Category: Crimebo the Clown

1947project Podcast #9: Halloween Episode, October 26, 2007

Kids are running amok in 1927 Los Angeles, setting fires, eating razors, crawling under fumigation tents and stealing babies from their mothers. And the adults aren’t behaving much better, what with the married guys conning nice working girls into bigamistic unions and the guy what found the fountain of youth and knows where the Czar’s fortune is banked, and all he needs from you is $25,000 and a nice spot to rub his mystic peapod paste.

Then there’s our own Crimebo the Crime Clown, and he is in a funk. There are so many things he hates about Halloween, can he count the ways? You bet!

Tune in to hear about how Peter Pan tried to kick Crimebo’s ass at the Chinese Theater, how the apocalypse is coming with a rain of cheese and Nathan’s love letter to crude oil. It’s all here on the 1947project Podcast, featuring Crimebo, Kim Cooper, Nathan Marsak, Mary McCoy and Joan Renner.

So give it a listen, won’t you?

Here is the Ourmedia link, where you can stream or download.

The podcast is also available on Moli, and on itunes.

Dahlia surprises/ James Cain’s deathday/ Crimebo awaits you

Gentle reader,

1) Saturday’s edition of "The Real Black Dahlia" was a reminder that, as
many times as we may offer some of these tours, this city is alive and
nebulous, and new and wonderful (or terrible!) things can happen at any
time. In this case, the new things were quite wonderful:

    a) Parked at the Hirsch Apartments (supposed murder scene according to the blackdahliasolution.org theory), I was suddenly sure that the main door was about to open, so I got off the bus just in time to catch it as some
residents went out. Soon the hallway was packed with our passengers as they
stood in the black and hideous heart of this fascinating building.
    b) At Trinity and 33rd Street, one of the floating murder scenes suggested
by John "Severed" Gilmore, some kids  were initially shocked to see a tour
bus pull up, and then delighted the passengers by holding up several
enormous Red Eared Slider turtles.
    c) We had a charming passenger named Laurie who regaled us with tales of her youth, dancing in the chorus at the Florentine Gardens and hanging out in
the nearby home of Black Dahlia suspect Mark Hansen–who, she assured us,
was a swell fella.

2) As we approach Saturday’s 30th anniversary of the death of domestic noir
master James M. Cain, may I remind you of some upcoming Esotouric literary
tours? There’s our passage through "Cain’s Southern California Nightmare" on
December 15, the Raymond Chandler tour on December 8 (just in time for the
publication of Judith Freeman’s "The Long Embrace," the first book to
explore his marriage to the mysterious Cissy), and on Cain’s deathday itself
(Saturday 10/27), the new edition of "Haunts of a Dirty Old Man: Charles
Bukowski’s LA," now co-hosted by "Bukowkski: Born Into This" director John
Dullaghan and now including a stop for libations at Buk’s favorite liquor
store.

3) And coming up this Sunday, it’s the sole 2007 edition of "Halloween
Horrors with Crimebo the Clown." This is one of our wildest tours, featuring
a selection of unusually disgusting, wacky and seasonal crimes. We’ve added
some hideous new locations and some chilling surprises, and the Clown has
learned new tricks that are certain to repulse, so join us do, in costume or
otherwise, on 10/28!

Tickets and additional info for all tours are available at
https://www.esotouric.com

Yrs,
Kim

Upcoming Esotouric bus tour schedule:
Sat Oct 27 ­ Haunts of a Dirty Old Man: Charles Bukowski’s LA
Sun Oct 28 ­ Hallowe’en Horrors featuring Crimebo the Clown
Sat Nov 10 ­ Hotel Horrors and Main Street Vice tours
Sat Nov 17  ­ Pasadena Confidential tour
Sat Dec 8 – Raymond Chandler’s LA
Sat Dec 15 – James M. Cain’s So California Nightmare
Sun Jan 15 – Vroman’s edition, The Real Black Dahlia

Book club tonight, bus tours galore

Gentle reader,

Baby, it’s getting cold outside, but it’s toasty on the crime bus, so join us do. Tours and events run all this weekend and next, starting with:

TONIGHT, Thurs 10/18, 7pm, LA READS: the site specific Los Angeles book club discusses Nathanael West’s apocalyptic Hollywood fantasy "Day of the Locust" at Clifton’s Cafeteria at 6th and Broadway downtown. https://www.lareads.com

Sat 10/20, 12-5pm, THE REAL BLACK DAHLIA: an exploration of Elizabeth Short’s Los Angeles, from her 1947 death to the slew of theories, suspects and mysteries surrounding this unsolved slaying. https://www.esotouric.com/dahlia-10-20-07

Sun 10/21, 1-6pm, WHERE THE ACTION WAS: the debut rock and roll history excursion through Hollywood and West Hollywood, hosted by myself and Catalog of Cool scribe Gene Sculatti. SEE where the Velvet Underground were shut down by the man, SMELL the unconvincing coroner’s verdict on Bobby Fuller’s demise, TASTE psychedelic gelato crafted by Scoops exclusively for us, HEAR rare, weird and historic sounds, TOUCH the pretty colors as Esotouric takes you down the Sunset Strip and into the rock and roll past.  https://www.esotouric.com/action-10-21-07

Sat 10/27, 3-7pm, CHARLES BUKOWSKI’S LA: join Richard Schave and Buk documentarian John Dullaghan on a tender, yet loutish journey from Skid Row to Crown Hill to Hollywood (east and otherwise), in which a young man finds his place in the Post Office, and an old man finds his way as a writer. https://www.esotouric.com/buk-10-27-07

Sun 10/28, 11am-3pm, HALLOWEEN HORRORS WITH CRIMEBO THE CLOWN: only offered in October, this no-holds-barred tour of the most grisly, wacky, Halloweeny crimes and oddities to strike our city, from downtown to the eastern Valley to Hollywood and Echo Park. There will be thrills, chills, sugar rushes and disgusting photos enough to please even your blackened little heart, and the clown TRULY cannot wait to see you. https://www.esotouric.com/halloween-10-28-07

Coming up:
Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice – Saturday November 10th
Pasadena Confidential – Saturday, Nov 17th
Raymond Chandler’s Los Angeles – Saturday, Dec 8th
James M. Cain’s Los Angeles – Saturday, December 15th

As always, please let us know in advance if you wish to ride. We can often save seats for passengers bringing cash to the bus door (for all tours, please check in half an hour before departure) if you call Richard at 310-995-4591.

yrs,
Kim

Esotouric Tours in the coming weeks

Gentle reader,

Shall we see you on the Crime Bus or a bloodless Esotouric bus adventure soon? There are some doozies coming up, and you can learn more or buy a ticket at the Esotouric website. We hope you will.

ESOTOURIC SCHEDULE 

Sat Sept 22 – In A Lonely Place: Raymond Chandler’s LA tour
Sat Sept 29 – Blood & Dumplings (San Gabriel Valley true crime tour)
Sun Oct 7– Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles (architecture/urbanism tour)
Sat Oct 20– The Real Black Dahlia tour
Sun Oct 21 – Where the Action Was (rock history tour)
Sat Oct 27 – Haunts of a Dirty Old Man: Charles Bukowski’s LA
Sun Oct 28 – Hallowe’en Horrors featuring Crimebo the Clown

Debut 1947project Podcast

Greetings, citizens of the future! Click here to enjoy the debut bi-weekly podcast from your pals from the 1947project.

Featured is a lively and sometimes tasteless recap of recent crimes covered on the blog (including the Bath Township school disaster), recommended events for the next two weeks for listeners in 1927 or 2007, A Moment with Crimebo the Crime Clown, Nathan Marsak’s saucy faux adverts and a sneak announcement of a top secret Crime Bus tour not otherwise available to the public.

On the mic: Kim Cooper, Crimebo the Clown (Michael Perrick), Nathan Marsak, Mary McCoy and Joan Renner. We certainly hope you find this 40 minute podcast to your liking, and thank you for your kind attention.

Crimebo and Pals on Saturday’s Pasadena Confidential tour

Nathan Marsak and Crimebo the Clown

above: Nathan Marsak and Crimebo the Clown prepare for the debut performance of The Jack Parsons Story as presented by the Crimebo Players. Weird Sex! Rocketships! Space Creatures! Warlocks! Sex Slaves! Is this the Pasadena the Chamber of Commerce wants us talking about? Hmmm…. maybe not. But we sure had fun.   

