it, you know,
turning you know, the Doughnut stand back to where it was,
Peaches records back to where it was, and then just
having all the cars on the street cruising and just
really fun.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
He let us watch, He let the.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
Residents and whoever wanted to watch those scenes.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Wow, you know, so I.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Went to like five or six different locations, and then
when the movie came out, we really felt like we
didn't know what it was about, you know, because there's
there was no way you were ever going to know
the ending of that film until you saw it. But
it was the closest thing to a time machine probably
the city has ever seen. Yeah, I really raised the
bar for a lot of films they're going to be
on location.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
It rang true to me that whole movie, and the
ending I thought was just magical because it was the
exact same thing he did in Inglorious Bastards, Yes, which
was gave you a happy ending to something traumatic, and
it was so satisfying. But I'm not sure everybody was
on board with it. There are certain people who work
here who really dislike that movie, and their opinions are
(07:13):
completely worthless. I want them to know that.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Don't tell me who they are.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
I want to like them.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
So some people don't understand it.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
I remember being in the theater, ones going, why are
we following this blonde lady around all time?
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Yeah, No, I know it's it's.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
You have to I think really want that ending and
it makes you cry, it makes you laugh, it makes
you get up and cheer.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
It makes you just go if only it's everything you want.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
It to be and what you wanted it to be,
if you if it could have been, and if.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
You like all those old shows from that period. I
think I mentioned to you, so the character of Rick
Dalton in the movie as a guest shot in an
FBI episode.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
With Burt Reynolds is the real one.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Yes, of course I went and I watched that immediately afterward,
and then I couldn't stop watching FBI episodes. Yeah, so
I watched like two seasons, and back in the late sixties,
a season was around thirty episodes long, so that's a
lot of time. But I loved every second.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
And he copied that episode to a t.
Speaker 4 (08:15):
I mean, it's astonishing to see how meticulous he is.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah, he was a savant.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Yeah, but you know this was his.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
Love letter to La, especially the scene where he's like
where Brad is driving and you see the big knee
on sign sort of above him through That was Quinton's
view of La when he was younger, in the back
of the seat of his parents' car.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Well, he got so many other little things too. His
eye for detail is incredible. I am a horror nerd
and during the brief, brief period I lived here when
I was geez. I don't know, five, six, seven years old.
I can't remember exactly, and my mom isn't around to ask,
but I recall being traumatized by a late night horror
show host called the Sinister Seymour when I was up
(08:57):
by myself and I wasn't supposed to be watching things.
They've had a Sinister Seymour clip in this movie, sure
it is. It's such a deep cut, and of course
that leads you down a rabbit hole. So you'll find
a documentary about him on YouTube with a surviving family members.
Was there anything else.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
In it that's well, you know, you have to see
it at the New Beverly if you ever. When you
see it again, go see it at Quentin's Theater because
it's like a rocky horror picture show experience.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Because the people who see that film know that film.
They're like us.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
It feels like a club, you know, it's like a
private club in there, and they know every line and
we're screaming and stuff. But you know, just to hear
the music, even though we've heard all these songs before,
I did feel like I was hearing them for the
first time because the characters are hearing them for the
first time in the car.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
My favorite LA night, and again, I haven't been out
much since the pandemic, but my favorite LA night is
a movie at the New Beverly because they show old
cult films all on film thirty five millimeter, followed by
some drinks and some food at El Coyote right down
the block. What is your favorite LA Night?
Speaker 4 (09:59):
Well, that you just named it, I mean, I've done
that several times. You know, I'm a creature of habit
I like old places. You know, I love Dantana's, I
love Musso and Frank you know. I mean, I kind
of go to the same ten places. But lately I've
been hitting the dive bars.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
I know.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
We're going to talk about that later.
Speaker 5 (10:16):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
We're back with Alison Martino, the mastermind behind Vintage LA. Alison,
please list all the joints where people can find your content,
your Vintage LA stuff.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Well, everywhere every platform. It's either going to be under
my name, Alison Martino or Vintage Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
But you have a Facebook page, yes, as well as
a Twitter.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
X all under either Alison Martino, but Vintage La on
Facebook and Instagram or my Instagram my babies.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Okay, so those those two things. Now you have done
a feature for is it Spectrum? Is that correct?
