Thomas Suriya

Joan Crawford's eyes were fading away. John Wayne's jeans were splashed with acid. And Marilyn Monroe's bust and forehead were frequent targets of graffiti. After 24 years of enduring harsh sunlight, smog and street vandals, these old-time movie stars and dozens of other celebrities whose famous mugs grace the "You Are the Star" mural on Wilcox Avenue at Hollywood Boulevard are finally getting a makeover.

Joan Crawford's eyes were fading away. John Wayne's jeans were splashed with acid. And Marilyn Monroe's bust and forehead were frequent targets of graffiti. After 24 years of enduring harsh sunlight, smog and street vandals, these old-time movie stars and dozens of other celebrities whose famous mugs grace the "You Are the Star" mural on Wilcox Avenue at Hollywood Boulevard are finally getting a makeover.

In the wake of the recent defacement of three city murals, Councilman Michael Woo said that he will introduce a motion to the City Council today to study the possibility of developing an ordinance to protect murals in the city. "The time has come for the City of Los Angeles to take bold action to protect the murals that beautify our city . . .

In Thomas Suriya's two sunset-colored murals, unveiled last week at the official dedication ceremony of the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market, giant shiny apples, avocados and cucumbers emerge from the desert and cascade into an orange crate. The sense of abundance is fitting. Because there's some real volume inside. Twenty-seven fruit and vegetable wholesalers in the fully leased, $90-million facility are already clamoring for more space.