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Board of Supervisors to discuss ExxonMobil
Montecito filmmaker directed classic comedies, everything from ‘Ghostbusters’ to ‘Stripes’
Panel to set hearing date on recommended denial of trucking plan
Ivan Reitman leaves cinematic legacy By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
Ivan Reitman made ghosts believable, togas popular and Arnold Schwazzenegger funny. He turned a comedic TV actor, Bill Murray, into a bona fide movie star and got Robert Redford to tap dance on the silver screen. Mr. Reitman, a popular Montecito filmmaker who defined much of what made the late 1970s and 1980s funny and continued to be a Hollywood success story right up to recent months, died Sunday. He was 75, and he was a big name in the history of Hollywood, directing top stars in the funniest movies: “Ghostbusters,” “Stripes” and more. But Mr. Reitman, who co-owned the Montecito Picture Company with Tom Pollack, also cared about his community. He answered phones before the cameras during telethons for Unity Shoppe, the Santa Barbara nonprofit helping people in need. “It was fun to have someone of his notoriety and celebrity status helping us,” Unity Shoppe Executive Director Tom Reed told the News-Press Monday. “If you called in a pledge and Ivan Reitman picked up the phone, what do you think? You think the donation got a little bit bigger? Sure. It was a surprise for people, and it was fun stuff.” “That was gratifying for us to have to have someone of his stature acknowledge us … giving us credibility and supporting Unity Shoppe,” Mr. Reed said. Friend Jelinda DeVorzon remembers Mr. Reitman. “He was the greatest man,” the Montecito resident told the NewsPress Monday. “He was so talented. He was so generous. He was one of the most generous people I ever met. “He was a talented producer and director, and he loved his family with all his heart,” Mrs. DeVorzon said. “He appreciated living in Santa Barbara. He built that beautiful home. He really loved life. “We’re all very sad that he’s no longer with us,” Mrs. DeVorzon said. She recalled the times Mr. Reitman and his wife Genevieve would invite her and her husband, Barry DeVorzon, to their Montecito home to screen movies. “We couldn’t wait to go over there and have Ivan’s popcorn,” Mrs.
DeVorzon said. “He had a popcorn maker, and he made this really great popcorn. Those were fun times.” Mrs. DeVorzon praised Mr. Reitman for his films. “His movies lifted our spirits,” she said. “They were fun and they were funny, and they’re timeless. We certainly could use a little laughter these days. Ivan gave that to all of us.” And Mrs. DeVorzon noted Mr. Reitman gave to his community. When she served as president of the board of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, she invited him to serve on the board, and he did. “Then I came to Ivan and said, ‘Could you help with Unity Shoppe?’ There he was, helping with the telethons,” Mrs. DeVorzon said. When Mrs. DeVorzon was on the fundraising committee for construction at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, she asked Mr. Reitman for help. He gave a generous donation. “He loved this community, and he was very philanthropic,” Mrs. DeVorzon said. Mr. Reitman was born Oct. 27, 1946, in Komarno, Czechoslovakia. His mother survived Auschwitz, and his father fought in the resistance. The Reitman family escaped when communists started to imprison capitalists after World War II, traveling to Vienna in a nailed-down barge when Ivan Reitman was 4 years old. The Reitmans ended up with a relative in Toronto, where young Ivan entertained his friends and family with a puppet theater. He also played coffee houses with a folk music group and went to study music and drama at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Mr. Reitman’s big Hollywood break came with “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” the 1978 comedy that mined comic gold from fraternities and toga parties and launched movie careers for John Belushi of “Saturday Night Live” and other actors such as Tim Matheson. Mr. Reitman produced the movie, and John Landis directed it. Stephen Furst, the late Moorpark TV and movie actor, told this writer how he got his acting role in “Animal House.” The struggling actor was delivering pizzas, and one of his customers happened to be Mr. Landis. Mr. Furst taped his resume on the inside of the lid of the pizza box, and that got Mr. Landis’ attention when he opened it in his home. That’s how Mr.
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
JESSE GRANT / WIRE IMAGE
Ivan Reitman attended The Canadian Film Centre reception in 2011 at the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills. The Montecito filmmaker, who died Sunday, was the creative force behind movies varying from “Ghostbusters” to “Beethoven.”
Furst got to play “Flounder.” Mr. Furst, who later went on to act on the sci-fi series “Babylon 5,” was part of a film that established Mr. Reitman as a producer who could cleverly push the envelope in comedy. He certainly did that with “Animal House.” Mr. Reitman also took comedy to new heights with the boot camp
spoof “Stripes,” which he produced and directed. The 1981 film teamed Mr. Murray with John Candy, Harold Ramis, John Candy, Sean Young and P. Please see REITMAN on A3
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors is scheduled today to set a hearing date to consider the county planning commission’s recommendation to deny ExxonMobil’s plan for interim trucking. The supervisors will look at scheduling that hearing for March 8. It’s expected to last two hours. In November, the planning commission voted 32 to recommend denial of ExxonMobil’s proposal to transport oil by tanker truckers on highways. Approval of the plan would help ExxonMobil restart three drilling platforms off the Santa Barbara coast. The commission recommended denial because of what it called projected impacts to biological, water and cultural resources in the event of an oil spill, as well as the proposed trucking’s impacts on health, safety, comfort, convenience and general welfare. ExxonMobil has defended its proposal as an environmentally friendly choice because it would reduce the amount of oil shipped into California from foreign countries. In other business today, the board will vote on approving Vincent Martinez’s appointment to the planning commission. Today’s meeting is also slated to cover a report from the county executive officer, as well as county staff updates and achievements, staff recognitions and major projects. And during a closed session, the Board of Supervisors will discuss Zissa v. Santa Barbara County, a case in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The closed session will also feature a conference with labor negotiators. People can attend today’s meeting in-person in the board hearing room on the fourth floor of the County Administration Building, 105 E. Anapamu St. People can also attend the meeting virtually. The meeting will be televised on local cable channel 20 and live-streamed at countyofsb.org/ceo/ csbtv/livestream.sbc and youtube.com/user/CSBTV20. The board consists of Supervisors Das Williams, Gregg Hart, Joan Hartmann, Bob Nelson and Steve Lavagnino. Ms. Hartmann is the chair; Mr. Williams, the vice chair. For more information, go to www.countyofsb.org/ bos. email: dmason@newspress.com
SB City Council to discuss housing density, building size BY DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
SONY PICTURES SONY PICTURES
A ghost creates mischief in “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” the latest movie in the franchise started by producer Ivan Reitman.
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The 1984 “Ghostbusters” was a big hit and remains popular today.
The Santa Barbara City Council will discuss options for regulations for multi-unit housing density and building size at its meeting at 2 p.m. today. The council is scheduled to provide direction on a preferred multi-unit housing program to study in the city’s General Plan Programmatic Environmental Impact Report. And council members are slated to consider interim methods to incentivize smaller housing units. In other business, the council will hear a presentation from the chair and vice chair of the Community Formation Commission. To stream the meeting online, go to santabarbaraca.gov/cap. To participate in the virtual meeting during public comment, visit santabarbaraca-gov.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ BHXU9bk1SWq0ntGHplRq0Q.
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