Tinseltown meets UCLA campus in Westwood

Monday, June 15, 1998

Monday, June 15, 1998

Tinseltown meets UCLA campus in Westwood

Dear Irene,

So far, my celebrity tally has accumulated to a grand total of seven pedestrian sightings in Westwood over the past three years. I know I promised to constantly update you, but you'll have to live the collective moment vicariously through me (my letter, that is) while you are all the way over in Boston. I know, I know ... You guys hosted the "Real World, Part 1,000" this year, but is that really something you should be showing off? Really.

So I saw Shaquille unfold his 10-mile long legs from his 3-foot Porche in front of Bel-Air Camera last year. I spotted Jada Pinkett (I mean, Jada Pinkett Smith, no dash, mind you) with hubby, Will, fleeing Burger King, and Alanis Morissette roaming through Borders' un-student-friendly aisles.

Tom Cruise was sipping Joe in his tinted SUV in front of Coffee Bean and Adam Sandler (just the other day, in fact) stood chatting in front of Olive Garden. And last, but not least, I caught a glimpse of Charlie Sheen (pre-jailbird days) with his blonde bombshell, 6-foot girlie friend by Rite-Aid, formerly known as Thrifty's. Phew!

And, Irene, while this seemed all too exciting when I first moved to Los Angeles, I realized it's all part of the UCLA loop. I mean, why still get excited when a famous Amos strolls by, when our own campus, which is basically University of Tinseltown itself, attracts big-time artists of its own?

I mean, when you see John Lithgow walking his dog every morning around campus, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal that he hosted the Royce Hall re-opening this spring. (Finally, we know what the inside of Royce looks like! It's gorgeous, baby.) Then again, Carroll Burnett, Paul Reiser, Paul Simon, Don Henly and Stevie Wonder also performed, and John Lithgow is pretty big himself ...

Oh, and so what if Charleton Heston read for the 24-hour English Department reading of "Moby Dick" last year? I mean, he's just ... oh, well, he's Moses! OK, so that was tight. Watching Moses read Melville was one for the books (no pun intended).

And the JazzReggae festival UCLA hosts every year. Yeah, the Roots came a few years back, and every year we have our own big-time jazz people play - Billy Higgins, Kenny Burrell, Gerald Wilson. All student-produced, you can get a $15 sundress, Cuban cigars, sunshine and have a dance party all on the IM field. This year's was especially huge.

But still, stuff like that shouldn't be that big of a deal, right? I mean, we see it all the time. Big people come all the time. Quincy Jones and Herbie Hancock came last year to teach and perform with the UCLA jazz bands.

Remember when I told you Chuck D spoke on campus last year? People flocked. There have been so many speakers from the Dali Lama to Forrest Whitaker (so what if he was the director of Hope Floats - it's still Harry and Sandra that star in it). And stars show up for UCLA-presented awards, like Ellen DeGeneres for the Jack Benny Award and Nicolas Cage for the Spencer Tracy Award, just last month. By the way Irene, he does look better in person. He's Superman! Or at least he would be if the studios would shell out the bucks. He's still Superman to me, though. But so what. Blah! Why should I care? So what if I was the first one there? It means nothing! You guys hosted the "Real World," for God's sake. Sorry, had to rub it in.

So we have all these things happen all the time on campus. UCLA is just another film set. I mean, TV studio, I mean, music venue. (Do you even realize how many people skipped class to see the Alkaholiks, or Phish, in Westwood plaza?) But hey, that's kind of cool in itself. Did you see "The Nutty Professor"? So pretty boy Cruise in Westwood is nothing. We have all that right here. Big deal.

But, Irene, UCLA and the arts isn't all about movieland and making the moo-la-la-la. Thanks to our friend Phillip Glass (don't call him a minimalist, he hates that), I've seen a 3-D digitized opera, and thanks to the multiple-shaped bodies of the Bill T. Jones dancers, I've seen what Phillip Glass might have done if he were a choreographer, and all in our own Royce Hall. Oh, can't leave out Debbie Allen at the Geffen. She's still a youthful-cut mama singing and dancing. I hope I look that good when I get to be that age.

So, Irene, I scoff at the eye-candy Hollywood hype in Westwood! I refuse to gawk at premieres, sound my barbaric yawp at those hovering behind velvet ropes all to catch a glimpse at the glittering red carpet walkers. Why do all that when UCLA has its own, up close and personal, stuff to look at and hear? (Did I mention Moses was here?)

So, during my past few years at UCLA, this year as the on-campus arts editor, I've been there, done that.

But hey, I just realized now that, well, it's all a big deal. And seeing John Lithgow here every morning with his dogs? That's pretty cool.