MELROSE HEIGHTSMAGAZINE NORM NIXON Humanitarian PHILIP PRINCE THE SILK DESIGNER JOHN KALAMARAS: The Legend MELEROSE HEIGHTS TELEVISION TESS PANZAR A Rising Star MELROSE HEIGHTS ISSUE 14 COVER GIRL CONTEST MELROSE HEIGHTS MAGAZINE presents the MELROSE HEIGHTS TELEVISION SHOW Bringing You The Very Best That Life Has To Offer! You asked for it and we delivered. Melrose Heights Magazine goes live and is at your finger- tips 24/7! Melrose Heights Television promises to bring you compelling interviews and real stories of only the very best in Fashion, Culture, Art, Beauty, Fine Living, etc. Just as you’ve loved Melrose Heights the magazine, watch as we take the pages and make them come alive literally! Enjoy the in depth interviews with the likes of Grammy Award win- ning artists such as Quincy Jones, Explorer Dr. Allen S. Counter or have a sit down with the talented Blair Underwood! We’ll take you to places you’ve only dreamt of exploring, we’ll introduce you to new cultures and worlds you’ve only read about until now. Join us and take a look at www.melroseheightstv.com IN OUR NEXT ISSUE FASHION, FASHION AND MORE FASHION Photography by Curtis Williams 2 3 COVER GIRL CONTEST The search is on for a fresh new face! Win the Melrose Heights Magazine Cover Girl title and other valuable prizes, such as health products from The Farmacy, a scholarship from John Casablancas School, and more. Sake Bomb | Designer: Alexander Purcell | Dimensions: 6 x 6 x 6 Material Content: Ceramic This blow-fish-shaped vessel holds up to 8 fluids ounces of traditional Japanese rice wine. Inspired by the spiky, inflat- PHOTO CONTEST able Fugu fish, a decadent (and potentially toxic) sashimi often paired with sake. Four of the Bomb’s 12 spines support four matching cups, another spine functions as the spout and another detaches for easy refills. To enter, send us your best original photo. We choose four winners per year and publish the top entries. You could be a winner! 4 APRRO DESIGN | ALEXANDER PURCELL | LOS ANGELES, CA | 1 310 699 8333 | [email protected] 5 Norm Nixon, Athelete and Humanitarian by SARAH EMERSON edited by CARMEN CHAFFIN Born to a small rural town in Georgia, Macon to be exact, Norm Nixon began his life filled with the same curiosity, leadership and tenacity he carries with him to this day. Long before he became the Two Time NBA champion receiving great accolades, notoriety and forever making him a writ- ten part of basketball history, he was a small town kid, growing up in the South, with all the Southern ways that came with it in the 1960’s. He was his mom’s sweetest, an usher at their church, played the trumpet and was class president, and of course a star athlete. Excelling in football, basketball and track, Norm was heavily recruited out of high school. Torn as to which sport to pursue, at only 6’2”, he de- cided to follow his dream to college and accepted his basketball scholarship. This moved him out of the South, and up North to Pennsylvania, to Duquesne University, the program best known for break- ing racial boundaries and for spending more time in the AP Top 10 then any other Atlantic 10 school. In 1977, after capturing the conference title and receiving player of the year honors, Norm was draft- ed to the NBA. Norm graduated with a degree in Science with a focus on mathematics. His accom- plishments haunt the university. He still holds the Duquesne Men’s Basketball records for: field goals made in a career, assists in a season, assists per game in a season, assists in a career and as- sists per game in a career, 30 years later and retired jersey #10, hanging from the gym rafters. Norm was drafted 22nd in the 1st round by the Los Angeles Lakers. His acquisition coincided with the beginning of the Jerry Buss era, as Jerry purchased the team in 1979. These were the foundation years for the Lakers Dy- nasty. Norm was named to the NBA Rookie team and by his third season in the league (1980) had earned his first championship ring. Along with the NBA title Norm also led the league in minutes played and steals. He received his second ring and All-Star selection in 1982 and followed that with a second All-Star appearance in 1985. A statistic which bears relevance on a person’s talent, tenacity, strength and mental fortitude is the minutes played and games played. Norm holds down both statistics. In his first nine seasons Norm played 715 of 725 games. These types of numbers mean your program relies on you, you play through injury and illness and even through adversarial situations, the coach knows this is the player who is imperative to being on the court at all times. 