Bright Lights, Big Theater

Television broke with tradition this fall when a new family-oriented show called “Life Goes On,” featuring an actor with Down’s syndrome (Chris Burke), began airing Sundays at 7 p.m. on ABC. A group of 20 developmentally disabled adults in the San Fernando Valley are particularly heartened by the breakthrough. They make up a theater company called Brite Lites Theatre that for four years has been entertaining community groups and schools in the Valley.

There is a waiting list to get into the company, which is sponsored by the nonprofit San Fernando Valley Assn. for the Retarded. “We have a threefold purpose: to mainstream our performers into the community, to promote the agency and to entertain. You wouldn’t believe the response we get--standing ovations and cheers,” says Nancy Banks, the company’s founder.

What is most obvious about the company members is their enthusiasm. While many may try to imitate Michael Jackson’s moves, few can match the intensity of John Strabac of Reseda, who sometimes pops the buttons off his shirt as he dances to “Bad” in the group’s newest revue, called “Rockin’ and Rollin’.”

Some of the group’s members aspire to a show business career. “I’d like to do any kind of a TV show,” says Keith Garrison of Pacoima, whose favorite shows are “Cosby” and “Knight Rider.”

Their next public outing will be Dec. 7 at the United Methodist Church in Sepulveda. For further information, call (818) 894-9301.

Tying the Knot at Orcutt Ranch

It’s the type of place that you can imagine as a family retreat, which it used to be. But the 26-acre Orcutt Ranch in West Hills, with its rose garden, citrus groves and towering oaks, became the property of the Los Angeles City Recreation and Parks Department in 1966. Since then, it has been the site of countless weddings.

Richard B. Orcutt will be getting married in the ranch’s rose garden to Mary Musick of Van Nuys on Nov. 11.

“I’m just tickled to death that I’m getting married over there,” said Orcutt, who lives in La Crescenta and works for the Los Angeles City Department of Public Works. His grandfather’s brother William, the original owner of the ranch and a Union Oil geologist, is credited with discovering a slew of oil reserves near Santa Maria, as well as alerting paleontologists to the riches of the La Brea Tar Pits. The town of Orcutt, Calif. is named after him.

Musick, who has lived in the Valley for only three years, wasn’t aware of the family’s prominence. “I had never heard of the name before I met him. After we sent the invitations out, those people who are long to the Valley said, ‘Oh, you didn’t tell me his last name was Orcutt.’ ”

According to Richard Orcutt, the Orcutt and Mulholland families used to be “very much involved” with each other. “Mulholland is one of my heroes,” he said. “He brought water to L.A.” Orcutt doesn’t intend to belittle his more famous relation. It’s just that his job as an electric pumping-plant operating engineer leaves him more preoccupied with water than oil.

Signs of the Times

“Real smart marketers who have figured out the importance of the Hispanic market are beginning to do outdoor advertising in the Spanish language,” says Amy Van Court, who does market analysis for Patrick Media Group, a company with more than 7,000 billboards in the Los Angeles area.

Patrick will guide advertisers interested in Spanish-language billboards through five areas, including the communities of Pacoima and San Fernando, where Spanish-speaking residents make up at least half of the population.

“Ten years ago, Spanish-language outdoor advertising was nonexistent. In fact, as recently as five years ago there was almost none of it. Now it’s growing between 10% and 30% a year” in Los Angeles, Van Court says.

There are two types of companies that buy Spanish-language billboards, according to Van Court. “The first is those companies who have always used outdoor advertising to the general market and who are now running the same ads in both languages.” She cites Bank of America and Chief Auto Parts as examples.

The second type is the Latino-oriented company, such as Aero California, a small airline that flies within Mexico, which advertises exclusively in Spanish and doesn’t target the general market.

Sleepless Evening Wear

“This is different than underwear as outer wear. This is sleepwear as evening wear,” says Maryke DeGraff, owner of Monique, a lingerie store in Encino’s Plaza de Oro. “Some of today’s nightgowns could definitely go out of the house instead of staying at home in the bedroom. And a nightgown is usually cheaper than a dress.”

Women’s sleepwear has moved beyond pale pastels in skimpy fabrics. “It’s getting more elegant and sophisticated rather than frilly,” DeGraff says. “We’re going away from traditional feminine flowery looks into colorful prints that are a little more geometric, as well as animal prints. Or else florals that lend themselves more to a ready-to-wear look rather than a boudoir look.”

While pastels will always be strong sellers, many sleepwear manufacturers are leaning toward more vibrant colors. “Jewel tones are big,” says Jan Marie Harvey, designer of the sleepwear line for the lingerie company E. Bole, based in Van Nuys. The company’s line is sold in Nordstrom, Broadway, Bullock’s and some boutiques. “And black and white will be very big for spring this season.”

Choice of fabrics plays an important role in sleepwear’s new dual identity. Charmeuse--a satinlike fabric that drapes smoothly around the body--is very popular, as are washable silks.

Overheard at . . .

“Boy, life is complete now that I can buy shoes with Santa Claus emblems on them.”

--Woman looking through a mail-order catalogue while eating lunch in a Van Nuys Burger King.