History Secure with Photographic Memory

SECTION INSIDE: People Malibu Seen B Classified The Malibu Times July 17, 2003 Life & Arts Feature Editor: Laura Tate History secure with photographic memory By Pam Linn Malibuite Lillian Arneste, who experienced racism first-hand as a child, devoted her life her dream of becoming an actress, Arneste opened Lilli-Anne’s, a fighting discrimination through the eye of a lens. photo studio on Western Avenue. She made most of her money, however, as an early paparazzi, shoot- ing celebrities for the newspapers Nancy Wilson in Los Angeles and fan magazines of the era. photographed by Lillian Arneste. Most people know that during After a fire even the the first half of the 20th century, discrimination existed everywhere, natives are thirsty not just in the South. Until the Yankees hired Jackie Robinson in eelings of extreme relief and gratitude alternate 1947, baseball was exclusively a with sadness for all the once beautiful trees and white man’s sport. The Army F the wildlife they sheltered. It seems now to be wasn’t integrated until after World just plain luck that we and our neighbors lost no more Muhammad Ali (when still War II, and the Navy only ended than a few fences and outbuildings to the wildfire. going by his original name segregated housing in 1954. But the In surveying the damage, I came to the conclusion of Cassius Clay) with Dr. idea that a Las Vegas casino might that the front garden protected the house while the house Grey (right), Lillian be segregated—even then—seems actually protected the rear garden, or at least the 30 feet Arneste’s dentist, and Ish weird; after all, much of the talent or so closest to the back wall. The fire department isn’t Evans, manager of the that casino owners employed to kidding when they warn you to clear the brush and dried Basin Street West in Los bring in the gamblers was black. grass at least 100 feet from your house. The west side of Angeles. But, until things began changing in the house, which is only 20 feet from a steep and heavi- Billie Holliday with 1960 under pressure from the Photos courtesy of Lillian Arneste ly wooded slope, sustained the most damage, and the Chihuahua named Chiquita NAACP (National Association for maple trees on that strip were burned to the ground. receiving a performance the Advancement of Colored By David Wallace award at the Moulin Rouge, On the east side, the driveway and parking area Special to The Malibu Times summer 1955. People), such was the case. extend far enough to shield the house and part of the Why Arneste invested the back garden that sort of wraps around the corner of it. umbered equivalent of more than $100,000 Gravel is good. When I put in the switchback path that among the in today’s money in the Moulin snakes through the front garden, I was torn between lin- scores of Rouge is an object lesson in just ing it with bark or gravel. Bark looks so nice and N how far America has come in its celebrities who call woodsy but gravel is cheaper and, I discovered later, it’s Malibu home are race relations in the past half-centu- the preferred medium for propagating wild poppy seeds. many social activists. ry. Good thing cheap won the day. Hidden among them, “I was friendly with Pearl A word here about foundation planting. Mine con- however, is a largely Bailey,” she recalls of the late leg- sists mostly of roses, a couple of wax-leaf privet, pink unknown woman endary singer who would, years escalonia and river birch, planted near the house who was one of the later, serve as special ambassador to because they require (and retain) the most water. In the first social activists the United Nations and receive the front, evergreen clematis vines wind up the deck sup- in America. Long Presidential Medal of Freedom. ports and drape over the railing. These also hold a ton of before the freedom Dinah Washington with Tommy Tucker (à la “Once, in 1954, when she was moisture in their leaves, and shielded the deck instead of marches of the late bail bondsman) at the Moulin Rouge. headlining at the Flamingo, she setting it alight. 