Cowpoking Around The Autry Museum

One rainy afternoon in Los Angeles last month, this Okie visitor drove his rental car around the bend from Hollywood to the northeast corner of Griffith Park.

Destination: The Autry Museum of the American West.

Like Oklahoma City's National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum (a hometown favorite since youthful days growing up and working nearby), LA's museum "The Autry" -- founded by country music and acting legend Gene Autry -- celebrates fine art, sculpture and historic artifacts related to Native American and cowpoke culture.

Southwest heaven!

Nestled in a pueblo-inspired albeit plain building between the Los Angeles Zoo and Interstate 5 near the exit to Glendale, Calif., it stunned me to learn the museum collection includes more than 500,000 objects, the newest of which may be the costumes donned by the three principal characters of "The Hateful Eight" portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Their Wyoming winter coats incorporating bison and other furs are on prominent display in galleries filled with hundreds of treasures of Western cinema.

But before getting ahead of myself, a brief return to the man who helped round up all those artifacts.

Upon arrival at the museum, I knew of Mr. Autry mostly through his greatest hits of music and film. There's also a little town in my home state that bears his name, just a click or two north of Ardmore, Okla. (The town of Gene Autry, Okla., has a 2010 Census population of 158).

I had no idea, however, that Autry was in more than 90 movies, on his own TV show, a baseball team owner, business man and radio executive among many other titles and roles in his very successful career.

Honestly, his Christmas music won't sound the same (only better) now that, thanks to the museum, there's a more complete picture of Mr. Autry informing my listening.

The Autry pays tribute to its founder through a loop of iconic silver screen scenes projected on a large screen in one of the main galleries.

The film dialogue and many of Autry's popular songs provide a repeating soundtrack for part of the museum experience, mostly audible while viewing the extensive collection of Hollywood memorabilia tied to portrayals of the Old West.

I was impressed by the collection of silent screen to modern era Western film treasures. Among the standouts (and within a few paces of the aforementioned costumes of "The Hateful Eight"): Original artwork for "Once Upon A Time In The West," hundreds of collectibles for "The Lone Ranger" and even a collection of Michael Jackson's Western wear.

It was fun to spot original paintings by Normal Rockwell and promotional items for some of my all-time favorite Western movies including "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly," "Dances With Wolves," and "Unforgiven."

They even displayed shirts worn by the actors in "Brokeback Mountain" but I could not quit using my time to explore other galleries.

I think my mom would have appreciated a peek at "The Three Amigos" items reminiscent of the movie's best line "We can SEW!" while my dad might have enjoyed the Clint Eastwood items on display.

Most of these Hollywood keepsakes are arranged chronologically by decade, with a showcase featuring hundreds of Gene Autry collectibles I expect were from the man's personal collection of promotional souvenirs from a decades-long career.

In addition to the entertainment-centric displays, most of The Autry's main floor is dedicated to an impressive collection of fine art. Not to be missed, the ongoing exhibition "New Acquisitions Featuring the Kaufman Collection" (on view through July 9, 2017) has some breathtaking canvases.

I enjoyed learning about newer artists of the American West while also spotting amazing works by Frederick Remington, Georgia O'Keeffe and a modern master, Billy Schenk. Several images I snapped in the galleries may be viewed at the base of this post, and the canvas "Crowd Control" by John Fawcett has an Olympic connection.

Downstairs at The Autry takes visitors through more history of the Old West with impressive displays including a fully restored stagecoach, a rare fire engine of the 1800s, U.S. territorial maps (I spent the most time with a case of Oklahoma cartography items) and early photographs of the Frontier.

And then the museum rolls out the big guns. By this I mean ... lots of guns. All sorts of guns. Major guns. Little guns. Every kind of gun one can imagine. Thousands of guns!

For it is The Autry that is home to the newly-installed (as of 2013) Gamble Firearms Gallery and the ongoing exhibition of its greatest hits "Western Frontiers: Stories of Fact andFiction."

I was in awe of the array of firearms for all to see. To the right: Annie Oakley's gold plated pistols. To the left, one of the (if not THE) first Gatling guns (the original machine gun).

In display after display, guns owned, used by or presented to U.S. presidents or other VIP's. I lost count of all the special guns!

On the heels of a skeet shooting lesson with five-time Olympic medalist Kim Rhode earlier in the week, the collection of rifles and shotguns also caught my eye, as did the Frederick Remington illustrations on view.