Speaker 5 (10:58):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (10:59):
I've been on Spectrum for about five years. It's been
a true gift being able to report about places that
I love and frequent all over town. And usually they
have historic stories behind them. And I did pitch a
series earlier this year about vintage bars and dive bars,
and it's been really fun to go in and shoot
there and get the stories. A lot of these places
(11:20):
are going on fifty sixty years, some of them even
eighty years.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Oh well, well, it is my pleasure to live exactly
down to the newspaper man's stereotype and focus on the
dive bars. I of course, The La Confidential is one
of my favorite movies, and I've been to the Foremosa.
Is that on your list?
Speaker 3 (11:35):
I've done the Formosa twice for perspective.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
How to pro you are?
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Oh yeah, I was their opening night because you know,
they were down for a while. We didn't think they
were going to come back, and my friend Bobby Green
brought it back. So we were there for the opening
and that was fabulous. And is that with us now
for the direction, Yes, yes, it looks it's spectacular. I
mean they put it back exactly how it probably looked
in the nineteen thirties, but better than it ever looked.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
And you walk in there and you see some bimbo
cut to look like Turner and drink in your face.
What's uh?
Speaker 4 (12:05):
Yeah, I mean it is walking into a time capsule.
I mean, you know, I don't even think set designers
could make it look that good. I mean, it really
is a time capsule. But some of the ones I
just shot at a shaj which is incredible.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Have you ever been there?
Speaker 2 (12:18):
No tell me about you have to learn? Yes?
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Yes, didn't you need my help? This is why my
show is good. Uh well that's in Santa Monica. But
you have been the Frolic Room. I've driven past the Pantagious.
You know, when you're talking about doing like a night
where you go to a movie and dinner, like two things.
You can go to the Frolic Room for a drink
and then hit the Pantagious right next to each other.
(12:41):
And by the way, there's scenes of that in Eli Confidence.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Yeah. I feel like like Bud and Ed walked into
the Frolic Room and got into some mischief. What else
is on your list?
Speaker 4 (12:50):
The Blue Room in North Hollywood and it's not far
from here.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Shall we go?
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Shall we go out after?
Speaker 4 (12:58):
It's got greatest old signs. That's one of the great
things I love about old old bars, or the signs
and the cozy booths inside. And they're dives. They're small,
you know, and they get the locals, they have the stories.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
And so if somebody like me walked in there, like hey, guys,
look at this fun local dive bar, they I'd be
risking my life.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Well, it's not just dive bars.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
It's a bar with you know, kind of like counter eating,
like you know, I love a counter you know, you
go into a restaurant, some of them have a bar
in the restaurant, like D'antana's.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
You know, there's like a bar, so you could sit
at the bar and eat. And some people like that.
I do.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
But if you've got regulars, like when I lived in Seattle,
I lived around the corner from the best dive bar
in the world. It was called the Tin Hat and
you had all the regulars, and I was one of them.
And when a new person came in, it's like it's
like a scene out of the Old West in a
saloon when somebody comes in wearing clothes they're a little
too fancy, and you think, well, they're going to get
messed up before they leave.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
Don't know your wardrobe? I don't. You might have to
go with me. I might have a little advantage was
I put them on the air.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
But I think you'll be okay, okay, HMS Bounty have
you ever been that?
Speaker 6 (14:03):
I was, Oh my gosh, somebody knows what I'm talking about.
Let me tell you why gosh. I literally I live
near HMS Bounty. It's one of my favorite restaurants. I
was I blanked on the name sitting here because I'm
thinking of all these other places, and I'm literally on
my phone right now googling my address and like keywords,
HMS Bounty is one of my favorite And how about
(14:24):
the Prince and the.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Print all of that, right, don't you think Mark has
a shoo? Places? You should should?
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Are these bars that would be featured on Grinder? What
are you trying to say?
Speaker 6 (14:37):
Not quite unless you are into the nautical theme of
than which, yes, but you should totally go to HMS Bounty.
You should take fantastic baseball steak. Now we're gonna cause
the line to be out the door. Amazing, love that baseball.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
Yeah, you're the only one that knows that what I'm
talking of him talking about?
