List of people from Topanga, California
This article is a list of notable people who were born in and/or have lived in Topanga, California.
Actors
In the 1920s, Topanga Canyon became a weekend getaway for Hollywood silent film stars. The rolling hills and ample vegetation provided both privacy and attractive surroundings for some of the famous.
Actors currently or formerly residing in the Topanga area include:
- Richard Dean Anderson (1980)
- Lisa Bonet[1]
- Alex Borstein[citation needed]
- Jordan Bridges[citation needed]
- Keith Carradine [citation needed]
- Kyle Chandler[1]
- John Clark[1]
- Bob Denver
- Tony Dow [citation needed]
- Teri Garr[1]
- Beau Garrett[citation needed]
- Will Geer[2][1]
- Louis Gossett Jr.[citation needed]
- Billy Gray, and his late mother Beatrice Gray[1]
- Emile Hirsch[1]
- Jennifer Holden[1]
- Dennis Hopper[1]
- John Kassir[citation needed]
- Joshua Jackson[1]
- Cloris Leachman
- Eric Mabius[1]
- Wendie Malick[1]
- D.W. Moffett [citation needed]
- Viggo Mortensen[1]
- Uschi Obermaier, model & actress.[1]
- William O'Leary[1]
- Lynn Redgrave[1]
- Joseph Rosendo
- Ricky Schroder[1]
- Natalie Shaw
- Vinessa Shaw
- Amy Smart[1]
- Sissy Spacek[citation needed]
- Dean Stockwell[1]
- Russ Tamblyn, raising his daughter Amber Tamblyn[1]
- Jeffrey Tambor, with wife Kasia and 2 children.[1]
- Barry Watson[1]
- Robin Williams[1]
- Molly Ringwald[1]
Musicians
In the musical fields, in 1952 Woody Guthrie was one of the early American musicians who moved to the Topanga area.[3] As nearby Los Angeles grew into a major music industry capital in the 1950s and 1960s, Topanga Canyon was one of the city's bohemian enclaves some performers preferred living in.[1]
Current and former musicians of the Topanga area include:
- Peter Alsop[citation needed]
- Mark Andes[1]
- Christopher Drew
- Lauren Andino[citation needed]
- Devendra Banhart[citation needed]
- Toni Basil[citation needed]
- Ryan Bingham[1]
- Tim Booth[citation needed]
- Vic Briggs[4]
- Randy California[5]
- Ed Cassidy[1]
- Justin Chancellor[1]
- Alice Cooper[1]
- Pee Wee Crayton[1]
- JC Crowley[1]
- John Densmore[1][5]
- Neil Diamond[1]
- J. B. Eckl[citation needed]
- Don Felder[1][5]
- Jay Ferguson[1]
- Mick Fleetwood[1][5]
- The Flying Burrito Brothers[1]
- Julia Fordham[1]
- Marvin Gaye[1][5]
- Lowell George[1][5]
- Woody Guthrie[3]
- Taylor Hawkins[citation needed]
- Colin Hay[6]
- Richie Hayward[1]
- John Helliwell[7]
- Nick Hexum[citation needed]
- Gary Hinman, music teacher and a victim of the Charles Manson gang; lived on Old Topanga Canyon Road in 1969
- Bob Hite[1][5]
- Jacknife Lee[1]
- Adam Jones[1]
- Bernie Leadon[1]
- John Locke[1]
- Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane[1]
- Joni Mitchell[1]
- Jim Morrison[1]
- Van Morrison[1]
- Hap Palmer[citation needed]
- Gram Parsons[citation needed]
- Billy Preston[1][5]
- Chris Robinson
- Ryan Ross[1]
- Bryan Senatore[1]
- Stephen Stills[1][5]
- Fred Tackett[1]
- Taj Mahal[1][5]
- Big Joe Turner[1]
- Alan Wilson[1]
- Neil Young[1][5]
- Donna Delory[1]
- David Frank of The System[8]
Writers
- Millicent Borges Accardi, NEA Poet; lives in Topanga and writes theater reviews for the local Topanga Messenger newspaper
- Marija Gimbutas, Indo-European archaeologist noted for her Kurgan hypothesis and books about neolithic goddess culture.