Tucked in the corner of another display was a rare N.C. Wyeth canvas (my only complaint from the entire museum visit is that this one painting is placed too far back in a display for close study by art lovers).

All these guns and that Rhode connection made me wonder the extent to which The Autry may have some firearm ties to the Olympics. And with the help of their media relations team, got some answers via email.

According to Joshua Garrett-Davis, assistant Gamble curator of Western history, pop culture and firearms for The Autry, the museum does not possess any Olympic guns, but the museum likely would consider acquiring Olympian-used firearms in the future.

"We would be particularly interested in competition firearms used by athletes from the American West, or else used at one of the Olympics held in the West."

My interpretation of Mr. Garrett-Davis' words is that any Olympian who fired a competition gun in Los Angeles (summers of 1932 or 1984) or as a biathlon shooter at the Winter Games of Calgary (1988), Salt Lake (2002) or Vancouver (2010) may have a potential museum home just waiting for their Olympic guns! I am not sure if guns used at the Mexico City 1968 Games would qualify as "West" but will ask.

Garrett-Davis also reports on other five-ringed connections available at The Autry (I admit to missing these during my first visit, but will be on the lookout next time):

"We do have a few interesting items related to Olympic history," said Garrett-Davis via email. "We have some commemorative screen prints from the 1984 LA Olympics, a belt buckle commemorating Jim Thorpe; a Western-style embroidered jacket designed by Margaret Miele for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics (along with patterns, etc.).

"Perhaps most interestingly, [The Autry has] a Western-style Levi Strauss shirt that was to be worn by athletes in the opening ceremonies of the 1980 Summer Olympics, never used because the USA boycotted (Moscow's) Games," added Garrett-Davis.

I also found The Autry Blog posted on Olympic-related topics including fashion, theater, film, books, Jim Thorpe, Mildred "Babe"Zaharias Didrikson and the famed designer who created the award-winning "Festive Federalist" look of the Games for LA84, Deborah Sussman.

The Autry was only one museum on the agenda during the March 2016 travels to Los Angeles, and its collection is well worth a special trek toward Glendale. I look forward to future visits and getting back in the saddle again.

All photos by Nicholas Wolaver except the very first outdoor image of The Autry, which is via this link.

On Miracles And Memories

During Thanksgiving I quickly read the new Al Michaels autobiography "You Can't Make This Up: Miracles, Memories and the Perfect Marriage of Sports and Television" penned with L. John Wertheim (noted Sports Illustrated and Olympic tennis reporter).

For the Olympic or sports enthusiast, it's a fun read!

Though I was familiar with the back story for Michaels' famous 1980 Olympic ice hockey play-by-play and miraculous game-closing commentary that punctuated the event (I vaguely recall age six memories of the first time it aired on ABC in tape delay), when the review copy arrived from William Morrow, it was a no-brainer to skip to Chapter 9 and read the first-hand account of the author's experience during and since that fateful day for Team USA.

Even for those without a visit to Lake Placid, N.Y., under their belt, Michaels' descriptions of the Winter Olympic scene paint a vivid picture of how intimate the venue was when the pucks were in action (the rink is inside a small field house unlike any modern ice arena, much like a "Hoosiers" small town field of play).

In addition to his Miracle On Ice memories, Michaels shared many other five-ringed influences and experiences on the pages of "You Can't Make This Up," notably:

• As a youthful fan of most sports, Michaels recalls "immersing myself in the stories" in a 300-page 1950s era Olympic history book his grandparents gave him at age nine or 10.
• The same book came in handy when Michaels accepted his first Olympic broadcasting assignment for NBC's coverage of the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics in Japan, where he got his first hockey broadcast assignment for the gold medal U.S.S.R. vs. Czechoslovakia game.
• Michaels' first trip to Los Angeles Coliseum was in 1958 (for an L.A. Rams game) when his family relocated from Brooklyn. He later provided ABC's track and field commentary in this Olympic stadium in 1984.
• When asked to name the greatest athlete of all time, Michaels chooses Jim Thorpe. "Here was a man with so much talent and skill that he played professional football and baseball, and won Olympic medals. How differently would we think about Jim Thorpe today if his whole career had been played out on television?"
• Notes on work with dozens of professionals who also became Olympic or other sports broadcasting legends, including Roone Arledge, Howard Cosell, Jim McKay and Bob Costas.
  
