J B Nethercutt

They call it the best-kept secret in Sylmar. When you walk into the posh San Sylmar building and see its 200 expensive vintage cars and antique mechanical musical instruments, you'll know why. The building and collection seem out of place in a working-class neighborhood surrounded by factories, warehouses and liquor stores with window bars. The building, with 10-foot-high solid bronze Renaissance doors, is owned by famed collector and millionaire J.B. Nethercutt and his wife, Dorothy.

J.B. Nethercutt, who made a fortune in women's beauty products as the co-founder of Merle Norman Cosmetics and used much of that wealth to assemble one of the world's finest automobile collections, has died. He was 91. Nethercutt died Monday at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, said his son, Jack Nethercutt. The elder Nethercutt had been in failing health for some time.

J.B. Nethercutt makes his money beautifying women. He spends it beautifying cars. The 87-year-old chemist's business is Merle Norman Cosmetics, the company his aunt Merle founded in Los Angeles in 1931 and that Nethercutt joined in 1932. He subsequently bought out the other shareholders and grew the business into one of the nation's most successful independent beauty products empires.

J.B. Nethercutt, chairman of Merle Norman Cosmetics, has been chosen to receive the 2001 Meguiar's Award, a top honor among car collectors. Jurors said Nethercutt, whose Sylmar-based collection of custom-bodied classic cars is considered one of the most significant in the world, was selected for his almost 50 years of dedication to the restoration of historic automobiles. Nethercutt and his automobile collection were profiled recently in Highway 1.

Merle Norman Cosmetics might be guilty of the greatest cover-up since the invention of makeup. How else does one explain situating the company's Beauty Collection in Sylmar ? The building itself, a brown and mustard edifice, resembles a furniture warehouse or data processing center. Stranger still, the site is called San Sylmar, a takeoff on the Hearst Castle of San Simeon.

J.B. Nethercutt, chairman of Merle Norman Cosmetics, has been chosen to receive the 2001 Meguiar's Award, a top honor among car collectors. Jurors said Nethercutt, whose Sylmar-based collection of custom-bodied classic cars is considered one of the most significant in the world, was selected for his almost 50 years of dedication to the restoration of historic automobiles. Nethercutt and his automobile collection were profiled recently in Highway 1.

J.B. Nethercutt, who made a fortune in women's beauty products as the co-founder of Merle Norman Cosmetics and used much of that wealth to assemble one of the world's finest automobile collections, has died. He was 91. Nethercutt died Monday at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, said his son, Jack Nethercutt. The elder Nethercutt had been in failing health for some time.

Merle Norman won't just be the name on cosmetics after today. The $36-million, six-story Merle Norman Pavilion will be dedicated this evening at Santa Monica Hospital Medical Center, which is also celebrating its 60th anniversary. To mark the occasions, the 60-person Los Angeles Doctor's Symphony will perform, and such prominent Westside restaurants as Scratch, Camelions, Gilliland's and Gladstone's will cater a party honoring J. B. Nethercutt, chief executive officer of Merle Norman Cosmetics.

Even when shopping for a new car, most people dump the advertising brochure as soon as the salesman turns his back. But the late David R. Holls, a well-known car designer, was an avid collector of car-related materials. Ten thousand of Holls' catalogs, owner's manuals, pamphlets, brochures, clippings and other items have been acquired by the Nethercutt Collection and Museum, along with more than 9,000 of his car-related photos.

Named by Italian immigrants for its once abundant olive groves, Sylmar means sea (mar) of trees (silva). Now, L.A.'s northernmost neighborhood is more synonymous with fires and earthquakes, but its ties to the Mediterranean fruit live on in the names of local institutions such as Olive View Medical Center and Olive Vista Junior High School. Riding and gliding Stetson Ranch Park, one of L.A.'s two equestrian parks, shows off Sylmar's rustic roots (13877 Glenoaks Blvd., [818] 989-8891).

J.B. Nethercutt makes his money beautifying women. He spends it beautifying cars. The 87-year-old chemist's business is Merle Norman Cosmetics, the company his aunt Merle founded in Los Angeles in 1931 and that Nethercutt joined in 1932. He subsequently bought out the other shareholders and grew the business into one of the nation's most successful independent beauty products empires.

They call it the best-kept secret in Sylmar. When you walk into the posh San Sylmar building and see its 200 expensive vintage cars and antique mechanical musical instruments, you'll know why. The building and collection seem out of place in a working-class neighborhood surrounded by factories, warehouses and liquor stores with window bars. The building, with 10-foot-high solid bronze Renaissance doors, is owned by famed collector and millionaire J.B. Nethercutt and his wife, Dorothy.

Merle Norman Cosmetics might be guilty of the greatest cover-up since the invention of makeup. How else does one explain situating the company's Beauty Collection in Sylmar ? The building itself, a brown and mustard edifice, resembles a furniture warehouse or data processing center. Stranger still, the site is called San Sylmar, a takeoff on the Hearst Castle of San Simeon.

Cathedral chimes, bird whistles, drums, cymbals, tambourine, even train and police whistles. This 55-year-old traveler by way of England, Holland, and, finally, Pasadena, does it all. The Foort/BBC organ, formerly the Moller Opus 6690, is a unique giant constructed of 2,031 pipes and 250 stops that is powered by a 30-horsepower blower. Its musical repertoire includes xylophone, glockenspiel, triangle, castanets, tambourine, fire bell, bird song, sleigh bells and surf sounds.