EL SEGUNDO HERALD June 2, 2016 Page 3 Local Innovator Eddie Paul Remembers Path to El Segundo as He Gears Up for Texas Move By Brian Simon kind of painting I could so I could make no suspension and no front brake. And I had Photos Courtesy of Eddie Paul money to buy more brushes and paint more.” to ride it at about 50 miles per hour down It was a long and fruitful run, but eventually it He painted store windows during Christmastime a curved street next to a small pickup truck was time to move on. Such is the case with one and pinstriped cars and motorcycles with a photographer for about 30 minutes of El Segundo’s most storied residents, Eddie the rest of the year. He painted band names as the camera snapped off shot after shot Paul. One of the community’s true innovators with a warehouse in the Smoky Hollow district for the last few decades, he is the guy who made a name for himself in the movie business by building the cars for film franchises such as The Fast and the Furious, crafting mechanical sharks for Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, diving with Great Whites as an employee of the Cousteau family, creating the “pipe ramp” for use in the stunt world, and even doing stunts himself on notable shows including Dukes of Hazzard and Streets of Fire. He also patented numerous inventions ranging from fire pumps to 3-D filming apparatuses and was the go-to guy whenever the government needed some device built to solve a problem. Paul, now 68, recently listed his residence on Walnut Avenue for sale with plans to head west and settle near Austin, Texas where his daughter resides. “El Segundo has been my home since the 1970s and that house has so many memories, especially from the early Just a few of his recent cars built for movies. Mater, The XXX Gto and Lightning for Disney Pixar “CARS.” days of my career,” he said. “It will be hard on drum heads for well-known acts like The of the event. All this without touching the to leave, but family calls and I’m not getting Turtles. Finally, he saved enough to purchase handlebars!” any younger.” a camera and landed a freelance gig writing Asked if he could pick up some press When Paul was younger, he could never articles for motorcycle magazines at 100 coverage along the way, Paul had contacted have imagined the chain of events that would bucks a pop. the Herald. “Little did I know this would eventually lead him to his eclectic career “Coming up with different stories every start my connection with El Segundo,” he path—not to mention a happy and productive month wasn’t easy, so I had to think outside said. The article brought him attention, with life in El Segundo. It all started when he was the box,” he noted. When his editor came up radio and other interviews following to hear still an 11th grader in nearby Westchester and with the concept “How to Ride a Bike,” Paul from the crazy kid who would complete a his parents decided to divorce. suggested a unique lead shot. “I was sitting project no matter how nuts it sounded. But “I was pretty much living on my own on the back of my Harley reading a book after his early “15 seconds of fame,” he was with my Harley Davidson Chopper my only titled How to Ride a Bike. Sounds simple back to painting bikes and cars in his small possession, but I did possess a bit of artistic enough until you realize that the bike was garage in Westchester located directly beneath skill,” Paul recalled. “So I started doing any a foot clutch, hand shift, ridged frame with the noisy LAX flight path. At least now, El See Eddie Paul, page 18 Segundo was now on his permanent radar. “I would ride the Harley into town to steam clean it and found it funny that I could scarcely cross the city lines before I had an escort of El Segundo police behind me as I pulled into the car wash. They told me I better be good and that El Segundo didn’t like bikers. At the same time, I was also impressed and thought if I could ever afford to live in El Segundo, I would come here. I thought maybe if I could ever land a movie job or something, but then I rolled my eyes and thought, ‘Yeah, sure I will.’” Meanwhile, Paul’s Westchester digs would soon be condemned so the land could convert to additional airport parking. Though he knew his days there were numbered, the thought of buying in El Segundo seemed a pipe dream given the “outrageous” price tag of $40,000 for a small house. It was at this point that Paul got involved with the then-fledgling sport of hang gliding. “It was up my alley since it involved design, fabrication and testing of the finished machine plus another opportunity to make a few dollars selling hang gliders that I was making out of my garage,” he said. During its infancy, hang gliding proved a dangerous venture and most of the early practitioners lost their lives or suffered serious injuries. Paul would unfortunately not be immune to the trend, one day crashing to the ground from a 350-foot drop. He spent six months at Harbor General Hospital followed by another six months in a wheelchair. The dire circumstances wouldn’t slow him down. “I still had more bills to pay and had to finish my first book I was commissioned to write on skysurfing—the sport of hang gliding,” he explained. Then came the dreaded, but EDDIE PAUL’S MASTERPIECE GREAT NEIGHBORS BUILT IN 96’ 310.877.2374 CalBRE# 00972400 OPEN SUNDAY 2 - 4PM 414 W. Walnut Ave. $1,650,000 • 4 BEDS/4 BATHS • 3 CAR GARAGE • 2,943 SF. • 1,500 SF. GARAGE AUTO CENTER • Close to Airport and Freeways. • Walking distance to beaches. • Near the Best schools in South Bay. • Floor plan that flows well throughout home and rear shopgarage area. • Very large Garage/Shop located at rear of property with private bathroom and twin fire places as well as 220 power. • 400 Amps of 220 volt power to home and Garage. • Well lit garage with copper air lines throughout. • Large Storage Area (woodshop now) above Garage with separate access to it and with two opening skylights for air circulation. Second fireplace is in this room. • Large 1000 sq. ft. redwood deck with great view of west El Segundo and fireworks show on the 4th of July. • Lots and lots of storage throughout home and shop. • Office upper storage loft carpeted. • Full custom built Wet Bar • Master bedroom faces south for morning light and better view of deck with double doors to deck also has gas fireplace. • Drop down projector screen at foot of bed. • All new wood floors. • Waterfall on timer, pond with fish and custom made metal and wood bridge. BILLRUANE BILL@BILLRUANE.NET
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