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job at a bar instead, where he taught himself to play piano and trumpet. His mother became the live-in housekeeper to a German family of child actors, notably Virginia Weidler (1927-1968). When Ted returned, around 1936, he formed a jazz band called e Pep Brothers with Virginia’s three brothers, and married her sister Sylvia. Later, the band achieved success without him as e Weidler Brothers Orchestra. Ted and Sylvia held hands wherever they went. He didn’t want her to act, so she became a dance teacher from home, and later a Hollywood seamstress. She was a devout Christian Scientist, but creativity was also essential in their lives. He’d play piano and sing while she cooked dinner, and they’d tap dance in the kitchen to the 1927 song “Side by Side.”

Oh, we ain’t got a barrel of money

Maybe we’re ragged and funny

But we’ll travel along, singin’ a song

Side by side

Ted worked at the gas station near the Malibu Pier, among other jobs, while pursuing lm work with his brother Mowbray “Bunny” Berkeley Jr. (1911-2004). He started as a studio security guard, rising to the position of greensman, and ultimately property master. Bunny became a set decorator.

On payday, Ted would buy his daughters candy bars at Potter’s, where the owner let him play with a fancy gun that became the subject of another e Malibu Times story (Nov. 11, 1977).

“Every night when I came home from work I would stop at Charlie’s and buy my cigarettes and some beer,” he said. “When I entered the store I would rst reach under the counter by the cash register and take out, of a holster, a nickel-plated Spanish .38 revolver …” e local kids shed or raced to Castle Rock on their paddleboards, but Ted noticed that they couldn’t surf. So one day, in 1945, he gave the rst lesson to Larry Franklin and brothers Edward “Ted” (19281951) and Fred Harrison (b. 1931), from the beach; brothers Dave (1928-2015) and Roger Sweet (b. 1930), from the Rodeo Grounds; and Howard Terrill (b. 1929), from the Step Inn Cafe at the intersection. Dave Sweet would go on to change the sur ng world by building the rst commercial foam boards.

In 1946, the Berkeleys rented the downstairs of the Franklins’ house. Larry had made his own redwood board, but Ted showed him how to lighten it with balsa wood. Younger brother Sam (b. 1936) received many other coastal cities, “all of the City of Malibu falls within the Coastal Commission’s designation. e whole city is subject to the Coastal Act, unlike some cities like Santa Monica [where] there’s a portion of the city that’s along the shoreline that falls under the Coastal Act, and then as you move inland, then that’s just part of Santa Monica city with its municipal code as guidance and not the Coastal Act.”

Mollica argued that unlike municipal codes that are pre-empted by the state ADU law, “the local coastal program is not a local or - encouragement from the Harrisons.

“ e stepfather [Evan Harrison (1905-1988)], who I knew only as Gramps, gave me a Waikiki redwood and balsa surfboard when I was about 12, which I loved and learned to surf on,” Sam explains.

“We used to meet on the beach frequently, and he had a distinctive greeting each time. He’d raise both arms to about head height and wiggle his hands back and forth. I still do that from time to time without thinking.” e Harrisons lived in the 1920s bathhouse that still had a painted sign on the side, and a defunct highway underpass in back. ey rented the downstairs to Western actor Tim Holt (1919-1973), who tried to rescue a deer from the ocean with his paddleboard in 1948, according to the Topanga Journal (1948-04-09).

“He nally maneuvered the deer onto a rocky reef where he tried to lasso the buck. But the rope became so heavy with salt water that lassoing was impossible … Holt was badly cut by barnacles and his paddleboard drifted out to sea.”

Other surfers included James Richard “Dick” Hunt (1926-1967), who lived at the intersection, and his best friend James J. “Mike” Roberts (1925-2014), from the Rodeo Grounds.

“One of Dick’s legs was shorter from polio,” Larry remembers. “His parents brought him to the beach to recover, and he ended up becoming the best surfer there. I admired his abilities and harmony with the ocean. Mike rode a paddleboard with a pin tail and a at nose. It was a hell of a good board. You could stand right on the nose, and it wouldn’t pearl. I bought it from him when Ted taught the kids how to surf.”