• Cosell's disdain for ABC colleagues and decisions made during the 1972 Munich Olympic hostage crisis (after being passed over for the hard news assignment involving Israeli athletes). Michaels also tells is like is was when Cosell became "the world's biggest pain in the ass" just before the Los Angeles Olympics, where Cosell feigned reluctance to provide boxing commentary.
• Perspectives on Arledge, including a chapter on the evolution of storytelling as involved with Olympic coverage. This section also features some surprising details about behind-the-scenes snafus during live Olympic reports in Los Angeles, some with O.J. Simpson and Wilma Rudolph. Great POV related to Joan Benoit, Michael Gross, Maricica Puica, Carl Lewis and many other 1984 Olympic champions.
• Brief notes on covering other Winter Olympic victories including Scott Hamilton, Katarina Witt, Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean in Sarajevo. At a special event in Calgary, Michaels explained some tricks of the trade to Warren Buffett.
• Thoughts on appreciation juxtaposed with disappointment when he learned -- during a drive past Atlanta's under-construction Olympic stadium -- the 1996 Olympic and 1995 World Series broadcast assignments he would not experience.
• Great recent Games notes on Michaels' work in Vancouver, London and Sochi for NBC Olympics reporting, where a 30+ year question about Lake Placid finally got answered.

Whether detailing items with Olympic ties, or describing his tenures working in Arizona, Hawaii, Cincinnati, San Francisco or elsewhere, Michaels effectively leverages humor throughout the book. I laughed hardest at his advice for a colleague reprimanded and nervous about an on-air apology for swearing during a live broadcast.

Lessons on the value of hard work and lasting professional relationships, instilled by his family and mentors, are another key takeaway from this quick read.

I recommend "You Can't Make This Up" and look forward to seeing more of Michaels on future Games broadcasts, now informed by more of his personal storytelling.

Images via William Morrow and Sports Illustrated/CNN

A Non-Olympian "Thanks, Mom"

With a heavy heart I'm posting from Sochi with news my wonderful mother Betty entered hospice care in Oklahoma on Monday night. The news is surprising given her condition just two weeks ago was good. Writing in a fog.

 

Too many non-Games memories to share, but I will always love that Mom bought me the influential-to-seven-year-olds Lake Placid 1980 Olympic color book when I was in first grade, and she took my sister and I to the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Torch Relay in Edmond, Okla., the fifth-grade summer event that launched my Olympic journeys.

 

In 1989 we volunteered together at U.S. Olympic Festival '89, and the following summer she drove me to the 6 a.m. flight to Minneapolis for my first paid Olympic gig at U.S. Olympic Festival '90 (setting the course for my college days in the Land of 10,000 Lakes). Neither of us knew that flight would be the first of hundreds for this traveler (hard to know who had more nervous excitement).

 

It was Mom who first told me the 1990 news Atlanta won the 1996 Olympics, setting another course for nine Olympiads of fun. On Mother's Day 1996 she held the "runner flag" to start my leg of the Atlanta Olympic Torch Relay. 

 

Before and since her diagnosis of Alzheimer's in 2008, she always supported my five-ringed dreams and every dream. In her determined fight to slow down her condition, we shared dozens of walks and talks -- the above photo from one hike at Lake Arcadia near Edmond -- and it was so fun to show her around D.C., Atlanta and Savannah in recent years. As she did through years of working hard as a self-employed parent (her seamstress business boomed during the 1980s and 1990s in support of my sister's and my dreams), she continued to smile and laugh through each step of her declining condition.

 

I love you, Mom. Thank you, Mom. I will be home to Oklahoma on Friday, the soonest airlines could arrange passage from Sochi. Prayers appreciated for Mom, my dad and sister at her side, and for many family members, friends and caregivers helping mom. Fingers crossed the journey home will get me there safely and in a timely manner.

 

The blog will resume in due time. Thank you for reading and for support.

 

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver

Olympic Filmmaker Bud Greenspan

Saddened to learn that Bud Greenspan died Dec. 25 in New York, according to published reports over the weekend.

Greenspan's series "16 Days of Glory" from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics solidified my interest in the Olympic Movement during my early teens, and it was an honor to meet Greenspan more than once, starting in 1997 at the premiere of his documentary film for the Centennial Olympic Games of Atlanta.

