No fictional work could top the real...

No fictional work could top the real thing:

The coming attraction for “Trial & Error,” a courtroom comedy about an actor who impersonates a lawyer, calls the film “the second most outrageous trial of the century.”

TICKET TALES: The 76-year-old Hollywood Bowl is no stranger to sour notes, at least in the competition for good seats. In the book, “The Hollywood Bowl: Tales of Summer Nights,” writer Orrin Howard mentions these maneuvers:

* The divorce settlement in which the husband gave up the house so he could keep his box seats. He sent his secretary to pick up the tickets on opening night but his ex-wife beat her to it, then exercised squatter’s rights.

* The zealots who periodically phone the bowl to try to acquire the box of a person whose name they spot in the obituary section. Such efforts usually fail since box-holders generally specify in their wills who will get the seats.

* And then there was the longtime bowl-goer who complained she was feeling a draft. She said it was caused by the removal of a tree near her seat. She asked that it be replanted.

ARE YOU SURE NO ONE’S LOOKING? We’re disappointed, though, that the Hollywood Bowl book makes no reference to an Only in L.A. scoop--about a couple who were spotted making love on a ridge behind the bowl during the 1993 Playboy Jazz Festival.

The duo apparently had no idea--or perhaps didn’t care--that they were being observed by many spectators via the miracle of binoculars. One witness said that each time the lovers “would change whatever they were doing, people would cheer them on.”

The event has been immortalized, however, in Michael Connelly’s latest novel, “Trunk Music.”

UNTRUE TO THEIR SCHOOL: UC Berkeley’s grads have distinguished themselves in many ways, including their cheapness when it comes to alumni donations. One study found that just 10% of Cal’s alums contribute. So, a Southern California group has begun nagging local grads in such publications as the Hollywood Reporter with humorous ads that refer to the rebellious, somewhat hallucinatory, 1960s. Some sample pitches:

* “If you can remember coming to Berkeley, call 213-624-8714.”

* “If you left UC Berkeley and turned into a rabid capitalist, we’d love to hear from you.”

* “You helped save the whales. You helped save the spotted owl. Now you can help save the Bears.”

* “Berkeley graduates are in touch with their environment. Some may even be in touch with extra-terrestrials. It’s time they get in touch with us.”

* “When you were at Berkeley you were going to start a revolution, change the world, alter the course of history. We’ll settle for a phone call. . . .”

We feel guilty, and our only connection to the school was we jogged on its track once.

miscelLAny:

Eric Williams of Glendale snapped a photo of a Caltrans sign that contained a spelling error of a word that was also bungled on another Caltrans notice last year. May we suggest substituting “for a while”? Of course, the older sign apparently will be up until 2096?