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Home , Russ Kunkel, The Real Housewives

E2 THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2021 LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR Pitfalls of the glam race [‘Real,’ from E1] The show an instant piled with cash. sensation when it premiered She always had reason to that year, thanks largely to brag, or so it seemed: She was Teresa’s attention-grabbing married to Tom Girardi, a re- shopping sprees and now- nowned trial lawyer who legendary table-flipping made millions by suing cor- tantrums. But the ruse came porate behemoths on behalf to an end in 2013, when the of regular people. If she used Giudices were indicted on 39 some of his vast fortune to counts of fraud. According to fund her music career and fi- the U.S. attorney, the couple nagle a starring role on had lied to lenders about Broadway, so what? their income to obtain mort- But during a recent epi- gage loans: In 2009, the year sode of “Beverly Hills,” Erika of that furniture-buying Girardi may have finally giv- binge, they’d filed for bank- en up the game, telling a cast- ruptcy, intentionally conceal- mate: “My whole life is smoke ing income earned from the and mirrors.” TOM AND ERIKA Girardi, on “Real Housewives,” TV show and other deals cap- The comments were re- are divorcing amid allegations of embezzlement. italizing on their sudden ce- corded last fall, days before lebrity. Girardi, 49, abruptly filed for tiating contracts between ger pointed at the Bravo After striking a plea deal, divorce from her much older seasons and free publicity for cameras.) Joe went to jail for 41 months husband after two decades of whatever low-calorie cocktail When the global economic and was deported to , marriage. Bravo fans were or handbag line they are, in- crisis arrived, though, the the country of his birth. Now Ebet Roberts Redferns / Getty Images shocked, but as The Times evitably, hawking on the side. “Real Housewives” bubble divorced, Teresa leveraged RUSS KUNKEL on the drums in 1979. The musician reported, Tom Girardi’s sto- “Real Housewives’ ” only inflated: Between March her prison stint into multiple says “thinks a lot like a drummer.” ried career was in ruins amid prime location in the atten- 2008 and May 2009 — a period memoirs and a spinoff, and allegations that he’d embez- tion economy cuts both ways, when the unemployment continues to downplay her zled millions of dollars from though: At some point, view- rate nearly doubled — the role in the fraud. If anything, bereaved clients and used it ers — and law enforcement — franchise expanded to three her brush with the law has ce- to maintain an extravagant may begin to wonder, “Just new locations (New York, At- mented her status in the lifestyle. where is all this money com- lanta and New Jersey). A Bravo firmament: She is the Drummer Erika Girardi now faces ing from?” short-lived D.C. version de- only original cast member re- scrutiny over her possible “These women are think- buted in mid-2010 but was maining on “New Jersey” and involvement in the scandal ing of themselves as cast canceled after two financially will soon star in a “Real and the impression that members with a storyline,” troubled cast members Housewives All-Stars” series money intended for “orphans says Racquel Gates, associ- crashed a White House for Peacock, NBCUniversal’s plays part in and widows” was frittered ate professor of media and dinner, their social ambitions streaming service. away on her celebrity ambi- cinema studies at the CUNY triggering a national security Girardi’s arrival on “Bev- tions. So far, the singer seems College of Staten Island and freakout. A Beverly Hills edi- erly Hills” in the show’s sixth undaunted by the criticism, an avid “Housewives” viewer tion, featuring the most eye- season marked the begin- posting defiant memes and from Day 1. “If your life is not popping real estate to date, ning of what could only be de- music history glamorous red carpet shots interesting enough in all the followed later that year. scribed as a “glam” arms on her Instagram account. ways the show defines inter- As millions of Americans race. The women of “Beverly The saga, the heavily esting, you lose your pay- were mired in economic de- Hills” — never exactly low- cording process of “Blue” hyped focal point of the cur- check. You get fired. That’s a spair, investigating the maintenance — scrambled to L.A. did you come in? rent season of “Beverly Hills,” very real pressure.” “Housewives’ ” perilous fi- keep up with Girardi, who