Los Angeles News Roundup ~ January 9, 2007

Scooby Doo Designer Dies in LA
Iwao Takamoto, the animator who designed cartoon canines Scooby-Doo and Astro from the Jetsons, died at age 81 yesterday. The great Takamoto, who also designed the other Scooby-Doo characters, was born on Los Angeles in 1925 and endured time in an internment camp during WWII.

Harry Perry Speaks
You've seen him on the Venice boardwalk, or on this site, now you can read an interview that is (unsurprisingly?) not all that exciting, but for LA character fanatics like us, it's probably close to essential.

Johnie's Broiler, Googie Classic, Almost Destroyed
Franklin Ave. has the scoop on Johnnnie's of Downie, which was in the process of being torn down when local preservationists rushed to the scene and managed to halt the demolition. We love the idea of caped preservation crusaders bolting from their (mid century mod, of course) bat-cave just in the nick of time to halt the devious demo crew. The villains in this case appear to be used car dealers, who were not granted a permit to tear down the landmark, and did it anyway. Photo by Eddie Blanck