Speaker 2 (14:56):
All right, Now, I have to ask you, as a
dive bar fan, what is generally the tattoo to tooth
ratio in these places.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
I have tattoos, but I have all my teeth.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Okay, pretty strong, all right, but they can be it
can be.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Miss not there. It's very old, La, it's old. Yeah,
it's like it's like walking into nineteen forty.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
It is. Okay, there's one more I want to ask about.
What about the baked potato?
Speaker 3 (15:22):
Oh that's fantastic, is it?
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Now?
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Are you kidding? Have you been there?
Speaker 2 (15:25):
No? Not yet.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
Well, you know it's owned by Don Randy, who was
in the wrecking crew, who was who probably backed every
single record you've ever you've heard the wrecking Crew.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
I only know the d Martin matt Helm wrecking Crew.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
To an educating your show, need we need a few
days here?
Speaker 2 (15:41):
This was an errand of Mercy.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Well, that's a whole other show.
Speaker 4 (15:44):
But but yes, the Baked Potato is a gem right
here on Ventura Boulevard. And they have live music and
Don Randy's the greatest keyboard players in the world who's
been playing on every session record back in the sixties.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
And they have karaoke there. They have karaoke. But live
music is pretty a way to go.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
And potatoes and potatoes get you, absolutely get you, absolutely
get a potato.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
They're literally they specialize in potato.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
Their signage is true, it's a baked potato.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Well what goes better than jazz potatoes?
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Nothing?
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Any other last one you want to mention before we go.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
To break Mosto Frank's bars great, but that's not dive.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
But you know, well, you know where I work. I
don't think I can afford to go there.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
You can get a martini. I think you can afford that.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Okay, I can afford a drink.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
I'll get you all right.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
It's killing me to have to cut this off to
go to breaks, because I feel like we could talk
for like three hours and it would just disappear like that.
When we come back, we're going to talk about a
couple of very very beloved, well known people that we've
lost With Alison Martino Vintage LA.
Speaker 5 (16:42):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
My guest is Alison Martino from Vintage LA. Now, when
I knew I was going to start doing some hosting here,
you were one of the very first people I wanted
to talk to. Vintage La is terrific. People need to
is it your accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter X. I
bet if I had your Rolodex, I would be spoiled
(17:09):
for choice for guests for the rest of my natural life. Also,
rolodex deep dive there. Nobody knows what the word rolodex means.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
Tiffany, I absolutely know.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Okay, Foush, do you know what a rolodex is? I
sure do. Really, I will bet you, Okay, you know
where I work. I'm not going to bet you any money.
I'll bet you Keana doesn't know what a rolodex is.
She probably doesn't. Okay, let's just assume. Let's assume that
I won that bet. Now, you've also been friends with
a lot of well known people, Allison, because you grew
(17:40):
up in the entertainment industry with your father, who maybe
people don't know about. Tell us about your father.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Who's dad.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
My dad was a singer named al Martino. You may
have known it from the Godfather. He was Johnny Fontage,
but he was actually a singer in real life. So
he was friendly with a lot of comics, uh huh,
and entertainment people because they would like open for them
back then, and you know, like back then, Joan Rivers
would open for you know, someone like my dad.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
And so I got to know a lot of really funny,
amazing people and we lost so many of them. I mean,
it's it's just astonishing and they are gone.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Let's get right into that. We lost James Darren today
and you knew him.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Yes, yeah, My dad is from South Philly and so
was James. And those guys are you know, they're Italian
singers from back then. It's Frankie Avalon, Eddie Fisher, yeah,
you know, even Chelby Checkers back then, you know, and
so those there, I mean, Frankie's Avalon, Thank god, he's okay,
everything's fine, but we did. It's a very sad day
and James Darren passed away. It was a little bit
we didn't know that till today and now.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
He was in his uh later eighty eight. Now I
remember James Darren from reruns. I'm not that old reruns
of the Time Tunnel, and I guess I am old
enough to remember TJ. Hooker.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Well that's not as old as Time Time Tunnel.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
But you know, a lot of people don't realize with
with James Darren, he directed some of those TJ Hookers.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Yeah, I never knew that but until you mentioned it.