1960s, more than just walked out of the showroom with Most of the pine trees native to this mountain grow speaking out against segregation, she also put all the money she her husband, Louis Bellson, and at slightly higher elevations, and we never planted any. I could gather together where her heart and mouth were. into the casino and put a chip down find most varieties of pine to be vulnerable to disease, Today, Lillian Arneste is remembered mostly from her credit line at a roulette table. But the dealer highly incendiary, and so shallow rooted that a strong on old, yellowing Hollywood celebrity photographs. But in 1955, she wouldn’t spin the wheel. No blacks wind, especially after heavy rain, easily topples them. Lillian Arneste at her home in Malibu. was a major investor in a significant social experiment of the era— allowed. Another time, when I The fir and spruce trees, regardless of their location, The photographer invested her money the first integrated hotel and casino in Las Vegas. It was named the went with Billie Holiday’s manager seem to have fared the worst. Even with deep soaking, in the Moulin Rouge, the first integrat- Moulin Rouge, and it only lasted less than six months, but it pointed (who was black) to see Nat King they show no signs of new growth. I probably will wind ed hotel in Las Vegas. the way to the future. Cole at the Sands, we were turned up replacing them with fruit trees, and just abandon the away. Cole himself, who brought in “I lost all of the $15,000 I put into it,” she says during a recent They were black, and the experi- small orchard that was completely decimated. millions in gambling money, had to go poolside interview at the Malibu condominium where she has lived ence of being raised in a multiracial While it’s understandable that moisture-loving orna- in the back door.” since 1972. “And it was mostly borrowed money. My purpose buy- home created a life-long anger over dis- mentals would have more resistance to fire, natives and In the 1950s, the west side of Las ing into the project was to try to change an unfair system.” crimination in Arneste. Following grad- many other drought-tolerant shrubs, though seriously Vegas had developed a sizable black Lillian Arneste was born in Brooklyn, one of eight children of uation from Brooklyn College, she singed, seem equally resilient: rosemary, lavender, cean- population, and the Moulin Rouge, Joseph and Sophie Arneste. Her dad died when she was six months moved to Hollywood and lived in the othus (concha and frosty blue), santolina, salvia greggii originally built to cater to that con- old, and her mother followed when Lillian was only 12. Studio Club (where other residents and artemisia all are showing stituency, opened on May 24, 1955. It See Linn, page B3 “I was then raised by Catherine and Frank Smith, superintendent included Marilyn Monroe and Shelly of the apartment building where we lived,” she says. Winters). Eventually disappointed in See Arneste, page B4 Def Leppard drummer inspires Pacific String Academy ends many through local foundation first year on high note By Ryan O’Quinn struggling with adversity, and Allen’s Special to The Malibu Times personal experiences, prompted them A local doctor and to start the foundation to empower a former music stu- magine being at the height of your special-needs children, teens and dent at Pepperdine music career as a drummer, in the adults through free educational pro- I midst of fulfilling your dreams, grams in the arts. come together and and then having a life-threatening auto The foundation is multifaceted, but create a string accident that takes your left arm—and at the core are programs that include academy—the first nearly your life. physical and emotional rehabilitation Such was the case with Malibu res- for hospital patients, helping “at-risk for the city and the ident Rick Allen, drummer for the youth” and children of war, reaching university. rock band Def Leppard. children with disabilities and offering Allen’s auto accident was perhaps support for various addictions. By Judy-Anne Goldman one of the most infamous nonfatal After the accident, Allen received Special to Heather O’Quinn / TMT The Malibu Times crashes in the music industry. After letters from all over the world from Drummer Rick Allen and Lauren flipping his Corvette on New Year’s fans, especially children with physical Monroe (far right) share a medita- Judy Anne-Goldman Eve, 1984 in Sheffield, England, doc- disabilities, who looked to him for tive moment at The Raven Drum What do you get when Accomplished Southern California musician Diane tors attempted to reattach his left arm, inspiration. According to band mates Foundation’s drum circle last you mix 20 motivated Rammon conducts Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nacht but an infection set in and amputation and friends, Allen is notorious for try- Sunday. music students from age Musik.” was the only alternative. ing to respond in person, even while 10 to adult with an intense Rather than diving into self-pity or touring with Def Leppard. ipants sit or stand in a circle and col- week working with acclaimed musicians from throughout the U.S.? The hope was that leaving the industry he loves, Allen “I know how bad I felt at the worst lectively drum a rhythm that Allen or it would create the Pacific String Academy.

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