Despite Antics, Gypsy Didn’t Get Into Hot Water

After USC’s victory in 100-plus degree heat, departing fans chuckled when they spotted a kid cooling off in a fountain on the nearby USC campus. Well, a kid at heart, anyway.

It was Gypsy Boots, age 87.

Known more in recent years as an unofficial cheerleader for local football teams and as the king of the Doo-Dah Parade, Boots was L.A.’s original hippie and health food guru. He was said to be one of the inspirations for the 1950s Nat King Cole song, “Nature Boy.”

On Sunday, though, he was just hot. So he waded into the thigh-deep fountain.

It goes without saying that Boots’ feet were bare.

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TUNNEL VISION: In more than 40 years of attending football games, Sunday’s ordeal at the Coliseum marked the first time I ever heard the public address announcer urge overheated fans to seek refuge in the stadium tunnels. That’s a practice that generally elicits a growl of, “Hey, you--move on!” from the ushers.

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ARE YOU CONSCIOUS? I’M WRITING YOU A TICKET: Ken Scofield of Redlands found a sign in Pasadena that seemed to indicate that “even lifesaving services have a parking limit” (see photo). Actually, he added, “CPR” refers not to cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but to a cellular phone company.

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LITTLE-KNOWN LOCAL UNIVERSITIES (CONT.): My guidebook is growing larger with the help of area scholars. Jim Rummel of Glendale pointed out, “I’m a graduate of the University of North Vermont--West Campus, I guess. That’s what we called Los Angeles City College on North Vermont Avenue.”

Barry Cook, meanwhile, reminded me that in honor of the street on which it is located, Glendale College was dubbed “SMU--Southern Montrose University.”

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STARR SLAM: Last week, I mentioned some local ads needling President Clinton, so it’s only fair I present a clothing store with a pro-Bubba approach (see accompanying).

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GUERRILLA PROOFREADER REPORT: Some other unusual ads and items spotted by Only in L.A.’s always vigilant army of readers.

* A sale of a white “birth” tree (submitted by Faith Burns)

* A “homely” townhouse (Renee Nathanson)

* A curb painter’s notice that invites residents to check “are” business license (Eleanor Casanova)

* A pet grooming product that promises “no more flees” (Greg O’Neill, who says it must be intended for animals that run away)

* A reference to a man who “moved to Glendale from the United States” (Anne Olmstead and Harry Hultine, among others)

* A playbill discussing music from “Los Angeles, Latin America, the Caribbean and the U.S.” (Helen Ketchum, who wonders if L.A.--like Glendale--has seceded from the United States.)

* A house whose features include custom “panty storage” (Donna Kelly)

* A piano sale in which everything “lust go” (Paul Amundson)

Just when I said I wouldn’t be making any jokes about Clinton . . .

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THE VIEW FROM KINDERGARTEN: Sally Erskine of L.A. said that it’s an unfortunate sign of the times that a “friend’s 5-year-old reported to his police officer father, ‘The president had sex with Monica Lewinsky.’ His father asked him what this meant and he said he didn’t know but that it was what the president did every day.”

miscelLAny:

The Queen Mary, which visited Long Beach three decades ago and has never departed, was originally supposed to be named the Queen Victoria. But, before it was christened in the 1930s, a Cunard Line executive told King George V that the company wanted to name the ocean liner after “the greatest of all English queens.” According to author William Manchester, the delighted king responded, “Oh, my wife will be pleased.” No need to tell you the name of the wife of George V.