I was also lucky to be in the room when the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH) presented Greenspan with an award on the eve of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic opening ceremony. Greenspan's health was clearly deteriorating but he was in good spirits.

The Olympic Family lost a major contributor. Fortunately, Greenspan's work will remain accessible for future generations.

Photo via AP.

Olympian Interview: Gail Devers

Shared a fun phone conversation this week with Gail Devers, Olympic champion in athletics.

An Atlanta resident, Devers was on site at the Carver School of Health Sciences & Research for an appearance to speak about the importance of balance, exercise and eating well. We also chatted briefly about her role with the GE BEE Healthy program (disclosure: GE is a client of Edelman, my employer).

On the same day in Atlanta, the GE Foundation announced selection of two Atlanta area non-profit community health centers -- West End Medical Center and Southside Medical Center -- will split $1 million in grants.

Devers impressed me for her positive outlook at the points she made about doing things with a high standard of excellence and thoughtful approach. We started the conversation going way back to her own school days in California, where she graduated high school a Class of '84 member, just in time for the Los Angeles Olympic Games.

"I went up to L.A. [as a spectator] ... for the Olympics," said Devers, responding to questions about the extent to which the Los Angeles Olympic competition inspired her career. "Sitting in the stands, looking at the best runners, seeing Florence [Griffith-Joyner] get silver ... this all made me strive the best I could be.

"Before 1984, to me the Olympics as 'history' in that I was a fan of famous runners, like Wilma Rudolph," said Devers. "L.A. put it in my head, 'I will compete for as long as I can."

We also talked about the five Olympiads at which Devers competed: Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney and Athens.

Devers is now the mother of a two year old and kindergartner.

"I always regarded myself as health conscious, but it is important to be fit 'for life' not just an athletic career," said Devers. "I want to stay fit and hang out with my two- and five-year olds!"

Staying in shape was among the key messages Devers sought to share with the young adult audience in Atlanta.

"It is important to set goals, but if you are not living right, it's lost potential," said Devers.

Devers also shared detail about her former role with Chicago 2016 and the U.S. Olympic bid, noting her location for the Oct. 2 announcement of Rio's successful bid.

"I was home [in Atlanta] watching CNN," said Devers. "Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be for Chicago."

Photo via BlackSpeakers.com

Youth Olympic Games Underway

The last couple of weeks are a bit of a blur. First the mad dash of a pre-vacation week, then the mad dash of the vacation time itself (most recent trek included blend of food, family and sightseeing in Dallas, Fort Worth and Oklahoma City).

Also took on a writing project with the Edmond Sun newspaper in the home town where my folks live. Their sports editor was kind enough to indulge my suggestion that I write a report on one of the Edmond entrants to the Youth Olympic Games now underway in Singapore. Inquiring minds may check out the full sports report online in the Edmond Sun archive. Good luck to Edmond's YOG participants Gunnar Nixon and Micha Hancock!

Upon returning to Atlanta and catching up on Olympic news, was saddened to read that David Wolper, producer of the magnificent Los Angeles Olympic Opening Ceremony of 1984, died last week. Wolper's work on the Games made a tremendous impression on me 26 years ago -- I was fortunate enough to shake his hand during the July 18, 1996, Atlanta Olympic Opening Ceremony dress rehearsal (Wolper was running around like a kid in a Willy Wonka candy store and we crossed paths near one of the tunnels).

Was curious to find headlines about Olympic figure skater Nicole Bobek found some new 'meth'ods of spending her spare time.

And this just in: Kerri Walsh and other beach volleyball greats may hold their ground regarding an upcoming tournament seeking to play by 'retro' rules.

I'm currently reading a new Olympic book titled The 1972 Munich Olympics and the Making of Modern Germany. Will work to post a review of this new text by Kay Schiller and Christopher Young before month's end.

Photo via Associated Press and Los Angeles Times

Rafer Johnson 25 Years Later

As noted recently, the LA Sports Council hosted a gala LA84 XXV celebration of the Olympiad and city "that saved the Olympic Games," according to former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch.

Today (July 28) marks the "official" anniversary of the spectacular kick-off to those Games -- yes, 25 years ago tonight I was glued to the TV as ABC broadcast David Wolper's masterpiece opening for the Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad. The LA Times has a great series on the anniversary featured for the next few days, and a gala gallery of attending Olympians. USA Today's Christine Brennan also reported on the silver anniversary of LA's second Olympic host stint.

