Glamour and Empathy: The Palm Springs Cultural Center Celebrates Elizabeth Taylor With a Monthly Film Retrospective
Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet.
The Palm Springs Cultural Center is celebrating Elizabeth Taylor with a cinema retrospective of the actress’ work—from her breakthrough as a child actress to her later roles.
The Elizabeth Taylor Retrospective will include one Saturday-evening film per month, starting on April 11 with National Velvet. The series will continue on May 16 with The Mirror Crack’d, June 20 with Father of the Bride, July 18 with The Last Time I Saw Paris, and Aug. 15 with A Place in the Sun, plus additional screenings through June 2027.
“When we screened a few Elizabeth Taylor films last summer, audiences immediately asked for more,” said Tim Rains, marketing director of the Palm Springs Cultural Center. “Taylor wasn’t just one of Hollywood’s greatest stars; she was also a beloved Palm Springs resident and philanthropist. This series celebrates both her remarkable film legacy and her deep connection to our community, while giving audiences the rare chance to see these films the way they were meant to be seen: on the big screen.”
Film historian and author Matthew Kennedy will host each screening, offering commentary and historical context. He authored On Elizabeth Taylor: An Opinionated Guide and Roadshow! The Fall of Film Musicals in the 1960s, along with several biographies.
National Velvet, which Taylor made at the age of 12 in 1944, secured her stardom.
“It is exciting to see a star being created before our eyes—and 82 years later, it is still a popular film and beloved family classic,” Kennedy said about National Velvet.
Taylor often chose to play moral characters who were being wronged, without being preachy or self-serving, Kennedy said. The ultimate film in which moral fiber is reflected in her character is Giant, a 1956 film co-starring Rock Hudson and James Dean. She plays a virtuous character, the wife of Hudson’s character, and she’s the centerpiece of the film.
“The character has flaws,” Kennedy said. “She’s multidimensional. But she’s also doing the right thing. … She is a character who’s fighting for racial justice. She’s protective of her children and their well-being, and she calls out her husband’s racism in the film. She seeks medical care for people who are suffering, the Mexican laborers on her husband’s ranch. It’s politically progressive in a film that’s 70 years old.”
Kennedy said Taylor was known for her empathy. He shared an anecdote from the filing of Suddenly, Last Summer (1959).
“There’s a scene at the end where she does an extended monologue; it’s difficult, and her emotions are absolutely raw,” Kennedy said. “And it goes on for quite a long time.” At the end of the first day’s shooting, she found a corner of the set, all by herself, and started sobbing. The director asked her if she was OK. All Taylor could say was “that poor girl,” referring to her character.
She was also a consummate professional.
“Two weeks into filming Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, her third husband, Mike Todd, died in a plane crash,” Kennedy said. “She went into deep, deep grief and could barely function— but she actually delivered this fantastic performance. It was the height of professionalism and strength that she was able to do that.”
Taylor reportedly said, “When the camera was rolling, and I was Maggie the Cat, I was on fire. When the camera stopped rolling, I could barely speak.”
Kennedy said he finds Taylor “fascinating” in part because she was privileged throughout her life. Her parents were well-off; she lived in Beverly Hills, and since she was “so profoundly beautiful as a child, the movies seemed almost inevitable.” She never needed money, and she didn’t apologize for being wealthy. She loved opulence and luxury, but she never lost her humanity.
“She found a way to cope with the throngs of people who were constantly buzzing around her whenever she went out,” Kennedy said. “She never shut herself off, either as an actress or as a compassionate person. She continued to take bold chances as an actress. And then later on, she chose a great deal of visibility around AIDS activism.”
Even after her film career went into decline, she remained popular and sought after.
“It was due to her inherent magnetism; she had a long and highly decorated career with two Academy Awards and great box office successes,” Kennedy said. “And then when acting and film stardom didn’t really work for her, she used her fame to better people’s lives.”
In the 1980s, there was an extraordinary amount of ignorance and cruelty toward people who were living with HIV/AIDS. That fact hit close to home when Taylor’s good friend Rock Hudson contracted AIDS, and she saw the public indifference and fear—so she spoke out and got involved. The American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, both founded or co-founded by Taylor, raised more than $270 million for HIV/AIDS research and support—and are still going today.
“This was the last chapter of her life,” Kennedy said. “It’s what has endeared her and given her basically the sainthood among quite a few people, including a lot of residents of Palm Springs and gay men who are extraordinarily grateful for all the work and efforts she did. The series is about celebrating that, and her as an artist—and what made her immortal as a screen star.”
