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Jay Fiondella moved to Los Angeles to act, roomed with Leonard Nimoy, and opened Chez Jay near the beach in Santa Monica in 1959. It became a showbiz hangout for stars such as Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Marlon Brando and Clint Eastwood, says Variety's Pat Saperstein. Fiondella died Nov. 6 with Parkinson's.
Fiondella appeared in more than 50 films and TV shows, and was also an adventurer and man-about-town. He was often seen on TV commercials and specials piloting his hot-air balloon. He went on several treasure hunting missions, one to recover the "Lost Squadron" WWII aircraft buried in Arctic ice and another hunting for millions of dollars worth of silver on a sunken ship off the coast of Yemen. He was selected as Cosmopolitan magazine's "Bachelor of the Month" in 1970 and appeared on shows such as "The Dating Game" and "What's My Line."His small TV parts included credits on "Gunsmoke," "Perry Mason," "Batman," "Mission Impossible" and "Fantasy Island." He also appeared in films including "Lethal Weapon" films and Robert Altman's "Short Cuts."
His small, dark restaurant near the beach was known for its stiff drinks, potatoes au gratin with bananas, and for the historic "Astro-nut" -- a peanut which astronaut Alan Shepherd took to the moon and back.
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As newspapers and television pull back from investigative reporting, foundations and other organizations are beginning to fill the void. One of the most interesting is Accountable California, a project of Local 721 of the Service Employees International Union.
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