Thursday, January 6, 2011

Road Angels' New Year's Eve Party, The Griers Get Rosie, More Eventz And Remembering A Dear Friend....



Harrison Held & Model Olga V surrounded by the band Flashback Heart Attack
 
Founder Eric Oster interviewed on the red carpet
Road Angels had a rockin' New Years Eve Party held in a mansion up on Mount Olympus!  In the photo way at the top I am surrounded by Road Angels Model Olga V and the band Flashback Heart Attack who provided great entertainment that nite!  We were all "red"dy to have a good time!   Great munchies catered by Summit Events.  Road Angels was founded by Eric Oster and is a terrific social and networking organization which assists impaired people from getting behind the wheel and driving.   Great Idea! Check out their website at http://www.roadangels.com/ to learn more about their services.  Hope your new year is going Well!  Photo was taken by comedian Jay  Davis who hosted the red carpet (:
Mr. and Mrs. Rosie Grier (:

During the Holidaze......   I had the pleasure of sitting with Mr. and Mrs. Rosie Grier at the Southern California Motion Picture Council's annual Halo Awards held at The Sportsman's Lodge when  Rosie received a Golden Halo.  Also seated at the table were council member and Hollywood Times publisher Bee Beyer, Gemma Wenger, harpist Devanee Williams, A.C. Lyles and Kate Linder and her husband Ron.  Before the event began Rosie was thumbing through an issue of The Hollywood Times when he saw an article about Pam Grier.  "That's my cousin" he said.  "I wrote the article" I said.  Talk about  an ice breaker.  Even though they have the same last name it just never occurred to me that they were related.  I had seen beautiful Pam Grier speak at the American Cinematheque   about her amazing and colorful acting career and  her best selling book "Foxie" .

This great actress and 2 time cancer surviver really moved me so when I heard she was being honored with The Champion of Challenge Award by the Wellness Community I made a point of attending.   What an evening!  Pam has so much spirit and strength. Also present were comedienne Luenell (Borat, All About Steve) and Barker's Beauty Kathleen Bradley who was also at the very enjoyable  "Old School Meets New Skool"  concert downtown  at the convention center.  Dru Hill, H-Town, Truefull, Ricky Jones and many other talented musical acts rocked the house!  Great Event!
Bela Lugosi Jr., Sarah Karloff and classic horror fan Harrison Held(:
Harrison Held, Carla Lemmle and Guest....  Photo by Matthew Sardello
PS. Also getting a Golden Halo was  very deserving Cowboy Star Ben Gordon who I met once before at the Republic Pictures 75th Anniversary held on an extremely  hot day at CBS Radford Studios.  I'm a huge fan of Hollywood's Golden Era and Hollywood Classics and I always find it very interesting to hear the stars of yesteryear  reminisce and reflect on their careers and lives.  Also attending The Golden Halos was  very sprite 101 year old Carla Laemmle, a lovely woman who has lived the most amazing life onscreen and off.  Carla is the niece of Universal Pictures founder Carl Laemmle.  Thanks to Bee Beyer of The Hollywood Times I was a guest of Carla's 100th Birthday the year before held at the beautiful restored Egyptian in Hollywood.  What a great event.  Also in attendance was Ray Bradbury,  Sara Karloff  (daughter of the late great Boris Karloff) as well as Bela Lugosi Jr and Ron Chaney Jr.  Wow!  I'll never forget Carla standing before us in the massive Egyptian Theater reflecting on her life "at this once in a lifetime opportunity"  and in particular surviving the "rough patches" that she got through.  Inspiring and Amazing!  Thanks to Tom Tangen for producing the event with Universal and Famous Monsters of Filmland.
My friend Joe Faulkner was visiting from Australia and  invited me to join him as a VIP guest of a Pre American Music Awards Celebrity Gifting Event produced by Connected  in Hollywood.  It was a pretty cool event.  The coolest part was that the first vendor I saw when I came in was the lovely Kate Mesta who I'd met before - she  designs incredible dog tag jewelry.  I thought I'd get 1 of her cool peace sign designs but  then my eyes saw this beautiful Star of David on top of a tag painted a bright and  beautiful blue.  It instantly reminded me of my dear late friend Sheena, a very kind, beautiful, intelligent and loving person who had the most beautiful big blue eyes and a wonderful giving personality.  Sheena was very proud of her Jewish heritage.  My heart said "that's the 1" and I wear it often and proudly in her Memory.  I miss Sheena, she left us far too early but I know she's in a better place where she doesn't endure the horrific things anymore that happened to her while she was alive.

Sheena couldn't take living anymore and took an overdose of drugs.  She was the nicest, sweetest most supportive person I knew growing up. And beautiful beyond compare. It's sad when these things happen.  I miss her and I will always think of her in the highest light.  HH