The Elizabeth Taylor Retrospective begins at 6 p.m., Saturday, April 11, with a screening of National Velvet, and will continue one Saturday a month through June 2027. A pre-show featuring vintage film materials from the year of the film’s release will start at 5 p.m., before each screening. Tickets are $16.81. For tickets or more information, find the series on Eventbrite, or visit www.psculturalcenter.org.
Spirits Captured: The Artists Center Highlights Photos by Its Members—and Two Local Legendary Music/Celebrity Photographers
A photo of Frank Sinatra by Harry Langdon
The Artists Center in Palm Desert is letting photography take center stage.
Running concurrently from Wednesday, March 11, through Sunday, April 5, the Artists Council is presenting Desert Rocks, featuring photos by award-winning photographers Jimmy Steinfeldt and Harry Langdon, along with Through the Lens, with 115 photographs by Artists Council members.
“It’s a show within a show, which makes it more exciting,” said Ulrike Maria, board chair of the Artists Council. “We decided to make it special this year by including legendary music and celebrity photographers Harry Langdon and Jimmy Steinfeldt.”
Theatric Talent: Broadway Greats Jessica Vosk and Tony Yazbeck Are Coming to the Palm Springs Cultural Center
Jessica Vosk and Tony Yazbeck
Tom Truhe, the executive producer of the “Broadway’s Best in the West” concert series at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, promises the shows offer audiences a chance to see “the fastest rising stars of today”—and the February and March shows will feature stars Jessica Vosk and Tony Yazbeck, respectively.
Vosk—whose Broadway roles have included Elphaba in Wicked and Jersey in Hell’s Kitchen—said her Palm Springs concert is the only one she has scheduled in 2026, because she’s soon starting rehearsals for the Broadway musical adaptation of Beaches. She’s playing Cee Cee Bloom in the show, opening in the spring at the Majestic Theatre.
Vosk’s performance is on Valentine’s Day, and she said she’ll “focus on dating horror stories and love stories.”
“I’ve been gifted with such terrible people that I’ve dated,” Vosk said. “It would be a bummer if I couldn’t share that with the world.”
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Book talk in Landisville to discuss reconciliation, forgiveness and transformation
CAT MAKINO | For LNP and LancasterOnline – September 14, 2025
“Redigging Our Fathers’ Wells” explores spirituality and reconciliation.
In December 1763, a band of about 50 white frontier settlers from Paxton Township — later referred to as the Paxton Boys — killed 20 Conestoga Indians. The settlers killed and mutilated six Conestoga in their homes, and another 14 sheltering in a workhouse — now the site of the Fulton Theatre. Nobody brought the Paxton Boys to justice.
There’s a plaque on the Fulton acknowledging the massacre. Benjamin Franklin even wrote a news article about the incident, saying, “The Blood in Lancaster will never be atoned for.”
Barbies and beyond: Here’s what collectors bought, sold at a recent Lancaster doll show
CAT MAKINO | For LNP and LancasterOnline – April 30, 2025
Approximately 275 people gathered at Lancaster’s Farm and Home Center on April 27 for the Lancaster Doll, Toy, Teddy Bear & Sale Show.
Enthusiasts and collectors browsed thousands of dolls, including antique French dolls, teddy bears, Beanie Babies, Barbies and “Star Wars” collectibles. They were displayed on 125 tables by 40 vendors from New York, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina and as far away as Florida.
The show has grown since it started 20 years ago.
Acclaimed film director John Schlesinger is being honored at the Palm Springs Cultural Center with “My Husband Makes Movies,” a series of screenings on Mondays through March 17.
Michael Childers and John Schlesinger
Michael Childers, Schlesinger’s partner and a renowned celebrity photographer, and David Ansen, former movie critic for Newsweek and the current lead programmer of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, are producing the series.
The movies that will be featured are Marathon Man (1976) on Jan. 27; Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) on Feb. 3; Cold Comfort Farm (1995) on Feb. 10; An Englishman Abroad (1983) on Feb. 24; Darling (1965) on March 3; and The Falcon and the Snowman (1985) on March 17. Each film will include opening remarks or an interview with someone who knew Schlesinger. The series is a fundraiser for the Palm Springs Cultural Center.
