KEEPING UP WITH OSCAR: Thanks to Scott Frank we need to keep a close eye on the Oscar contests this year. Scott, a '78 grad of Los Gatos High School, is up for an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay for Out of Sight., the movie about a bungling burglar played by George Clooney and adapted from a book by Elmore Leonard.
Leonard said he never liked any of the screenplays based on his books until Scott came on the scene. Scott also adapted Leonard's Get Shorty. Besides the Oscar, Out of Sight has been nominated for a Screenwriters Guild Award. Other Frank credits include Little Man Tate, Malice and Dead Again. Barry and Carole Frank, formerly of Monte Sereno, are his parents.
TREADING THE BUFFALO BOARDS: In other theatrical news--this from the other side of the country--comes a report on Paul Bargetto, son of senior librarian Pat Bargetto. Paul was in Chekhov's The Three Sisters, a production which celebrated the opening of a new theater for the Irish Classical Theatre Company in Buffalo, N.Y.
So new was the building that finishing touches were still being applied as the play opened. And portions of the roof leaked onto the stage, as the actors learned to their horror on opening night. Paul could feel a steady plop, plop, plop on his shoulder and had to remember to tread carefully on stage.
Now playing at the new theater with the now-snug roof are three short plays by Samuel Beckett. Paul appears in two of them. The trio received 41Ž2 stars out of a possible five from the local theater critic and will play until the end of March.
Paul is an '87 grad of LGHS, and this may be his first paying job as an actor, his mother confides. He lives in New York, but there's a chance this production will travel to Ireland, and he'd be part of that traveling package. Ireland is in his genes: Pat's maiden name was Gallagher.
AT&T REMEMBERED: Judy Moore is a kindergarten teacher in the Alum Rock School District for most of the year, but during the AT&T, she becomes the volunteer assistant and second-in-command for Corporate Village. This village is a grouping of 12-15 tents sprouted on the third fairway at Pebble Beach and sponsored by organizations such as H-P, IBM, Kohler and Amdahl to host their clients.
Under canvas roofs, customers can be treated to the tournament--wined, dined and entertained all at once. Lots of business is conducted under those tents, Moore reports. She acts as hostess/gofer for these gatherings, introducing pros and celebrities all round.
Moore gives especially high marks to Tommy Smothers, John Madden and Orel Hershiser for their generosity and graciousness. Smothers did a show for the assembled, including jokes, stories and yo-yo tricks. Money raised goes to Monterey charities. Local business biggies Ken Conee and Jim Wahlstrom were spotted at the Amdahl tent.
APPRECIATION BREAKFAST: An appreciation breakfast was held early this year for outgoing San Jose mayor Susan Hammer. The breakfast served double duty because it also raised $6,000 for the Georgia Travis Women and Children's Shelter. Georgia Travis herself accepted the check.
Travis lives at The Meadows, and the check was presented at a small ceremony there last week. Travis has been a tireless worker for the dispossessed, abused and homeless for years. The shelter in her name helps those in need to find housing, clothing and jobs.
BI-COASTAL: Los Gatos Art Supplies Store on Victory Lane will change owners as of March 1. Ted and Ruth Gerdes have sold the business to Linda and Michael Smythe. All four principals are Los Gatans. The Gerdeses will keep their Los Gatos house, but plan to buy a place in Vermont as well.
Ruth Gerdes, an artist, is from Vermont, has family there. The Gerdeses hope to buy an old farmhouse, restore it and convert the barn into a studio for Ruth. Ted teaches computer science and engineering at West Valley. During the unforgiving New England winters, the Gerdeses will live in the more forgiving Los Gatos.
THE RIGHT RITE: Here's an unusual profession you may not have realized existed before: a ritualist. And we have one in our very midst. She's Riva Rubnitz, a marriage and family counselor who is now taking on the business of rituals. Her first assignment was a couple of weeks ago, and she pronounced it an unqualified success.
Any milestone can be the occasion for a ritual--a special anniversary, a christening, a birthday. Rubnitz tailors the event to the individual or family as well as to the particular milestone being commemorated. To reach her, call 358-8286.
RECORD RESPONSE: The Summit League raised $122,000, the most ever, from its fundraiser Homes for the Holiday. The money will go to the San Jose Family Shelter in San Jose. The shelter houses two-parent or single-parent families and their children--one of only two in the county that is roomy enough.
Summit League's 45 members are from Saratoga, Los Gatos and Monte Sereno. Eleanor Whalen is president; Elaine Knoernschild and Caryl Armstrong co-chaired the fundraiser.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
