The 1920s were wild times in Los Angeles; scorning Prohibition, organized crime flourished, and social behavior escaped traditional boundaries - never to return. In this lecture, we explore the popular culture, milestones, scandals, and legends of this tumultuous era in our city’s history. Topics include the impact of silent movies (from the star worship of Rudolf Valentino to the star scandal of Fatty Arbuckle’s murder trial), the changes resulting from L.A.’s growing population, car culture, and landmark construction projects (from the Hollywood Bowl and Bullock’s Wilshire to City Hall). We will also look at the speakeasies, casinos, and offshore gambling ships where Angelenos broke the rules.

Sharon Boorstin is a contributing writer for the Los Angeles Times, specializing in lifestyle, food and travel. In 2019 she won Visit California’s Eureka Award for Best Newspaper Travel Article. In the 1970s and ‘80s Sharon was the Restaurant Critic of the (late) Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, and in the ‘90s she edited the annual Gayot Guidebooks for Los Angeles and other cities. She also wrote for magazines including Bon Appetit, Smithsonian and Town & Country Travel. With her husband Paul, she wrote dozens of screenplays for feature films and television including Angel of Death (ABC) starring Jane Seymour. Her memoir/cookbook, “Let Us Eat Cake: Adventures in Food and Friendship” (Harper-Collins 2002), was a selection of the Pulpwood Queens Book Club. Raised in Seattle, Washington, Sharon moved to Los Angeles in 1966 after earning a California Lifetime Teaching credential at U.C. Berkeley. She taught high-school History, English and Social Studies in L.A. for 11 years.