There were dozens of "moments" that night: The biggest card trick of all time, the "Rocketman" flyover, 84 grand pianos appearing out of nowhere, and the debut of John Williams' outstanding Olympic fanfare are highlights.

But it was Rafer Johnson's ascent to ignite the Olympic Cauldron that captivated me most. Bill Dwire really tells the tale well in the LA Times features.

I was extremely lucky to speak with Mr. Johnson inside Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on July 18 at the gala (see video) and witness his encore lighting of the cauldron.

Off camera, when asked his level of nervousness in the moment climbing the stairs, Johnson and I happened to be at the base of that stairway, and he looked up it, smiled and said there were countless, incredible emotions before and since that night and iconic moment in 1984, but that one thing relieved him at the gala.

"I was nervous. And looking up these stairs again, one thing is certain: I am happy not to have to run up them again tonight!"

Mary Lou Interview, Part Deux

As noted previously, Saturday night's LA84 XXV gala at the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Stadium (Los Angeles Coliseum) afforded media and guests some time to speak directly with several Olympians. Mary Lou Retton answered many questions posed by a circle of reporters, and I was happy to see her answers to more than one of my own questions appeared in another media outlet on Sunday.

There were lots of questions posed to Retton regarding the impact of the Games for the U.S. and for her career; I was more interested in her personal experiences in the Olympic Village (created by Anita DeFrantz, who was then an LAOOC vice president -- interview with DeFrantz, now an IOC member, to follow later this week).

Over the years since 1984, especially after working in the Atlanta Olympic Village and the Sydney Olympic Village, I was often curious about whether Retton remained in the L.A. Village after her life-altering competition ended.

Glad to get these questions answered!

Mary Lou and 60 other Olympians, too

Saturday night in Los Angeles, the LA Memorial Coliseum was decked out for the 25th Anniversary of the Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad. More than 60 Olympians from LA84 and other Games assembled with hundreds of LAOOC and other Olympic officials and veterans for a gala under a perfect LA evening sky.

It was indeed a special celebration, and the hosts paid great attention to detail, bringing back some of the most iconic moments from LA84 while honoring Los Angeles' prominence in the history of the Olympic Movement.

Time Magazine's 1984 Man of the Year and LAOOC chief Peter Ueberroth read a letter from former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, who wrote a note of congratulations and memories, stating, "We will never forget that LA saved the Olympic Games," referencing how the host organization and city turned the Olympic Movement for the better following a most challenging Olympic decade filled with terrorism, financial fiasco and boycotts that nearly closed the Olympic tradition forever.

Ueberroth, the architect of the new financial system that worked wonders and set a new standard for host cities, stated that when he took the helm of LAOOC in 1979, the IOC had a respectable $1 million in its bank account, and as earlier this year, they maintain an account estimated at more than $1 billion, with billions more moved over the 25 years since LA's success. Ueberroth thanked the thousands of volunteers, government and Olympic officials who contributed, and he also honored several LAOOC and LA government executives who are no longer with us.

The event afforded attendees and media access to speak 1x1 with Ueberroth, IOC Member Anita DeFrantz, Edwin Moses, Greg Louganis, Bart Conner, Nadia Comenici, Evelyn Ashford-Washington, Henry Tillman, Peter Vidmar and Mary Lou Retton. Emcees for the night included ABC Sports veterans Keith Jackson and Jim Lampley. Also spotted on stage, where they assembled 60 Olympians, were Janet Evans, Mark Spitz, Billy Mills, Wyomia Tyus and Rafer Johnson.

Johnson, who lit the 1984 Olympic Cauldron, also took time to answer questions about his experience climbing the stairs in that perfect moment of the Opening Ceremonies (I will post video of that conversation and others throughout the week). Johnson repeated that moment, sans stairs, igniting the night before spectacular fireworks capped the night.

Posted now, part of the conversation with Retton. More to follow as time permits (heading to the beach then back to LAX and ATL)!

Michael Jackson R.I.P.

Very sad to learn today of Michael Jackson's death. Given the enormity of his star power, it's surprising he did not perform at Olympic festivities during his career, though he did perform in several Olympic stadiums on various tours.

My earliest memory of Michael Jackson is actually from a cemetery, but not connected to the "Thriller" video. Rather, when I was six years old, on Christmas Eve of 1978, my grandmother, dad, sister and I went to the cemetery in northern Oklahoma City to place flowers at a family headstone, and one of The Jackson Five Christmas songs was on the radio in our red station wagon. We sang along, and my dad explained (I think) that the main singer was only a few years older than my age when the song was recorded. "That kid can sing [but not me]!" I recall saying [and thinking].

