BALTIMORE – Rocker Frank Zappa was born in Baltimore but gained greater popular acclaim in Europe than in the United States. On Sunday, devout European fans of the late musician brought his likeness back home in the form of a bronze bust.
Several hundred fans gathered on a sweltering afternoon as city officials dedicated the bust of the ponytailed musician outside an east Baltimore library. The bust is a replica of another in a public square in Vilnius, Lithuania, and was donated to the city by Zappa enthusiasts in the small Baltic nation.
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“The spirit of Frank Zappa is alive and well in Baltimore,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said.
The mayor joined Zappa’s widow, Gail, and three of his grown children as a curtain was drawn to reveal the bust set atop a 12-foot pole. Later, Zappa’s son, Dweezil, took the stage with his band, Zappa Plays Zappa.
Zappa was known for everything from novelty rock songs to elaborate classical compositions. He died of prostate cancer in 1993 at 52.
Sunday’s ceremony marked the 25th anniversary of Zappa’s testimony before Congress on freedom of expression for recording artists, though the scheduling was coincidental. Zappa had testified against proposed warning labels about lyrical content, calling them a path to censorship.
Libraries were a vital resource for Zappa, who had no formal music education, Gail Zappa said in a recent interview.
Couch fire destroys Ricki Lake’s rental
MALIBU, Calif. – Authorities say Ricki Lake’s beachfront rental home in Malibu has burned down.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials say deputies answering a 911 call Saturday found the 41-year-old actress and talk show host, her two sons and their dog standing safely outside.
Firefighters put out the blaze in 20 minutes, but the home was destroyed.
Sheriff’s Lt. Rich Erickson tells the Los Angeles Times that a couch caught fire when Lake was refueling a portable heater.
The blaze shut down a stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway for 90 minutes.
Lake starred in the movie “Hairspray” and later hosted a daytime talk show.
She has recently become an advocate for home birth, co-writing a book and producing a film on the subject.
Quaids arrested again in guest house dispute
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Actor Randy Quaid and his wife are facing burglary charges in California after the owner of the couple’s old house reported they had been living there without permission.
A representative of the property owner called Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies Saturday afternoon to report that squatters had been staying in the guest house illegally. When deputies arrived at the house that evening, they found Randy and Evi Quaid, who said they had owned the property since the 1990s.
The property owner’s representative provided documents that showed his client had bought the home in 2007 from a man who had purchased it from the Quaids several years earlier. A contractor showed police more than $5,000 in damages to the guest house that he believed was caused by the Quaids.
Police arrested the Quaids on charges of felony residential burglary and entering a noncommercial building without consent, a misdemeanor. Police also charged Evi Quaid, 47, with resisting arrest.
Bail was set at $50,000 each. Messages left with Quaid’s attorney and agent were not immediately returned Sunday.
Last September, the couple was charged with defrauding an innkeeper of more than $10,000 as well as conspiracy and burglary after an invalid credit card was used at San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Arnie Tolks had said an invalid card also was used at The Biltmore, a luxury resort in Santa Barbara.
Felony charges were later dropped against Randy Quaid, 59. Evi Quaid pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of defrauding an innkeeper and was sentenced to three years’ probation. She was also ordered to perform 240 hours of community service.
Randy Quaid won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of President Lyndon Johnson in “LBJ: The Early Years,” but he’s perhaps best known for his roles in the “National Lampoon’s Vacation” movies, “Independence Day” and “Kingpin.”
He is the older brother of fellow actor Dennis Quaid.
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