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VOL. 79,
NO. 40
Eddie Van Halen honored with plaque at Pasadena Civic Center Terry MILLER & CITY NEWS SERVICE tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
A
year after the legendary guitarist's death, the city of Pasadena unveiled a plaque Monday in honor of Eddie Van Halen at the Civic Auditorium, where the then-fledgling musician and his band performed more than a dozen shows before becoming global icons. A small group of people, most of which were city employees and media, attended the private event at 10 a.m. outside the hall where the band played at least 14 times before achieving worldwide stardom. City spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said Eddie Van Halen's relatives weren't able to attend, but they endorsed its installation. The people who organized the fundraiser and awareness campaign, Pasadena 4 Van Halen, were also on hand for the event. “Thank you to all of the Van Halen Fans from around the world who made this plaque possible. It was a small but joyful ceremony, and Pasadena 4 Van Halen is planning for another big project soon, stay tuned,” said a spokesperson for the group. Some unexpected prepublicity left authorities to quell the throngs of Van Halen fans who wanted to see the unveiling at what was to be a quiet, private event. Apparently, a local newspaper didn’t honor
Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo does his best Van Halen air-guitar demonstration at the unveiling of the plaque Monday morning. | Photos by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
Derderian’s request to not promote the event ahead of the scheduled unveiling. Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo helped unveil the plaque along with Councilmembers Tyrone
Hampton, Andy Wilson (sporting a Van Halen T-shirt), Gene Masuda and Felicia Williams. Wilson sported a Van Halen logo shirt in honor of the occasion and Gordo spoke of the musician’s connec-
tion with Pasadena. “This event brings together history and community to celebrate a world-renowned artist,” said Williams. “It’s not just the history of Eddie as a guitar legend, but
also the challenges he faced growing up mixed race in Pasadena, which always spoke to me. And the community support and initiative to make this happen is inspiring. Thank you to everyone!”
Eddie Van Halen, who died from throat cancer Oct. 6, 2020, at age 65, attended school in Pasadena with his drumsplaying older brother, Alex. It was at Pasadena City College that the beginnings of the band that would be known as Van Halen can be traced. The group played backyard parties in the area for hard rock-loving teens in the early 1970s before climbing to international fame. The Van Halen family emigrated from the Netherlands to Pasadena in 1962 and settled in a house on Las Lunas Street. The two Van Halen children, Eddie and Alex, attended Hamilton Elementary School where they performed for the first time in a student band called the Broken Combs -- and held down a paper route for the Pasadena Star-News. By the early 1970s, the Van Halen boys attended Pasadena City College where, in a scoring and arranging class, they met future Van Halen front man David Lee Roth, who had once attended John Muir High School. Together, with Arcadia resident Michael Anthony, they formed the group Van Halen and began playing local venues from outdoor parties to the Civic Auditorium. One local rock histoSee Eddie Van Halen page 3