On The Origins of Tiki Central and the Tiki Rebirth (Q & A) - General Tiki

B bigbrotiki Tiki Socialite Tiki Island, above the Silverlake Joined: Mar 25, 2002 Posts: 11621	B bigbrotiki Posted posted on Fri, Aug 18, 2006 2:26 AM OK, had some work to do, bills to pay, etc. Thank you guys for the help, now I'll try to give some additional info about the above picture: I wish I remember the date, but my archive is in faraway LA..must have been around 1994. The person whose head got chopped off is my good friend Pete Moruzzi. At that time he was the chairman of the Los Angeles Modern Committee, which is part of the Los Angeles Conservancy. Since then he has founded and has become the chair of the Palm Springs Modern Committee, which is dedicated to preserving mid-century architecture in that area. One of Pete's many heroic deeds in that vein was hand-carrying the Book of Tiki to the then new owners/managers of The Tropics Motel, Casey and his partner, thus enlightening them to what a treasure they had. The fact that they dropped their "Spanish mission" style renovation plans (except for adding the name "Caliente"), and kept the Tiki theme, marks the very first preservation success of the BOT. Pete works freelance, advising companies in architectural preservation in LA, and his PS Modcom is very active (and also arranges some great modernist home tours!) His DVD vintage postcard tour "Desert Holiday" is a must for urban archeologists and fun to watch, available at their site: http://www.PSModCom.org The person who has Pete's hand on his shoulder, Otto von Stroheim, really needs no introduction here. We met in the early nineties and I started doing Tiki slide shows at his mug parties, and when he had the idea to do a fanzine, I became the "executive editor" (or whatever :wink:) of "Tiki News", THE hand published tome that began gathering the scattered Tiki fans in California and the US. Some of my writing for Tiki News ended up in the BOT. I am next, (hair already grey from thinking so much about Tiki), hunched down below Otto, fondling the specimen, one of the many fallen gods at The Tikis. Behind Otto' head is Dug Miller, then producer for Disney Theme Park films, now semi-retired and proud proprietor of Tiki Island on the Big Island of Hawaii http://www.tikiislandhawaii.com/, where you can still find some of the TIKIS' artifacts salvaged that day. Next to Dug, pointing at the Tiki, is John English, early member of the LA Modcom, once proprietor of "Googie Tours", now working at a company that advises in architectural preservation. John was the person who tipped me off that day the new Kelbo's owners had dumped all the Beachcomber lamps in the trash dumpster behind the joint...:) Among his many projects he is now engaged in is monitoring the situation at the Beverly Hills Trader Vic's. All the above people, off course, have contributed greatly to the rich tapestry of the Book of Tiki. This was not my first or last expedition to the Tikis. I had heard many stories about this mythical place at Oceanic Arts, and Jeff Berry had been there already, and shown me pictures. But that expedition was a dream come true, because by that time Danny Balsz needed money and actually wanted people to come by and buy his remaining stuff, so the group above (plus Chris and Charlene Nichols, Jeff Berry, and..?) had a field day. Everybody went home with a Tiki or a lamp or other relics, and to this day it remains in my memory as one of my favorite expeditions into the forgotten realm of Tiki.

OK, had some work to do, bills to pay, etc. Thank you guys for the help, now I'll try to give some additional info about the above picture:

I wish I remember the date, but my archive is in faraway LA..must have been around 1994. The person whose head got chopped off is my good friend Pete Moruzzi. At that time he was the chairman of the Los Angeles Modern Committee, which is part of the Los Angeles Conservancy. Since then he has founded and has become the chair of the Palm Springs Modern Committee, which is dedicated to preserving mid-century architecture in that area.

One of Pete's many heroic deeds in that vein was hand-carrying the Book of Tiki to the then new owners/managers of The Tropics Motel, Casey and his partner, thus enlightening them to what a treasure they had. The fact that they dropped their "Spanish mission" style renovation plans (except for adding the name "Caliente"), and kept the Tiki theme, marks the very first preservation success of the BOT.

Pete works freelance, advising companies in architectural preservation in LA, and his PS Modcom is very active (and also arranges some great modernist home tours!) His DVD vintage postcard tour "Desert Holiday" is a must for urban archeologists and fun to watch, available at their site: http://www.PSModCom.org

The person who has Pete's hand on his shoulder, Otto von Stroheim, really needs no introduction here. We met in the early nineties and I started doing Tiki slide shows at his mug parties, and when he had the idea to do a fanzine, I became the "executive editor" (or whatever :wink:) of "Tiki News", THE hand published tome that began gathering the scattered Tiki fans in California and the US. Some of my writing for Tiki News ended up in the BOT.

I am next, (hair already grey from thinking so much about Tiki), hunched down below Otto, fondling the specimen, one of the many fallen gods at The Tikis.

Behind Otto' head is Dug Miller, then producer for Disney Theme Park films, now semi-retired and proud proprietor of Tiki Island on the Big Island of Hawaii http://www.tikiislandhawaii.com/, where you can still find some of the TIKIS' artifacts salvaged that day.

Next to Dug, pointing at the Tiki, is John English, early member of the LA Modcom, once proprietor of "Googie Tours", now working at a company that advises in architectural preservation. John was the person who tipped me off that day the new Kelbo's owners had dumped all the Beachcomber lamps in the trash dumpster behind the joint...:)
Among his many projects he is now engaged in is monitoring the situation at the Beverly Hills Trader Vic's.

All the above people, off course, have contributed greatly to the rich tapestry of the Book of Tiki.

This was not my first or last expedition to the Tikis. I had heard many stories about this mythical place at Oceanic Arts, and Jeff Berry had been there already, and shown me pictures. But that expedition was a dream come true, because by that time Danny Balsz needed money and actually wanted people to come by and buy his remaining stuff, so the group above (plus Chris and Charlene Nichols, Jeff Berry, and..?) had a field day. Everybody went home with a Tiki or a lamp or other relics, and to this day it remains in my memory as one of my favorite expeditions into the forgotten realm of Tiki.

Post #249593 by bigbrotiki on Fri, Aug 18, 2006 2:26 AM