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Featured Interview: Mary Nomura | "Orphaned Venice native known as "The Songbird of Manzanar" during WWII.
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To know where we're going, we have to know where we've come from.The Venice Heritage Museum's Oral History Project is an ongoing initiative to document, showcase, and nurture Venice’s diverse historical legacy by collecting memories and commentaries of significance through recorded interviews.
The resulting archive of oral histories serves as a permanent resource to educate, engage, and inspire present and future generations. Since launching this effort in 2022, we have recorded over 65 interviews and are actively pursuing resources to continue recording more. |
Edited versions of interviews are posted online as completed. Scholars should consult VHM's Aviary page. Researchers looking to access full-length interviews should contact Project Director Carol Levy.
INTERVIEWS RECORDED TO-DATE:
Allen Sarlo | Pro surfer; One of the original Z-Boys
Bob Zaugh | Printer for the radical Peace Press; Vietnam Resistance
Christina Schlesinger | Photographer & muralist; Co-founder, SPARC; Member of the LGBTQIA+ community of the 1970s
Daniel Samakow & James Evans | Owners of Danny's and James Beach; Venice Pride contributors; LGBTQIA+ community members
David Hertz | Renowned architect; Worked for Light & Space Movement artists
David Scott & Littlejohn Jagodowski | Photographer; Wrote "Moon Over Venice" song; Members of the LGBTQIA+ community of the 1970s-1980s
David Weissman | LGBTQIA+ community of the 1970s and 1980s
Dolores Deluce | Performer with "The Cockettes," a gender-queer performance theater troupe and icon of the LGBTQ+ community of the 1960’s onward.
Edna Levine | Nonagenarian; Recalls stories of the Venice of her childhood
Emily Winters | Muralist; Activist
Elayne Alexander | Venice Historian and Author; VHM Board Historian Emeritus
Erwin Sokol | Owner Erwin Hotel
Francisco Letelier | Chilean-born Venice muralist, poet, and activist
Gerry Fialka | Venice Film and Literary Historian; Cultural Curator
Ginger Drinkwater | Widow of famed African American Venice photographer, Harry Drinkwater
Grant Francis | Retired Venice High School Shop Teacher
Hal Frederick | Proprietor, Hal's restaurant
Harry Perry | Iconic musician performing for 40+ years on the Venice Boardwalk
Henry Diltz | Renowned Rock & Roll Photographer; Photographed The Doors on Venice Beach
Jack Hoffmann | 40+ year real estate entrepreneur
James "Rusty" Smith | Lead singer of local iconic punk band, No Reaction!; Oakwood native
Jason Sugars | Culture bearer of the Black Arts Movement; 4th generation Oakwood native
Jataun Valentine | Descendent of Irvin Tabor, Abbot Kinney's chauffeur; Oakwood community leader
Joan Huff | Nonagenarian niece of Irvin Tabor
Josh "Bagel" Klassman | Venice Underground Photographer of the 1980s Dogtown scene
Karen Rosenhoover | Owner, Moe's Greens and Things; Member of the LGBTQIA+ community of the 1970s
Laddie John Dill | Renowned artist of the Light & Space Movement
Lance Diskan | The Voice of the Fabulous Fox Theatre in the 1970s
Larry Bell | Renowned artist of the Light & Space Movement
Lennon Family | Members of the band VENICE; Descendants of the Lennon Sisters; Family came to Venice in 1910s
Linda Azuzerta | Resident of the Venice Canals from birth, 1940s to today
Linda Lucks | Community rights activist since the 1960s
