Snapshots of life in the Golden State. : Accidents Still Haunt Sets Years After ‘Twilight Zone’

A decade after the “Twilight Zone” tragedy took the lives of Vic Morrow and two child actors, accidents continue to abound on movie sets across the state.

Thirteen people were injured in six major filming accidents in California in 1992, including six stuntmen hospitalized for burns in special effects explosions on the Terminal Island set of “Glass Shadow--Cyborg II.”

State officials maintain that the film industry is, by and large, a safe one to work in.

“There’s no one factor we can point to to say this is the reason it’s happening,” says state Fire Marshal Ron Coleman. “We think it’s an anomaly.”

But California Film Commission Director Patti Stolkin Archuletta acknowledges that “economic constraints and limited resources in some instances have perhaps been a cause of these things.”

In the 1982 “Twilight Zone” accident, the actors died during the filming of a Vietnam battle scene when a helicopter flying in the midst of special effects pyrotechnics spun out of control and crashed down upon them. Film director John Landis and four other associates were later found not guilty of criminal charges stemming from the deaths.

State officials say they have since instituted stronger safety guidelines. At the same time, Coleman says, there is “an ever-increasing need for bigger and badder special effects because of all the action-oriented films. I think it makes it tougher on everybody to do things safely.”

The State of Our Health

Californians are drinking and smoking less but also are exercising less, says the state Department of Health Services, which randomly surveyed more than 1,000 adults. Here are the percentages of people who reported certain behaviors or health risks:

BEHAVIOR % 1984 % 1991 Cigarette smoking 25.2 19.7 Alcohol consumption* 64.0 57.7 Drinking and driving 4.2 2.1 Sedentary lifestyle** 49.2 53.4 Overweight*** 16.8 22.0 Hypertension 23.7 20.3

* Drinking any alcoholic beverage in the last 30 days. ** Those reporting no or irregular leisure-time physical activity during the past month are considered sedentary. *** Calculations based on self-reported height and weight. Source: Department of Health Services Compiled by Times researcher Tracy Thomas

The disaster state: How bad a year was 1992?

An unprecedented five presidential “declarations of major disaster” were issued for California communities last year, covering earthquakes in Humboldt and San Bernardino counties, flooding in Southern California, a pair of wildfires in Calaveras and Shasta counties and the civil unrest in Los Angeles.

“We’ve had a lot of misery throughout this state,” sighed state Office of Emergency Services information officer Nancy Hardaker.

With $1.6 billion in disaster damage, 1992 marked the third year of the last four in which the state suffered more than $1 billion in losses.

By far the costliest disaster of the year was the rioting, which resulted in 53 deaths, 2,383 injuries and $1 billion in estimated damages. In contrast, the 7.5-magnitude Landers temblor, the state’s strongest in 40 years, caused one death and an estimated $91 million in damage.

Other disasters included the whitefly infestation in Imperial and Riverside counties and a break in San Diego’s offshore sewage line.

Just the flacks: As if it’s not bad enough that California’s two new U.S. senators have announced that all calls from reporters must be funneled through their press secretaries, there is also the question of how much expertise the spokesmen and spokeswomen have around Washington.

For decades, senators had allowed news reporters free access to their 50-plus staffers, who could provide meaningful information and context on a wide range of topics. On the other hand, Bill Chandler, who served as Mayor Tom Bradley’s spokesman before signing on with Dianne Feinstein last summer, has been viewed by reporters at Los Angeles City Hall and on the campaign trail as an amiable young man with little grasp of specific facts and policy issues. Asked by a reporter last fall for Feinstein’s position on assistance to inner cities, Chandler, 28, responded that Feinstein supported “the $5-million urban aid bill. Or was it $5 billion?”

Chandler, for his part, asserts that he will serve as a conduit for reporters seeking specifics. “We will find the appropriate person and get them to the reporter quickly,” he said.

Less bangers for the buck: For many a decade, the sun-drenched shores of California have served as a mecca for British expatriates. But these days, the glory is fading, according to the Spectator.

From aerospace workers to actors to the Walthamstow native who operates the “Death-Styles of the Rich and Famous” tour of Hollywood, British immigrants are suffering their worst times in memory, correspondent William Cash reports.

The economic crash is in large part a result of the state’s recession. Also a factor is the sinking exchange rate for the British pound. There is no longer a demand for “English public schoolboys masquerading as butlers,” the British weekly says. Indeed, things have gotten so bad in California, it adds, that a sausage company which produced products for British-style groceries has been forced to close shop.

EXIT LINE

“Mommy, why is an Elvis impersonator in here?”

“Let me tell you something. This is a truck stop. This is their territory.”

--Hushed conversation between a young girl and her mother while eating breakfast last week at an Inland Empire auto/truck plaza. The King in question had just come in out of the rain--garbed in wraparound sunglasses and a sequined blue jumpsuit--to order his morning repast.