[Guest Post] #FlatRichie Visits Tinsel Town

/ April 1, 2019

This is not an April Fool’s joke! Our esteemed fellow fan LoLo played host to Flat Richie on the latest leg of his world tour. LoLo has extensively tweeted about it on her Twitter,  but she has also written a guest post about the “boys” in town. The following text is all hers, as are the photos which I have lifted from LoLo’s tweets. For a geographical overview, I am preceding her report with the customary itinerary map. Flat Richie is already on the way to his 10th hostess. Enjoy LoLo’s report!

After being hosted in Germany by the gracious and generous Nordlicht, Flat Richie traveled across the Atlantic for an unexpectedly prolonged stop at Hollywood. I offer my sincere apologies for his lengthy stay; I was in Las Vegas for a week with my mother and then was quite ill for a long time. But we’ve done our sightseeing and had our fun, and Richie finally began the next leg of his journey on 29 March.

I opened The Package of All Good Things on a Saturday night and chose three lovely items: a heart-shaped keychain containing a photo of our beautiful man, a heart-shaped locket containing a photo of…our beautiful man…and a set of a magnet and heart-shaped keychain from fair Verona. Yes, it was a hearty evening for me! (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) I’ve received so much kindness, encouragement and support from this amazing fandom that the triple hearts were completely apropos. I added my contributions, which I hope will delight others as much as the gifts I chose delight me.

LoLo’s chosen loot…

Tyrone Power

Because I still wasn’t breathing well at that point (and it wasn’t just from mooning over the aforementioned beautiful man), I took two hits from my asthma inhaler and fell into a troubled sleep. I was feeling so guilty about the length of time that Richie, Sir Guy and Thorin were with me that I had an anxiety dream about running all over Hollywood to find the best photo opportunities. During the dream, the fellas and I went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame to visit the star of Tyrone Power, one of my all-time favorite actors. There was something or other in my dream about RA doing a remake of one of Ty’s big hits, the 1942 film The Black Swan, so apparently my subconscious thinks that RA would be perfectly cast in a swashbuckler. Contemplating it while awake, I like it so am putting it out into the universe.

That Sunday evening was rather a comedy of errors, or as we in Los Angeles know it, a typical couple of hours spent in traffic, driving around fruitlessly. I did manage to take the guys to commune with a patch of California poppies in a neighbor’s yard, as well as to investigate the iconic Greek Theatre in the Hollywood Hills.

Always classy: Flat Richie goes for classic Greek drama…

The next day, the Monday, we had much better luck. Our first stop was…drumroll, please! Tyrone Power’s star! I honestly had not thought of making that stop before my dream so it tickled me to do it. I adore Ty so much; he was a gifted actor whose talent was often overlooked due to his stunning good looks. Sound familiar? When I met Maureen O’Hara, who co-starred with him in The Black Swan, I confessed to her that I had a huge crush on Ty, and she said that he was well worthy of it because of how talented and what a gentleman he was. Sir Guy thought our stop was more of a tribute to him, as Ty is the only movie star who is even close to as handsome as he. [If you’re looking to bolster your familiarity with Ty’s movies, btw, I’d recommend Blood and Sand, The Razor’s Edge and Witness for the Prosecution.]

Legendary Hollywood leading man on the star of some chap who was in a film or two.

After that, we traveled farther down Hollywood Boulevard to the Hollywood & Highland complex, which is the home of the Dolby Theatre. Because the Dolby is where the Academy Awards are held every year, we were able to pop into the first-ever Oscars pop-up shop, where the boys persuaded me to spend too much money. Guy, Richie and Thorin took photos with an Oscar-themed step-and-repeat, as well as with an impressive Panavision movie camera.

Our next stop was one of my favorite places in Hollywood, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (as it was formerly known). This is where the stars have left their hand- and footprints since 1927, which, coincidentally, is how old the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is. It may not have the glamour it once did, but oh, how I love that forecourt! Just the thought of the magical, star-filled premieres held there thrills me. Our main destination was the square belonging to my all-time favorite star, Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn and her co-star, Jane Russell, left their marks in honor of the 1953 movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Richie and Thorin were suitably impressed, while Sir Guy made a rather off-color remark that I won’t repeat. Someone’s smirking mouth might need washing out with kisses soap.

Grauman’s Chinese Theater – how does Richie deal with dragon’s lairds?

My weary bones carried me inside Hollywood & Highland again to forage for food, and while there, we took some snaps of the interior, which is much more stunning in person. We also found the Hollywood sign, and while my stumpy little arms are not long enough to take good photos while holding up Richie, we did get a pic of the sign itself.

