Jun 02

Bridget Fonda and Danny Elfman Buy Full-On Fixer Next Doorfondaelfman_fp1

By Mark David @YourMamaTweets
BUYERS: Bridget Fonda and Danny Elfman
LOCATION: Los Angeles, Calif.
PRICE: $3.6 million
SIZE: 4,443 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms

YOUR MAMA’S NOTES: Prolific and in-demand film and television composer Danny Elfman and (presumably) retired actress Bridget Fonda have shelled out $3.6 million, according to both real estate yenta Yolanda Yakketyyak and property records, for a meticulously maintained if comically outdated time capsule of a residence in the historic, guard-gated Fremont Place enclave that’s centrally situated between Hancock Park and Koreatown.

Miz Fonda, born into an illustrious and much-lauded family of actors — she’s Oscar winter Henry Fonda’s granddaughter, two-time Oscar winner Jane Fonda’s niece and twice Oscar-nominated Peter Fonda’s daughter — hasn’t appeared on the small or silver screen since 2002 but before that had a long and admirable career that earned her both Golden Globe and Emmy wins. Mister Elfman, the frontman for the 1980s new wave band Oingo Boingo, has composed theme music and scores for a slew of successful television programs and films including “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” “The Simpsons,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Beetlejuice,” “Dick Tracy” and, more recently, “Milk,” “American Hustle,” “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Fifty Shades of Grey.” He currently has about half a dozen projects in some phase of production including the Tim Burton directed “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” and “Alice Through the Looking Glass” starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, both scheduled to be released next year. Anyways….

Digital listing details indicate the Prairie-style residence sits on a flat, 0.37-acre mid-block lot and was originally built in 1916 with a low-profile hip roof and remarkably deep eaves. The two-story abode currently measures 4,443 square feet with four bedrooms and five bathrooms, per online marketing materials, with additional storage space above the detached two-car garage located behind iron gates at the tail end of a long driveway that passes under a porte cochère as it runs along the side of the house.

From a modern-day stand point the interior spaces are — let’s be honest, children — utterly preposterous, and no doubt the entire property will likely be radically altered and updated for future use so the grim decorative details are somewhat moot. Nonetheless, listing photographs show there are heavily and unfortunately textured plaster ceilings and wall treatments, miles of floral wallpaper and floor tiles of an unknown material throughout the main floor living spaces that appear to this property gossip in listing photos a bit too much like linoleum.

At some point, possibly in the 1960s or 1970s, the interiors were revamped and opened up into a spacious, open-plan living/entertaining space that extends from the front of the house clear through to the back and includes an imposing and arguably salvageable stone fireplace. (The stone detailing around the windows the flank the fireplace, of course, would need be removed.) Toward the back of the space there’s a built-in wet bar with mirror backed shelves and an impossibly ugly carved wood canopy. Integrated cabinetry next to the bar houses an upright piano painted the exact same shade of ecru as the walls and multipaned sliding glass doors open to the backyard where there’s a flagstone terrace surrounded swimming pool and a built-in barbecue station.

A low-tiled peninsula divides the main living/entertaining space from an informal dining space that links to a clean but practically archaic center island kitchen. The most bizarre and decoratively egregious feature in the entire house might be located in the step-down formal dining room that overlooks the frond yard and where the white paneled walls are set off by a brick lined niche fitted with three beer kegs. That’s right, children, there are three beer kegs sticking out of the wall in the dining room. Quite frankly, unless this was a frat house we’re not sure what would be better, if those kegs were purely decorative or if they had actual functioning taps.

We confess we have no inside information on what plans the Fonda-Elfmans might have for the property but it seems unlikely they’ll occupy the house as their primary residence even after an extensive and expensive renovation since they have long lived in a larger, neighboring property of just over three-quarters of an acre with a much more grand and probably far more updated 1920s Italian Renaissance villa that Miz Fonda purchased, according to various online resources, in late 2000 for $2.125 million.

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Aug 30

Couple Married After Meeting On VH1’s ‘Dating Naked’

ashley-fonda-alika-medeiros

Ashley Fonda and Alika Medeiros tied the knot earlier this month, in what was, naturally, a naked ceremony.

Pop Minute – August 29, 2014

When VH1 first ordered ten episodes of its ‘Dating Naked’ reality series, few expected much to come out of the unusually open way to date.  Now, the series, which features people go on dates in the nude, has its first married couple.

After a date that included naked surfing and conversation, 27-year-old artist Ashley Fonda is married to 36-year-old yoga instructor Alika Medeiros.  “We really deeply connected and he taught me things,” Fonda tells People magazine. “We realized we both have the flower of life tattoo. I told one of the producers, ‘I’m going to marry this man.'”