But a lot of these people, including Darren, have such
the scope and depth of their career, we had no idea.
We know him for the things that they're best for.
What else do you know about Darren, especially since you
actually hung out with him in real life.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
Well that he that he was a director, and he
was a you know, pretty serious director. He did a
lot of television when you go him too, IMBD. He
directed episodes of nine O two one.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
Oh.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
I don't think anybody knows that songs.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
Yeah, and I mean obviously he was an entertainer on
the road. But how cool to come back and Starr
is you know in TJ Hooker, be a character in
t J Hooker and direct t J Hooker. He has
everything going for him, and he was the most gorgeous
man I've ever seen.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Not only I guarantee you that William Shatner was jealous
of his hair. He had some. He had some magnificent
eighties feathered hair. I could never get mine to do that, and.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
He had it. I mean, he just continued to be gorgeous.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Yeah, And so what kind of guy was he like
in real?
Speaker 5 (20:01):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (20:02):
He was fantastic. You know, he's still Philly guy, so
kind of tells you like it is and a street
smart and funny, charming and just a very very nice guy.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
I saw a video of James Darren on YouTube showing
somebody around some of his old haunts. I think someplace
that maybe he was roommates with.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
I shot that video. Oh my god, Yeah, I took
Jimmy around. I took well, Jimmy liked Green Blats a lot,
which we lost that one. And he used to live
in the apartment behind it with with with some of
the old Sky Saxon and people like that and who.
He had a lot of a lot of friends. He
was friends with James Dean, James Dean hung out on That's.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
The name I was trying to remember.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
Yes, de Yeah, James Dean and him used to hang
out a Googe's coffee shop across the streets. I know,
I know, And so he took me to the apartment
that they used to live in.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
It's still there. Isn't that amazing?
Speaker 2 (20:55):
That is you were so lucky and you were also
lucky enough to be actual real life friends with Peter Marshall.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Yes, and that when that was that We lost him
about ten days ago.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Peter Marshall, for anybody who doesn't know, what he's best
known for as being the longtime host of the Hollywood Squares.
But again, this is another one tip of the iceberg
on this guy. Right, Yeah, he did so much stuff.
He was a singer, he was an actor, and I
only knew a little bit of this, and then I
listened to like an hour and a half interview with
him on Gilbert Gottfried's amazing Colossal podcast and Gilbert's no
(21:30):
longer with us, but they get into some of this stuff.
I had no idea all the stuff that Peter Marshall
did and how talented and versatile he was, well he.
Speaker 4 (21:39):
Was, yes, I mean, he was the perfect host for
Hollywood Squares, but he was also a singer and an entertainer,
and you go into his house and you just cannot
believe all the memorabilia on the wall.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
I want to hear about this specifically.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
That kind of stuff. I mean, I live for that stuff.
Speaker 4 (21:54):
And just packed your Glorin Awards and Emmy's and and
he's so so humble, and he would love to tell stories.
He knew everyone, you know, he knew everybody. Fred Willard
was a very good friend of his, and I got
to meet friends from Peter and Robert Morse, another great
friend of Peter's, also gone. That was an amazing dinner
I got to have there and they're all gone.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
It's really really.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Hard, but you will have these memories for the rest
of your life. And that is so amazing. So when
you just were hanging out having a meal and a
drink with Peter Marshall, what was the evening? Like? What
what did you do? What did you talk about?
Speaker 3 (22:31):
That's the thing, you know. I live for for history.
Speaker 4 (22:34):
So it was really nice to be able to go
to Peter's house for dinner and just sit him down
and ask.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Him about paul In. Give me paul In Stories.
Speaker 4 (22:43):
And I used to produce this show called mysteries and scandals,
and I was doing a segment on Paul In and
I could not afford to license Hollywood Squares.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
And Peter gave to the rescue and gave me his outtakes.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Much from his personal collection, and I'm like, I look
what I got.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
I don't have to lie.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
I don't have to lie the outtakes. How much of
that could you actually use?
