Robert w. nudelman, a leading preservationist who helped spearhead Hollywood's rebirth as he campaigned over three decades to save and restore such landmarks as the El Capitan Theatre and the Cinerama Dome, has died. He was 52.
Nudelman was in Tucson visiting his ailing father when he was found dead Tuesday at his father's home, said Fran Offenhauser, vice president of Hollywood Heritage, a preservationist group Nudelman helped lead for years. The cause of death has not been determined.
"There probably isn't a single historic building or development project in Hollywood that Mr. Nudelman didn't have a part in," Offenhauser said in a statement.
He was "the conscience of Hollywood," Offenhauser told The Times on Thursday. "He really made the village happen in Hollywood, and it's going to take a village to fill the gap he left. . . . He was really the lightning rod who woke up an area."
Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti, who represents much of Hollywood, said in a statement, "Robert believed in Hollywood even during times when few others did. His perseverance helped ensure that the neighborhood's renaissance became a reality."
Robert P. Silverstein, an attorney who worked with Nudelman on preservation projects, called him "a hero, a champion and a purist."
"For at least 25 years, he was at the forefront of the movement to preserve and protect," Silverstein said. "Had it not been for Robert Nudelman . . . so many icons, big and small, would have been plowed under."
A nostalgia buff, Nudelman launched his activism in 1978 by fighting to save MGM's old Lot 2 in Culver City, a 10-acre site that included sets from the films "Gone With the Wind" and "King Kong." MGM had sold the parcel to a developer who planned to put houses on it; Nudelman and others wanted to turn the lot into a theme park.
The effort failed, but Nudelman dedicated the rest of his life to the preservation of Hollywood history and landmarks -- with mixed success.
By his own estimation, Nudelman figured that he had seen a third of the historic Hollywood corridor demolished. He was involved in a hard-fought attempt to prevent the replacement of the Hollywood Bowl's acoustic shell, which had been in place since 1929. After the shell was demolished in 2003, Nudelman vowed to never visit the Bowl again.
The preservation battle was as personal as it was unprofitable for Nudelman, who volunteered "18 hours a day for 30 years," Offenhauser said.
