Valentine odes to Will Geer, Ava Gardner and the

St. Valentine, according to legend, is the patron saint of epileptics and beekeepers, as well as lovers. Martyred during the persecution of Christians in 270, he supposedly signed his letters to his jailer’s daughter with “from your Valentine.” In that spirit, herewith are two Valentines:

The first is to the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Actor Will Geer, with his friend, the singer Woody Guthrie, had been a social activist and labor organizer, and was blacklisted for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. After years of struggle, he was cast as Grandpa Walton on TV and, with his actress wife, Herta Ware (“Cocoon”), ploughed his Hollywood salary into reopening their Theatricum Botanicum. As their daughter, Ellen Geer, has recently written, “The family found a haven under

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(Continued from page 9) meanwhile, called his father to grumble, “I’m so mad at her right now.”

The next day was their last on Capri before heading home. They hiked up a hill to glimpse Donatella Versace’s home. Nyakio is a little afraid of heights, but she noticed that David seemed more nervous than she.

Nyakio took the lead going back down the hill. She chatted; he didn’t respond, so she turned around.

“He was down on one knee and I thought he fell. ‘David, get up! You’re going to be okay.’ He was just so quiet. Then he said, ‘Can I speak?’”

He had removed a ring from its hiding place in his sock. He said, “My family and I would be so honored if you would wear my mother’s ring.’”

Nyakio had been close to his mother and had fallen in love with David when she saw how he stepped up to help every- the sweetest arms possible; the California live oaks and the gracious, giving ground of Topanga Canyon. Here, other blacklisted actors, directors and folk musicians gathered to rebuild community.” That community provided many Angelenos with their first encounter with Shakespeare. Their productions may be a little too family-friendly at times, but the Theatricum is one of the great cultural assets of Los Angeles. It is proof that, as Bertolt Brecht wrote, even in the “dark times” there will be singing — something to keep in mind in our own increasingly dark times. We look forward to their season, especially this year!

The second Valentine actually is Alessandra Assaf’s love letter to Ava Gardner and the Golden Age of Hollywood.

“Twelve O’Clock Tales with Ava Gardner” is Ms. Assaf’s one-woman show about the “world’s most beautiful ani- one manage grief when she passed away. Nyakio explains, “I thought, ‘This is the man I want to start a family with.’”

She thought the ring was a sweet gesture, and David had to assure her that he was proposing.

“It was such a beautifully dysfunctional moment,” David laughs, “which is like life anyway.”

Nyakio and David married in May 2004 in the stained-glass Stauffer Chapel at Pepperdine University in Malibu.

As Nyakio exclaims, “I guess we were meant to be.”

At first the couple lived Downtown. Their daughter, Lulu, was born in 2006, and in 2008 they moved to Windsor Square where their son, Rocco, was born.

Nyakio had fallen in love with Larchmont when she first moved to Los Angeles, and when running errands, would stop on the Boulevard for coffee and pizza.

She said to herself, “One day when I get married and have children, I want to raise them

Theater Review by

mal,” running at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks.

Gardner’s story is a rags-toriches to (almost) rags saga of fame and fortune. A country girl who gets a Hollywood contract because someone saw her photo in her brother’s shop window, Gardner was a minor contract player for MGM until “loaned out” for a role in “The Killers,” the 1946 film version of Ernest Hemingway’s short story. From there it was a slow-butsteady rise to the top with such pictures as “Show Boat,” “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” and my favorite, “On the Beach.” Her onstage persona was matched by stormy mar- in this neighborhood.”

In 1994, David had eaten at an Italian restaurant on Larchmont after doing a play, and he, too, felt drawn to the area.

They both are very connected to the Larchmont community. Nyakio is one of the founders of Larchmont Charter School. She will soon open Thirteen Lune, a skin care store primarily featuring BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) products, to be located in the space most recently occupied by the LF clothing store on Larchmont Boulevard.

After a frightening bout with COVID-19 (and a continuing battle with long COVID,) David had an “aha” moment, and he is celebrating life by dedicating himself to his family, his art and his community. This summer, his 12-foot-high sculpture commemorating Watertown history will be installed in his hometown.

David writes a blog on Facebook about the Larchmont Farmers Market called “farmersmarketdad.”

What to watch for riages (Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, Frank Sinatra), fiery romances (Howard Hughes, George C. Scott, Robert Mitchum), intense female friendships (Lena Horne, Princess Grace) and a reputation for four-letter language and a copious capacity for alcohol, which led her, late in life, to leave her secluded London apartment for a role in the blockbuster “Earthquake” and sell her story for money. It was either that or her jewels and, as she famously said, she preferred to keep the jewels.

“Incident of Our Lady Of Perpetual Help” at Theatre 40 Beverly Hills, looks at life in the 1970s before cell phones and social media, through Feb. 19; 310-364-0535.

“Southern Girls” at the Hudson, explores race and friendship in Alabama from 1952 through 1992, to Feb. 26; 323-856-4249.

A Noise Within plays Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” through March 12; 626-356-3100.

This is the premise that Ms. Assaf and her team (co-writer Michael Lorre and director Michael A. Shepperd) use as the basis for a well-paced conversation with the star, who Ms. Assaf inhabits more than impersonates. Using the twin devices of dictating memoirs to a tape recorder and reminiscing with her long-time (Black) companion Reenie Jordan, we get perhaps a bit too much biography and not enough insight. Ms. Assaf’s strongest moments are when she speaks directly to the audience. Her description of the beatings she received literally at the hands of George C. Scott is particularly gripping and leads me to suggest that the team, as the show evolves, drop the devices, trust the talented Ms. Assaf, and just have her embodiment of a legend talk to us. I think we would be enthralled even more than we are now with this wellpenned Valentine.

Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, on Sundays at 2 p.m. until March 5; 818-687-8559.