From teacher to trailblazer: Comedian Mina Hartong filming Palm Springs special
With two shows slated for Friday at Revolution Stage Company, Hartong promises to bring the sharp wit and candid humor that have made her a favorite among audiences.
Comedian Mina Hartong quickly became a fan favorite in Palm Springs during the pandemic.
For comedian Mina Hartong, known to fans as Miss Personality, this Friday (Jan. 17) will mark a milestone in her career as she takes the stage at Palm Springs’ Revolution Stage Company theater to film her highly anticipated comedy special.
With two shows slated for the evening, Hartong promises to bring the sharp wit and candid humor that have made her a favorite among audiences. She will be accompanied by introductions from musical legend Sweet Baby J’ai and comedian Robin Tyler.
Ongoing Cultural Center series helping movie fans rediscover Hitchcock’s genius on the big screen
The retrospective in Palm Springs offers audiences the opportunity to experience these classic works as they were meant to be seen and experienced – in a communal setting
When the lights dim and the screen goes down to show the Alfred Hitchcock film “Marnie” Friday at the historic Camelot Theatre, it will be the 10th in a monthly series of the famed director’s films that started in March. It will also be the second in what organizers are calling the second phase of the series — starting with “Rebecca” in November – and a precursor to even bigger things in 2025.
Sponsored by the Palm Springs Cultural Center, the Hitchcock screenings will continue every month on the first Friday in the coming year, and be accompanied by introductions and discussions led by scholars of Hitchcock’s work, Richard Edwards and Steven Smith.
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Cult classic ‘Day of the Locust’ marks 50th anniversary with screening to benefit Palm Springs Cultural Center
Michael Childers will answer questions prior to a special screening of “The Day of the Locust” Saturday at the Palm Springs Cultural Center.
Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs is set to host a special screening of “Day of the Locust,” a dark historical drama set in 1930s Hollywood based on Nathaniel West’s novel. The event, which marks the 50th anniversary of the film’s release, will take place on Saturday, May 25, and includes a special session before the screening.
A question-and-answer panel will feature celebrity photographer Michael Childers, director John Schlesinger’s long-time partner, actors William Atherton and Pepe Serna, and Paramount VP Peter Bart. Dave Karger, host of Turner Classic Movies, entertainment commentator on NBC’s Today Show, and author of “50 Oscar Nights,” will moderate the discussion.
Mirrors, No Smoke: High Desert Artist Matt Elson Shows Off Some of His ‘Infinity Boxes’ at Imago Gallery in Palm Desert
A view inside one of Matt Elson’s “Infinity Boxes.” “We’re interested in ourselves as human beings. Everything revolves around the question of us and our perception,” he said. “So all of this is lending us tools to explore the mind and explore perception with each other.”
“It’s all done with mirrors.”
High desert-based artist Matt Elson is talking about his series of “Infinity Boxes.” They combine color, light and mirrors, creating a fun and immersive experience for anyone looking inside of them—and some them are on display at Imago Galleries, at 45450 Highway 74 in Palm Desert, through April.
Elson said he came up with the concept when he saw pieces of mirrors around in his then-workshop in Long Beach.
“I put these two pieces back-to-back. I saw reflections of me and my friend,” he said. “We started laughing. That’s when I decided to go with joy in my art, not darkness.” Elson said he enjoys seeing people having a great time looking into the boxes.
Human + Machine: Michael Childers Melds His Legendary Photographs With AI for a New Exhibit at Melissa Morgan Fine Art
An AI-enhanced photograph by Michael Childers.
Artificial intelligence …. friend or foe? Many creative professionals see it as a threat which will take away their livelihoods. Yet some, like renowned photographer Michael Childers and printer/photographer Stephen Baumbach, are embracing the new technology.
In fact, the two have collaborated with each other and AI—and the results can be seen in the AI Photography exhibition, on display at Melissa Morgan Fine Art at Palm Desert from Friday, April 5, through Friday, May 10.
“It doesn’t mean that Michael and Stephen used an artificial paint brush,” said Alec Longmuir, a director and partner at Melissa Morgan. “They combined the best of both worlds, welding them together. They are taking human figures and integrating them in an abstract environment.”
Childers’ original photographs were fed into the AI tool with text prompts, producing the generated images. Baumbach, a visionary known for combining traditional techniques with modern technology, brought his tech savvy to the party to create the cutting-edge images.
“AI is growing; it’s moving fast and continuing at a rapid pace,” Baumbach said. “While some may be wary about the use of AI in the creative arts, it is a valuable tool for photographers. It gives us new ways to explore our creative expression and push the boundaries of traditional photography.”
