Tour de North Hollywood: A passerby spotted...

Tour de North Hollywood: A passerby spotted an unattended bicycle on Ventura Boulevard and rode off with it, apparently unaware that it belonged to a Los Angeles police officer.

The cop gave chase on foot but, after two blocks, he was losing the race. Then a motorist pulled up, opened the passenger door and shouted at him to “get in,” police said later.

The car quickly caught up with the bicycle thief, who jumped off and fled on foot. The suspect was quickly apprehended by the officer, who had remounted his bicycle. You never forget how to ride one of those things.

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Lie-in movies: Long Beach Community Hospital, which celebrated its 70th birthday Friday, once offered a unique service to patients on one side of the facility.

“We had a great view of the Circle Drive-In theater from the east wing when it opened in 1959,” recalled spokesman Mark Scott. “Patients were always looking down there at the screen. So our General Services Department made arrangements with the drive-in to run a wire up there so they could hear the sound. That went on for three or four years before we started putting TVs in every room. The drive-in is gone now. The movies were tamer back then. If patients were watching today, we’d probably have to worry about their EKGs.”

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Misspelling of the week: Jill Smith photographed a sign directed toward seniors with some errors that junior high schoolers would be unlikely to make.

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The poetry of Woody Woodpecker: A while back, radio station KLSX-FM hosted a “Poetry of Rock” exhibit of autographed lyrics, prompting this column to wonder whether it would pay tribute to such classics as “Yummy yummy yummy, I’ve got love in my tummy” (Ohio Express).

OK, so we were in a sarcastic mood. Now, the Good Music Record Co. of Ridgely, Md., has put out a new album--” ’Mairzy Doats’ Plus 43 More Wacky Hits from the Fun ‘40s”--that proves songwriters were assaulting the English language long before rock. Some examples:

* “Mairzy Doats,” by the Merry Macs (“Mairzy doats and dozee doats and little lambsy-dyvy, a-kiddlee-divy-too, wouldn’t you.”

* “Three Little Fishies,” by Kay Kyser (“In an itty-bitty brook. . . .”)

* “Civilization,” by Danny Kaye and the Andrews Sisters (“Bongo, bongo, bongo, I don’t want to leave the Congo.”)

* “I’m a Lonely Little Petunia (in an Onion Patch),” by Two-Ton Baker & His Music Makers.

* “Woody Woodpecker,” by the Sportsmen & Mel Blanc (“Eh-eh-eh-eh-eh, eh-eh-eh-eh-eh”).

When “Woody” was released as a single, by the way, the flip side was “When Veronica Plays Her Harmonica on the Pier at Santa Monica,” which was omitted from this album, we’re sad to say.

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The goatee will be extra: Seth Greenberg of Santa Monica noticed an ad listing Supercuts as one of the sponsors of an L.A. soccer camp featuring U.S. star Alexi Lalas. “Perhaps it’s time for Mr. Lalas to pay a visit to Supercuts,” Greenberg added.

miscelLAny:

The radio blurb for the local revival of the musical “No, No, Nanette” says: “Nostalgia is back.” We’re pleased, because we have fond memories of nostalgia.