Great Escapes : High-Profile L.A. Personalities Reveal Where They Go to Get Away-but Not Too Far-From the Madding Crowd

For some, it’s found in antiquarian bookstores or atop a nearby hill with a view. For others, it’s at the beach, in their home, at mom’s house, in a concert hall or even at the movies.

Wherever it is, prominent and busy Los Angeles personalities say they’ve learned fast to find their own special corners of quiet in the world.

There they can make their getaway fast, without having to endure the troubles of traveling to distant, exotic spots.

Just where and what do Los Angeles’ celebrities do to get far from the madding crowd, while still staying close by? Here are their secrets:

Tom Bradley

Mayor of Los Angeles

“When I do find time, I try to make it to a cultural activity of some kind. I’m a great lover of jazz. I go to a great variety of cultural activities, whether they are at the Hollywood Bowl or the Music Center, or at the Henry Fonda Theatre here in town.

“The emotional juices begin to flow when you see great artists performing. There is always a great variety of emotional responses that flow: love, excitement, happiness. And I love this kind of experience. It is truly relaxing and a perfect getaway that eases stress.”

Tritia Toyota

KCBS anchor and reporter

“Escape? I don’t use that word. I tend to be realistic. But there is a hideaway . . . a place where I can close off the world. I have a favorite bookstore, Dutton’s in North Hollywood. I wish I could live in one of their back rooms. It’s not a current bookstore, mind you. Not a Crown or B. Dalton’s. It’s an antiquarian bookstore. You feel as though you have stepped back into 13th-Century England. These places are very quiet and very musty . . . they are kind of anachronisms. . . .

“I go into the back in one of the cubbyholes . . . books are stacked from the floor to the ceiling and it smells like the scent of someone’s closet. Some of the spines have been torn on some of the books; some of them are water-stained and some mildewed. But there are times you find such treasures. It’s quiet and away from the crowds.

“People are usually staring at you wondering whether or not they have seen you on TV. They can hardly recognize me when I’m in my book mode. And I just love to read. It’s another means of vegetation for me. I could spend an entire day on the floor and walk out feeling totally refreshed. It’s a wonderful restful thing for me to do in contrast to the fast-changing business of news.”

T.C. Boyle

Novelist, winner of the PEN-Faulkner award

“My previous favorite place was right off the coast of Malibu, where I would take my 40-pound ocean kayak and have a great time. But since those two UCLA students were eaten by the great white shark, I won’t be in the ocean with my kayak any longer. I haven’t been yet, but I’ll probably begin kayaking on Lake Castaic.

“What I do now to kind of get away from the rest of the world is take Mulholland Drive all the way up to where it turns into a dirt road, right in back of Serrenia Avenue Park. It’s a horse trail. I walk in the valleys of the mountains and see everything fall before me right down to the ocean. If I’m really lazy, I can take Stunt Road, which goes off of Mulholland and drive up to a spot.

“You can see all of the valley from the right side of your car and all the way out to Catalina on your left. You can pull out three cans of beer and two sandwiches and that’s just great. It’s really great to get away from the confusion of the city, if just for a little while.”

Dick Zanuck

Producer: “Jaws I & II,” “Cocoon,” “The Sting,” now on location in Atlanta for “Driving Miss Daisy”

“I do Catalina. I have a small boat that I keep down at Newport Beach. I take that over to Catalina. We just lay around on the boat and do a little fishing and just relax and get some sun. I have a speedboat and sometimes we go water-skiing. I actually mill around at some of the local places. We go to the Catalina Country Club and all along the strip.

“But I spend most of my time on the boat, right on the water. The waves hit the boat, and you smell the salt breeze. And fishing is the best relaxer of all. That really takes the stress off work . . . always being on location for some picture. Being able to just be in one place is truly relaxing.”

Richard Pryor

Actor-comedian

“When I go through the gates of my home in Beverly Hills and the security guards are all there, I feel safe. . . . I think it’s paranoia mostly, but with every thing happening out there, the shootings, what’s been going on on the freeways. It’s great to feel safe. I love it. My friend comes over, my cook is there. We all have a good time.

“When I do go out, I like to go to the movies. In fact, I want to see ‘Batman.’ I don’t know if it’s an escape . . . you can see a movie just about anywhere. Movies are entertaining and fun. Like with ‘Field of Dreams,’ it was great that I could watch the movie and believe it. They went in and pulled it off and made it work. That’s the kind of thing that I like to see . . . when they make the unbelievable, believable.

Bree Walker

KCBS anchor and reporter

“I hang out at a ranch in Calabasas. It’s called Fleetwood Farms. I take lessons every Saturday, hunter-jumper activity on English saddle. Most of the equestrian arts require total concentration. And that is always a respite from my work pressures.

“I have great trainers, Thea and Maura Nielsen--Leslie Nielsen’s daughters. They have a horse named Ozzie, who is a dream, a thoroughbred dark bay gelding and a show jumper. He is such a gentleman. He gives a very classy ride. The three times I feel completely connected in body and soul are when I’m mothering my 10 1/2-month-old daughter, Andrea; anchoring the news; and riding Ozzie.”

Michael Cooper

Los Angeles Lakers guard

“The only resort is at my mom’s house in Northridge. Out there, no one really knows who I am. I just love home. There’s just such a homey feeling that I get when I’m there.

