Tag archives: Michael J Fox

Positive Thinking
By Richard Mineards   |   May 23, 2023

Montecito actor Michael J. Fox, 61, says the cure for Parkinson’s disease is “closer than it has ever been.” The now retired star, who was diagnosed with the degenerative condition when just 29, has raised more than $2 billion for the cause and says he is optimistic the disease can be eradicated following “a single […]

Dunbar Ranch Rental
By Richard Mineards   |   February 7, 2023

Carpinteria actor Kevin Costner, 68, is renting out his 160-acre Aspen, Colorado, home for a hefty $36,000 a night. The Oscar and recent Golden Globe winner’s property has 12 bedrooms and eight bathrooms, with it spread over nearly 6,000 square feet and accommodating up to 27 people. Known as the Dunbar Ranch, it is described […]

A Birnam Birthday
By Richard Mineards   |   November 8, 2022

Social gridlock reigned at the Birnam Wood Club when real estate investor and inventor Ray Winn, 88, hosted a birthday bash for his partner of 34 years Peter Kavoian, who was celebrating the 16th anniversary of his half century, and Peter’s mother Anna who is 92. The tony twosome, who split their time between their […]

Fabulous Flowerpots
By Richard Mineards   |   December 14, 2021

Arlene Larsen, co-owner of Montecito’s Magic Castle with her husband, Milt, is going to pot! During the downturn caused by the pandemic, Arlene has been busy making one-of-a-kind flowerpots from trim, fabric, and jewelry she has been collecting over the past six decades. “I’ve been making and selling costumes since I was 15 years old,” […]

A Royal Farewell
By Richard Mineards   |   April 29, 2021

As expected, I was much in demand over the weekend for the somber and muted funeral for Prince Philip at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, built in the 14th century by King Edward III. Most of it was spent on Fox News where I sat for three hours at the CBTV studio downtown with New York […]

Poof! The Magic Castle Cabaret is Gone
By Richard Mineards   |   April 8, 2021

Two years after it opened, the owners of Montecito’s Magic Castle Cabaret Milt and Arlene Larsen are moving on, I can exclusively reveal. “The Cabaret has been closed for a long year and we are not getting any younger,” laments Arlene. “When we started, we seemed a lot younger. “After talking it over for many […]

Getting the Gang Back Together
By Richard Mineards   |   May 21, 2020

Montecito actor Christopher Lloyd, Michael J. Fox, and Lea Thompson recited famous lines from the classic Back to the Future franchise in an epic Zoom reunion. Superfan Josh Gad orchestrated the reunion on the latest episode of his YouTube series, Reunited Apart, where he also brought on Montecito writer-director Robert Zemeckis, Elisabeth Shue, singer Huey […]

Celebrating the Earth
By Richard Mineards   |   May 2, 2019

Earth Day was celebrated at Tecolote, the tony tome temple in the upper village, when four local poets and authors, accompanied by Diane Ippel on a hammered dulcimer, read and recited from their works. Santa Barbara Poet Laureate Laure-Anne Bosselaar, editor of four anthologies and a Pushcart Prize recipient, joined Montecito native Doyle Hollister, author […]