Speaker 4 (23:02):
Oh, it was a lot of bleeping, a lot of
b bang, but how fun, you know, and to see
a little bit of Paul Lynn and his you know
sort of.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Yeah, you in my mind that I wanted to talk
about Paul Lynn because because I've read, among other things,
that Paul Lynn was a huge drunk and also kind
of nasty when he got in his cups.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
I asked Peter about it. I mean he did say
there were some horrific nights, but yeah, I mean that
was exact quote exact quote details.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Please, I don't think he got into details. That was enough.
But I think that he also was great.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Well, he was hilarious.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
He could be and hide.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
There they're jecky and hide at times, so they could
be absolutely the best, and then they could just be
a horror show.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
And Paul Lynn died at a fairly young age. I
believe alone as well.
Speaker 4 (23:50):
I mean, he kind of got pigeonholed into that center
square sort of syndrome, and I think it drove him crazy,
and he wanted to do serious acting. And you know,
he had he was on Bewitched and he had his
own show for a little while. A pol On Shout
didn't it didn't get picked up. But I think he
really wanted to go into serious acting and maybe he
could have. And I think he could have if we had,
if he had gone into the eighties, I think there
would have been a lot of parts for him.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
I think we look at game shows a little differently
now than we used to, and we don't look at
him as like low rent things that stay at home
moms watch. We look at them and realize how brilliant
some of them were. Like I'm a huge match game fan.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Yeah, they're fun to watch, aren't they? In the Game
show Network.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
They're very fun, and they get away with some stuff
that maybe went over our heads when we were kids too.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
It is kind of shocking.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
Okay, we're gonna have to break here, but we're gonna
have a little bit more with Alison Martino from Vintage LA.
After the break. This is killing me. I feel like
you're the first person I should have called when I
moved here six years ago.
Speaker 5 (24:51):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on Demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Mark Ronner with Tiffany hobb In from MO and coming
up in the ten pm hours Coast to Coast with
George Nori and we got George right here with us.
Speaker 5 (25:06):
Hey, Mark, Hi, Tip, how's everybody?
Speaker 2 (25:09):
George. I'm usually the news anchor and I'm sitting in
for Mo. Is this bitterly disappointing for you tonight?
Speaker 6 (25:14):
Absolutely not.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
You do a great job for KFI, my friends.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
I'm recording that and I'm playing it for everyone I know. George,
what do you got going on tonight?
Speaker 5 (25:23):
I'm going to talk about miraculous healing techniques and later
on a little bit of life after death on Coast.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
To Coast, So there is life after death? Absolutely well.
I will be sure to listen. Great talking to you, George.
We'll do it again, see you in minutes. And we
still have Alison Martino here from Vintage LA. Let's Alison
remind people of some things you've got coming up that
they can consume.
Speaker 4 (25:49):
Well, my bar series well air next Thursday if you
have Spectrum News at nine and it'll be all about
the bars. And then I have an interview coming up
with artist Edward sha next week well, who has an
amazing exhibit right now at the Museum of Art. Everything
he's ever done is there. So I highly recommend going
because it's like only going to be there till October.
(26:10):
And my Houdini Estate show airs on Halloween. I know
that's a while back from here, but I'm really excited
about it.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Oh, it's spooky season. All rookies.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Yeah, talking my language, and I tell us more about
the Houdini stuff.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
So it's a.
Speaker 4 (26:26):
It's a mansion and it literally is right there in
Laurel Canyon and it was built by a man named
Ralph Walker, and he was a friend of Harry Houdini
and it's been sitting up there since the early nineteen hundred.
Some of it had burned down, but it has been
restored and be built on and it has caves and
hidden tunnels and terrace gardens. And Houdini kind of used
(26:47):
the property as he kind of practiced his magic there
and used the pool, and.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
It's got a lot of spirits because I'm.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
Telling you I was there. It was there in the
day and I was I was freaking out. You feel it,
and I'm a native and I'm kind of a hard sellic.
Oh really really no, It's fantastic and maybe one day
it'll be open to the public, which I think it's
gonna happen soon.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
All right, this is important for you to know, Alison.