Melding Man and Nature: The Palm Springs Art Museum Celebrates the Work of Renowned Local Architect Albert Frey
In the world of modern architecture, a few names stand out—including Le Corbusier, the professional name of Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, the Swiss-French architect.
Less well-known internationally—but rather well-known locally—is one of Le Corbusier’s pupils and co-workers, Albert Frey.
Frey’s life and work are celebrated in a new exhibition, Albert Frey: Inventive Modernist, on display at the Palm Springs Art Museum’s Architecture and Design Center through June 3. The exhibition, presented by the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation, features architectural models, drawings, films, photographs and furniture—and took 2 1/2 years to assemble and complete.
A Fine Art Show Indeed: Some 185 Artists From 35 States Will Take Part in the Next Juried La Quinta Art Celebration
He was once a college basketball player who got an F in an art class. Today, he’s a featured artist at the La Quinta Art Celebration.
Daryl Thetford, from Chattanooga, Tenn., is just one of the many artists who will set up shop at the La Quinta’s Civic Center Campus from Thursday, Feb. 29, through Sunday, March 3. During a recent interview, he said he’d always loved drawing and painting—he started painting in oils at the age of 9—but he was encouraged to have a “practical” career by his parents, and he earned a degree in counseling from Murray State University.
As for that art class …
“Everyone else was getting A’s, so I decided to confront (the teacher),” Thetford said. “I went up to him and asked him why he was giving me F’s. He said he didn’t like my work, so I made a deal with him: I said, ‘If you give me a C, you’ll never see me again, and I will never take another art class.’ He agreed.”
After graduation, Thetford worked as a counselor for 15 years—before burning out. He recounted the experience that changed his life.
Sharing Beauty: The ‘Paint the Desert’ Plein Air Festival Takes Artists Outside
A plein air painting by Susan Eyer-Anderson, “And the Congregation Sang.”
The Artists Council and the Desert Plein Air Association are teaming up for the 2024 “Paint the Desert” Plein Air Festival.
Plein air is the term used to describe art produced outdoors—a technique that became popular in the late 19th century, with the development of tube-based paints and more portable equipment such as easels, allowing the Impressionists to move out of the studio and into the world of natural light and color.
The festival has two competitive parts. Starting on Jan. 11, participating artists in “Paint the Desert” will be invited to a series of workshops, and then to several outdoor locations to paint—with the finished works delivered to the Galen on Jan. 17.
Multisensory Music: The Desert Candlelight Concerts Bring Local Talent to the Mary Pickford Theater
Jeremie Levi Samson will take the Desert Candlelight Concerts stage on Nov.15
A one-of-a-kind musical experience, where the warm glow from flickering candles creates a mesmerizing ambience.
This is how Denise Welch, co-owner of Desert Candlelight Concerts, described these performances, which have enchanted audiences in places all around—and they’re coming to the historic Mary Pickford Theater in Cathedral City, held monthly through March.
Welch said 2,000 candles will illuminate shows featuring performers in genres from classical, to jazz, to contemporary and even world music.
Kippi Leonard Infuses the Desert into Her Art
Seeking adventure nine years ago, Kippi Leonard liquidated her interior design company, then explored Italy, solo. This led her to her true calling. “It’s where I met myself for the first time,” she says.” It was the bravest thing I ever did. I haven’t looked back since.”
Leonard’s life changed the moment she saw Michelangelo’s discarded carvings at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence. “It overwhelmed me,” she says. “He started with nothing, then made something so incredible, and with practice he ended up in a museum.”
Inspired by what she had seen, for the next three weeks Leonard immersed herself in art, visiting museums, galleries and Italian architecture throughout the country.
Returning to Camas, Washington, her hometown, and determined to create a new future as an artist, she purchased charcoal and pastels. First she drew people, places and things, but her discovery of inks made her art come to life. “My art reflects my heart and personality,” she says.
Her abstract paintings, which have broad appeal, are described as ethereal and grounding. Brigitte Lehnert, co-owner of Flow Modern Gallery at Palm Springs says, “She uses layered materials of oil, oil pastels, charcoal, desert sand and a sgraffiato technique to cut back into the paintings to reveal what is underneath. The paintings have depth and texture and are both strong and light.”