Most of “Blue” was al- makes Girardi the latest of Gates cites “Beverly Hills” nances became a cherished turned up to film in increas- Russ Kunkel reflects ready recorded — just her the “Real Housewives” to housewife Taylor Armstrong, cultural pastime, the subject ingly theatrical couture looks on contributing to and [engineer] Henry Lewy. contend with legal and finan- who threw a widely mocked of countless blog posts with and boasted of dropping Joan is such a fantastic cial difficulties connected to $60,000 birthday party for her headlines like, “4 out of 5 Real $40,000 a month on hair, Joni Mitchell’s ‘Blue.’ musician. She played the the fabulous persona they 4-year-old daughter in the Housewives of Atlanta are makeup and clothing. The dulcimer. She played . convey on TV. In March, “Salt show’s first season. Yes, it Actually Broke.” pressure to keep pace with By Randall Roberts She played piano. But a lot Lake City” housewife Jen was ridiculous, but, Gates Viewers enjoy watching Girardi has inspired such re- of people overlook what a Shah was arrested on suspi- says, “Taylor isn’t just throw- these women get into trou- lentless one-upmanship that Los Angeles session great rhythm player she is. cion of running a vast tele- ing a birthday party, Taylor is ble, says Nicole B. Cox, an as- beaded, floor-length gowns drummer Russ Kunkel has She thinks a lot like a marketing scheme targeting throwing a birthday party sociate professor of mass me- are now considered reason- played on hundreds of re- drummer. If you just listen the elderly. “New Jersey’s” that is going to be a filmed dia at Valdosta State Uni- able barbecue attire. cordings over the years, but to her strum the guitar, she spent nearly event.” versity in Georgia who has In similar fashion, “The he is best known for driving plays with an acute under- ayear in prison after pleading From the beginning, conducted scholarly re- Real Housewives of Atlanta” the rhythm on a series of standing of the rhythm and guilty to fraud charges. “Real Housewives” has called search on “The Real House- was consumed by the cold 1970s folk-rock and FM radio the pocket of the song. So it And although only a few attention to these lavish ex- wives.” “We’re disgusted by war between Moore classics by artists including was so easy for me to come “Housewives” have been im- penditures with sly editing them, and we feel superior, and Sheree Whitfield as they , , up with simple little parts plicated in such brazen and on-screen graphics list- because it’s like, ‘I might not built rival McMansions. “Salt , Linda that helped support the white-collar crimes, the list of ing the cost of various pur- be able to buy those Chanel Lake City’s” Shah emerged Ronstadt, , rhythm she was already bankruptcies, foreclosures, chases — all part of the earrings, but at least I’m not as the breakout star of the se- , Crosby, Stills playing — like the tax liens and lawsuits involv- “Bravo wink,” the house style going to jail.’ ” ries, which premiered in No- and Nash and Joni Mitchell. part of “Carey.” I think ing cast members runs long- designed to stir both envy vember, after ordering her Now 72, Kunkel was in his there are a couple of songs er than Girardi’s hair and disdain in the audience. TRAGEDY HAPPENS team of eight assistants early 20s when Mitchell, that I only played shaker extensions. In the early years, though, The schadenfreude that around during preparations fresh from a trip overseas, and a little conga or some- Since the inception of “Orange County” was about marks the “Real House- for an extravagant party at asked whether he’d help on thing. “Real Housewives,” the sort more than just our Bush-era wives” fandom occasionally the (probably rented) home a sparse new album called of “smoke and mirrors” Gi- fascination with the region’s comes up against real trage- in Park City, Utah, she “Blue” she was working on. I hear some high-hat in rardi described have been Hummer-driving nouveau dy. When Armstrong’s es- dubbed the “Shah Ski Kunkel, who refers to his there too. central to the show — and, ar- riche. Set in the affluent tranged husband, Russell, Chalet.” Sure, no one friend as “Joan,” also On “California.” I’m guably, one of the keys to its planned community of Coto died by suicide in 2011, reports understood what she actu- worked on her 1972 album, actually playing a full drum success. de Caza, the series followed a emerged that he was deeply ally did for a living, but that “.” He recalled part, but it’s with brushes. group of loosely acquainted in debt. “He was living