No One’s Even Pawning Oscars?

Is this an indication that hard times are over for the entertainment community here? I’m referring to the closure of a business near City Hall that called itself “Pawnshop to the Stars.”

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HOME REMEDIES: In reference to the “Madonna Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” sign outside one of her former residences, publicist David Kramer of Beverly Hills writes: “In the 1970s, there was a sign outside a Beverly Hills mansion north of Sunset, reading: ‘Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward no longer live here.’ ”

So?

So, Kramer adds: “The Newmans did still live there. The sign was a ploy.”

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COULD IT BE THE DECLINE OF THE FOOTBALL TEAM? As both a former student of--and a current professor at--USC, Dr. Murray Zimmerman objected to an ad he saw in a Whittier newspaper (see accompanying). “Why,” Zimmerman asked, “should USC’s seniors--or juniors or sophomores--be more depressed than those at UCLA or UC Irvine or Cal State L.A., for that matter?”

(Columnist’s note: I am not looking for responses from wise guys or wise gals at UCLA or UC Irvine or Cal State L.A., for that matter.)

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BEGINNING OF THE END? In San Diego County, James Karolek snapped a shot of an “Armageddon” marquee that had already been subjected to an attack (see photo). An earthling’s car hit it, Karolek said.

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THE ABC’S OF CITY NAMES: After reading in The Times that Azusa derives its name from a Shoshone word for skunk, Roger Anderson of Redlands writes: “I, and many of my contemporaries, have been led to believe the name is an anagram for ‘Everything from A to Z in the USA.’ ”

While that saying was informally adopted by the city this century, Azusa was the name of a rancho early in the 19th century--long before sloganizing began in these parts.

And besides--”Everything in the USA?” Has Madonna lived there?

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MORE BACKGROUND CHECKS: Azusa isn’t the only city name attached to a myth. Some other tall tales:

* El Segundo was originally “El Segundo de Nada” because it was “second to none.” The actual, less romantic, explanation is that it was the site of Standard Oil’s second refinery in California.

* Burbank honors the memory of Luther, the horticulturist. Actually, it’s dentist David Burbank.

* Redondo Beach salutes swashbuckling pirate Juan Rodriguez Redondo. The Redondo Beach Pier Assn. once sent out a tongue-in-cheek press release to that effect, and it was picked up by some outlets.

The city actually was named after the adjacent Rancho Sausal Redondo (redondo means “round” in Spanish).

You can’t blame that city for straining for attention. How can you compete with cities named for a skunk, a refinery and a dentist?

miscelLAny:

The traffic signal on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills that snaps photos of drivers running red lights may inspire a film. Writer Hank Rosenfeld says that a performance artist told him he “plans on pranking the camera by organizing carloads of people in gorilla outfits to drive in formation through the red light.”

Rosenfeld added: “He will film the cars going through as they are being filmed by the traffic signal’s camera and have a showing of his film. Their front plates will be covered, of course.”

You have to expect such precautions in gorilla warfare.