Emotional Place: MAD.KAT Art Gallery Opens With a Retrospective of Paintings by Owner Kim Tolman
“Devil and Scorpion” by Kim A. Tolman
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MAD.KAT Art Gallery will open July 29 in Rancho Mirage. Owned and managed by artist Kim Tolman, the gallery’s name comes from the first letters of Modern Art Design, Kim Assing Tolman.
Tolman was born and raised in Germany, and has been painting since her teenage years. She met and married her husband, Russ, in Germany, and became an established artist there before moving to San Francisco 22 years ago. She worked hard to establish herself in the U.S., and ended up winning awards for her work as a production and scenic designer, working with multiple theater companies and corporations including Disney, Universal Studios, McDonald’s, DreamWorks, Pepsi and L’Oréal.
Despite her success, she longed to get back in front of a canvas.
Jazz, Elevated: Idyllwild Arts Hosts the 29th Jazz in the Pines Festival and Student Clinic
The John Daversa Big Band is one of the big-name performers at this year’s Jazz in the Pines.
The annual Jazz in the Pines Festival is returning to Idyllwild. From July 3-15, a flock of jazz musicians will head up the mountain—led by three-time Grammy Award-winning trumpeter John Daversa and his Big Band.
The event serves as a fundraiser for Idyllwild Arts and its summer program. Idyllwild Arts is an internationally acclaimed arts high school for gifted young artists in music, dance, theater, film, fashion design, visual arts and creative writing. Ticket sales support scholarships for students whose families cannot afford the school’s tuition.
“Every environment has its own vibrations; the mountains in Idyllwild are on sacred lands,” Daversa said. “The honesty and humanity of the place comes out in the music, which inspires people. You will leave the festival feeling better than when you came.”
History, Fashionably: The Palm Springs Cultural Center Hosts Designer Aneka Brown’s Third Annual Juneteenth Event
Aneka Brown: “One month, I was a size 6, and then I’d blow up to a size 16. The lack of chic, vibrant, exciting fashion led me to design garments to fill that void.”
In 2021, June 19—a day known as Juneteenth—became a federal holiday. It commemorates the proclamation freeing slaves in the United States following the Civil War, but until recently, many Americans had never heard of it.
This year, the Palm Springs Cultural Center is celebrating Juneteenth a little early: The Third Annual Juneteenth Celebration will take place from 2 to 8:30 p.m., Sunday, June 11. The festivities will include food, fashion, local vendors, artists, music, a youth learning-activities station and much more. Richard Pryor Jr., the son of comedian Richard Pryor, is slated to be at the event, signing copies of his book, In a Pryor Life.
This Juneteenth celebration came to Palm Springs through the efforts of fashion designer Aneka Brown, owner of Aneka Brown Designs.
All Access: Rubine Red Gallery Shows the Behind-the-Scenes Photos of GoGo’s Drummer Gina Schock
Gina Schock is best known as the drummer for the The GoGo’s—and a 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
She’s also a photographer and author, and the Rubine Red Gallery in Palm Springs will be featuring some of her limited-edition photographs and memorabilia from four decades with one of the most successful all-female bands ever. Made in Hollywood: The Photography of Gina Schock of the GoGo’s will open on Saturday, April 8, with a reception featuring Schock.
The band—which also includes Belinda Carlisle (vocals), Jane Wiedlin (guitar and vocals), Charlotte Caffey (guitar, keyboard) and Kathy Valentine (bass, guitar)—wrote their own songs and played their own instruments, which was rare for an all-woman band when The Go-Go’s arrived on the scene in the late 1970s.
Healing Drums: Numerous Music Legends Participate in a Benefit for the Raven Drum Foundation
Rick Allen and Lauren Monroe are the founders of the Raven Drum Foundation.
Legendary drummers Matt Sorum (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver, The Cult) and Rick Allen (Def Leppard) will host a special high-priced event at the GoodNoise Studio in Palm Springs on Saturday, April 1, to raise funds for the Raven Drum Foundation.
The event will start with a healing drum circle, and will end with a live performance by the founder of the Raven Drum Foundation, Lauren Monroe, a vocalist, songwriter and healing-arts educator. She started the foundation with Allen, her husband, in 2001 to support veterans, first responders and trauma survivors.
Desert Vibe: Renowned Photographers Share Their Views of Modernism in an Exhibit at UCR-Palm Desert
“Modernist Couple Behind Glass” by James Schnepf.