Sur ng’s rst dedicated photographer, Don James (1921-1996), documented the moment the U.S. entered World War II, standing in front of his beach rental with Ed Fearon (b. 1921) and Jack Quigg (b. 1922). e photo was published in “Sur ng San Onofre to Point Dume: 1936-1942” with the caption: “It was a balmy Sunday and the news about the Japanese attack upon Pearl Harbor was coming in over the radio. We were paying sixty dollars a month for rent, which was split three ways, and life was good. Suddenly, everything had changed. We all knew we were going o to war.”

Brothers James (1922-2007) and Bob (1924-2009) Talmadge, of Las Tunas Beach, were the sons of actor Buster Keaton. Half-brothers Jerry Hanes (b. 1924) and Bobby Jacks (1927-1987) lived a couple turns up Topanga, at Brookside. In 1949, Jacks married another surfer, Darrylin Zanuck (1931-2015), whose women’s board sparked a trend to build smaller.

A top surfer of the 1960s, Mike Doyle (1941-2019), lived to the west of the Franklins’ house until he was 7 with his parents, wrestling promoter John and Kitty Doyle. eir guests included Gorgeous dinance. It’s a state ordinance.”

The Riddicks still do not have permits to build an ADU and have previously criticized the city, saying, “The city’s approach is ‘No, no, no, block, block, block.’

They refused to ever explain themselves or respond to the detailed arguments we were making. It’s not a nuanced, thought - ful approach — just aggressive and nearsighted. Our ADU is not commercial development. Our project is the poster child for environmental responsibility and being within the neighborhood character, with everyone’s support. Allowing small scale, low-impact ADUs is the best free-market-oriented way to became a body surfer. ey had three more children: Debbie, Bambi, and Randy. provide more housing options in Malibu while still retaining our rural character.”

In 1962, they moved to Malibu Park, to a house that Ted decorated with lm props, like Western antiques, cow skulls, and candy-glass bottles. His daughters competed in horse shows with the Trancas Riders and Ropers. His son followed Ted’s passion for motorcycle racing, and still lives in Malibu, in Decker Canyon.

Ted wrote over a dozen stories about his early life for e Malibu Times, as well as a couple unpublished novels, and many songs. He was pleased to see that his palm tree continued to grow after his old neighborhood was demolished for a public beach.

Pablo Capra is the Archivist for the Topanga Historical Society and author of “Topanga Beach: A History” (2020). More at topangahistoricalsociety.org.

Mollica commented on the Superior Court ruling.

“My understanding is that there were two aspects. One was in the judge’s decision that the project did not qualify under the state ADU law and that’s because some of the square footage was being added on to the existing residence. It wasn’t solely for the ADU,” he said. “In order to use the ADU ordinance, the square footage you’re asking for and allowances must be solely for the ADU. ey were asking for additional square footage beyond what’s allowed, and a portion of that square footage was being used for the residence itself and then the ADU.

“ e second part of the court’s decision was that it read there was an exemption [from coastal development permits] for ADUs. e city disagrees with that because it’s in con ict with the guidance we’ve received from the Coastal Commission and it would be reading a section of the local coastal program in a way that the city has never done before. Since 2004 when the LCP was implemented we’ve always required a coastal development permit for an ADU whether it’s detached or attached. at is the part of the judge’s ruling that the city has led an appeal. e city is asking the Riddicks to get a coastal development permit through the city of Malibu before they can get a building permit to demonstrate consistency with the state law.” e city has long been criticized for making building any type of structure in Malibu extremely difcult, but Mollica suggested that in his 19 years working for Malibu, “I feel like almost every time we see a new home they typically have a guest house or a second residential unit associated with it. It’s quite common. Secondary residences with a kitchen, bathroom and a place to sleep? Oh yes. We’ve approved many of them. I would say more than a handful each year.”

He added they are typically stand-alone units.

“ e state code supersedes the municipal code but the standards of the Coastal Act still have to be applied,” Mollica continued.

“ e key thing to keep in mind is that whatever changes we propose to our local coastal program have to be adopted by the state. e Coastal Commission is concerned between a balance of protection of coastal resources and access and also with housing.

“Where it gets hard for folks is that some houses like the Riddick’s are built out as far as our codes allow for. In this case we can’t ignore the Coastal Act, which is a state law. at was recognized by the trial court.”

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