month merely added to the head- during a recent conversa- A lot of the backbeats are SPENDING ORGY women — some haves, some to month to support his life- scratching spectacle. tion how he ended up con- on the high-hat or really The franchise’s first prop- have-nots — as they bal- style for Taylor,” claimed his That authorities are pay- tributing the percussion lightly on the . I erty, “The Real Housewives anced work, family and the lawyer. Bravo ignored calls to ing close attention to what parts on “Blue,” which remember playing that with of Orange County,” pre- pressure to conform to the cancel the series, and Arm- the rest of us might wave off turned 50 this week. James Taylor; we over- miered in 2006, at the height O.C.’s blond, surgically en- strong remained in the cast as a guilty pleasure is evident dubbed together, or one of the real estate bubble — hanced beauty standard. for two additional seasons. from the U.S. attorney’s How did you come to play right after the other. But then exploded into a pop cul- One, Lauri Waring, was a sin- More frequently, as in the statement detailing charges on “Blue”? there wasn’t a process or a ture phenomenon during the gle mom who moved out of a case of “New Jersey’s” Teresa against Shah — “who por- I met Joan at Sunset whole band being in there. Great Recession, morphing Coto McMansion and into a Giudice, the conspicuous trays herself as a wealthy and Sound, when She put down a lot of her along the way into an orgy of cramped town house after a consumption crucial to the successful businessperson produced her first record [in parts first, because I don’t competitive consumption. bitter divorce. franchise’s formula casts a on ‘reality’ television” — and late 1967]. I was working on ever remember being in the Women on the show are im- But the pressure to deliv- very public spotlight on the her TV assistant, Stuart another project; I’m not studio playing while she plicitly encouraged to overex- er a compelling storyline ulti- family finances. Smith. “Shah and Smith sure what it was. I became was playing and singing. tend themselves by produc- mately contributed to finan- Few “Housewives” have flaunted their lavish lifestyle very busy around 1970 and ers who reward ostentatious cial ruin: Lynne Curtin joined aroused suspicion as im- to the public as a symbol of ’71. Not only was I playing on You were at A&M Studios. and frequently irresponsible “Orange County” in its fourth mediately or intensely as their ‘success,’ ” it read. “In Joni Mitchell’s “Blue,” but What do you remember behavior with screen time season with a mostly forget- Giudice: Minutes into the reality, they allegedly built also James Taylor’s “Sweet about the environment? and juicy story arcs. table arc about her embel- very first episode of “New Jer- their opulent lifestyle at the Baby James” and “Tapestry We cut Carole’s “Tapes- Sometimes the invest- lished cuff business. Then sey,” she spent $120,000 on expense of vulnerable, often ” with Carole [King]. The try” in [Studio] B, and Joni ment pays off. “New York’s” she and one of her teen furniture. “I hear the econo- elderly, working-class peo- musical muses were very cut “Blue” in C. Very, very parlayed daughters decided to get my’s crashing, so that’s why I ple.” (The role Girardi’s TV busy in California. At the small. God, it’s such a tiny reality TV stardom into a plastic surgery. “I don’t put a pay cash,” she said of the pur- stardom may have played in time, my wife, Leah, and I room. There was a set of $100-million cocktail brand. price tag on my wife and chil- chase, meant for the 10,000- her husband’s downfall is un- were living in a studio apart- , and one was a “Atlanta’s” NeNe Leakes dren’s happiness,” said her square-foot faux French clear, but at least one lender ment that I had built above tumba that happened to be charmed her way into an act- husband, Frank. Chateau outfitted in marble, has accused the Girardis of [Leah’s sister] ’s sitting in the corner. Its ing career. Those who live the A few episodes later, granite and onyx that she inappropriately using money garage in Laurel Canyon off head was cracked; it had a largest and spend the most Curtin’s daughters were at and her husband, Joe, spent “to maintain their glamorous of Woodrow Wilson. rip in it so it couldn’t be lavishly — whether on a new home alone when the family three years building. The public image.”) tuned up but it had this house, a new purse or a new was served with an eviction source of all this cash was Shah’s legal trouble has What did you know about