More than 200 people attended the opening of a remarkable exhibition of photography on Friday, Feb. 10, at the UC Riverside-Palm Desert Center. The photos feature some of the finest examples of 20th-century architecture, lifestyle, abstracts and designs.
The Modernists: The Influence of Midcentury Modern Design on Photography brings together acclaimed local photographers and two Australian photographers, and will be on display through Friday, April 28.
“It is a stunning representation of both modern architecture and the talent of artists,” said Robert Webster, of MidMod Facade, who attended the opening. “As artists and collectors ourselves, my wife and I loved the visual texture that the artists presented in the show.”
Worthy Citizen: Legendary Drummer Alvin Taylor Fights for Justice for Section 14 Survivors
Alvin Taylor: “I remember coming home when I was 10 years old, and seeing my house and the other houses being destroyed. We lost everything.”
He’s played with Stevie Wonder, Billy Preston, Cher, Jimi Hendrix and Elton John. He once stayed at George Harrison’s home to record an album. Little Richard heard him play at the age of 14 and purportedly said, “Honey, when I heard you play the drums, my big toe just shot straight up in my boot. It made me want to scream like a white lady!”
This happened when Alvin Taylor was working as a hotel busboy, and he was called upon to sit in with Soul Patrol; the regular drummer was too drunk to play. Also in the audience that night: Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Billy Preston.
Painting With Vision: Palm Springs Native Tom Boatright Is One of the Featured Artists at the Next La Quinta Art Celebration
Local artist Tom Boatright has been selected as one of the featured artists at the March edition of the La Quinta Art Celebration, taking place at the city’s civic Center Campus from Thursday, March 2, through Sunday, March 5.
Ranked as the top arts event in the nation by Greg Lawler’s Art Fair/Sourcebook, the Art Celebration has strict criteria for applying artists: They must have exhibited previously in galleries, and they must be able to create their own outdoor gallery. Submissions are judged by independent jury members. About 200 artists are selected among more than 1,100 applications.
Art, Literacy, Life: Tools for Tomorrow Wants to Help Kids at More Coachella Valley Elementary Schools
Tools for Tomorrow is changing the lives of children in Coachella Valley. The local nonprofit provides art education with a literacy focus via its afterschool programs at public elementary schools.
TFT is hosting a fundraising gala, “A Night at the Moulin Rouge,” at the Agua Caliente Rancho Mirage on Monday, Feb. 27.
In the United States, 7.6 million children are alone and unsupervised after school, according to the Afterschool Alliance. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, more than 11 million kids in the United States live below the federal poverty line. In the Coachella Valley, more than 80 percent of public school students are eligible free-lunch programs, meaning their families are either at or near the federal poverty level, according to TFT.
Kitschy, kooky, and cool: Local couple has chronicled it all, collected it on a new website
Ready for a weekend adventure or just curious about what you see as you trek throughout the Coachella Valley? Jane and Grant Guy have you covered.
Jane and Grant Guy pose by their Chrysler 300 in northern Palm Springs. A roadside wonder they’ve chronicled on their website looms behind them.
A chance encounter with a 150-foot pink dinosaur familiar to many in the Coachella Valley led two Palm Springs transplants to take more than 130 adventures. The adventures are chronicled on a website that serves as a guidebook to all things kitschy and kooky in the desert and beyond.
Why was Elvis all shook up? Indio resident has theory
Elvis Presley was banned from making TV appearances because of his “wild” antics on The Milton Berle Show in June 1956. But why did he act that way?
BY CAT MAKINO • INDIO • AUGUST 31, 2022
Elvis Presley performs on The Milton Berle Show in June 1956.
Elvis has left the building, but some of the mystery surrounding him may always linger. A valley resident, however, thinks she has the answer to one nagging question.
Rewind: Anyone who has watched the new biopic about the musician knows he was banned from making TV appearances because of his “wild” antics on the Milton Berle show in June 1956. But why did he choose to act that way?
Enter Sandy Stewart of Indio who says “The reason he performed so wildly on the show was he was singing to me.”
Good company: A Palm Springs dance studio provides transformative experiences for performers, audiences, and its founder
This month, Nickerson-Rossi Dance put the finishing touches on a 6,000-square-foot state-of-the-art dance theater — the only one in Coachella Valley. It’s so intimate that one almost feels as if they’re dancing with those on stage.
A darkened theater. On stage is a dance performance, and in the audience, watching intently, is a grieving young man who was orphaned at the age of 17. Faced with the possibility of a lifetime of medication prescribed by a therapist, an epiphany dawns as a response to what he is seeing on stage.
