Tom Cooper

Between 1975 and '85 Tom Cooper ran the venerable mid-city Vagabond Theater on Wilshire Boulevard, presenting in repertory a treasure trove of movies from Hollywood's Golden Era. After a six-year absence he is back at the Vagabond, which he reopens today with a timely retrospective in honor of Frank Capra, who died Sept. 3. The 18-film series commences with "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Arsenic and Old Lace."

Between 1975 and '85 Tom Cooper ran the venerable mid-city Vagabond Theater on Wilshire Boulevard, presenting in repertory a treasure trove of movies from Hollywood's Golden Era. After a six-year absence he is back at the Vagabond, which he reopens today with a timely retrospective in honor of Frank Capra, who died Sept. 3. The 18-film series commences with "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Arsenic and Old Lace."

The Los Feliz Theatre is reopening its doors today--after an 12-day absence from the art film scene--with a week-long engagement of a brand new 35mm print of the 1939 classic "Gone with the Wind." Tom Cooper, who leased the theater and its operation after the Laemmle theater chain vacated on Oct. 11, said Thursday he has plans to show a widely varying menu of films, from selected foreign films to revivals of classic American fare.

The Los Feliz Theatre is reopening its doors today--after an 12-day absence from the art film scene--with a week-long engagement of a brand new 35mm print of the 1939 classic "Gone with the Wind." Tom Cooper, who leased the theater and its operation after the Laemmle theater chain vacated on Oct. 11, said Thursday he has plans to show a widely varying menu of films, from selected foreign films to revivals of classic American fare.

Question: Help. How do you treat macadamia nuts before you can crack them open? We have this beautiful tree and lots of nuts. Answer: Tom Cooper of Rancho Nuez Nursery was kind enough to furnish the following information compiled by the California Macadamia Society: Macadamia nuts should be allowed to drop from the tree naturally. Gather the nuts at least once a week and remove the husks with the aid of a large pair of pliers.

Question: What was probably the only movie Clark Gable ever made for Warner Bros.? Answer: "Night Nurse," a mystery filmed in 1931. (No, he didn't play the title role--that was Barbara Stanwyck.) It's part of the Vagabond Theatre's series of Warners classics running Oct. 20-Nov.

Continental Airlines Inc., the fifth-largest U.S. carrier, acquired a 28% stake in closely held Gulfstream International Airlines Inc. as part of a new 10-year agreement between the carriers. Neither airline would disclose the purchase price for the minority stake. Houston-based Continental said the agreement will allow it to build on its existing relationship with Gulfstream, which provides regional service under the Continental Connection name in Florida, the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

Six schools in the Orange Unified School District will have new leadership beginning July 1. The retirement of Jack Fox, principal of Canyon High, opened a series of positions throughout the district, Supt. Norman C. Guith told parents and faculty at a board meeting last week. Ralph Jameson, principal at Cerro Villa Middle School, has been reassigned to Canyon High. Skip Roland, principal of Serrano Elementary, will take over as principal of Cerro Villa.

It was a bittersweet ending Monday when about 200 friends of the Los Feliz Theatre showed up to pay tribute on its closing night. The Laemmle family, which brought art and foreign-language films to Los Angeles in the North Vermont Avenue theater, had lost its lease after 40 years. But on Tuesday, it sounded like a new beginning.

The 3-D Film Festival, originally due to end Thursday at the Vagabond Theater, has been extended through Sept. 6. Thereafter, the producers hope to continue showing such pictures at the venue indefinitely, making the Vagabond perhaps the first, full-time 3-D film theater anywhere.

There's been a kind of hush over the city for the past three days, the way it gets when everyone's waiting for something to happen. Well, I guess it's happened. By the time you read this, the likelihood is that a verdict has been delivered in what's been called with awesome media arrogance the Trial of the Century. They probably said the same thing about the Fatty Arbuckle murder case and the Errol Flynn rape trial a long time ago. Celebrity peril has always demanded lofty superlatives.