Our mention that the book “This Is...

Our mention that the book “This Is Hollywood” states that Tom Mix’s horse, Old Blue, is buried near Glendale Boulevard caused some readers to cry n-e-i-g-h!

George French of Torrance wrote: “My God, man, are you telling me that I, in the early 1920s, would race down to the Lorin Theater in South Berkeley to watch my hero straddle something called Old Blue?”

Bill Stein and Lynn Sadrai also called to back up French’s point that the cowboy star rode a steed named . . . Tony. (Who knows, that may have been the name of Mix’s barber, too.)

Ken Schessler, author of the “Hollywood” tome, has a simple explanation. Mix (1880-1940) used Blue at his Mixville Movie Studio “during the early years of the silent-film era.” He began using Tony after Blue died. Blue would have wanted it that way.

List of the Day:

In memory of Blue and Tony, here are the names of some Western TV heroes and their mounts:

1--Hopalong Cassidy (Topper).

2--Matt Dillon (Marshal).

3--Little Joe (Cochise), Hoss (Chub), Ben (Buck).

4--Tonto (Scout).

5--Roy Rogers (Trigger).

6--Dale Evans (Buttercup).

7-- Pat Brady (Nellybelle).*

* Nellybelle was the name of the Jeep that sidekick Brady drove on the “Roy Rogers” show. The location of Nellybelle’s remains is unknown.

Dr. Thomas Amberry readily admits that he has feet of clay.

He has feet of just about every known substance, in fact. The Long Beach podiatrist keeps them all in his office building, which doubles as perhaps the only foot-paraphernalia museum in the nation. It’s discussed in the travel guide “Medical Landmarks USA.”

Amberry, 68, said his collection dates to his early years, when patients began sending him novelty items, such as foot-shaped lamps, foot murals and a foot-shaped skateboard.

“Now I’ve got feet everywhere, even on the toilet wall,” he said with a laugh.

His celebrity shoes range from the tiny footwear of Gen. Tom Thumb, the midget circus star, to the size 26 specimens of George Bell, a 7-foot-8 basketball player.

Like any curator, Amberry dreams of even bigger acquisitions. An authenticated set of Bigfoot’s prints, for example.

A few months after Matsushita bought out the American company that operated Yosemite National Park, Kathy Kennel of San Marino saw a sign that said:

“Yosemite Departing Saturday, 8 a.m.”

“I wondered if Japan was taking it back with them,” Kennel joked.

False alarm. Actually, it was the marquee promoting a high school’s field trip.

miscelLAny:

In the 1850s, the zanjero , or water superintendent, was L.A.’s highest-paid official, earning $1,200 per year. The ranking hasn’t changed much, though the salary has. Daniel Waters, the current general manager of the Department of Water and Power, is No. 2 among city officials. He’s paid $157,000 per year.