My last name is Runner r A. H and e
Er and you know who shared that last name.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
Tell me, I think I know, but's.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Wife best Runner.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
So I can't prove this. I don't I don't have
like Mariy Povich here to verify anything. But I'm just
going to say that I'm related to Houdini, and anybody
who wants to dispute that, that's on them. So I
believe I should have access to this place. Now, we
were talking about places around LA that have gone extinct,
(27:43):
and I wanted to tell you about the Captain's Table
because I don't I don't think a lot of people
remember that the Skipper from Gilligan's Island had a restaurant
in LA called the Captain's Table. Wasn't it some kind
of a lobster jointer.
Speaker 4 (27:55):
It was a lobster joint, and it was on restaurant
Row okay, And it was right next to Xavior. Kugat
had a restaurant too, called Kugats, of course. And you
know who performed there if we're like, because we're really
old here, Uhli.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
It was his wife.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
So what a cool spot like neighborhood? Had those two
right near each other. Now was restaurant Row Lost Sienega.
This was a little bit north of that above Melrose.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
This is the saddest thing you're ever going to hear, though,
And I'm not making any of this up. When I
was really really young, like jeez, I don't know, five
or six years old, my mom and my stepdad, pardon me,
my stepdad took me to the captain's table. Of course,
every kid back in the day you watch Gilligan's Island.
It's the law, you have to. And my dad was
(28:41):
connected somehow, and he brought the skipper to the table
and I was terrified. I was so terrified that I'm
not kidding you. I dove under the table. I dove
under the table and I wouldn't come out and I
wouldn't say anything because it's the Skipper and he couldn't
have been nicer. So I'm hearing from outside the first
of all, it's my mom. It's like Mark, get out
(29:02):
of there, Mark. But then I'm also hearing the Skipper
talking to me like I'm Gilligan and he's going, hey,
it's okay, little buddy, come on out, little buddy, it's
the Skipper, Come on out. And I was petrified. I
could not do it because I was just cripplingly shy.
And to this day, I'm bitter that I didn't come
out and like have him slap me with his hat
(29:22):
or something like like Gilligan.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
That blew my dad, blowing my mind.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
But look at what I'm talking to. You must have
a million stories.
Speaker 4 (29:32):
But you know, growing up in the business, that's a
great story because that was one of your favorite shows.
And he's coming to your table and there he is,
and you're under the table.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
Yeah, I mean, it's kind of like I mean, I mean.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
My dad knew Paul Freeze. You know, he was the
voice of them on the Mansion, and he did that
for me as a little girl. I went under the table.
I get I get to go under the table for that,
that's scary. I don't know about the skipper, but no, no,
for people who don't know.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
Who Paul Freeze was, he had one of the most
magnificent and instantly recognized voices in all of entertainment. In fact,
just a last weekend, I watched a movie on two
be called Dark of the Sun, and I thought, this
German guy's voice is dub Hey, that's Paul Freeze. I
would recognize that anywhere. You knew.
Speaker 3 (30:13):
This guy in this room actually stretching. I mean I
had him do that for me. I mean I really
was terrified.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
Yeah, you know, I mean it was very and then
once he did it, like five or six times, I
realized it was just it was a you know character
he was doing. Yeah, And then I would go to
Disney World.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
Doesney want to go? I know him? I know him.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
That is amazing. Well, we're just about out of time here, Allison.
I cannot thank you enough for being my guest on
our second night. And if we haven't burned the joint
to the ground, maybe you can come back again sometime.
I want to thank everybody. Tiffany, thank you so much
for everything and for making sure you ever you ever
see one of those James Brown concerts where Brown kind
(30:56):
of feigns that he's fading. Right now, is that we're
doing Need I Need the Cape. Thank you to Fush,
to Keana too, of course, Jackie Ray, thank you to
Robin and of course Chris Little. I'll be back in
the news chair tomorrow and I believe we're going to
be filling it in again here the following Monday night.
(31:19):
So it's anybody's guests who will have as a guest.
And thank you listeners, especially the ones who sent me
some really nice emails with some kind words. Very much appreciated.
We'll see you next time. We'll see you tomorrow, Mark Ronerd,
Tiffany Hobbs, KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the
iHeart app. It's later with mob Je. You've been listening,
(31:40):
so later with mo Kelly.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
You can always hear us live on KFI AM six
forty seven pm to ten pm every Monday through Friday,
and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
Later, with Mo'Kelly News
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