Hollywood Heritage Gets New Officers

At the December 12th Board of Directors meeting officers were voted upon. Two remained in their positions: Fran Offenhauser as Vice President and Robert Birchard as Treasurer. The Recording Secretary and the President were "term-limited out." John Clifford, who puts together the Newsletter, replaced Anne Epstein as Recording Secretary and Kay Tornborg steps into the Presidency vacated by Robert W. Nudelman.

Kay remarked, "It seems incredible that only two years ago I was knocking on Hollywood Heritage's door, desperate for help because the house next door to mine was targeted for demolition. The owner wanted to replace it with a parking lot (on a residential street!) for the restaurants in the Franklin Strip, just east of Beachwood Drive. Robert Nudelman listened to my story, spent hours explaining the arcane rules governing zoning and Conditional Use Permits and a host of other torments. He attended and spoke at the hearings (a related one was just held this past December 10th!!) and we consistently won. It was a chain of events that changed my life."

Kay is a former New Yorker and was an actress for 20 years. She has also worked extensively in the non-profit sector, from Assistant Advertising Manager for the SMPTE Magazine, in New York, to Western Region Director (here in LA) for the project to rebuild Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. She was also Personal Assistant to Sam Wanamaker after the Globe project resumed building in 1987 until his death in 1993. Prior to that she was Acting Chair of the Board of the 300+ actor/writer/ director members of the Ensemble Studio Theatre in Los Angeles while John Randolph was the titular Chair. For the last 7 years she has worked for Flora L. Thornton (for whom USC/ Thornton School of Music is named) and the Flora L. Thornton Foundation. Her 1908 Craftsman house in Hollywood was last year declared Los Angeles Cultural Monument #687 because of its nearly-original condition and its historic association to early development in the are.

"Although I've been a preservationist all my life I am now making an effort to learn the practical, hands-on aspects. I cannot hope to ever be as accomplished at it as Robert Nudelman but, fortunately, he's willing to keep guiding Hollywood Heritage on preservation issues. I am currently enrolled in a Certificate Course in Historic Preservation at USC, which allows me a good overview of the challenges in this finally-growing field. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to help Hollywood Heritage grow and prosper."

John Clifford began his "Hollywood Experience" when he began publishing/editing his movie collector publication, The Cinemaphile beginning in 1975. He then opened his own typesetting shop under the same name and had his offices in various historic buildings in Hollywood including the Pantages Theater office, Taft Building, Hollywood/ Cherokee building, and the building at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Orange Drive, across from Grauman's Chinese Theater. In 1980 John's company became the official typesetter for Filmex and in 1984 he was involved in the formation of the American Cinematheque, assisting as their typographer through the formative years.