Fond Remembrances

It is with definite sadness that I learned of Peter Hemmings’ death on Jan. 4. Opera lovers of the city owe him a large debt of gratitude for his steady hand in creating, and growing, Los Angeles Opera to its world-renowned stature. The city is richer and stronger due to his work.

He was also a kind, approachable man, with a warm greeting, whose knowledge and passion for opera became readily apparent during a conversation with him before an opera.

MATTHEW HETZ

Los Angeles

*

This letter is on behalf of the other Hollywood, those boys and girls who are not as polished, erudite or removed as the older Hollywood generation. The trainers and bartenders, the aspiring and the lost, for whom [producer] Julia Phillips [who died Jan. 1] had a special affinity.

I was Julia’s assistant for three years and she was a friend to me for many more, though I was 21 years her junior. This is what I saw: Julia always treated everyone equally, from the valet parker to the maitre d’ to the manicurist to the addict. She used to tell me it was because “he or she might be the one to create the next great script, novel or painting.” I always suspected it had more to do with her heart, a rooting for the underdog and the understanding of the potential of human beings for good or bad.

TODD JENKINS

Hollywood