LA Times picks up on downtown comedy

September 01, 2004 by Eric Richardson

Today Steve Lopez picks up for the LA Times the bit on Perry Kurtz that ran in this week's Downtown News.

Did you hear the one about the stand-up comic who tried to make a go of it at downtown L.A. night spots?

It's no joke to 53-year-old Perry Kurtz, comedian by night, mattress salesman by day. And it's been a test of his good humor.

Skipping ahead slightly...

Kurtz also held a comedy night in a community room at the downtown Premiere Towers, where he lives, and it drew four tenants.

Like I said two days ago, the numbers in the article are slightly misleading. As I recall, four tenants did turn out (well, three and Kathy), but so did three other non-tenants (who were there to see a comic who didn't show up). But again, maybe people just knew in advance that it was going to be an awkwardly unfunny show.

I rode the elevator with Perry this morning. I'm glad to see him getting publicity for his efforts, and hopefully someday I will make it out to see how the Blue Bongo show is working out.

more filming fun

September 01, 2004 by Eric Richardson

It was a bit nuts around my apartment last night. I mentioned two days ago that there were lights set up throughout the alley, and last night they got their use. Around 9:30pm they started shooting a scene where five black urban assault SUVs (mostly Hummers) roar around the corner from the parking lot to the south of our building (knocking a dumpster out of their way) and speed down the alley (which really is only 200 feet or so).

The action on Spring Street was just as intense. I drove over to Kathy's to pick up a hard drive last night, and getting out of and in to my area was a bit of a challenge. Coming out of the garage I had to wait for a water tanker truck to clear (they were doing a lot of hosing down the streets) and then a cop waved me over and told me to proceed the normal way south on Spring. To do this I drove by a giant Hummer (like they aren't big enough all ready... This one was bigger) with a left side riddled with bullet holes. Getting back 6th was closed from Broadway, so I had to go up to 4th, head south on Spring, and then tell the cop at 5th that I was going to my apartment. He let me through the roadblock there, and that put me on an empty street from 5th to 6th. 6th was closed, like I said, but the light there was red so I started to sit and wait for it to turn. The cop at that barricade, though, waved me through, so I got official sanction to run a red light.

I don't know what time filming ended, but a scene in the alley woke me up at 3:45am, so I Know they were going most of the night.