“Forgotten Hollywood”- Anthony Quinn Mural Restored…
Manny P. here…
“`Anthony Quinn is again the iconic Pope of Broadway; his colorful image welcoming visitors to Downtown Los Angeles. Artist Eloy Torrez’s magnificent 70-foot-tall acrylic mural, showing the actor with his arms outstretched, was rededicated this week after the muralist spent last Fall restoring it to its former glory.
“`The painting of Quinn, standing on a colorful tile walkway in front of a building resembling a church, has greeted passers-by crossing Broadway, and entering the city’s Third Street Tunnel through Bunker Hill for decades. But, over the years, it had begun to crumble, falling victim to the elements and graffiti vandals. The restoration campaign was launched in 2010 by Quinn’s late son, Francesco, Edward James Olmos, City Councilman Jose Huizar, and numerous others.
“`One of the art world’s most prominent Chicano painters, Torrez’s works have been displayed, not only on buildings in Los Angeles and France, but in galleries and museums throughout the United States, Mexico, and Europe. Eloy recalled at the re-dedication that he had completed a mural on the Hollywood wall featuring 1950s cinematic legends – Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, James Dean, among others, when the owner of the Victor Clothing Company asked for one of an equally prominent Hispanic actor for his Downtown building. Most of his clientele, he told Torrez, were Latino.
“`The Mexican-born actor who died in 2001 was twice nominated for leading actor Oscars, and twice won as Supporting Actor for Lust for Life and Viva Zapata. Noted for incredible diversity, he also famously portrayed an angry Bedouin leader in Lawrence of Arabia, the good-natured Zorba the Greek, an impoverished fisherman in The Old Man and the Sea, and numerous other ethnicities in countless films.
“`Quinn’s final role is to welcome all diverse people who travel through Southern California. It’s a role he would relish.
Unitl next time> “never forget”
This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 24th, 2017 at 7:11 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
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