1 00:00:15,066 --> 00:00:21,996 Speaker 1: Pushkin. Hey Lost Hills listeners, it's Dana. I wanted to 2 00:00:22,036 --> 00:00:24,156 Speaker 1: let you know that you can hear the entire new 3 00:00:24,196 --> 00:00:27,936 Speaker 1: season of Lost Hills ad-free along with other great binge 4 00:00:27,986 --> 00:00:32,206 Speaker 1: listens by becoming a Pushkin Plus subscriber. Find Pushkin Plus 5 00:00:32,406 --> 00:00:35,406 Speaker 1: on the Lost Hills show page in Apple Podcasts or 6 00:00:35,446 --> 00:00:38,456 Speaker 1: at pushkin.fm slash plus. 7 00:00:45,516 --> 00:00:47,806 Speaker 2: I first saw him in 56. I went out there, 8 00:00:47,816 --> 00:00:50,406 Speaker 2: and he was very dark, you know, a dark tan. 9 00:00:50,566 --> 00:00:54,966 Speaker 2: You know, he's this dark figure, swarthy kind of guy. 10 00:00:55,466 --> 00:00:58,666 Speaker 2: And I saw him out there on this board, and 11 00:00:59,326 --> 00:01:01,896 Speaker 2: he was all by himself. My brother told me, that's 12 00:01:02,056 --> 00:01:04,736 Speaker 2: Mickey Chapin, and that's what they called him back then. 13 00:01:05,396 --> 00:01:08,596 Speaker 2: It wasn't Mickey Dora, it was Mickey Chapin. Oh, that's Chapin. 14 00:01:10,056 --> 00:01:13,366 Speaker 1: This is Denny Auberg again. He's talking about the first 15 00:01:13,426 --> 00:01:16,496 Speaker 1: time he laid eyes on Mickey Dora. This was three 16 00:01:16,516 --> 00:01:19,036 Speaker 1: years before he had his run-in with Mickey in the water, 17 00:01:19,646 --> 00:01:22,176 Speaker 1: when Mickey refused to kick out of the wave, and 18 00:01:22,226 --> 00:01:25,506 Speaker 1: Denny nearly drowned. Denny used to hang out at the 19 00:01:25,526 --> 00:01:28,526 Speaker 1: beach with his older brother, Kemp, and Kemp was friends 20 00:01:28,566 --> 00:01:29,046 Speaker 1: with Mickey. 21 00:01:29,966 --> 00:01:33,226 Speaker 2: For the first few years, I only knew him as Chapin. 22 00:01:34,766 --> 00:01:38,826 Speaker 2: That's because his stepdad was Gard Chapin, who was a 23 00:01:38,886 --> 00:01:43,096 Speaker 2: very well-known early surfer from the 40s. For many years, 24 00:01:43,136 --> 00:01:45,856 Speaker 2: my brother, they'd always talk about Chapin. I mean, Chapin 25 00:01:45,876 --> 00:01:48,706 Speaker 2: did this, Chapin did that. And then all of a sudden, 26 00:01:50,086 --> 00:01:53,246 Speaker 2: I remember distinctly, oh, no, his name's Dora now. He's 27 00:01:53,266 --> 00:01:56,906 Speaker 2: calling himself Dora. Don't use Chapin, you know. And the 28 00:01:56,926 --> 00:02:00,746 Speaker 2: story is that Guard Chapin got murdered, you know, down 29 00:02:00,806 --> 00:02:04,606 Speaker 2: in Baja or something like that. And so Mickey got 30 00:02:04,646 --> 00:02:07,686 Speaker 2: kind of paranoid using that name. It was like, this 31 00:02:07,766 --> 00:02:08,446 Speaker 2: is the story. 32 00:02:08,466 --> 00:02:08,746 Speaker 3: Yeah. 33 00:02:09,726 --> 00:02:11,456 Speaker 2: So he said, I'm going to call myself Dora from 34 00:02:11,496 --> 00:02:15,036 Speaker 2: now on, and they can't find me. That's the way 35 00:02:15,076 --> 00:02:18,676 Speaker 2: he thought. So from then on, he was Mickey Dora. 36 00:02:19,796 --> 00:02:23,216 Speaker 1: This was something Mickey would do again and again, ease 37 00:02:23,276 --> 00:02:26,646 Speaker 1: out of one identity into another, like a snake shedding 38 00:02:26,676 --> 00:02:30,966 Speaker 1: its skin. He liked to keep everyone guessing, especially the cops. 39 00:02:31,566 --> 00:02:34,106 Speaker 1: They couldn't catch him if they couldn't figure out who 40 00:02:34,126 --> 00:02:38,266 Speaker 1: he was. When his stepfather, Gard, was alive, Mickey had 41 00:02:38,326 --> 00:02:45,286 Speaker 1: called himself Mickey Chapin, spelled M-I-C-K-E-Y, like the mouse. The 42 00:02:45,326 --> 00:02:52,016 Speaker 1: name was pure California surfer boy, almost wholesome. Then, overnight, 43 00:02:52,206 --> 00:02:59,436 Speaker 1: when Gard died, because Gard died, he became Mickey, M-I-K-I, Dora. 44 00:03:00,976 --> 00:03:06,716 Speaker 1: Mickey Dora was mysterious. Mickey Dora was secretive and paranoid 45 00:03:06,936 --> 00:03:14,716 Speaker 1: and shifty. Mickey Dora was Malibu's dark prince. I'm Dana Goodyear, 46 00:03:15,056 --> 00:03:44,806 Speaker 1: and this is Lost Hills. Episode 2, Death in Mexico. 47 00:03:48,106 --> 00:03:50,786 Speaker 4: The thing about Mickey and the facts of his life 48 00:03:50,866 --> 00:03:52,446 Speaker 4: is that no one knows the truth. 