really low tone to it. I ended nose — often amass a follow- notice. (One of the girls murky: Joe, supposedly a done little to harm her stand- the “Blue” sessions before up using that on “Carey.” I ing, which in the world of real- called her parents to break successful entrepreneur, ran ing at Bravo. Cameras were going in? think Stephen [Stills] and I ity TV is a form of power: the news, shielding her face a construction company out reportedly rolling when she It was recorded after overdubbed together. He greater leverage when nego- with an extended middle fin- of a modest storefront. was arrested in March be- “,” and I played bass, and I played cause, as one source told US think at the time, Joan was my part, and then I think I Weekly, “production sees this seeing James Taylor. I was overdubbed the shaker. as a great story line.” part of James’ band, and NOTAFRAID Of course, our ideas about Joan wanted me to play on Is “Blue” something you TM OFSUBTITLES wealth — who has it, who de- her record, to come down return to as a listener? serves it, whose displays of it and play some percussion. Oh, absolutely. It’s just 310.478.3836 Info Line www.LAEMMLE.com are tasteful and whose are She came up to Cass’ house one of those iconic albums. ROYAL TOWN CENTER PLAYHOUSE NoHo 7 gauche — are inextricable one day to play me some of Being a part of those three 11523 Santa Monica Blvd. West L.A. 17200 Ventura Blvd. Encino 673 E. Colorado Blvd. Pasadena 5240 Lankershim Blvd. No. Hollywood from gender and race. The the songs — not all of them records — “Sweet Baby 12 MighTy orphansC F9TheFasTsagaC “nefarious pleasure” we take — just to get an idea before James,” “Tapestry” and 7:30PM les nôTres 1:00 4:10 7:20 12 MighTy orphansC in participants’ rise and fall we went to the studio. I had “Blue” — solidified my place E 1:00 7:10 The BirThday Cake isn’t neutral, Gates says: figured that I would prob- in musical history, however riTa Moreno: JusT a girl 1:10 7:10 1:20 4:20 7:30 Who deCidedTo go For Women like Shah, a Muslim ably be playing percussion small. Three of the most suMMer oF 85 gaiaE iT C 1:50 4:50 convert of Tongan and on them more than I would influential records ever 1:20 4:20 7:20 1:20 4:30 7:30 a CriMe onThe Bayou riTaMoreno:JusTagirlWho Hawaiian descent married to be full drums, but I’d have made, and I got to play on 1:40 4:30 7:20 sTanislavsky. lusT For deCidedTogo For iTC sWeeTThing a Black man; Giudice, a the drums there anyway. them within two years. If liFe 1:30 4:30 7:10 brash Italian American; and that’s all that I ever did, I 1:10 PM 7:40 PM gaia E The sparksBroThersE 1:00 4:00 7:00 Girardi, a former exotic At what point in the re- would be happy. suMMer oF 85 1:10 7:40 dancer, receive more scrutiny suBleT 7:00 PM The hiTMan’s WiFe’s 4:10 PM BodyguardE because they defy the Queen BeesC riTa Moreno: JusT a girl 1:10 4:10 7:40 WASP-y ideal of a wealthy 1:10 4:30 undine I Who deCidedTo go For inTheheighTsC person. 4:30 PM suBleT 1:00 4:00 7:10 In the end, Gates doesn’t 4:20 PM iT C C aQuieT plaCe parT ii blame Bravo for our obses- 1:20 4:30 7:30 1:10 4:30 MONICA inThe heighTs C sion with the lifestyles of the CLAREMONT 1332 Second Street Santa Monica 1:00 4:00 7:10 (supposedly) rich and fa- The sparks BroThers E 450 W. 2nd Street Claremont GLENDALE F9TheFasT sagaC mous, or reality stars de- 12 MighTy orphansC 207 N. Maryland Ave Glendale 1:00 4:00 7:00 7:30PM luded into thinking they can 1:10 4:20 7:20 F9The FasT saga C 12 MighTy orphansC fake it ’til they make it. She 7:30 PM suMMer oF85 1:10 4:20 blames U.S. capitalism. gaia E riTaMoreno: JusTagirlWho 12 MighTy orphansC 4:20 PM 1:20 4:30 7:30 deCidedTo go ForiTC “That’s why we read ‘The 4:00 7:10 1:30 4:30 Great Gatsby’ in high school. holler E gaia E holler E The sparksBroThersE That’s why Elon Musk just 4:40 PM 1:00 4:10 4:20 PM 1:00 4:00 7:10 hosted ‘.’ The sparks BroThers E The hiTMan’s WiFe’s And that’s why we had the E inThe heighTs C 4:00 7:30 Bodyguard inThe heighTs C 1:20 4:20 7:30 president we just had,” she 1:00 4:00 7:00 The hiTMan’s WiFe’s says. “America has an obses- 1:00 4:00 7:10 inThe heighTsC Bodyguard E 1:00 4:00 7:10 sion with wealth and not sunseT Boulevard 4:20 7:10 shorT FilM prograMISCAM often enough of an obsession Jim McCrary Redferns I a QuieT plaCe parT ii C 1950 inThe heighTs C SQUAD; with how one gets that JAMES TAYLOR and Joni Mitchell in 1971 during 7:00 PM 3:50 7:20 1:50 4:40 7:50 7:30PM wealth.” the recording of the Carole King album “Tapestry.” BARGAIN IN ( ) CLOSED CAPTION NON-STANDARD PRICING FOR6/24/2021ONLY