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.