Tales From the Strip: A Century in the Fast Lane

by Van Gordon Sauter, Frans Evenhuis (Designer), Robert Landau (Photographer)

Tales from The A Century in the Fast Lane is a thought-provoking―and riotous―amble from Doheny to Crescent Heights on America’s most famous Sunset. From its legendary hotels and clubs to its notorious mobsters to its thriving intellectual haunts, life on the Strip from its earliest days makes Tales from The Strip a path of plenty―direct from the keyboard of journalist and raconteur Van Gordon Sauter, with visuals created, researched, curated, and designed by Robert Landau and Frans Evenhuis. The combination is a remarkable romp along Sunset, right into today’s landscape, where even Frank Gehry is taking a twenty-first-century hand at shaping the scene. For everyone who ever danced at the Whisky, bought spats at gangster Mickey Cohen’s haberdashery, longed to go to the Playboy Club, frolicked at the Roxy, tangoed at Ciro’s, rocked and rolled at Tower Records, or rubbed shoulders with Sir Elton at Book Soup, this book is your book, ready to take you cruising The Strip. The Sunset Strip, of course. Van Gordon Sauter was an executive vice president of CBS Broadcasting and also served as the president of CBS News and CBS Sports. He was a reporter for newspapers in New Bedford, Detroit and Chicago, and was a correspondent in Vietnam, a television anchorman in Chicago, and the CBS News bureau chief in Paris. A member and former chairman of the California boxing commission, Sauter is the author of three non-fiction books. He is married to Kathleen Brown, former State Treasurer of California. They live in Los Angeles and Ketchum, Idaho. Robert Landau grew up in Los Angeles just blocks from the Sunset Strip and has dedicated himself to photographing and creating books about various aspects of his native city. His most recent book, Rock ’n’ Roll Billboards of the Sunset Strip (Angel City Press, 2012) was critically acclaimed by the New York Times and was awarded the Glen Goldman Art, Architecture and Photography Award. Previous books include Hollywood Poolside (Angel City Press, 1997), Airstream (Peregrine Smith Books, 1984) and Outrageous L.A. (Chronicle Books, 1980). Landau’s photographs have been exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide. Frans Evenhuis moved from his native Amsterdam to Los Angeles in 1977, in part due to his love of movies and warmer weather. With years of experience as an art director, illustrator, and designer of magazines, Evenhuis designs packaging and promotions for current and classic movies for various film studios, particularly Warner Bros. He conceived and produced the critically acclaimed book Hollywood Poolside (Angel City Press, 1997); Tales from The Strip marks his third publishing collaboration with Robert Landau and Angel City Press.

176 pages, Hardcover

Published April 29, 2018

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a young man, I moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990s. My first apartment was in the Los Feliz neighborhood a mere block from Sunset Boulevard close to the tail end as it snaked from the hills near Dodger Stadium to the sandy beaches along the surf of the Pacific Ocean.

At the time, I didn't know that there was a distinction between Sunset Strip and Sunset Boulevard (let alone Sunset Plaza). In hindsight, it was sort of like thinking a ring is just the polished gem sitting on top of the shank.

In my naivete, I decided to drive one Friday evening from my east side apartment to Sunset Strip to visit it. Once I started seeing big glossy billboards, I pulled over near Crescent Heights thinking I was in the middle of it all and that I could just walk Sunset Strip for a few blocks. I didn't realize it's a 1.7 mile stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood and I was entirely at one end of it.

It took me a few hours to wander it's length and back. It ended up being the best way to experience the Strip - from the flashy lights, mixture of food and car exhaust smells, and revelers stumbling between the bars, clubs and restaurants. I walked along it's history and got to understand it's allure for the millions who had come before me.

A couple years later, I moved to be within few blocks from the Strip and have been in the vicinity ever since. It has definitely changed from a time when the police had to set up barricades on the weekends to prevent cruising by Angelinos to now encouraging tourists to visit the glistening glass high rise hotels and Time-Square-esque video billboards.

Tales from The Strip is one of the rare books that brings back memories of many of the places I visited that no longer exist (Spagos, Hamburger Hamlet, Tower Records, Standard), and the ones that cling on to this pedigreed asphalt address (Book Soup, Sunset Tower, Chateau Marmont).

And more importantly it reminds us of the era from the 1920 to 1970s of historic events and personalities that don't exist anymore like Rock Hudson at the Finlandia Baths, Russian actress Alla Nazimova's hedonistic Garden of Allah villas, and the most famous pharmacy in American history, Schwab's, where Chaplin, Bogart and Monroe hung out.

May those carrying on the memories of this iconic strip like Dimitri Dimitrov from Sunset Tower (and now San Vicente Inn) keep this lore alive.

This book caught my eye as it was promoted on a shelf at the WeHo Library in the main lobby. I ended up picking it up and checking it out. I enjoyed it so much that I will buy one for my personal library.

The authors - Sauter, Landau, Evenhuis - should be proud of preserving this incredible history with fascinating historic and modern stories.

Similar to what "Hollywood" means in people's mind, "Sunset Strip" transcends the tumble and grit of what it means to be a street. For example, the TV show "77 Sunset Strip" actually created the most famous address that never existed.

The is one of the best books I've read about the history of the Sunset Stip.

[Mary Popoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s so much rich history, so many fascinating stories on the Sunset Strip and i swear they chose the absolute boringest ones…….