Since she had already released her fears, Fonda even opted for a naked wedding.  “We undressed for the ceremony!” says Fonda. “As a little girl, I definitely didn’t picture having a naked wedding, but this was such a liberating experience.”

Another contestant, Jessie Nizewitz, sued the VH1 show earlier this week after an unblurred shot of her aired on the series.

‘Dating Naked’ Cast Members Wed. Marriage A Publicity Stunt For VH1 Series?

Kpopstarz.com – August 29, 2014 – by Toby Robboy

Reality TV dating shows are infamous for their general failure to set up successful relationships, but it looks like the newest kid on the block, VH1’s Dating Naked, has already managed to beat the odds and send one couple down the aisle. Participants Ashley Fonda and Alika Medeiros tied the knot earlier this month, in what was, naturally, a naked ceremony. The Wedding was filmed to be aired on the VH1 in September, raising the question; is this all a publicity stunt to generate viewership for the network’s newest franchise?

The couple met during the filming of their first date in May. For the episode, they went on a naked surfing adventure, and apparently really hit it off. Fonda says of the experience, “We deeply connected and he taught me things,” adding that “we realized we both have the flower of life tattoo,” and that she “told one of the producers ‘I’m going to marry this man.’ ”

The couple wed on August 6, in a ceremony officiated by a shaman. Before stripping down, the blushing bride walked the aisle in a custom Nicholas Anthony gown.  Neither the bride’s nor the groom’s family attended the the ceremony, which will air on September 18.

Both the rapid pace at which the couple went from first date to wedding bells, and the presence of a camera crew make it impossible not to question whether this whole thing just a clever PR move. VH1 has already come under fire for the series – they are being sued by contestant Jessie Nizewitz after accidentally airing an uncensored shot of her vagina. True, all publicity is good publicity for reality TV, but maybe the producers wanted to convince viewers that they can facilitate true love, and not just scandal. Or maybe they wanted to convince potential future participants to give the show a try. Fonda, for her part, denies that any such scheme is taking place: “I’m truly in love with Alika,” she insists, “I’m so excited to see where this relationship goes and grows.”

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Aug 29

Cross country: Lodi’s Blake Fonda, Tokay’s Alec Hastings to clash in realigned Tri-City Athletic League

Lodi’s Fonda, Tokay’s Hastings to clash in realigned TCAL

Posted: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 12:00 am, By Mark Godi/News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Blake Fonda

Blake Fonda, left, of the Lodi Flames was sixth at last year’s San Joaquin Athletic Association cross country meet. Alec Hastings, right, of the Tokay Tigers was last year’s Tri-City Athletic League cross country champion. News-Sentinel file photograph (left); Mark Godi/News-Sentinel (right)

Blake Fonda and Alec Hastings are well aware of each other and will be even more so this fall. As the high school cross country season begins, both will be racing in the Lodi Flame Invitational at Lodi Lake at 5 p.m. Friday.  The girls go at 4:30 p.m. It will be the first time they meet this year, but not the last as league realignment has the rivals in the new Tri-City Athletic League.

Fonda, a senior, helped the Lodi Flames win a share of the San Joaquin Athletic Association last year behind standout Phillip Kruse. Kruse has graduated and now Fonda is the front runner for Lodi’s top boys spot. It’s natural then that he’s entered in a bit of a rivalry with Tokay’s Alec Hastings, the Tigers’ top boy. He led Tokay to an outright TCAL title while winning the individual championship.  Both have worked hard in the offseason and are eager to see who currently has the edge.  “We are friendly rivals and it’s like a chess match out there,” Fonda said. “He got me a few times last year and I got him a few times. He knows where I am out there and I know where he is.”

Friday’s race should be an exciting one between the two considering how last spring ended. Both did track and field then and had their last meeting in the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Meet in Elk Grove. There, Fonda was 13th in the 1600 meter at 4 minutes, 28.67 seconds and Hastings 23rd at 4:40.03. Just a week earlier, it was Hastings who bested Fonda in the event at the Division I Section Championships. Hastings ran a 4.26.28, edging Fonda by just under a second.  Since then, both have had busy summers. Hastings went to a running camp at Stanford and ran between 60-65 miles per week. Fonda, meanwhile, says a shorter week was around 50 miles and a longer week closer to 70 in the summer.  Both would like to compete in college with Fonda eyeing Santa Barbara’s Westmont College, an NAIA program. Hastings has a bit more time to decide, but says Long Beach State is a place he really likes at the moment.  Both earn high praise from their cross country coaches, with Fonda a runner that Lodi’s Greg Wright says has grown up quite a bit.

