5907 Lankershim Blvd. (Aaah! Capella)

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During the Summer of 1997, I was to spend approximately 10 months working on the front facade of a new enterprise called "AAAH! Capella" encompassing about 50 X 10 feet of building front for a 'Splash' Mural. The person who started the project and managed it wanted the original Asian structures and mural designs kept in place- mostly building and tree outlines on a white background so I decided to flesh them out as a nighttime ambiance using the moonlight as the primary illumination. I titled this piece "Summit At Pano Hai" which is the fictional Asian equivalent of Olympus from which sprang the mystical Dr. Lao (Seven Faces of Dr. Lao). Since the Owner was employed as a Stand-In on the Star Trek TV series and was a Sci-Fi Fan like me, I viewed it as a Grand Convention of all the Fantasy Icons I could think of relating to cinema (the older, the better) and gathered them on the great lake shores of this Ethereal Asian Village. The Owner promised money for the work which was never paid, but on reflection, if anyone with any pull had taken notice of this, there could've been a legal action for copywright infringement even though it was just a personal homage, so it was probably just as well the the entire project generated no real revenue and folded up shortly after its second anniversary.

The materials were outdoor house enamel and latex painted on a coarse stucco base providing a slight headache about detailing but best viewed from about 8 feet back. All stars were individually dotted in. Auras, smoke and afterburner exhaust were created using a spray paint aerosol can of Kryolon White Enamel.

The Southern Door (Facing East) Flanking Portal Walls have Club Features In Old 60's Lettering

Reflected Spaceships in the Night Sky (L to R): X-Wing and TIE Fighter from 'Star Wars'- Rocket Ship from 'Flash Gordon' Serial- Three Ship Armada from 'Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers'- Harmonic Planet Alignment In Silhouette from '2001'- Metalluna Cruiser from 'This Island Earth'- Makeshift Balloon from 'Baron Munchausen'- U.S.S. Enterprise D from Star Trek TNG, Imperial Blockade Runner from 'Star Wars'

Center Portico Left Flank Panel (L to R)- Death Star and TIE
Fighters from 'Star Wars'-The Emerald City from
'The Wizard of OZ'

Center Portico Right Flank Panel (L to R) Klatuu and Gort Cruiser from 'The Day The Earth Stood Still'. The Albatross Air Ship from 'Master Of The World' came along as I was finishing the planning stage. I hadn't seen the movie for many years and they ran it just at the right time by coincidence.


Center Reflected Moonscape

Left Moonscape Detail (L to R)- I pulled a little chicanery by employing a Conceptual Rendering U.S.S. Yorktown from the original 'Star Trek' outlines. Anybody just glancing at it would probably take it for the Enterprise. Close observation would reveal original design ideas and markings including spindle spikes protruding from the nacelle rotors that were later discarded. To the right- Starbase 14 from 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'


Moonscape Lower Center- Starbase 14 Reflected At Left-
Earth Cruiser C-57 D from 'Forbidden Planet' at Top

'Forbidden Planet' Earth Cruiser C-57 D Detail.
In the days of Early Television, the effects used in "Forbidden Planet" became a Sci-Fi touchstone as the Earth Cruiser and Robby The Robot made many appearances on 'The Outer Limits', 'Lost In Space', 'The Twilight Zone' and a host of other movies as popular icons.

Top Center Moonscape Detail- Moon From 'E.T.' The ILM photo I had was reversed to make the Tyco Crater more visible through the trees.

Detail Top Right of Moon- U.S.S. Discovery from '2001'. This came along as one of the last things I added after being unsure about how to use the empty space.


To the Right of Moonscape, The Left Panel of the Door Portico features Rylosian Gun Star 1 from 'The Last Starfighter' at the Upper Left and forming the Left Sentry of The Port is a statue of The Southern Oracle from ' The Neverending Story'.


The Right Panel of the Portico features the Twin Statue of The Southern Oracle. To save myself some detail work, I used the Lighting Array of The Alien Vessel from 'E.T.' To the Right Top is the U.S.S. Voyager from The Star Trek Series. Below are three of the Martian Machines from 'The War Of The Worlds'.

Detail of The U.S.S. Voyager


Detail of The Martian War Machines. I always found George Pal one of the most inventive effects engineers and one of my first great Sci-Fi experiences. I included the protective "blisters" around the vessels and the focussed tripodal force beams which held each of them aloft.

House Full Of Honkys

In Microcosm, Aaah! Capella was a little Entertainment Twilight Zone through which passed all manner of struggling performer and playwright. In my opinion, it didn't help that the Owner could not get focussed on what he wanted it to be but I had a suspicion that his real goal was a club for Drag Queens. If he'd worked toward that single goal, the project might have had a shot. Be that as it may, there were three frequent Improv Comedy Groups among many presentations but one, in particular- possibly more cohesive than the rest- spawned some notable talent.

Wayne Brady

I'm sure you know this guy. He is a multi-talented individual who starred in his own daytime talk show and on 'Who's Line Is It Anyway?' with Collin Mochrie, Ryan Stiles and Drew Carey.

Jonathan Mangum and Joel McCrary

Jonathan and Joel can be seen on many commercials and TV Projects. Currently, Jonathan and Wayne are working together on The New 'Let's Make A Deal' originating in Las Vegas. During the 'Honkys' appearances at Aaah! Capella, Jonathan and Wayne would occasionally come out and talk with me as I worked.

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