Actress finds her Verdugo Connection

Actress Vanessa Verdugo was in the fourth grade when she realized

that she was related to some of the area’s most famous settlers.

She was on a field trip to San Fernando Mission when classmates

pointed out that her name was the same as those mentioned by the

guide.

“That’s the day I first made the connection,” she said.

Later, she talked to her father and learned that she was descended

from two old California families, Verdugo and Pico.

Verdugo has another connection with some of her relatives: acting.

“There’s a whole slew of us,” she said, referring to cousins Elena

Verdugo, who appeared in “Marcus Welby, M.D.,” and Catherine Bach of

the TV show, “Dukes of Hazzard.”

“My family didn’t grow up going to the Verdugo Day Parade,” said

Verdugo, who lives in Orange County. In fact, she’s just started

delving into her heritage.

Last year, she came to the Special Collections Room at the Central

Library and learned of the Glendale connection. She even got involved

with the Days of Verdugo activities, but had to drop out when a play

came along.

Now, Verdugo has another incentive to delve into her heritage.

She is appearing in a new play, “Reds, Whites and Blues,” playing

the concierge in an exclusive hotel.

As part of her role, she takes theatergoers on a tour of the

play’s venue, the historic Athletic Club in downtown Los Angeles.

“I give the audience a tour of the club and give them a history of

L.A.’s beginnings and tell the story of the Athletic Club’s first

president, who was a member of the Lankershim family,” she said. “I

take them out onto the roof and point out the old streets and

landmarks.”

“Are you one of the Verdugos?” Vanessa was once asked when she

auditioned for a Salvation Army public service announcement.

“You used to own all of Glendale, and now you’re standing in line

at a soup kitchen!”

Verdugo has been doing more research into her family history since

she and I first spoke, and has discovered that she is indeed related

to Jose Maria Verdugo, (who once owned all of the land on which

Glendale now sits), although she is not directly descended from his

line.

On a visit to the Southern California Genealogical Society, in

Burbank, a volunteer showed her an old book “Spanish-Mexican

Families of Early California, 1769-1850” written by Marie Northrop.

In the book was a listing of the children of Juan Diego Verdugo.

The four boys and two girls were Juana Maria, Mariano de la Luz,

Jose Maria, Maria Rosalia Maximiana, Ignacio Leonardo and Juan Maria.

Verdugo is descended from Ignacio Leonardo Verdugo, making Jose

Maria a distant great uncle.

Armed with detailed information on her family’s part in Los

Angeles’ history, Verdugo is rehearsing for the play, which deals

with two young women, former classmates, who meet again in an

exclusive hotel, one as a privileged guest, the other as a maid, and

discover how each has dealt with their lives.

For more information on the play, which opens Aug. 1 and runs each

weekend throughout the month, call (323) 655-0120 or find it on the

Web at TriumviratePi@cs.com.

KATHERINE YAMADA is a volunteer with the Special Collections Room

at the Central Library. To reach her, leave a message at 637-3241.

The Special Collections Room is open from 1:30 to 5:30 Saturdays or

by appointment. For more information on Glendale’s history, contact

the reference desk at the Central Library, 548-2027.