WOODLAND HILLS — Ken Scherer, his shoes slightly soiled from the strawberry field he aims to replace some day with homes for retired show-business workers, was feeling good about his likely place in Hollywood history.
The film producer, television marketing veteran and experienced fund-raiser may eventually be remembered best for improving health services for the entertainment industry and helping seniors find a place to live.
"That's not a bad legacy," Scherer, the new head of the Motion Picture & Television Fund Foundation, said with a squinty-eyed smile recently.
The easygoing Scherer, 47, took over the nonprofit fund's leadership development and money-raising arm about three months ago.
Already, he and other fund activists hope to begin nailing down specific plans for their 20-acre strawberry field and generating money for the project. Although any groundbreaking remains years away, the group is clearly eager to help seniors who now face a sometimes 10-year waiting list for fund homes.
Their effort--which local homeowners insist must preserve the area's natural, open space--starts as the fund celebrates its 75th anniversary of addressing the needs of show-business workers of all ages.
The milestone anniversary, along with Scherer's hustling, is expected to raise millions of dollars not only for senior housing but also for lesser-known services such as child care and emergency financial assistance.
Yet the fund, despite its several new health and children's centers in Los Angeles and Toluca Lake--with another one to open in Santa Clarita in May--continues to be known mainly for its Mulholland Drive retirement home and hospital, which sit quietly between the strawberry field and the Ventura Freeway.
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Since its construction in the early 1940s, the 21-acre, tree-lined site has attracted visits from a seemingly endless list of show business luminaries such as Bob Hope, George Burns, Kirk Douglas, Debbie Reynolds, Charlton Heston, Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening.
Today, the community features a 256-bed hospital with an Alzheimer's unit called Harry's Haven, the Country House with 62 small cottages for independent living, and the Frances Goldwyn Lodge, a 64-bed facility for seniors who need some assistance with daily tasks. All together, about 400 people stay at the facility at any time.
