Hall Bartlett

Hall Bartlett, whose films generally proved to be imaginative and provocative, if not commercially successful, has died. A family spokesman said Wednesday that the writer-producer-director of such cult favorites as "Changes" and "The Children of Sanchez" was 71 when he died Sept. 8 en route to UCLA Medical Center from his home in Los Angeles. Bartlett had undergone hip surgery and the spokesman said he may have died of complications. An autopsy is pending.

Hall Bartlett, whose films generally proved to be imaginative and provocative, if not commercially successful, has died. A family spokesman said Wednesday that the writer-producer-director of such cult favorites as "Changes" and "The Children of Sanchez" was 71 when he died Sept. 8 en route to UCLA Medical Center from his home in Los Angeles. Bartlett had undergone hip surgery and the spokesman said he may have died of complications. An autopsy is pending.

The first entry in Hall Bartlett's journal is dated Sept. 15, 1985. It reads: "I have really painted myself into a corner now. The idea for the novel, a monkey on my back for more than a year now, has gotten very demanding." The last entry may not be written until his miniseries, adapted from his novel, is finished and Bartlett becomes consumed with Novel No. 2 . . . and Adapted Miniseries No. 2 . . . and Novel No. 3 . . . and . . . .

The first entry in Hall Bartlett's journal is dated Sept. 15, 1985. It reads: "I have really painted myself into a corner now. The idea for the novel, a monkey on my back for more than a year now, has gotten very demanding." The last entry may not be written until his miniseries, adapted from his novel, is finished and Bartlett becomes consumed with Novel No. 2 . . . and Adapted Miniseries No. 2 . . . and Novel No. 3 . . . and . . . .

Small, intimate luncheons are being scheduled Tuesday and Wednesday in the homes of board members to celebrate the 20th birthday of the Music Center's Blue Ribbon. The affairs are designed to provide members with one-on-one conversation and an opportunity to meet other members. An all-member event headed by newly elected president Joanne Kozberg, who takes office July 1, is planned for the fall to culminate the 20th anniversary. Current Blue Ribbon president Keith Kieschnick will be a hostess.

Christopher Lambert first came to our attention when he swung down from the trees of West Africa to wind up as lord of an English manor in the movie "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan. . . . " But where do you go from there? Friends soon tire of ape impersonations. And Lambert, who lives simply, was determined not to fall into the same trap as earlier Tarzans like Johnny Weissmuller and Lex Barker, who never escaped the image.

Since he first took on the job of masterminding the 1984 Olympic Games here, Peter Ueberroth's life has been on a high roll. Once the Games were over, he accepted the job of commissioner of baseball, he made the cover of Time magazine as "Man of the Year" and he's been wined and dined and celebrated everywhere. Now it's USC's turn to pay tribute to the Olympic superman.

Despite the large number of people of Mexican descent living in Los Angeles, the Mexican cinema remains one of the least known to critics as well as to foreign-film fans. Even the most commercial Mexican movies, a staple of downtown theaters for decades, have been all but edged out by Hollywood pictures with Spanish subtitles.

One Thursday morning in January of this year, the manuscript of a new novel by Warren Adler, "Private Lies," was sent out by messenger from the Triad Artists agency in Century City to 15 Hollywood studios and producers so that the movie companies could bid for the rights to turn the novel into a film. The manuscript had not yet been delivered (or even sold) to a publisher, but that mattered not a whit in Hollywood, where a bounty was already being offered by eager producers for purloined copies.