“It’s peaceful and quiet and my brother Mickey lives there, so I get to talk to him on many different things.

“I like to talk about everything except basketball, because I try to get away from the rigors of the court. Sometimes we play backgammon and checkers, and mom will cook. It’s home, what else can I say?”

Fred Hayman

Owner, Fred Hayman, Beverly Hills; creator of Giorgio and 2-7-3 fragrances

“My great escape is my beach house on the top of the Malibu cliffs (at Point Dume). I love to spend time with my family and my dogs there. I really enjoy spending quiet evenings at home. We have a private walk to the beach.

“My next door neighbor is Johnny Carson. What I really like to do is to have parties. We eat and drink and we are merry; we go for walks and we play tennis.

“My favorite restaurant is La Scala in Malibu. It’s an Italian restaurant that my good friend Jean Leon owns. The food is sooo good. A full stomach and a walk on the beach . . . who could beat that?”

John Wooden

Former UCLA basketball coach

“Before I lost my wife 4 1/2 years ago, we used to like to go to Lawrence Welk’s Welcome Inn down by Escondido. It’s a retirement type of village with mobile homes, but there is a big lodge. It was quiet, but very dark and the stars were so clear and bright it was like you could almost touch them. You could hear the frogs and crickets and there was no television. That was really a treat.

“Now, since I travel a great deal on speaking engagements, my escape, so to speak, is my 4-mile walk through Balboa Park. It’s absolutely refreshing. I get ideas for writing. (I’m writing a book now you know.) With the flowers and the birds chirping and the trees and the sky.

“I have always been interested in poetry and writing poems. So I’m placed in this tranquil setting with nature. Sometimes I’ll walk through the park and there are youngsters playing soccer, and then other times, there are older people. Oftentimes the ducks will be flying south or flying north and I’ll see hundreds of them at a time. The sunrise is probably the most breathtaking event of the morning. That is the perfect quiet time, being alone.

Janet Evans

Olympic gold medalist

“I love to shop. And I love to shop at South Coast Plaza by the beach over in Costa Mesa. There are hundreds of stores and I can buy so many new things.

“Actually, shopping is very hectic. But the best part about it is when you find something you really like, and you take it home and wear it that very night.

“Usually I take a friend or go with my mom; sometimes I help her pick out clothes to wear. The day is never done without a visit to Mrs. Field’s for a chocolate chip cookie.”

Ole Henriksen

Ole Henriksen Skin Care

“I’m a beach lover. I just want to have my feet in the sand, literally right up to my ankles. The water is so relaxing on my feet as the waves come up on the sand.

“I take a picnic down to Laguna Beach to be with just me and the ocean. What I do is drive to Newport Beach and stay at Le Meridien Hotel there because it’s cheaper. My brother and his girl are in from Denmark. And we will be spending much time together at the beach.

“I don’t get drunk because in Laguna you get big tickets if you are on the beach with alcohol. I just sit there drinking mineral water and being a good kid under the umbrella, of course.

“No glaring sun for me, I’m big on protection. I use my SPF 26 and then I relax in the ocean breeze. It is so much fun. It is the best getaway that I can think of, and it’s one I do quite often.”

Rick Dees

Morning disc jockey, KIIS-FM

“I have the perfect place. I like to hang out where I can get a little sand between my toes and people don’t have to wear clothes. Just kidding.

“Seriously, I like to go to the La Quinta resort in La Quinta next to Palm Desert. It’s about 115 degrees and there is no one there. The rooms are about $10 a night and I can act like I own the place because no one is there. . . . Especially in the summertime. That’s the only time of year that no one thinks about going to the desert. It’s so deserted. I don’t have to talk. Which is something I usually have to do all of the time.

“The resort was built in 1926 by some friends of Dwight Eisenhower, and at one time it was known as the Western White House. It’s only about 75 miles out of L.A.-proper.

“To beat the heat, I soak a T-shirt in water and after a while it evaporates. It feels cool and refreshing. But that feeling hits me the second I get there. I always feel like taking a real long, deep breath and that just spells relaxation.”

Ann Cole

Cole of California swimwear

“I get as far away from the phone as possible, because if you stayed near the phone, you’d never get any rest. For people in my business, where travel is a part of everyday life, you really appreciate the quiet time of just being in your own home. The biggest luxury is to stay home. It sounds really corny, but it’s so relaxing.”

David Hinkley

Western regional director, Amnesty International USA

“Me and my family are fond of cultural experiences. We go to places like Hancock Park and the the Page Museum and the L.A. County Museum of Art. The kids love the dinosaurs . . . we all love the beautiful paintings. . . . The park is just a place where people from all over the world will congregate, maybe just to picnic. Olvera Street is another favorite. We think that it’s a rich environment and we want the children to see that we live in a multicultural place. . . . We don’t want them to lose their sense of being part of a larger world . . . one that isn’t revolved around one race, one ethnicity or one culture.”

Stan Herman

Beverly Hills real estate broker

“In my opinion, the city has changed so much in the past 20 or 30 years with the traffic and the influx of people. My great escape has become Malibu. Through my gates there is the ocean . . . my Shangri-La. The noise just dissipates. It is called being reborn. Some people seek out religion and sanctuaries of some kind. I find the ocean and the sand to have a very tranquilizing effect.”