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This article is a list of notable people who were born in and/or have lived in Topanga, California.
Actors
In the 1920s, Topanga Canyon became a weekend getaway for Hollywood silent film stars. The rolling hills and ample vegetation provided both privacy and attractive surroundings for some of the famous.
Actors currently or formerly residing in the Topanga area include:
- Richard Dean Anderson (1980)
- Blu del Barrio
- Lisa Bonet
- Eric Pierpoint
- Kyle Chandler
- John Clark
- Bob Denver
- Tony Dow
- Sharon Farrell
- Teri Garr
- Will Geer
- Billy Gray, and his late mother Beatrice Gray
- Emile Hirsch
- Jennifer Holden
- Dennis Hopper
- Jason Isaacs
- Joshua Jackson
- Katherine Kelly Lang
- Cloris Leachman
- Eric Mabius
- Wendie Malick
- Jason Momoa
- Viggo Mortensen
- Lupita Nyong'o
- Uschi Obermaier, model and actress
- William O'Leary
- Lynn Redgrave
- Molly Ringwald
- Joseph Rosendo
- Ricky Schroder
- Natalie Shaw
- Vinessa Shaw
- Amy Smart
- Sissy Spacek
- Dean Stockwell
- Russ Tamblyn, raising his daughter Amber Tamblyn
- Jeffrey Tambor, with wife Kasia and 2 children
- Barry Watson
- Robin Williams
- Jan-Michael Vincent
- Michael Stoker, Actor and Firefighter served at LACOFD Station 69 in Topanga
Musicians
In the musical fields, in 1952 Woody Guthrie was one of the early American musicians who moved to the Topanga area. As nearby Los Angeles grew into a major music industry capital in the 1950s and 1960s, Topanga Canyon was one of the city's bohemian enclaves some performers preferred living in.
Current and former musicians of the Topanga area include:
- Mark Andes
- Christopher Drew
- Ryan Bingham
- Vic Briggs
- Randy California
- Linda Ronstadt
- Ed Cassidy
- Justin Chancellor
- Alice Cooper
- Pee Wee Crayton
- JC Crowley
- John Densmore
- Neil Diamond
- Danny Elfman in 1989 at the time he was composing the Simpsons Theme (see his MasterClass, Lesson 5)
- Don Felder
- Jay Ferguson
- Mick Fleetwood
- The Flying Burrito Brothers
- Julia Fordham
- Leif Garrett 1970's teen idol
- Marvin Gaye
- Lowell George
- Woody Guthrie
- Colin Hay
- Richie Hayward
- John Helliwell
- Gary Hinman, music teacher and a victim of the Charles Manson gang; lived on Old Topanga Canyon Road in 1969
- Bob Hite
- Jacknife Lee
- Adam Jones
- Bernie Leadon
- John Locke
- Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane
- Charles Milles Manson (né Maddox) cult leader
- Joni Mitchell
- Jim Morrison
- Van Morrison
- Hani Naser (1950–2020), Jordanian-American musician
- Grace Potter
- Billy Preston
- Chris Robinson
- Ryan Ross
- Stephen Stills
- Fred Tackett
- Taj Mahal
- Big Joe Turner
- Alan Wilson
- Neil Young
- David Frank of The System
Writers
- Hugh Lofting, author of Dr Doolittle was living in Topanga at the time of his death in 1947
- Millicent Borges Accardi, NEA poet, lives in Topanga and writes theater reviews for the local Topanga Messenger newspaper
- Hampton Fancher, screenwriter, author, and director, lived for years on Old Canyon Boulevard
- Marija Gimbutas, archaeologist and Indo-European scholar noted for her Kurgan hypothesis and controversial books about Old European religion and society, lived in Topanga for decades
- Al Martinez, Pulitzer Prize winning former L.A. Times columnist, lived for decades in Topanga, often commenting on the nature of life there
- Jon Povill, writer of Total Recall and some episodes of Sliders, as well as producer of Star Trek: The Motion Picture resides there
- Oliver Sacks, neurologist and author, lived on Iowa Trail in Topanga from 1963 to 1965
- Hope Edelman, writer of New York Times bestseller Motherless Daughters
Others
- Henry Hill, gangster; moved to Topanga Canyon after he was put on probation in 2009
- Clement Meighan, archaeologist and UCLA Professor of Archaeology/Anthropology; resided in Topanga over 30 years.
References
- "'Tales from the Crypt' star John Kassir brings wooded Topanga retreat to market". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- Ennis, Dawn (February 7, 2022). "Star Trek's Blu del Barrio & Ian Alexander: Transgalactic Heroes". Out. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
- ^ Zemler, Emily (January 19, 2017). "Jason Momoa Is Happiest in the Mud and the Dirt". Esquite. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- "Eric Pierpoint". www.littlereview.com. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
- ^ Teresa Penner. "Topanga History & Culture". teresapenner.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- Lisa Marks (August 8, 2012). "Hounded out of Hollywood: Topanga film festival and the legacy of Will Geer | Film". theguardian.com. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
- Crowe, Cameron (October 18, 1979). "Sissy Spacek Acts Her Age". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ "Lifetimeline". www.woodyguthrie.org. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- "311 Frontman Nick Hexum Buys Topanga Equestrian Estate for $1.97M". Trulia's Blog. September 4, 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- Vic Briggs Biography, From Rock Star to Ragi; antionmusic. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
- ^ Rock and Roll roadmap.com: Topanga Canyon rock and roll scene. accessed July 17, 2015
- Johnston, Chris (January 19, 2013). "Lunch with Colin Hay". Retrieved March 6, 2015.
- Candela, Miguel (August 12, 2010). "JOHN HELLIWELL Interview, April 2003". Retrieved March 6, 2015.
- Varga, George (March 11, 2020). "Grace Potter, a happily remarried first-time mom, on love, divorce and band break-ups". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
- Blog post in David Frank | music production
- "Death certificate for Hugh John Lofting". FamilySearch.
- "Topanga Journal and Malibu Monitor from Topanga, California on October 3, 1947 · 1". Newspapers.com. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
- ""Dispatch from a Pandemic: Topanga, California" by Millicent Borges Accardi". Another Chicago Magazine. July 1, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
- Topanga, N/A; Ca 90290. "Millicent Borges Accardi". Poets & Writers. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - "Fancher Goes His Own Way / 'Blade Runner' writer now directing serial-killer film". September 19, 1999.
- "Obituary: Marija Gimbutas". Independent.co.uk. February 23, 1994.
- Leslie, Jacques (June 11, 1989). "THE GODDESS THEORY : Controversial UCLA Archeologist Marija Gimbutas Argues That the World Was at Peace When God Was a Woman". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
- "Columnists". www.latimes.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 2008.
- "Al Martinez webpage". Almartinez.org. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
- Jon Povill at IMDb
- "Oliver Sacks: Tripping in Topanga, 1963 - Los Angeles Review of Books". lareviewofbooks.org. December 12, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- "Neurologist Oliver Sacks On The Hallucination That Saved His Life". NPR.org. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
- "Author Hope Edelman's 'journey of faith'". Los Angeles Times. September 20, 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
- "Real-Life 'Goodfellas' Mobster Henry Hill Dies In Los Angeles Hospital". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
- "University of California: In Memoriam, 2000". texts.cdlib.org. Retrieved September 15, 2022.