The Crimebo Players present The Jack Parsons Story: The Goddess Babalon

Below, a visit to Mitchell Books, where John Mitchell held us rapt with tales of real and fictional murder.

John Mitchell fascinated Crimebo with his OJ theory in Mitchell Books

All About the Weird West Adams Tour

WHAT: 1947project Weird West Adams Crime Bus Tour, Saturday 12/16/06, 11am-4pm. $47 cost includes snacks, beverages and five-hour luxury coach tour.
 
LOS ANGELES- Since January, the bloggers at 1947project have taken their Los Angeles crime history research on the road with their lively, mysterious and very popular Crime Bus tours. Past routes have explored the dark side of Pasadena, the secret history of downtown and the real story of the Black Dahlia case. In December, 1947project offers a new tour celebrating the Beverly Hills of the early 20th century, that grand swath of city just west of downtown: Weird West Adams.

On this five-hour tour, Crime Bus passengers will be treated to detailed descriptions of some of the most notorious, strange and fascinating forgotten tales from the past hundred years, each told at the scene of the crime. They’ll thrill to the carjacking horror of silent film starlet Myrtle Gonzalez, shiver as Dream Killer Otto Parzyjegla chops his newspaper publisher boss to pieces with the paper-cutting blade, shudder at the pickled poignancy of the murder-by-brandy of Benjamin Weber, marvel at the Krazy Kafitz family and their litany of murder-suicides, attempted husband slayings, Byzantine estate battles and mad bombings, then gag at terrible fate visited on kidnap victim Marion Parker by The Fox. There will be some celebrity sites along the route, including the death scenes of Motown soul sensation Marvin Gaye and 1920s star Angels baseball catcher Gus Sandberg.

And in a special treat for the holiday season, the Crime Bus will toast the Winter Solstice by visiting the city’s shortest street and remembering 2′ 11" Angelo Rossitto, the charismatic cult actor / newsstand operator ("Freaks," "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome") who famously visited the spot in his teeny-tiny car on 12/21/37.  All this, plus a robbery by Pretty Boy Floyd, Prohibition-era houses transformed into secret distilleries, fumigations gone terribly wrong, mashers, bad marriages, rotten drivers, assorted weirdos and a mummified teenage cult priestess.

Upcoming Crime Bus Tours include the 60th Anniversary Real Black Dahlia (January 13, 2007).

Want to reserve a seat for West Adams or the Black Dahlia? Just email us with the number of spots you’d like.
 

CourtTV rides the Crime Bus

Lisa Sweetingham of CourtTV rode the Halloween Horrors Crime Bus, and reports in with a charming little feature she calls "The bus ride to hell, and back."

LOS ANGELES — "Ladies and gentlemen, this tour should not be taken by anyone with a heart condition … We recommend you leave the bus immediately." A tour guide makes the announcement as the doors slam shut on our filled-to-capacity 56-seat cruising bus. We are rolling into Los Angeles noir, embarking on an exhaustive five-hour tour of grisly crime scenes and lesser Halloween hijinks from the ’20s to the ’50s.

The 1947project’s inaugural Halloween Horrors crime bus tour is touted as a BYOBB (Bring Your Own Barf Bag) event. And no children are allowed.

So why is there a clown breathing down my neck?

Crimebo the crime clown (aka Michael Perrick) bares his teeth and purrs in a gravelly voice as he walks down the aisle with a cauldron full of cheap candy, some shaped like eyeballs. "Something sticky?" he offers.

He pops a balloon animal and quips, "These things just keep committing suicide."

Kindly click to read on.

Book Crimebo For Your Event

Crimebo the Crime Clown is regularly available for party and event bookings within the metro Los Angeles area, and phone greetings anywhere. Out of town trips and other unusual requests can sometimes be accomodated, so please ask. For more info, visit his page at Esotouric.

Interested? Contact us with any questions, or to ask if your desired date and time are available. If you want the personalized touch, please include dates of the honoree’s birthday or anniversary (if different from the event date), so Crimebo can research all the terrible things that happened on that date.