Cars are the stars of Palm Springs-based YouTube show
Creators Del Johns and Denny Adams share their love of the city’s cars and culture in a show started 18 months ago after a cruise down Tahquitz Canyon Drive.
Classic cars? Palm Springs history? Mid-century architecture? There’s something for nearly everyone on a channel combining all three that’s gaining a devoted following on YouTube.
Betsy Enzensberger Creates “Pop Art”
A six-foot tall rainbow ice pop drips on the floor at Delta’s new Sky Club at LAX. It’s called Happiness on a Stick and is a creation of Palm Springs pop artist Betsy Enzensberger.
The realistic pops have gained worldwide attention. ”It reminds people of the good times,” Enzensberger says. “It’s our first sweet taste that brings back fun memories as a kid. The joyful moments.”
From prison to Palm Springs: How artist’s work landed here is a tale of triumph, forgiveness
Fulton Leroy “Mr. Wash” Washington in the Palm Springs Art Museum’s workshop space. Photo: Graeme Flegenheimer, Palm Springs Art Museum
Beaten up in a race-related gang riot in Florence Penitentiary in Colorado. The reason? Who sits where in the dining hall. In Leavenworth Penitentiary in Kansas, rumors and suspicion that he was an undercover agent spread among the other prisoners because he had drawn a picture that had been seen by a reporter and featured on the cover of the local paper.
Fulton Leroy Washington (“Mr. Wash”) learned the lessons about making art in prison the hard way after being convicted and sentenced to life without parole in the late 1990s for a non-violent drug-related crime of which he maintains he is innocent.
Photography Legend: An Exhibit With Michael Childers’ Works—Both Old and New—Christens a New Yucca Valley Gallery
The inaugural exhibition of the nonprofit Hi-Desert Cultural Center at its Joshua Tree Gallery of Contemporary Art, in collaboration with ARTCO, will feature works by legendary photographer Michael Childers and Gordon Clark through Sunday, March 13.
EMERGENCE features Childers’ newest body of work, Nude Fusions (2021); photos of celebrities Andy Warhol and Grace Jones; and selections from his LA Drag Ball (1974), the famous drag party with costume designers, set decorators, industry professionals, and creative people Childers shot for Italian Vogue. There are also photos of the Palm Springs White Party series (2002) that have never been shown before.
The Whimsical, Manicured Desert: Morongo Valley Artist Snake Jagger Is Part of October’s Highway 62 Open Studio Art Tours
Frank Sinatra has been aninspiration to many singers and musicians. But did you know Frank Sinatra’s garden has been an inspiration for art?
Yes, it’s true: Desert artist Snake Jagger’s art takes its cues from the yard at Ol’ Blue Eyes’ Palm Springs house, where his father worked as a valet.
“Sinatra’s yard was so manicured; everything was neat and tidy. Every rock, shrub and cactus was in its place,” says Jagger. “It was this wonderful setting, and it became my interpretation of the desert—a manicured desert.”
Cybele Rowe Makes Joshua Tree Homebase for Bold Artworks
Hundreds of inspiring large- and small-scale sculptures dot the two and a half acres of Cybele Rowe’s property near Joshua Tree. The ceramics, concrete, bronze and wood stand among the cactus, shrubs and Joshua trees, creating a unique visual experience across the desert landscape.
Her newest piece, standing in her backyard, is a massive white bull. Rowe says it’s filled with the emotions that she’s currently experiencing: “How I feel; living, breathing, smelling, touching, all the senses; sadness, happiness,” she says. “I am the inner landscape and it comes out.”
Meet party/event DJ MODGIRL
For DJ MODGIRL, aka Kellee McQuinn, music must have a great groove and melody that take hold of her heart, and catchy lyrics with a funky bassline. “I love disco, funk, soul, Swing & Rat Pack, the 80s, old school hip hop and some new stuff that has a nod to the old stuff,” she says.
Born in New Jersey, she lived in LA for 20 years, and has been a Palm Springs resident since 2017. “The best decision I’ve ever made. The people, the parties, the pools, the Palm Springs way of life – I love it all,” she said. DJ MODGIRL has been dancing since her mother, a dance teacher and a musical theater director, was pregnant with her while directing Guys & Dolls. “Whenever she rehearsed the number Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat, she had to actually sit down because I was doing triple time tap in her stomach – in perfect rhythm, of course!” she laughs.