If you can take your eyes momentarily away from the handsome hunk, the Hollywood sign is bang in the centre of the image

The boys stayed with me longer than I had intended that week due to an intensification of my bronchitis/laryngitis/flu/desire to fling myself off my balcony, but I eventually got them packed up and sent along their hopefully merry way. I so loved hosting them and hope that they enjoyed their time in LaLaLand with LoLo. Thank you so much for letting me participate in their adventures!

Look who has popped up…

Wow wow wow – that was definitely a proper tour of Tinsel Town, right? Thank you very much to LoLo for taking Flat Richie to see the sights – and for bringing us along. This was such a fun and interesting trip – and oh, I can’t even put into words how much I envy LoLo for the mild weather with poppies in bloom! It is weird and wonderful to know that this little tin that I created and that so many of you already held – and will hold in the future – has been to a place we all know from the movies… It’s a wild ride. And more is yet to come! Stay tuned! 

Related posts

75 thoughts on “[Guest Post] #FlatRichie Visits Tinsel Town”

  1. LoLo thank you so much for sharing your outings w Flat Richie, Thorin and Guy w us. I hope you are feeling much better and much love to you Emily and Charlotte. Your items selected were so lovely and matched what a heart warming person you are! 😘❤️

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Thank you! I am doing much better. Still not 100% though so #TheBestKate convinced me to see my primary for a follow-up, which I’m doing this afternoon. C&E send purries!

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  2. What lovely adventures you and the (g)Guy(s) went on. Beautifully written and so many fantastic photos. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us.

    I already told you I loved your hearty selection of goodies. You deserve ALL the love. 😘

    Oh, and my DMs are open for that off-color remark… *eyebrow waggle*

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  3. Great story! (No surprise there!)
    No one minds that FR has been delayed and I’m glad the boys were there to look after you (except Guy..we know he’s a lazy ass)
    I really enjoyed the sightseeing and I like your choices x

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  4. Thanks, LoLo, this was like having our own private tour while taking our favourite boys along with us.

    So sorry to hear you’ve been so unwell, and I hope you’re better soon. ❤️💕❤️💕❤

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

      • LoLo you should write a novel about time in LaLaLand esp if you worked at AFI
        The stories you must be able to tell and all that film history!! It surely would be a best seller!! 😘👍👏
        Take care of yourself and rest those two lovely purr ladies need their cat mama!!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        • Trust me, the 19 years at AFI were far from glamorous or interesting. I love film history but mostly my time there involved being severely overworked and underpaid. Beyond that one lovely dinner, the muckety-mucks barely knew that my tiny department existed. The Catalog was the jewel in AFI’s crown but they never treated us properly. I am proud that I made an important, lasting contribution to film history. It will probably wind up having been my life’s work but it’s definitely not memoir-worthy. But hopefully I still have a few years to work on making my life more memorable. 😉

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

    • That photo of Ty is from the 1941 film “A Yank in the R.A.F.” I vaguely recall that it’s from the scene in which he wakes up in hospital after cracking up his plane. I do remember being completely overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of his beauty, a feeling that I didn’t have to the same extent about another actor until a ceRtAin British bloke entered my consciousness.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • I have always been vaguely fascinated by Tyrone Power – mainly because of his name. Tyrone is a County in Northern Ireland. (The name is the anglicised form of the Irish “tir eoghan”, literally meaning “land of owen”.) But basically that is all I knew of him – that he was of Irish heritage and a famous studio actor. Oh, and his daughter Romina was one half of a very famous Italian pop duo in the early 1980s *grins*. Anyway, I just googled a bit and found this short documentary about him – in his children’s words. His son is absolutely the spit of him!!! And while I don’t really think that RA looks like him at all, there are some individual similarities – and they are definitely both *very* attractive men. Here’s the documentary – it’s only 10 minutes long and well-worth watching:

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        • Cool, thanks for the link! Ty had quite the interesting life, that’s for sure. I agree that he and RA don’t really look *that* much alike beyond dark good looks, not like RA and Hugh Jackman do. But they do have those stunning good looks, eyelashes for days and a dynamic elegance. As lovely as Ty was, I do think he had a “harder” look than RA does. And while I’m sure he had a laugh irl, I can’t imagine Ty yukking it up with Kermit the Frog. The word “adorkable,” which is a large part of RA’s appeal for me, is not one I’d ever apply to Ty.

