Tour
Guide Tells Hollywood Tales Hollywood Independent
Newspaper
Tourists from all over the world come to Hollywood for all
kinds of reasons: to walk the Walk Of Fame, leer at the eccentrics,
buy cheesy souvenirs. But very few actually know the real
dirt behind what they see.
Stephen
Schochet has taken it upon himself to educate not only tourists
but Angelinos as well about the legends and lore that made
Hollywood what it is.
Accumulating a plethora of scandalous anecdotes on everyone
from Charlie Chaplin, Errol Flynn, Shirley Temple, Lucille
Ball and Walt Disney to Michael Jackson and Alfred Hitchcock.
Schochet has compiled it all into a hilarious audio tape called
"Tales Of Hollywood".
Schochet's
tales begin in the 1920s and 30's and progress chronologically
to modern days.
One of the tales Schochet recounts is when Walt Disney hired
11 "little people" to dress up as Pinocchio at one
of his shows and placed them on top of a marquee with a full
day's supply of food and wine, requiring them only to wave
hello to the children entering the theater. "By
the middle of the afternoon" Schochet narrates on the
tape," the crowd outside was treated to the spectacle
of 11 drunk and naked 'little people' running around and yelling
obscenities. "The
most embarrassed were New York City police who had to climb
up and take the little fellows off in pillowcases."
Among
the other parables on the tape is where Hollywood got its
name, how show business found its way to L.A., why movie stars
moved to Beverly Hills and how the grand tradition of placing
handprints and footprints in the forecourt of the Chinese
Theater got started.
The tape also provides a history of the city's public transportation
system, explaining how the Pacific Electric Railway Co. that
stretched 1,100 miles across LA County was built by Henry
Huntington who got people to ride the rails by introducing
the sport of surfing and showing them the easiest way to the
beach. And although surfing stayed, the public transportation
didn't fare so well, as wealthy automobile manufactures bought
out the railway company and dismantled the street car system.
The
45-minute tape also explores the rocky beginnings of the movie
industry, reporting tales of Samuel Goldwyn-- whose real name
was Goldfish until he decided to combine his partner's name,
Edgar Selwyn, with his, opting against Selfish -- and how
some film companies greased the streets, secretly filming
car accidents to save on stuntman and cars.
Schochet's
own story is similar to those who come to Los Angeles in search
of opportunities not found elsewhere. A political science
major at UCLA, Schochet, now 31, wanted to be a writer and
decided to support himself by driving a limousine. His boss,
who realized that Schochet was the only driver who spoke English,
asked him to give tours to the customers.
Having read books in the past about Hollywood, Schochet's
interest was piqued. One day, he got all the maps to the Star's
homes and drove to each of them. From there, he began to extensively
research their history through interviews and books written
on the subject.
"Some
of the stories on the tape I found in newspapers or magazines
or books," Schochet says. "But for some, it took
three interviews to get the story straight."
The background music which is appropriate, to the respective
time periods of the stories, what put together by Ivor Francis
from New Frontier Productions. Schochet and Francis bounced
ideas off each other and came up with a product which both
were happy.
Instead of writing a book, Schochet chose to write the script
and make the tape because as he puts it, was "more fun
doing a production with the music and everything.
"The
stories have an oral quality to them," he says. "It
calls for them to be heard on instead of being dead on a page."
Besides,
he says," I'm a tour guide. I tell stories.
TalkStar Radio presents our fastest growing One Minute Syndicated Radio Feature: Hollywood Stories With Stephen Schochet!
Produced with background music and sound effects in the style of old time radio, Hollywood Stories is a new syndicated one minute program on the TalkStar Radio Network heard throughout the USA and Canada. To find out more about the show click here!
Walt
Disney Audiobooks Sound Byte 1:
Click album cover to hear the MP3 sample!
"So many of our listeners have told me that when they needed gifts your Hollywood and Disney CDs have really helped them out" -- Tron Simpson, Morning Host KCMN Radio, Colorado Springs
"These two elaborate productions are exceptionally entertaining." --The Saint Louis Post Dispatch.
A professional Tour Guide in Hollywood,
Author/Narrator Stephen Schochet is known as "Hollywood's Ultimate Storyteller" to radio listeners. He is available for Speaking Engagements and Tours Of Hollywood.
Looking for free, timeless content for your web site? Check out the Walt Disney and Hollywood Articles!
Order Fascinating Walt Disney and/or Tales Of Hollywood toll free 24 hours at 1-800-431-1579 or ask for them at Barnes & Noble or your favorite retail bookstore!
