Summaries

Synopsis

WARNING! THIS SYNOPSIS CONTAINS SPOILERS!Movie fan Berlyn Ferlinghetti is thinking about some possibilities for the tour of Hollywood she's going to take her uncle on when he comes to L.A. Uncle Mike (her father's brother) couldn't attend the recent funeral for Berlyn's father but thinks he should provide an answer to Berlyn's question about a name her father called out before he died. At a quiet pool, Berlyn reflects on her father's lack of interest in movies and feels that he was overly critical of her. She's going to play Simone de Beauvoir in a play that she's written and notes that de Beauvoir also had a father who was hostile and cynical. Berlyn works at a movie museum in Hollywood and submits some suggestions for exhibits, including one on drive-in theaters that had been in L.A. in the 1950s, when "The Blob" with Steve McQueen, "Johnny Guitar" with Joan Crawford, and "Touch of Evil" with Orson Welles were typical movies shown at drive-ins. Berlyn goes to the theater to get a better look at the stage for her play and the manager ignores her; he reminds Berlyn of a zombie (he had refused to work with Berlyn and passed her on to an assistant). At the museum--where there's a school for at-risk youth and programs for serving probation--Berlyn learns why the employees can't call 911 when an emergency occurs, and she observes an administrator taking items from the gift shop. Uncle Mike arrives in L.A. from the East Coast, and Berlyn and her sister Justine take him on a drive-by tour (to places like the former Bullocks Wilshire department store, Walt Disney's first studio, Hollywood High School, movie stars' homes, etc.). At dinner at the oldest restaurant in Hollywood (Musso & Frank), their uncle tells them that their father (Al) had a girlfriend--whose name seems to match up with the name their father called out--and he got the girl pregnant. Mike talked to his sister and she recalled the girl coming to the family's house asking for Al, who was hiding at a cabin and soon left town. Berlyn's aunt remembered the girl's last name and told Mike that their mother opened a letter to Al from the girl--it said that a baby boy had been born. When their uncle returns home, Berlyn searches for the woman online. She wonders what happened to her half brother and recalls various stars who had been deserted by their fathers--Betty Hutton, Marilyn Monroe, and Steve McQueen. Berlyn has a flyer for an upcoming show on Steve McQueen at the theater, and the next time Berlyn goes there she sees the manager walking around "reeking of alcohol." Berlyn's friend Rick runs a movie memorabilia/collectibles business, and one of his best clients, Sal Getty, comes to visit the museum to have a look at the gift shop. ("He only made one purchase--a bag of gummy brains; they had been ordered for the Hedy Lamarr: Beauty and Brains exhibit, which had been canceled.") Berlyn shows him around and when he can't find anywhere to sit down, he compares the museum to carnivals that didn't like sit-down attractions because they wanted to move customers through as quickly as possible. Berlyn calls Uncle Mike and asks him to go to the Department of Vital Records and see if there's anything with the girlfriend's name; it turns out a marriage license is on file. The bride was sixteen and the first name is different, so Berlyn thinks this is a younger sister of the girlfriend. Berlyn finds out about the National Archives, which allows on-site research, and she and Justine go to the Southern California branch. They can't find any sisters but the girl on the marriage certificate gave birth to a son two months before the date on the certificate and this son now has four children. They can't find any more information at the archives, and Justine concludes that the girl on the marriage license was their father's girlfriend, someone who looked older than she really was. The girl was underage and this was why Al left town. Berlyn knows the owners of the Cave nightclub, Camille and Gary, who are starting to serve dinners and snacks there "to expand the business and so the clientele won't leave to go somewhere else to eat," and "they're always trying to come up with something new to keep the regulars coming back" (e.g. cheese from Odessa with small chunks of Lithuanian rye bread, puree of spinach on flatbread, albino strawberries, sunflower macaroons, slices of Russian poppy seed cake). The club is popular with Russian emigres and Russian tourists--Berlyn hears that some are billionaires and some are connected with the Russian mob. For various reasons, Gary decides to hire security guards. Berlyn gets a newsletter from Rick with a quiz on foods of the stars and tries to answer the questions; e.g. which star hid a jar of cookies because her husband criticized her diet, which star's favorite breakfast was a can of beer and a piece of chocolate cake, etc. Berlyn reads her comparison of Empress Alexandra of Russia with Joan Crawford to some friends, impersonators of Walt Disney, Audrey Hepburn, and Sandra Dee--"both of them had sad childhoods...both of them liked simple foods..." A new exhibit opens at the museum about the stars who had been involved with the USO and the Hollywood Canteen--Bob Hope, Bette Davis, Betty Hutton, Hedy Lamarr, Marilyn Monroe, Steve McQueen, among many others. This exhibit has a gala opening that raises almost a million dollars and is also used to attract grants for the education program at the museum. While Berlyn is searching online a photo comes up under her half brother's name--the man has a strong resemblance to her father but there is no specific information about him. A search under one of his son's names comes up with a mug shot--again there's a family resemblance (the boy is blond like Justine). Berlyn would like to see a picture that she can be sure is the half brother and wants to hire a private investigator; her sister is opposed but finally agrees when Berlyn remembers a connection to someone in that field. Berlyn learns the Steve McQueen play at the theater was sabotaged by the manager who had lied about the actor to keep people away. Berlyn compares the manager's hair style and "Renaissance Faire" shirt to Laurence Olivier in "Hamlet," which reminds her of the Russian proverb "A beard does not make a philosopher." She recalls something Simone de Beauvoir wrote about Camus: "[He] made up his mind before thinking things out. He believed in his rights over things and people." Berlyn wonders why, although the manager had attended the school at the theater, he had not absorbed anything from the Chekhov and Shakespeare classes ("for instance 'Othello' and 'Macbeth'"). Berlyn learns that the private investigator she wants to hire to find out more about her half brother has recently retired from the investigations field. After hearing about all the thefts and arrests at the museum school and reading a cover-up story in the museum newsletter to explain the "free shopping binges" in the gift shop, Berlyn resigns from the museum and soon after learns it's going to close. Someone tells Berlyn an investigation is underway about improper uses of the museum's funds. Berlyn has her sister call the actor whose play was sabotaged. He tells Justine that the manager barely spoke to him and "he noticed his flyers were gone from the promo racks every time he went to the theater but he thought this meant people were interested in the play" (someone had seen them in the trash). The manager reminds Berlyn of Rasputin, who deceived Empress Alexandra--she "didn't want to hear that he was a drunk and a fraud....Anyone who threatened Rasputin in some way became his enemy and he tried to get rid of that person." Berlyn decides to find another venue for her play, since the administration ignores her phone calls. Berlyn tries another online search for her half brother and this time a link to a business site comes up--he's a CPA and his professional profile shows a "year by year progression through life," with no signs of the trauma Berlyn has had in her life. Berlyn and Justine make the decision not to contact him. Sal Getty has a heart attack and his wife Lana is so upset from the unexpected death that Berlyn and a few others put together a Day of the Dead memorial service--with a Frank Sinatra impersonator singing "After You've Gone"--and the positive and uplifting ceremony makes Lana feel better. Berlyn's story concludes with her realizing that at least she now has a reason that may explain her father's behavior and that she wouldn't exist if her father had not run away from the girl.