6 Photography by Curtis Williams 7 Norm Nixon spent 6 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, never missing a post-season appearance and 13 seasons in total with the NBA before retiring from the San Diego Clip- pers in 1989. He has become part of the nostalgia and greatness of the NBA. He played with and against some of the most well-known and beloved players of all-time; Pistol Pete Marovich, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabaar, Julius Erving, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, Bill Lambeer, Kevin McHale, James Worthy, Patrick Ewing, Bob McAdoo, Rudy Tomjonovich, Paul Westphal, Bill Walton, Hakeem Olajuwan, Robert Parrish, Danny Ainge, Charles Barkley, Isaiah Thomas, Michael Jordan and the list goes on and on. The Lakers were established in 1948, since then the team has only missed the NBA playoffs five times. The team has 16 NBA titles and has appeared in the NBA Finals 15 other times and Norm Nixon is still considered by many, one of the top 10 Los Angeles Lakers draft picks of All-Time. And just like what happens to all of us, while your not looking, life happens. In the middle of a phenomenal NBA career, he found four more blessings, a loving and most-talented wife and three beautiful children. Debbie Allen an actress, dancer, choreographer, television director, television producer, and a member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities and Norm made for very much a Hollywood power couple. In addition to a thriving basketball career, Norm had taken his thirst for knowledge and love of numbers and began another successful career in real estate speculation. Owning and manag- ing properties up and down the West coast and all the way back to his birthplace in Georgia. But you’d think between the two of them and their young children, their hands would be full. Norm managed to also find time to establish a successful management agency, managing major profes- sional athletes and celebrity entertainers from Jalen Rose and Peter Warrick to LL Cool J and TLC. Their legacy goes on and grows. In 2001 Norm and Debbie established the world renowned Deb- bie Allen Dance Academy (DADA) in Culver City, California, teaching approximately 200 children from ages 4-18 dance. It also reaches out to children who would not normally have the opportu- nity to participate due to financial constraints. 80% of the children at the academy are on schol- arship. The latest show being produced at the academy is the “Hot Chocolate Nutcracker.” You also can find many of the former students on Broadway and throughout the entertainment com- munity. Obviously when they say you shouldn’t take work home with you, Norm and Debbie just were not listening. Norm said he learned long ago, even when disagreements occur, as they al- ways will in work, no one sleeps on the couch. When asked what he’s learned from his most-tal- ented wife Debbie, he said “She’s a finisher, she pushes things through and makes things happen.” 8 Photography by Curtis Williams 9 www.blackbarbershop.org 10 11 In his spare time, Norm also does commentary for the Lakers games on Fox. He’s known for his spirited games of HORSE with many of the Lakers players. He might even be seen beating a few of these young guys. He also keeps busy by offering basketball day camps for children. There is also a special outreach which is near and dear to his heart, the Black Barbershop Outreach Program. As the official spokesman for The Black Barbershop Outreach Program, Norm is keenly interested in educating and bringing to light the issues the program is trying to alleviate. The program provides out- reach to African-American men by providing free testing for diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol and other health analysis at participating barbershops. Currently African American men have the highest incidence of death from preventable disease. The program operates to educate and foster a belief in incor- porating a health care philosophy into their daily lives to avoid preventable illness and death. As men are known for their ability to congregate, whether it’s at the gym, the car wash, the sports bar, etc., the place historically known to be a place for socialization and time passing for African American men has been the barbershop. The Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program has a goal to screen over 500,000 African American men for diabetes and hypertension by the year 2012. Currently, the program is well under- way to capturing this goal; it has reached 20,000 men in 25 cities through 300 participating barbershops. Lastly, sitting in his beautiful Santa Monica house with the sun streaming in warming the Span- ish kitchen tile, you can’t help but notice all the beautifully framed pictures indicative of some proud parents.