Historic Egyptian in Hollywood

By 2006 we had many more interviews in the can and more interest starting to bubble to the surface, including a invitation to mount four presentations in the fall at the world renowned Ottawa international animation festival.  Our crew was still fairly small, but we were very dedicated and enthusiastic, so we decided to produce an ambitious two hour Gala UPA Tribute just over the hill at the famous Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.

The screening was broken into three parts with two panel discussions in between, featuring UPA veterans and animation experts, which you can see in the image above. The collage is a combination of the two panels, Fred Crippen, Sam Clayberger, Alan Zaslove, and Mark Kausler, for the first panel, & Bill Melendez, Willis Pyle, Amid Amidi, & Lou Romano, for the second. Both were moderated by Jerry Beck.  The mix of UPA artists and animation experts provided a great exchange of information, and many terrific stories.

Prior to the event we catered a grand buffet in the huge Egyptian colonnade entrance.  This help get our full house feeling full and satisfied.  Heck, even if the panel and films had not been great, that grinning crowd probably would have noticed, but the films were great, the panel was lively, and the food was delicious.  After the event more groups gathered outside again to meet the panel members, the documentary crew, and other animation notables.  Howard Beckerman had come all the way from NYC just for our event.

Category: Tributes