          I think it’s more the general similarities that I can’t believe I never saw: the struggle to be taken seriously as an actor despite the emphasis on their physical appeal, the immense love of theater, the desire to do more meaningful work that really digs into a character, etc. And a certain reserve, of course, despite being so prominently in the spotlight.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

          • Spot on, LoLo. I mean, I am not an expert on Tyrone Power at all, but yeah, he doesn’t strike me as a geek or a nerd with specialist knowledge. He was, of course, a film star of *his* era – so much more glamorous than what we see nowadays when they emphasise how “normal” the stars really are. But if you look at the short docu I linked to, you will see that Power was actually quite happily a “dork” (grah, I dislike that word so much, sorry… I don’t think it applies to grown men, at all, however nerdy they are…). There is a scene in the docu where he is filmed in his private, family life, sitting by a pool, and he is very much messing around, donning a ladies’ swimming cap complete with an elaborate plastic flower the wrong way on his head… It reminded me very much of the Kermit-wielding, grimacing Richard Nerditage 😉

            Like

            Reply

  8. Thank you Lo Lo for the great tour of Hollywood. I am not that far away from you in southern Orange County. Maybe we can meet up someday. Premiere maybe? I love Tyrone too. My favorites are Captain from Castile and Suez and the ones you mentioned.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Oh yes yes yes – the two of you should definitely meet!!!! (I am delighted that you are suggesting this, Kathy – I never like to meddle with my fandom friends, playing matchmaker, but now that you have mentioned it, I am definitely pushing from afar 😉

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      • Hopefully you can convince LoLo I am harmless and a fun person to hang out with if she has any reservations about meeting up. You know me, Guylty, not very shy about meeting new people, especially in the fandom.

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply

        • I can totally vouch for you, Kathy 😁.
          @LoLo: I shared a house with Kathy for a week in Greece a few years ago. She is the best companion you could ever wish for. I am still laughing about some of the stories Kathy regaled us with.

          Like

          Reply

  9. Lovely tour and photos. I’d forgotten about Tyrone Power! Very handsome 😍 Though from that era, I think Gregory Peck was my favourite…

    Hope you’re feeling a whole lot better now, Lo Lo! 😘

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Oh, Gorgy Peach, as my Grammy used to call him! He absolutely was a stunner. Have you seen “Keys of the Kingdom”? Talk about a luscious young actor. Oof, indeed.

      I actually got to see Mr. Peck in real life once. A friend of mine used to work for the Academy and took me to a membership screening at their main theater once. Guess who came striding down the aisle! I can’t remember exactly when it was…25 years ago? He was still very dishy! And #ThoseLongLongLegs! Crikey, I really do have a type, don’t I? 😳

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

  10. What a great account LoLo. The boys should feel really honoured for getting such a great tour around LA and bringing them into contact with such legends. And you made really lovely choices.
    It´s also great to hear that you are doing better finally. Good to know you had your lady cats and the boys around to keep you company and to look after you. Take care of yourself please.
    I was indeed a bit worried when I realised you weren´t at home but luckily it was for nothing in the end.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • I’m so glad that you enjoyed our tour! We did have a terrific time. And I owe you a very special thank you! Your thoughtfulness is much appreciated.

      The little old lady cats will be pressed into nursing duties again after today’s mixed news from my primary doctor, but at least I am making progress.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • I´m so sorry to hear that you are still struggling with these health issues. I know you´ve heard it a lot now but please do look after yourself! So I totally second that our dear Kate is observing you as a strict nurse 👩‍⚕️. Kate, walte deine Amtes! Get well soon LoLo!
        Oh, and you owe me absolutely nothing. I´m happy if you had a great time with FlatRichie and all he brought along. It´s such a fun to host him, isn´t it?

        Like

        Reply

  11. Thank you Lolo for you lovely account. I cannot tell you how exciting it is that Flat Ritchie and co made it to Hollywood – and to see the boys at all the landmarks. Tyrone Power is definitely a fit sort – you have very good taste in beautiful men. Hope you feel much better soon

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thank you! I cannot believe that I never made the connection between Ty and RA before. To think that it literally came to me in a dream! It is glaringly obvious now and I feel like quite the doofus, tbh, for taking so long.

      About 20 years ago, I befriended a homeless woman living in her station wagon, who looked after a colony of feral cats. The kittens that were young enough were caught, tamed and placed in good homes, while I trapped the adults and had them neutered or spayed before returning them to the colony. The Queen Mother, who was 90% tame and mostly loved with Vi in her car, was pregnant again and had a new batch of kittens, for which I found homes. At first I was going to take only a male brown tabby, who was so gorgeous that I was planning on naming him Ty. But on the day I went to get my kitten from Vi, I saw that his brother, a sweet little black fluffball, would have left all alone. Of course I couldn’t do that, and so my Ty became Jacques and his brother, Gus-Gus. I just never told them that they were named after mice. 🐁🐈🐀🐱

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  12. O M.G. You’ve met Maureen O’Hara! Such lovely words she had to say about Tyrone Power. It’s always nice to know that a crush is more than good looks.
    Thank you for the Hollywood tour. I hope you’re feeling much better.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thank you so much! Yes, I worked for the American Film Institute, and after our catalog of every American feature film made during the 1930s was published, we were given a special dinner at which a number of glamorous stars were in attendance. Ms. O’Hara was an absolute pistol and so lovely. She regaled us with many stories and was just so sweet when I confessed my feelings about Ty. She obviously truly adored him. Michelle Forbes and RA remind me of them, actually. Her autograph is one of my prized possessions!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  14. Thank you so much to G for publishing my report and to all of you for your kind comments. I had such fun participating in this marvelous method of bringing us all together. And it’s fun to play tourist in your own city, especially when you’ve been there a while (since 1989 for me) and no longer see the place with fresh eyes. It’s a great reminder to look up (or down, as the case may be) and actually pay attention.

