Fires burning in and around Los Angeles have claimed the homes of numerous celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Jeff Bridges, and R&B star Jhené Aiko, and led to sweeping disruptions of entertainment events.
Three awards ceremonies planned for this weekend have been postponed. Next week’s Oscar nominations have been delayed. And tens of thousands of Angelenos are displaced and awaiting word Thursday on whether their homes survived the flames — some of them the city’s most famous denizens.
Thousands of structures have been destroyed but damage assessments are just beginning. More than 180,000 people are also under evacuation orders in the metropolitan area, from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena, a number that continues to shift as new fires erupt.
Late Wednesday, a fire in the Hollywood Hills was scorching the hills near the famed Hollywood Bowl and Dolby Theatre, which is the home of the Academy Awards. That fire had been largely contained without damage to Hollywood landmarks.
Here are how the fires are impacting celebrities and the Los Angeles entertainment industry:
Stars whose homes have burned in the fires
Celebrities like Crystal and his wife, Janice, were sharing memories of the homes they lost.
The Crystals lost the home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood that they lived in for 45 years.
“Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can’t be taken away. We are heartbroken of course but with the love of our children and friends we will get through this,” the Crystals wrote in the statement.
After her learning her Pacific Palisades home was lost in the fires, Melissa Rivers says she was grateful her family was safe but devastated by “losing pieces of my family’s history.” Rivers says she was able to retrieve a few meaningful items, including her mother Joan’s Emmy and a photo of her father.
Mandy Moore’s home in the Altadena neighborhood roughly 30 miles east of the Palisades is severely damaged and unlivable, but she said Thursday after touring her property that “the main part of our house is still standing.” A studio used by her husband and his brother, two members of the group Dawes, was destroyed and they lost “every instrument and piece of equipment they’ve ever owned. … Everyone we know lost everything.”
Moore said she’s “feeling weird survivors guilt.”
Jeff Bridges and his siblings lost a family Malibu home to the wildfires, according to his publicist. The house, on the Pacific Coast Highway, had belonged to their parents and was not a primary residence for the siblings.
Grammy-nominated R&B singer Jhené Aiko shared that she lost her home in the Los Angeles-area wildfires. “Me and my children’s home is gone,” she wrote on Instagram Thursday. “Burned to the ground with all of our things inside. Lord have mercy. Thankful we still have each other.”
Hilton posted a news video clip on Instagram Wednesday and said it included footage of her destroyed home in Malibu. “This home was where we built so many precious memories. It’s where Phoenix took his first steps and where we dreamed of building a lifetime of memories with London,” she said, referencing her young children.
Cary Elwes, the star of “The Princess Bride” and numerous other films, wrote on Instagram Wednesday that his family was safe but their home had burned in the coastal Palisades fire. “Sadly we did lose our home but we are grateful to have survived this truly devastating fire,” Elwes wrote.
Jamie Lee Curtis, Grammys group pledge $1 million for relief efforts
Jamie Lee Curtis, who was among the stars who evacuated due to the Palisades fire, says she and her family are pledging $1 million to start a “fund of support” for those affected by the blazes burning in and around Los Angeles.
The actor announced the pledge on Instagram Thursday. The previous night, she tearfully appeared on “The Tonight Show” and urged people to help communities affected by the fires.
“As you know, where I live is on fire right now,” Curtis said. “This is literally where I live, everything – the market I shop in, the schools my kids go to, friends, many, many, many, many, many friends have lost their homes now.”
The Oscar winner wrote that she had been in touch with state and city leaders about how the money might be distributed “for the most impact.”
The Recording Academy, which bestows Grammy Awards, along with its MusiCares charity pledged $1 million to help musicians affected by the fires.
“The music community is being so severely impacted but we will come together as an industry to support one another,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy and MusiCares, said in a statement.
Awards season upended
The blazes have thrown Hollywood’s carefully orchestrated awards season into disarray.
The AFI Awards, which were set to honor “Wicked,” “Anora” and other awards season contenders, had been scheduled for Friday.
The AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, which honor movies and television shows that resonate with older audiences, were set for Friday but have been postponed.
The Critics Choice Awards, originally scheduled for Sunday, have been postponed until Feb. 26.
Thursday, the Producers Guild Awards announced they would delay their nominations from Friday to Sunday.
Each of the shows feature projects that are looking for any advantage they can get in the Oscar race and were scheduled during the Academy Awards voting window.
The Oscar nominations are also being delayed two days to Jan. 19 and the film academy has extended the voting window due to the fires.
History lost, and more in danger
Flames burned parts of the Palisades Charter High School, which has been featured in many Hollywood productions including the 1976 horror movie “Carrie,” the 2003 remake of “Freaky Friday” and the TV series “Teen Wolf.”
The Palisades fire also destroyed the historic ranch house that belonged to Hollywood legend Will Rogers. It was among multiple structures destroyed at both Will Rogers State Historic Park and Topanga State Park. The historic Topanga Ranch Motel, built by William Randolph Hearst in 1929, also burned down.
Rogers’ ranch, built on land he bought in the 1920s, occupied some 359 acres in what is now Pacific Palisades. It included a 31-room ranch house, a stable, golf course and riding trails. His wife donated it to California State Parks in 1944.
Editor’s note: The commercialmaking community is also pitching in to help inform and comfort. The AICP has set up a California Wildfire Resources blog to share information and updates relative to AICP members. Since news and information is coming out so rapidly, this is an efficient way to ensure all members are getting the most up-to-date information. AICP is aggregating news and resources from various sources and posting info and updates daily. Currently, there is information available regarding insurance considerations, AICP Cancel of Call Provisions, Government Resources and Links, and more. This blog is publicly available, and for the benefit of the entire industry.
If you have information or updates that you would like to see posted on the AICP California Wildfire Resources blog, please email Brian Doherty at briand@aicp.com.