A few years later, the Michael Jackson/Paul McCartney duet "Say, Say Say" was all the rage, and I vividly recall donning my first Walkman in the 4th Grade with a "Thriller" cassette playing and an "Air Supply" and "Styx" cassette in my back pockets (though one of my top five favorites was on the air much earlier). I don't recall trying to learn the moonwalk, but classmates of that era may call me out if they are reading. Steve Martin offered up about the funniest "Billy Jean" spoof on the short-lived NBC enterprise "The New Show."

The closest the "Victory" tour got to Oklahoma was Kansas City or Dallas -- it was THE top story on all four local news stations (hundreds of miles from either tour stop), a definitive lesson of the publicity machine from a time before "publicity" entered my lexicon.

Lots of other memories -- songs, lyrics, satires, tabloids, music videos, tours, jokes, stories, other favorites (there are many) --learning of Michael Jackson's untimely end adds another curious mile marker to the "where were you when ..." collection including the "Miracle On Ice," Reagan assassination attempt, John Lennon's death, the Challenger explosion, Murrah Building, 9/11.

During college, there was a made for TV movie about the Jacksons, and we had a great debate about most loved (or loathed) Michael Jackson tunes. When he performed the Super Bowl a year or so later, most agreed his best work was humanitarian.

"There's a choice we're making, we're saving our own lives. It's true, we'll make a better day, just you and me."

Michael Jackson, R.I.P.

(images via http://www.mjsite.com/, http://www.askfactmaster.com/Michael_Jackson, http://www.jacksonmichael.info/)

So Money, Baby!

Though their website does not seem to have it archived, NPR aired a "Morning Edition" report this week during which they reported news from BOCOG (Beijing's Olympic organizing committee) -- in spite of their carmine-hued national flag and gargantuan spending/budgets, China's Games emerged in the black with a whopping $176 million profit.

According to the Associated Press, some of this profit is to be attributed to hefty sales of souvenirs, coins and stamps.

Stamps?

Reading that stamps helped clear BOCOG of decades of debt made me chuckle as it was like searching for a needle in a haystack to find a post office, let alone collectible philatelic items, in Beijing!

During my month-long Games assignment last year, we encountered only two post offices -- both temporary counters set up for international visitors -- with one each at the Beijing International Media Center (BIMC ... short for "you couldn't get IOC accreditation consolation destination") and one in the massive Main Press Center/International Broadcast Center (MPC/IBC). They did have some interesting postal collectibles. But not enough stamps were moving to explain even a small percentage of Beijing's reported Games profit (thinking there was one person in line mailing a post card -- everyone else was e-mailing home, methinks).

Speaking of their profits, Beijing's results are right up there with another most profitable Olympic enterprise: The Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad at Los Angeles. Almost 25 years ago the City of Angels welcomed the world with tremendous success, to the tune of a $235 million profit, according to the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games (SCCOG).

Their site details how this tremendous financial windfall created a vast Olympic legacy enjoyed over the last 25 years (and for the foreseeable future).

In just a few weeks, SCCOG and the L.A. Sports Council are throwing a party to celebrate "LA84-XXV" -- the 25th anniversary of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

It hardly seems possible it's been a quarter of a century since the grand Opening Ceremonies, and this celebration on the floor of Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. David Wolper (the man who brought dozens of grand pianos out of nowhere into the stadium -- the single moment that got me hooked on the Games) is the producer of the evening's festivities to commence July 18. They even got the Millennium Biltmore Hotel to roll back prices to $84 per night for the weekend!

My hope is that timing will permit travel to the LA84-XXV gathering, and will certainly blog about it more. Anyone else going? If so, drop me a line and we'll get toast the Games inside the 1932 and 1984 Olympic palace.

We'll also have to do the same at the Bird's Nest in 2033 -- marking calendar now to dust off Olympic stamp collection then, too.

Credit: Bird's Nest photo via Olympics.org; LA Memorial Coliseum photo via SCCOG; Monopoly card via Parker Brothers and Bankrate.com

More from Dara Torres

As noted in previous post, during the Dara Torres book signing in Atlanta, she answered a few questions inspired by her new book "Age Is Just A Number." In one chapter she wrote a fairly vivid description of her pre-race routine, including moments in the Beijing Olympic Village and other Olympic Villages from her career, so I took the opportunity to ask whether she had any favorite Village experience.

