UCLA alumnus gives audio tour of Hollywood

UCLA alumnus gives audio tour of Hollywood

Tape offers insight behind scenes of early film industry

By Emily Forster

Watching "Taxi" can change the direction of your life.

Or at least change your attitude towards it, as it did for
professional tour guide and UCLA alumnus Steve Schochet, creator of
"Tales of Hollywood," an audio-taped tour detailing stories of the
film industry in its infancy.

When Schochet first decided to become a tour guide, he recalled
Danny Devito’s attitude toward the taxi driving profession. "Danny
Devito says that the other taxi drivers are boxers, or actors, or
artists, but he’s just a taxi driver. That’s like me. Other tour
guides are usually some other profession and just trying to make
some extra money, but I’m a tour guide and I wanted to be the
best," says Schochet.

Before Schochet wanted to be a tour guide, Schochet drove
limousines.

For Schochet, being a chauffeur gave him free time to write. As
he drove celebrities around Los Angeles, he soon became familiar
with the city’s hot spots as well as star’s homes.

Intrigued with Hollywood, Schochet spent an enormous amount of
time and energy researching the material for his tours.

"I read a lot of books, magazines, and newspapers, as well as
interviewing people. The stories sometimes contradicted each other
and I’d have to interview as many as three people before I got them
right," recalls Schochet.

Eventually Schochet had accumulated enough material for more
than just a superb tour of Los Angeles landmarks. He had many
interesting stories to tell and realized that he could share his
research with more people if he made a tape of his anecdotes.

"There are tours of famous places in L.A., but no one knows the
stories behind them," explains Schochet.

The resulting tape features tales behind the origins of
Hollywood, relaying humorous anecdotes and intriguing
circumstances. How Hollywood got its name, why the movie industry
came to Hollywood, and how the tradition of placing handprints and
footprints in front of the Mann’s Chinese Theater began, are just a
few of the 85 stories revealed on the tape.

Some of the especially interesting stories on the tape are those
about the thrifty early filmmakers and their methods of cutting
corners. For example, two silent film directors arranged real life
accidents and filmed them in order to save money on cars and stunt
men. After greasing streets of busy intersections, they would start
filming and wait for two or more cars to collide.

The same filmmakers realized that the salaries of actors would
skyrocket if they became celebrities, so no credits were rolled at
the end of silent films. It was hoped that the stars would keep
their anonymity if movie goers did not know actors’ names. The
filmmakers however underestimated the power of fans and were soon
paying celebrity prices for their actors.

Schochet plans to make two more tapes about Sunset Boulevard and
Walt Disney’s career, but for now, there is "Tales of
Hollywood."

For Schochet, he is simply content that people who have embarked
on his audio tour have learned "the origin of everything California
is famous for."

AUDIO: "Tales of Hollywood." Now available at Bookzone and other
bookstores.