Christmas in L.A.

I was invited to visit two extraordinary houses over Christmas courtesy of my friend Frank Vlastnik who was visiting from New York. Here is the wikipedia entry for where I spent Christmas night:

The Garcia House (also known as The Rainbow House) is a private home in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, designed by architect John Lautner. Located on Mulholland Drive, it sits on stilts 60 feet above the canyon below. Also known as the "Rainbow House" for its parabolic roof over colored stained glass windows and a curved ceiling that rises to 30 feet in height, it has been described as "one of the 10 most important residences from the midcentury period in Los Angeles."

The building was originally designed in 1962 for Russell Garcia. By 2002 it had undergone many changes from its original design and was in need of renovation. In 2002, actor Vincent Gallo sold the house for $1.3 million to Bill Damaschke, a Dreamworks executive, and his partner, business manager John McIlwee. Damaschke and McIlwee then invested another $1 million on an extensive renovation, supervised by the Marmol Radziner design firm. They ultimately also added a fence to obstruct public views from the street into the glass-sided, transparent house.

That's Frank in the centre, and Bob Lambert on the left who played Tulsa in the Tyne Daly production of GYPSY on Broadway. He's now a top television casting director in L.A.

And this is Jeff Sumner, another old friend of Frank's who is appearing in a real English panto in Laguna Beach with Joely Fisher, sister of the late lamented Carrie Fisher.

Now this is one of the most famous photographs in modern music history, Carol King in the window seat of her home in the Hollywood Hills. And that, dear reader, is where I spent Boxing Day!

This gorgeous house now belongs to Catherine and Elizabeth, also great friends of Mr. Vlastnik, and they could not have been more kind and welcoming. And here we all are in the very window!

A lovely unexpected Christmas treat, thanks to dear Frank. Apart from being a terrific performer, here are two of his invaluable reference books which I heartily recommend!