“He’s really blossomed into a good work ethic and become a leader,” Wright said. “Two years ago and even a bit last year he could only see how the race affected himself. Now he sees the big picture and is thinking about how the others are coming along.”  Karen Harty is in her seventh year in charge at Tokay and describes Hastings as one that is fun to watch.  “You wouldn’t know it in practice but he’s a fireball when it comes to competition,” Harty said. “He just comes alive when he gets to that starting line.”  Neither runner will have it easy this year with the reigning SJAA champion returning to Lincoln.

Zach McKeever is a senior now and edged Kruse for the league crown last year. He’ll lead a formidable Trojan squad.  “It’s going to be harder to win (league) this year,” Hastings said. “The new leagues means faster schools.  “I’d say my biggest goal this year is to just make it to state and see how far I can go.”

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Jan 19

Maxwell P Fonda MD

Passed away peacefully at his home on December 22, 2013 at the age of 100 years.

Maxwell P. Fonda passes away at 100 years old.

Maxwell P. Fonda passes away at 100 years old.

He was born on April 28, 1913 in Charleston, Mississippi to James and Maude Fonda. In 1923 the family moved to Southern California where they resided in Highland Park. Maxwell graduated from USC Medical School in 1942 with a degree in medicine. He served as a flight surgeon in the US Army Medical Corps during WWII with the 57th fighter group in Europe. After returning from his military duty he married his sweetheart, Winifred Rose Seidel on February 9, 1946. He then finished five years of residency in orthopedics and set up private practice in Pomona, California.in 1951. He practiced orthopedics for 40 years at both Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center and San Antonio Community Hospital until retirement in 1990. He was a member of AMA, Western Orthopaedic Association and Pilgrim Congregational Church. His hobbies were fishing, fly tying and raising orchids. He lived a remarkable life and will be missed by many.

His wife Winnie preceded him in death on May 21, 1988. He is survived by a daughter, Susan Evans and husband Phil of Palm Desert, CA; son Steven Fonda and wife Patty of Carson City, NV; along with 4 grandchildren and their spouses; and 6 great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 600 N. Garey Avenue, Pomona, California on Saturday, January 18, 2014 at 1:00 pm.

Published in Inland Valley Daily Bulletin on Jan. 9, 2014

Also see: Findagrave, Rootsweb, Fonda Military

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Sep 29

During the Snake Indian War, Pvt. Charles A. Fonda was mortally wounded at the skirmish of Otseo’s Lodge on April 28, 1868 against hostile Northern Paiute and Shoshone Indians near Warner Lakes, Oregon. Private Fonda was shot in the knee and since his wound was serious, it was decided to amputate his leg in the field. He did not survive the operation, and was almost certainly buried in the field. The site of the skirmish is known, but Fonda’s exact burial place is not. A government-issued headstone was placed at the site in July 2013. A newspaper account describes it as “a little east and south of the stone bridge.” The headstone was placed within 200 yards of the site of the stone bridge, on land that is on the Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge.

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Photo by Heather VanDomelen.

The best description of the skirmish at Otseo’s Lodge is in the book ‘The Deadliest Indian War in the West: The Snake Conflict, 1864-1868‘ by Gregory Michno (p. 315):
A group of 18 soldiers and a few Indian scouts attempted to attack a group of Snake Indians at daybreak. The Indians heard the soldiers splashing as they crossed a creek, and retreated to high ground, The soldiers then attacked uphill across open ground, and suffered many casualties. Fonda was the only fatality. The skirmish occurred about 1/2 mile east of the site of Old Camp Warner, which had been abandoned the year before. (per John Griffin, Lakeview, OR)

A Report of Surgical Cases treated in the Army of the United States from 1865 to 1871 by George Alexander Otis (p. 206):
DXXXIX – Mention of a Primary Amputation of the Thigh By JM Dickson MD Acting Assistant Surgeon.
Private Charles A Fonda Co D 23d Infantry received a severe gunshot wound of the knee joint in a skirmish near Lake Warner Oregon April 29 1868. Amputation at the lower third of the thigh was performed on the next day. He died under the operation.

There are photos of Charles (as a boy) and his family on the Fonda Blog at Illinois Fonda’s.

Thanks to John Griffin of Lakeview, Oregon for ordering and placing the military gravestone.

References: Rootsweb, Find-A-Grave
National Historic Register: Stone Bridge and the Oregon Central Military Wagon Road

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Photo by Heather VanDomelen.

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Click image for Google Map location.

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