Theater Produces a Big Donation

A day after a local businessman donated $2.5 million to the main theater at the Civic Arts Plaza, the theater’s fund-raisers said Wednesday they were ecstatic--both to have a new name for the orphaned venue and to find a donor willing to pay on the spot.

Even after depositing a $2.1-million check from Fred Kavli into the Alliance for the Arts’ account, alliance Executive Director Patricia Moore said she was still stunned by the generous donation.

“This is just, just . . . wonderful,” she said. “It took awhile for it to sink in. When it finally did, I had a tear in my eye. My bookkeeper just jumped around.”

With a sweep of his pen, Kavli--owner of the sensor manufacturer Kavlico Corp. in Moorpark--has become the largest single donor to the $64-million Civic Arts Plaza.

The bulk of his donation--$2 million--will boost the alliance’s programming endowment, the fund that will make available grants to bring internationally known performers to Thousand Oaks and provide a financial boost to community groups. The remainder of the donation, about $400,000, will be paid at a later date.

The donation effectively ends the Charles E. Probst saga--in which the reclusive millionaire pledged $2 million to the center’s fund-raising arm only to renege on his promise, even after a court settlement in which he vowed to pay up.

Infamous for the patchy landscaping that once adorned his North Ranch manor and his enigmatic personality, Probst has since left Thousand Oaks for parts unknown.

Probst’s name was stripped from the performing arts center about eight weeks ago, after months of nonpayment on his pledge. Sources have said Probst paid less than $1 million of his promised donation.

Within about a month, the 1,800-seat theater, renamed “The Fred Kavli Theater of Performing Arts,” will get a new sign to fill the void left by Probst. Moore said she spent part of Wednesday morning soliciting bids on the foot-high, silver letters for a new sign. The letters from the Probst theater have been saved and some may be reused if they don’t look too shabby, she said.

“This generous donation enables us to have a nice, clean, fresh start . . . ,” said Bob Lewis, chairman of the Alliance for the Arts. “I think now you’re going to see a real sense of excitement. I think this is going to be a rejuvenation--not that the place is languishing.”

Indeed, despite the Probst matter, the alliance has built an enviable operating endowment--worth nearly $4.4 million, Lewis said.

Members of the alliance, the fund-raising arm of the Civic Arts Plaza, kept their good news mum until a surprise announcement at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

This time around, the alliance has no worries that a donor might default on his contribution, said Chairman-elect Dick Goodrich, a senior vice president with Bank of America, who has handled some of Kavli’s accounts. In fact, the group fielded queries from at least two other anonymous donors interested in seeing their names in sparkling silver in the theater.

Kavli approached the alliance with the donation offer about a month ago, after some of his employees from the Thousand Oaks area mentioned that the main theater sat nameless, Goodrich said. Part of the appeal of Kavli’s offer was its structure.

“The preponderance is up-front money, as opposed to a plan paid out over time,” Goodrich said. Default “isn’t an option in Mr. Kavli’s case. It’s not in his vocabulary.”

In addition to the ample seed money for the alliance’s programming endowment, a portion of the money will go toward the group’s annual giving campaign.

At his Moorpark headquarters Wednesday, Kavli was almost shy discussing his philanthropic efforts, which include the Boys & Girls Club, Moorpark College and the Reagan Foundation.

“I certainly do this with a great deal of respect and humility,” the 70-year-old Kavli said, adding that he does not relish the thought of driving past a building bearing his name. “I’m grateful I can do this . . . for the community. I really am not seeking any publicity.”

Kavli will be formally introduced to the alliance’s board of directors and city leaders at a reception in his honor in early August, when he returns from a European vacation.

City Council members Wednesday said they relished the news.

“I’m just delighted . . . ,” said Councilwoman Elois Zeanah, who had criticized the Probst donation previously, because the businessman received a waiver for his landscaping plans not long after promising the money. “The Alliance for the Arts is doing a great job. This will mean a lot to the programming and to community morale,” she added.

Councilwoman Judy Lazar agreed, calling the donation spectacular.

“We are so fortunate to have people in the community, business people based in the community, who believe in the Civic Arts Plaza and its programming so much that they are willing to put up $2.5 million in cash,” she said. “That says a lot for the alliance. It takes a very big heart and a generous and open mind.”

With any luck, Probst’s name will now be erased from the annals of Thousand Oaks history, Zeanah added.

The decision to strip Probst’s name from the theater came May 12, two years after the reclusive businessman settled a civil complaint filed by the Alliance for the Arts.

After making the initial $250,000 payment on his pledge in late 1994, Probst missed two $175,000 installments, the alliance revealed in 1995. So the group took Probst and his wife, Florence, to court for breach of contract in 1996. The case was settled in June of that year, with Probst agreeing to make accelerated payments, which he kept current until April, sources said.

Probst, in his 50s, lived in privileged obscurity until 1994, when his plans to clear natural vegetation from the hillside below his 30-bedroom, 11-bathroom mansion angered homeowners’ association members in the posh North Ranch area. Probst proposed planting a mini-jungle of 900 trees and shrubs to replace the native vegetation.

After scolding him for scalping the hillside, the city’s Planning Commission rejected Probst’s unusual landscaping plan. Then--days before the City Council was set to consider an appeal of the decision--Probst offered $2 million to the Civic Arts Plaza.

On a split vote, the City Council overturned the Planning Commission’s decision.

Once he had made the first $250,000 payment to the theater complex in fall 1994, Probst and his wife, better known as Kitty, joined this city’s insider arts circles.

They also made large contributions to a few political campaigns. But Probst was a no-show at his own press conference meant to introduce him to the community.

Probst sold his estate for a little more than half its $18.9 million asking price last year, and has left a variety of forwarding addresses since.