A Nest for the Homeless
Listen in with John as police and fire crews clean out a homeless camp that was suspended thirty feet above a downtown LA street. Someone managed to get a sofa up there, and lived with the exhaust and the pigeons for a couple years.
It's a Wonderful Life
Ever wonder why George Bailey was sweating in the middle of winter in
It's a Wonderful Life? Kevin Roderick says its because they shot it in the Valley; he takes Off-Ramp to the old RKO ranch.
You Knew Him As Bozo
Hank Rosenberg remembers his one encounter with Larry Harmon, the man who made Bozo a household name.
Onion Rings in the I.E.
Fast-Food Dude Jeff Girod takes Queena to a trailer park that serves up the I.E.'s best order of onion rings.
Mock Me Gently
KPCC's Steven Cuevas plots against - then finds himself missing - the noisy mockingbird in his backyard.
Compton Remembers the Williams Sisters
KPCC's Brian Watt spoke to Jay Heath, Troy Long, and Nathan Mathis at the courts where the sisters learned their game.
How Green Was My Valley?
Kevin Roderick starts a new Off-Ramp series that takes listeners to historical spots in the San Fernando Valley. The first stop? Encino.
Tom Disch Remembered
Off-Ramp literary commentator Marc Haefele remembers his friend, sci-fi writer Tom Disch, who Marc says, "never wrote an imperfect sentence."
The New Beverly Cinema
Off-Ramp contributor Rico Gagliano talks to the owner of the New Beverly Cinema, which once once a hub for stars.
Tarzan of Tarzana
Kevin Roderick continues his tour of the Valley. This time, Edgar Rice Burroughs. Think Tarzana.
L.A.'s Screenplay: "Right of Way"
The Off-Ramp players perform "Right of Way," a screenplay written by contributors to LA Observed. It's about lust, corruption, a morally compromised mayor, and the subway to the sea. And it's fictional.
Doo-Dah Surf on July 19th
Take the aggro out of surfing at the 6th Annual Doo-Dah Surf at Sunset Beach on PCH. Surfers celebrate the Aloha spirit by putting on costumes and hitting the waves.
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![enlarge image](javascript:imageWindowPop('h','http://www.scpr.org/programs/offramp/images/programs/2008/01/19/roderick_rko_full.jpg','Kevin Roderick, author of "The San Fernando Valley: America\'s Suburb," at the former RKO ranch, where "It\'s a Wonderful Life" was shot. (Credit: John Rabe)');)
![enlarge image](javascript:imageWindowPop('v','http://www.scpr.org/programs/offramp/images/programs/2008/07/12/full_bozo.jpg','The late Larry Harmon didn\'t invent Bozo the Clown. The International Clown Museum credits Alan Livingston with creating Bozo in 1946. Harmon bought the rights to the name in the 1950s. But the caption for this image from the LA Public Library\'s online photo archive shows "Bozo" was around earlier: "Bozo the clown is blowing up balloons in the New Chinatown street for the Moon Festival on August 7, 1941. Several non-Chinese viewers are in the crowd." (Credit: Harry Quillen/LAPL)');)
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![enlarge image](javascript:imageWindowPop('h','http://www.scpr.org/programs/offramp/images/programs/2008/07/12/full_tomdisch.jpg ','Marc Haefele says his friend Tom Disch, author of many books, including <i>The Brave Little Toaster,</i> "never wrote an imperfect sentence." Disch killed himself July 4, 2008. He was 68.');)
![enlarge image](javascript:imageWindowPop('h','http://www.scpr.org/programs/offramp/images/programs/2008/07/12/full_newbeverlycinema.jpg ','The New Beverly Cinema in 1983, before Sherman Torgan added the "New" to the marquee. (Credit: LAPL/Herald-Examiner collection)');)
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