Valley Talk

Heard It on the Grapevine Did Coca-Cola create Santa Claus? Did Neil Armstrong really say, “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind?” The San Fernando Valley Folklore Society has the answers. At their Web site, www.snopes.com, you can track down the truth (or more likely fiction) about these and other urban legends. For example, in the Cokelore section, you’ll find the answers to such pertinent questions as: Was cocaine an original ingredient of the soft drink? (True) If you put a tooth in Coke overnight will it disappear? (False) There’s also a Disney section (No, Walt Disney was not cryogenically frozen) a Christmas section (Montgomery Ward’s was the first to create the image of a Christmas reindeer) and dozens of other sections that reveal urban legends on everything from Beatles lyrics to Al Gore quotes. And if you disagree, the Folklore society allows you to write in and complain or send in suggestions for other urban legends. Oh, and to set the record straight. Escape artist Harry Houdini did not die from being punched in the stomach. The one about the lady who tries to dry her pet in the microwave is an urban myth. And Italian dictator Benito Mussolini did not make the country’s trains run on time, despite his claims to the contrary. Annual Millennium Party Judging from the invitation, you might think the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association held its first millennium party long before the Chumash Indians settled in the San Fernando Valley. Not quite. Despite the event’s billing as the group’s “Third Annual” millennium party, SOHA President Richard Close said the organization hasn’t been around that long. “This is not our third millennium,” Close laughed. “It’s just our third annual holiday party.” The group, which formed in 1964, actually moved up its “Millennium Ball” to Dec. 8 because of Y2K fears. “We usually have it later, but we were concerned with the new century,” Close said. “It’s probably the first millennium party in the San Fernando Valley.” The event will also mark the inauguration of actor LeVar Burton as honorary mayor of Sherman Oaks. Keeping Your Chin Up Might the “head belt” become the latest in fashion for people worried about sagging facial muscles? L.A. hairdresser Mary Talley came up with the idea after returning from a walk and noticing that the lines of her face weren’t as firm as they once had been. “I had recently turned 50, when the face starts sagging and everything,” she recalled. Talley found an elastic belt in her closet and wrapped it under her chin and around her head to wear while walking as a way to keep her facial muscles in place. She later added adjustable hooks and is now in the process of patenting it to market and sell. The belt would come in various colors while selling for no more than $5. “It’s attractive,” Talley says. “Mine is navy. Scooby Who? Remember Scooby Doo, the cartoon character? He may not be in the same class as Furby or any of the Pokemon critters, but it seems the 30-year-old cartoon dog isn’t over the hill yet. Equity Consumer Products, the L.A.-based company that sells plush Scooby Doo toys and action figures, recently discovered to its surprise that it’s already sold out of this year’s inventory. Equity attributes that popularity to reruns on the Cartoon Network and some new Scooby videos. “We had a lot of high hopes, but he’s done better than planned,” said Ria Marie Carlson, a spokeswoman for Equity. Take that, Elmo. Such a Deal Shoppers on Rodeo Drive finally got a discount a big one. Instead of paying $1,000 for a ticket to hear opera star Andrea Bocelli perform during a recent outdoor benefit, a lucky group of passersby got a free show when he sang for quite a while during a sound check hours before the concert. “A lot of people were shocked,” said an aide to the popular star. “They were screaming.” Later in the evening, actor Michael Douglas introduced the blind opera star and quipped that “his family did what they do to all opera singers sent him to law school.” The show was all part of a special outdoor benefit along Rodeo that raised $750,000 for the Entertainment Industry Foundation.