Louichi Mayorga | Founding member of the punk bands Suicidal Tendencies and Luicidal; 3rd generation Oakwood native
Mark Booker | Firefighter; 3rd generation Oakwood native
Mark Libow | Co-owner Elco Welding; prolific storyteller
Mark Rosenberg | Co-founder of the roller skating rental shop, Cheapskates
Mary Goodfader & Kristen Archival | Co-founder, Sidewalk Cafe + Small World Books & General Manager, Sidewalk Cafe
Mary Nomura | "Orphaned Venice native known as "The Songbird of Manzanar" during WWII
Dr. Mayer Davidson | Co-founder, Venice Family Clinic
Mickey Gallagher | Retired LA County Lifeguard Section Chief
Dr. Naomi Nightingale | Scholar; Civil rights activist; Original Save Venice & Oakwood community leader
Oscar Galan | Founder of the renowned Hecho en Venice brand
Paul Tanck | Graphic artist; Founding member, Venice Heritage Foundation
Phyllis Hayashibara | Founding member, Venice Japanese American Memorial Monument Committee; Retired Venice High School History Teacher
Rhoda Huffey | Author
Rhoda Makoff | Octogenarian member of the Shul on the Beach
Rick Massie | Venice surfboard shaper; Founding member, Mexican Surfing Association
Robert Huff | Great nephew of Irvin Tabor; 3rd generation Oakwood native
Roger "Mona" Webster | Commercial real estate owner since the 1960s
Sandy Bleifer | Renowned contemporary artist; Activist who led the preservation of the Venice Walk Streets
Sergio Perez | Family owns iconic Venice restaurant, The Great Western Steak and Hoagie Company; community activist
Sharon Jacobucci | aka Jackie Pucci, Beloved Venice meter maid; TV personality
Sheila Goldberg | Co-founder, Venice Art Walk
Solo Scott | Original Dogtown Z-Boy skateboarder & surfer; Local realtor
Stanley Mitchell | Documentarian; Oakwood native and lifelong resident
Stephen Pouliot | Writer; LGBTQIA+ community member; Founding member, Venice Heritage Foundation
Steven Ehrlich | Internationally renowned architect with creative roots in Venice
Suzy Williams | Venice jazz songstress; Cultural curator
Terrell Ferguson | Renowned Boardwalk rollerskater from the 1980s onward
Thom Mayne | Internationally renowned architect with creative roots in Venice
Tom Sewell | Venice historical collector & artist; Co-creator of Fantasy by the Sea film & book w/ Tom Moran
Tony Bill | Writer, director, producer, business owner, and longtime Venice resident
Victor Rideau | 3rd generation Oakwood native and community fixture
Victoria Ramirez | Co-Owner of Venice legacy business, Mars Body Shop
Viva Vinson | Musician; Grew up on Ocean Front Walk; Daughter of Dolores DeLuce
William McNally aka "Sweet William" | Historian; Author of Venice of America: The American Dream Come True (1976)
INTERVIEWS RECORDED TO-DATE:
Allen Sarlo | Pro surfer; One of the original Z-Boys
Bob Zaugh | Printer for the radical Peace Press; Vietnam Resistance
Christina Schlesinger | Photographer & muralist; Co-founder, SPARC; Member of the LGBTQIA+ community of the 1970s
Daniel Samakow & James Evans | Owners of Danny's and James Beach; Venice Pride contributors; LGBTQIA+ community members
David Hertz | Renowned architect; Worked for Light & Space Movement artists
David Scott & Littlejohn Jagodowski | Photographer; Wrote "Moon Over Venice" song; Members of the LGBTQIA+ community of the 1970s-1980s
David Weissman | LGBTQIA+ community of the 1970s and 1980s
Dolores Deluce | Performer with "The Cockettes," a gender-queer performance theater troupe and icon of the LGBTQ+ community of the 1960’s onward.
