The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 110, No. 8 - February 25, 2021
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................11
Classifieds............................4
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Entertainment......................3
Legals..............................9-10
Neighborhood Therapist.....2
Pets......................................12
Police Reports.....................2
Real Estate.......................5-7
Sports....................................3
Weekend
Forecast
Saving Ocean Life in El Segundo
Peter Wallerstein responds to a sea lion rescue call. This is part of our “Love Thy Neighbor” series. Send your nominees to letters@heraldpublications.com. Please get the nominee’s permission to be
interviewed, before submitting to us. See Peter’s story in the yellow box below.
El Segundo’s Adam Marcus
Follows His Passion of Films
By Duane Plank
El Segundo resident Adam Marcus is not
only an accomplished silver screenwriter,
director, and producer, but like a select few
in the industry, has his own Wikipedia page!
OK, there may be more than a select-few
Hollywood types with their own Wiki page,
but you get the idea.
Marcus grew up on the East Coast, splitting
Peter Wallerstein Rescues
Animals on El Segundo Beach
By Kiersten Vannest
Every now and then, more often than you’d
think, a marine mammal washes up ashore
a Los Angeles beach, injured or otherwise
in need of help. Occasionally, it comes from
domoic acid, a neurotoxin found in algae
that causes disorientation and seizures.
Other times, these animals find themselves
at the mercy of us, entangled in a gill net,
for example, and unable to come up for air.
Any time one of these unfortunate animals
has reached L.A. waters, Peter Wallerstein
has been there to help.
Originally from Norwalk, Connecticut,
Wallerstein started out working with the
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Sea
Shepherd is a direct action activist group
whose mission is to stop poachers and
habitat destruction by “exposing, intercepting,
and opposing” illegal operations that
damage sea life. During his time with the
organization, Wallerstein traveled all over
the world, rescuing whales and other marine
life. Eventually, he was appointed the
position of Pacific Director.
While working with the Sea Shepherd
Society, confronting whaling boats and
halting harmful marine practices, Peter
realized that some of this was happening
in our own backyard.
“I thought we could do better than that.
Whales were dying… and I just didn’t think
that was acceptable for being in L.A.,”
time between New York’s Manhattan
borough and the tony, friendly confines of
Westport, Connecticut. Marcus decided he
wanted to pursue his passion for a career
in the movie-making industry after being
enthralled by viewing the original Star Wars
extravaganza in 1977. He was nine-years-old
at the time.
Marcus said that spending much of his
formative years in the artistic breeding
ground of Westport definitely played a big
part in his chosen career path. The iconic
actor Paul Newman was a Westport resident
and lived down the street from Marcus, who
said he (Marcus, not Newman) used to sing
at foodie Martha Stewart’s Christmas parties.
Marcus participated in “play readings” with
academy-award-winning actress Sandy Dennis...
and iconic playwright Neil Simon was
a townie back in the day.
“Westport was a remarkable place to
grow up in,” Marcus said. Even Hollywood
favored the Westport environs; the town was
the landing spot for Lucy and Desi after
they fled the Big City in the iconic TV show
I Love Lucy, and the home of Samantha and
Darrin Stephens, the lead characters in the
cutting-edge Bewitched television show that
debuted in 1964.
During his upbringing, Adam was a best
friend with the son of producer Sean Cunningham,
who directed and produced the
first Friday the 13th film, which evolved
into an iconic celluloid franchise. Marcus
said that, as an 11-year-old, Cunningham’s
work and fame were awe-inspiring to him, so
Marcus became a fixture in the Cunningham
household, which gave him access to “this
incredible education in filmmaking.”
Marcus soon began charting his career path.
By the time he was thirteen, Marcus was not
only “running-around” on theatrical sets, but
was also apprentice editing. He also started
working with “a brilliant Broadway director,”
who became Marcus’ mentor, guiding
the eager youngster as he started to develop
his acting chops.
See Adam Marcus, page 2
See Peter Wallerstein, page 8
Friday
Sunny
69˚/49˚
Saturday
Sunny
67˚/50˚
Sunday
Sunny
69˚/49˚