- Al Martinez, Pulitzer Prize winning former L.A. Times columnist, lives there with his wife[9] and often comments on the nature of life in Topanga[10]
- Jon Povill, writer of Total Recall and some episodes of Sliders, as well as producer of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, resided there until 2008.[11][citation needed]
- Oliver Sacks, neurologist and author, lived on Iowa Trail in Topanga from 1963 to 1965.[12]
Other
- Renn Loren's The Topangas band, produced by Bill Halverson (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Eric Clapton, The Beach Boys, Cream, Albert King, REO Speedwagon, Ravi Shankar, Keith Jarrett, The Texas Tornadoes, America, Chuck Berry, Bill Withers, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, Jimi Hendrix, Kraftwerk, Bad Company and Tom Jones...) and featuring Augie Meyers (Sir Douglas Quintet, Texas Tornados), is named after the region in honor of its cajun to Mexican diversity and musical history.
- Max Biaggi, four-time 250cc Grand Prix Champion and 2010 WSBK (World Superbike) winner; has a home in the community[citation needed]
- Sandstone Retreat, a swingers' resort, was located in upper Topanga.
- Henry Hill, gangster; moved to Topanga Canyon after he was put on probation in 2009[citation needed]
- Dr. Clement Meighan, archaeologist and UCLA Professor of Archaeology/Anthropology; resided in Topanga over 30 years[citation needed]
- The novel Mirkwood: A Novel About JRR Tolkien, by Steve Hillard, begins and ends in Topanga Canyon in a fictional establishment called The Mirkwood Forest.
- The hit 1990s ABC sitcom Boy Meets World features the character Topanga Lawrence (played by Danielle Fishel) named after this location.
- The award-winning HBO series Six Feet Under (2001–2005) uses Topanga Canyon as the setting for the home of the recurring character, Aunt Sarah, the artsy sister of major character Ruth Fisher.
- The novel The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle is set in Topanga Canyon in the fictional housing development of Arroyo Blanco.
- Spirit's first album, self-titled, released in 1968, features a song "Topanga Windows."
- Topanga is featured in the lyrics of the Billy Joel song "Getting Closer" on his 1986 album The Bridge.
- The album John Phillips (John, the Wolf King of L.A.) by John Phillips features a song entitled "Topanga Canyon".
- The self-titled album by Tom Petty's band Mudcrutch features a song entitled "Topanga Cowgirl".
- Topanga is featured in the lyrics of the Chris Robinson song "Eagles on the Highway".
- Topanga is featured in the lyrics of the Truth & Salvage Co. song "101".
- Topanga is featured in the lyrics of the Lana Del Rey song "Heroin".
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi "Topanga History & Culture - Teresa Penner". teresapenner.com. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- ^ Lisa Marks (August 8, 2012). "Hounded out of Hollywood: Topanga film festival and the legacy of Will Geer | Film". theguardian.com. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
- ^ a b "Lifetimeline". www.woodyguthrie.org. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- ^ Vic Briggs Biography, From Rock Star to Ragi; antionmusic. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rock and Roll roadmap.com: Topanga Canyon rock and roll scene. accessed July 17, 2015
- ^ Johnston, Chris (January 19, 2013). "Lunch with Colin Hay". Retrieved March 6, 2015.
- ^ Candela, Miguel (August 12, 2010). "JOHN HELLIWELL Interview, April 2003". Retrieved March 6, 2015.
- ^ Blog post in David Frank | music production
- ^ [1] Archived May 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Al Martinez webpage". Almartinez.org. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
- ^ Jon Povill at IMDb
- ^ "Oliver Sacks: Tripping in Topanga, 1963 - Los Angeles Review of Books". lareviewofbooks.org. Retrieved March 18, 2018.