Edna Levine | Nonagenarian; Recalls stories of the Venice of her childhood
Emily Winters | Muralist; Activist
Elayne Alexander | Venice Historian and Author; VHM Board Historian Emeritus
Erwin Sokol | Owner Erwin Hotel
Francisco Letelier | Chilean-born Venice muralist, poet, and activist
Gerry Fialka | Venice Film and Literary Historian; Cultural Curator
Ginger Drinkwater | Widow of famed African American Venice photographer, Harry Drinkwater
Grant Francis | Retired Venice High School Shop Teacher
Hal Frederick | Proprietor, Hal's restaurant
Harry Perry | Iconic musician performing for 40+ years on the Venice Boardwalk
Henry Diltz | Renowned Rock & Roll Photographer; Photographed The Doors on Venice Beach
Jack Hoffmann | 40+ year real estate entrepreneur
James "Rusty" Smith | Lead singer of local iconic punk band, No Reaction!; Oakwood native
Jason Sugars | Culture bearer of the Black Arts Movement; 4th generation Oakwood native
Jataun Valentine | Descendent of Irvin Tabor, Abbot Kinney's chauffeur; Oakwood community leader
Joan Huff | Nonagenarian niece of Irvin Tabor
Josh "Bagel" Klassman | Venice Underground Photographer of the 1980s Dogtown scene
Karen Rosenhoover | Owner, Moe's Greens and Things; Member of the LGBTQIA+ community of the 1970s
Laddie John Dill | Renowned artist of the Light & Space Movement
Lance Diskan | The Voice of the Fabulous Fox Theatre in the 1970s
Larry Bell | Renowned artist of the Light & Space Movement
Lennon Family | Members of the band VENICE; Descendants of the Lennon Sisters; Family came to Venice in 1910s
Linda Azuzerta | Resident of the Venice Canals from birth, 1940s to today
Linda Lucks | Community rights activist since the 1960s
Louichi Mayorga | Founding member of the punk bands Suicidal Tendencies and Luicidal; 3rd generation Oakwood native
Mark Booker | Firefighter; 3rd generation Oakwood native
Mark Libow | Co-owner Elco Welding; prolific storyteller
Mark Rosenberg | Co-founder of the roller skating rental shop, Cheapskates
Mary Goodfader & Kristen Archival | Co-founder, Sidewalk Cafe + Small World Books & General Manager, Sidewalk Cafe
Mary Nomura | "Orphaned Venice native known as "The Songbird of Manzanar" during WWII
Dr. Mayer Davidson | Co-founder, Venice Family Clinic
Mickey Gallagher | Retired LA County Lifeguard Section Chief
Dr. Naomi Nightingale | Scholar; Civil rights activist; Original Save Venice & Oakwood community leader
Oscar Galan | Founder of the renowned Hecho en Venice brand
Paul Tanck | Graphic artist; Founding member, Venice Heritage Foundation
Phyllis Hayashibara | Founding member, Venice Japanese American Memorial Monument Committee; Retired Venice High School History Teacher
Rhoda Huffey | Author
Rhoda Makoff | Octogenarian member of the Shul on the Beach
Rick Massie | Venice surfboard shaper; Founding member, Mexican Surfing Association
Robert Huff | Great nephew of Irvin Tabor; 3rd generation Oakwood native
Roger "Mona" Webster | Commercial real estate owner since the 1960s
Sandy Bleifer | Renowned contemporary artist; Activist who led the preservation of the Venice Walk Streets
Sergio Perez | Family owns iconic Venice restaurant, The Great Western Steak and Hoagie Company; community activist
Sharon Jacobucci | aka Jackie Pucci, Beloved Venice meter maid; TV personality
Sheila Goldberg | Co-founder, Venice Art Walk
Solo Scott | Original Dogtown Z-Boy skateboarder & surfer; Local realtor
Stanley Mitchell | Documentarian; Oakwood native and lifelong resident
Stephen Pouliot | Writer; LGBTQIA+ community member; Founding member, Venice Heritage Foundation
Steven Ehrlich | Internationally renowned architect with creative roots in Venice
Suzy Williams | Venice jazz songstress; Cultural curator
Terrell Ferguson | Renowned Boardwalk rollerskater from the 1980s onward
Thom Mayne | Internationally renowned architect with creative roots in Venice
Tom Sewell | Venice historical collector & artist; Co-creator of Fantasy by the Sea film & book w/ Tom Moran
Tony Bill | Writer, director, producer, business owner, and longtime Venice resident
Victor Rideau | 3rd generation Oakwood native and community fixture
Victoria Ramirez | Co-Owner of Venice legacy business, Mars Body Shop
Viva Vinson | Musician; Grew up on Ocean Front Walk; Daughter of Dolores DeLuce
William McNally aka "Sweet William" | Historian; Author of Venice of America: The American Dream Come True (1976)
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