110 degrees magazine - Index

110 degrees magazine - wlinks_may08 - Index

BLOOM I PERSONA
do and the Board of Supervisors went along
with us.
We had a lot of help in our effort from Joe
Canciamilla, who was on the Board of Supervisors
at that time, and who this year made a run for
California State Senate.
The Parachinni Family stepped forward and
granted us funds for the down payment on a fiveyear
option to purchase. The Parachinni Family
made the donation in honor of their father, Victor,
who had been a local historian and a founder of
the Antioch Historical Society. We were actually
able to pay off the property in half the time.
We took possession of the building in
September 1999. Even though the building had
been most recently occupied by a group of fire
inspectors, after moving out, some of the same
inspectors found a lot of code violations. Major
renovations were planned. One major un-renovation
was called for because the main auditorium
had been broken up into five cubicle offices
centering on a front reception area.
The fact is that the museum has been undergoing
almost continual construction and
remodeling throughout the nine years that
we’ve been here.
Last year was a time of particularly heavy
construction since we installed our beautiful
Sports Legends Hall, but we also had to replace a
dozen of the large windows along the west wing.
The glass in these windows was of such heavy
construction that it had pulled the window jams
loose from their frames allowing wind and water
to come in during the winter and flies and wasps
during the warmer months.
MY PERSONAL STORY
I was born in Antioch at the 6th Street Hospital
and raised on the corner of Hillcrest and what
is now 18th, but what was then called the
Victory Highway.
My dad was a Research Analytical Chemist for
Fibreboard. I remember running into the base-
76 www.110mag.com May/June 2008
“ANTIOCH WAS BIRTHPLACE OF A COUPLE BROTHERS
WHO BECAME BOTH FAMOUS AND INFAMOUS IN THE
ENTERTAINMENT WORLD.”
ment door of the building that is now our
museum to tell dad to come home. The scientists
in that place seemed to fit the absent-mindedprofessor
image; they would become so engrossed
in a project that they sometimes failed to notice
when the day ended.
In the 1st and 2nd grade I attended John Miur
and have memories of being sent to the cloakroom,
so I guess I wasn’t a prize student. I
attended Belshaw Elementary on Roosevelt Lane
for a little while, but most of my elementary
education took place at Kimball School on
August Way.
I became a Real Estate Agent and joined the
Historical Society. I got into politics serving as a
member of the City Council from 1990 through
1996, and served on the Fire Commission when it
was still meeting in the building.
When the museum deal was happening I took
over the project so I could use my broker license
to deal with the County and save some transaction
fees. A San Francisco attorney, Don Parachinni
— Victor’s son — met me in Martinez and assisted
in the final negotiations with the County.
NOTABLE ENTERTAINERS
We’re currently building an archive of information
about Antioch people who made a connection in
the entertainment industry.
While I was in elementary school the Carmen
Dragon Orchestra did a series of daytime
concerts with the support of Standard Oil. The
music was being piped into all the rooms and I
remember listening.
Carmen Dragon, a noted conductor and
arranger, was a local-boy-made-good because
he was from Antioch. In 1944 he won an Oscar
for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture for
the movie “Cover Girl.” The present day kitchen
was the site of the old music room where he
took his lessons.
Just as a footnote, Carmen was the father of
Darrell Dragon who played the captain in the
Captain and Tennille, one of the most celebrated
duos in pop history.
The great soundman, Michael Semanick, is our
current “favorite son” in Hollywood. He was nominated
for an Oscar this year for Best Achievement
for Sound for “Ratatouille.” He also did the sound
recording for last year’s “There Will be Blood,” and
“Sweeny Todd.”
Michael won an Oscar for “Lord of the Rings”
and appeared in a cameo role in a number of
scenes in that movie. He was nominated for
Oscars for both of the other movies in the trilogy.
In 2006 he won an Oscar for Best Achievement in
Sound Mixing for “King Kong.”
Laurie McCreary has a production company.
Tyler Steelman is a child actor who, among other
roles, played as young Cain in “Beowulf.”
Anthony Ferrante is a Hollywood director, actor,
and writer. He graduated from Antioch High with
my daughters.
Kirsten Brandt is Artistic Director for the San
Jose Repertory Theater. They are both graduates of
Antioch High.
Aimee Allison is the current interviewer for
Comcast’s “Newsworks” program out of Walnut
Creek. She graduated in the class of ’87.
Celisse Henderson is a member of the traveling
cast for Broadway’s “Wicked.” Her sister, Carlina,
is playing in San Francisco’s “Beach Blanket
Babylon,” which is where Celisse started.
STORY NOIR
Antioch was birthplace of a couple brothers who
became both famous and infamous in the entertainment
world. Following graduation from
Antioch High, Artie & Jim Mitchell moved to San
Francisco and eventually founded The Mitchell
Brothers O’Farrell Theater. This started as an adult
film theater but is now apparently a high-class
strip joint.
The pair became rich and famous through a
series of x-rated movies, including such famous
sleaze as “Behind the Green Door.”