Fun With Nick & Jane

Georgia Tech's Ferst Center for the Arts (disclosure: an Edelman client) was the funniest place in Atlanta last night, with Mark Twain Prize (and Emmy, and Tony, and GRAMMY) winning comedienne Lily Tomlin playing to a standing room audience.

As a special treat (though not surprising), local star resident Jane Fonda -- Tomlin's co-star from one of the first Beta-tape home video cassettes I ever viewed: Nine To Five -- was in the audience. Jane was seated on the center aisle, on about row 15. My seat was on the front row (purchased online at 12:01 a.m. ET/12:01 p.m. Beijing time, as I was working in China during the on-sale moment, determined to have an excellent seat, and it was, as we could practically see Tomlin's nose hairs whenever she strolled stage left!).

During her 90 minutes of monologue, in-character sketches and even some pantomime and dancing, Tomlin delivered and outstanding array of laughs. Given this week's election news, perhaps Tomlin's best pseudo-impromptu line was her lamentations on how she is "now deeply worried about the future of comedy" in a post-W. presidency. She also described how graffiti in her hometown of Detroit sold thousands of cars:

"Teenagers used to spray paint that four-letter word that started with 'F' on bridges, and overnight the adults would repaint it to read 'BUICK'!"

Tomlin also touched on Hollywood, family and sexuality several times, noting that in her youth, family and society, "no one was gay -- they were only shy."

Following a sustained standing ovation, a couple hundred "VIP" ticket holders joined Tomlin and Fonda on stage for a delightfully informal meet-and-greet session. Everyone got as much time as they wanted to snap photos, ask questions or seek autographs from both stars.

For the sake of this blog, when it was my turn to chat with Tomlin, I decided to reprise my "reporter" role in an Olympic version of "The Chris Farley Show" and ask whether Lily had a favorite Olympic moment, athlete or experience (Tomlin is now the fifth celebrity to indulge my Olympic curiosity after Ennio Morricone, Kelly Clarkson, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and most recently Garrison Keillor).

Tomlin took a minute to think about it, and eventually replied (see the video) that she was amazed by the opening ceremonies in Athens and Beijing, in particular the giant LED "scroll" in the Bird's Nest. A bit later, off camera, Tomlin introduced the topic to her stage manager while we were exchanged e-mail information (Tomlin missed Fonda's departure from the event, and I offered Fonda's G-CAPP manager's e-mail to Tomlin & Co. -- thanks, Ms. Tomlin, for answering my questions and for signing my ticket).

Before she left the venue, I also asked Fonda whether she had ever seen Tomlin perform live on stage. The answer was, "No. No, not ever in Atlanta. And this venue [The Ferst Center and Atlanta] was a great place for this."

On the advice of Fonda's team from G-CAPP, I did not go down the Olympic path of questions, which I now regret. One of Fonda's G-CAPP colleagues said that she did not believe Jane had attended an Olympics, and unsure about the Goodwill Games with Fonda's then-husband Ted Turner.

Today, the morning after, the Web yielded that Fonda DID have at least one five-ringed connection as host of some sort of 1984 televised "Olympic Gala" (with Neil Diamond, The Beach Boys, James Stewart, Paul Hogan, Olivia Newton-John, Christoper Reeve, Dizzy Gillespie, Brooke Shields, Bruce Jenner, Peggy Flemming, John Houseman, Robert Wagner, Placido Domingo, Johnny Mathis, Henry Mancini, Barbara Walters, Andy Williams, Gregory Peck, Gene Kelly, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jack Lemmon, Burt Lancaster and even Prince Charles and Princess Diana -- man, I need to find a tape of this) which presumably took place in Los Angeles before or during the Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad.

Oh, well -- guess I'll have to ask Jane the next time we cross paths at the Midtown Whole Foods Market.

But back to Tomlin. Of several dozen celebrity introductions over the years, Tomlin was one of the most gracious, friendly and genuine. I appreciated her time to talk with so many people and her thoughtful answer to my questions -- some of the best 1x1 celebrity time since working with Benazir Bhutto's media tour at CNN. To paraphrase the interviewer Chris Farley, "That was AWESOME!"

And that's the truth.