    Thanks to #TheBestKate, I saw my primary doctor on Monday afternoon. The good news is that I don’t have pneumonia; the bad news is that I’m still more ill than I’d like after an entire month of being sick. Dr. Alice said that it’s a good thing that I did get a flu shot this season, otherwise I would have been hospitalized for sure. Granted, the stress of driving to Vegas with my barely healed right knee to look after Mom, the tribulations there and the cigarette smoke at my hotel didn’t help. Dr. Alice prescribed another inhaler, one with steroids, although she didn’t feel it was necessary for more oral steroids or antibiotics. I’m supposed to be diligent about using both inhalers every day (which may require more tender ministrations on the part of #TheBestKate) and take it as easy as possible (hahaha) for the next 3 weeks. Hopefully by then I will be fully recovered but she said not to be too surprised if it takes even longer. Maybe next time I’ll pay closer attention to the fact that I’m not feeling well. 😳

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Totally loved your account, LoLo – and this is definitely the most extensive Flat Richie story *yet*! I thought it really was especially fitting because we all can somehow relate to the place you live in. Not that we have been there, but there is no one who has *not* heard of Hollywood. We’ve seen the iconic images on TV, and we know that our favourite man has been there, too – and now to watch you take “the boys” to those places, is just fabulous!
      What is *not* fabulous, is the medical news. Damn, I thought that you were on the mend. To hear that you still dealing with the various “-itis”es, is worrying, LoLo. Can you take time off work? Do doctors in the US give you sick notes? Surely, you need some rest after all the stress of looking after your mum etc.
      Please do look after yourself! We still need you here!

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  15. I’m not working right now at 3:30 a.m., really I’m not. Absolutely not. You believe me, right? But at least I can work at home a lot of the time. Not that that always helps with the stress level and deadlines. I did get a sick note from the urgent care clinic back on…what was it…16 March. But after taking that week off for Mom, I don’t have much time off left and can’t afford to go on leave without pay. Speaking of Mom, things are definitely not good. It looks like my choices now are to move to Vegas permanently for whatever time is left to her, or try to move her here, neither of which are feasible. But I’ll whinge to you privately about that, if it’s okay, please. 😥

    On a lighter note, we have had a brief but mighty heat wave. On Monday it was 86°! Our poor poppies were probably melting. I sure was! Because our February was the wettest on record, we’ve had a so-called “super bloom” of wildflowers that is truly spectacular.

    Like

    Reply

    • Oh, I have heard about that superbloom occurrence – they had to close down a whole canyon because masses of people were coming in to look at the poppies in bloom, right?
      3am and not working???? LoLo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What can I say. I know the pressures of having to work. It’s just unfortunate that our employers (in some cases ourselves = when self-employed) are too short-sighted to realise that it is cheaper in the long run to care for the employees’ health rather than exploit them and contribute to their health problems…
      (Yes, definitely talk bts. I owe you several e-mail replies! xx)

      Like

      Reply

    • LoLo I am so very sorry about your mom right now. I can tell you YOU are not alone believe me, My thoughts are with you and your mom and your sister and I hope whatever resolution you come to will find peace. My siblings and I are going through some similar things with our parents and it is agonizing and heartbreaking. Talk to Guylty or your sister or other loved ones. Don’t bottle it up. Big hugs to you sweetie!!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  16. Thanks for taking us along for the journey, LoLo! I would love to make that journey myself one day. 🙂
    Tyrone Power – I’ve never heard of anyone before being a fan of his, how cool! His daughter Romina was married to an Italian singer, they became very well known as a duo, Albano & Romina Power in Italy but also in Germany when I was living there as a teen. I used to be a Romina Power fan when I was 13-14 years old and through her got to know Tyrone’s work and remember liking him a lot. I had a thing for is Zorro at the time, if I recall rorrectly. Yeah, I could totally see RA doing a Tyrone Power kinda thing! 🙂
    Hope you are better by now!

    Like

    Reply

  17. Pingback: #FlatRichie Tourin’ in the USA | Guylty Pleasure

  18. Pingback: A Little #FlatRichie Update | Guylty Pleasure

Let me know what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.