49 00:03:53,446 --> 00:03:57,396 Speaker 1: This is David Renson. He wrote the definitive oral history 50 00:03:57,526 --> 00:04:01,236 Speaker 1: of Mickey Dora. It's called All for a Few Perfect Waves. 51 00:04:02,436 --> 00:04:05,796 Speaker 4: And as I will tell you, I'm sure this will 52 00:04:05,816 --> 00:04:08,176 Speaker 4: be a great podcast, but you will never find out 53 00:04:08,216 --> 00:04:08,556 Speaker 4: the truth. 54 00:04:09,566 --> 00:04:12,646 Speaker 1: Even after doing hundreds of interviews about Mickey, David says, 55 00:04:13,066 --> 00:04:15,666 Speaker 1: he still finds Mickey unknowable. 56 00:04:15,686 --> 00:04:18,086 Speaker 4: I didn't need to read the part in my book 57 00:04:18,126 --> 00:04:21,696 Speaker 4: where John Milius is saying, it's like Citizen Kane. You 58 00:04:21,736 --> 00:04:24,456 Speaker 4: know just as much about Kane at the beginning as 59 00:04:24,476 --> 00:04:26,196 Speaker 4: you do at the end, but it's a fabulous ride. 60 00:04:26,576 --> 00:04:27,536 Speaker 4: It's a fabulous ride. 61 00:04:30,016 --> 00:04:33,616 Speaker 1: Mickey's contradictions start right at the moment of his birth. 62 00:04:34,626 --> 00:04:38,936 Speaker 1: The ultimate Southern California beach god was born in Budapest, 63 00:04:38,976 --> 00:04:45,016 Speaker 1: Hungary in 1934. His mother, Ramona Stancliffe, was from California. 64 00:04:45,716 --> 00:04:48,256 Speaker 1: She had just graduated from Beverly Hills High and was 65 00:04:48,336 --> 00:04:52,536 Speaker 1: traveling around Europe with her mother and younger siblings. Seventeen 66 00:04:52,556 --> 00:04:56,606 Speaker 1: years old and strikingly attractive, she was on a riverboat 67 00:04:56,646 --> 00:05:00,026 Speaker 1: on the Danube when she met Miklos Stora, a law 68 00:05:00,066 --> 00:05:03,066 Speaker 1: student and second lieutenant in the Hungarian cavalry. 69 00:05:04,016 --> 00:05:06,286 Speaker 4: And he thought, I'll talk to this girl. Then they 70 00:05:06,306 --> 00:05:11,846 Speaker 4: started flirting, and she was enchanted. And Miklos has told me, 71 00:05:11,866 --> 00:05:14,166 Speaker 4: he said, you know, you can't get with a girl 72 00:05:14,186 --> 00:05:17,766 Speaker 4: in Hungary because they're too proper, but maybe I'll get lucky. 73 00:05:18,386 --> 00:05:21,126 Speaker 4: And anyway, they spent a few months there, and I 74 00:05:21,146 --> 00:05:23,206 Speaker 4: guess she did get pregnant, but hid it. 75 00:05:24,286 --> 00:05:26,626 Speaker 1: Ramona wrote a letter to her best friend back home, 76 00:05:27,246 --> 00:05:30,226 Speaker 1: boasting about her adventures without mentioning her pregnancy. 77 00:05:31,176 --> 00:05:34,576 Speaker 4: She says, you'll never guess. I'm married. I'm Mrs. Mikloschdor. 78 00:05:35,626 --> 00:05:38,186 Speaker 4: She's pregnant. He does the right thing. He marries her. 79 00:05:39,166 --> 00:05:42,426 Speaker 1: Ramona and Miklosch Sr. decided to bring young Mickey to 80 00:05:42,466 --> 00:05:46,296 Speaker 1: California a few months after he was born. Miklosch said 81 00:05:46,326 --> 00:05:48,836 Speaker 1: it was because Ramona was sick of Europe and missed 82 00:05:48,916 --> 00:05:52,736 Speaker 1: the malted milks at the drugstore counters in L.A. He 83 00:05:52,816 --> 00:05:55,936 Speaker 1: really did not understand his new bride, but he agreed 84 00:05:55,976 --> 00:06:04,566 Speaker 1: to emigrate. They arrived in L.A. in January 1935. Miklos Sr. 85 00:06:04,646 --> 00:06:07,766 Speaker 1: later credited the unplanned birth of his son Mickey with 86 00:06:07,826 --> 00:06:11,426 Speaker 1: saving his life. During World War II, the Nazis took 87 00:06:11,506 --> 00:06:14,866 Speaker 1: over Hungary, and Miklos' regiment was sent to the Russian front, 88 00:06:15,286 --> 00:06:21,656 Speaker 1: where most of them died. In L.A., Miklos reinvented himself 89 00:06:21,776 --> 00:06:25,716 Speaker 1: in the hospitality business. With some money from Ramona's family, 90 00:06:25,936 --> 00:06:31,366 Speaker 1: he started a Hungarian restaurant. called Little Hungary. Was that 91 00:06:31,406 --> 00:06:33,066 Speaker 1: kind of his first venture when he came to. 92 00:06:33,186 --> 00:06:37,896 Speaker 4: L.A.? Yeah, he'd sold some wines, I believe. He worked 93 00:06:38,436 --> 00:06:43,136 Speaker 4: at Victor Hugo's restaurant, but then, you know, started his 94 00:06:43,196 --> 00:06:43,816 Speaker 4: own little place. 95 00:06:44,396 --> 00:06:45,436 Speaker 1: And it was on Sunset? 96 00:06:45,616 --> 00:06:47,316 Speaker 4: West, on the same side of the street as the 97 00:06:47,356 --> 00:06:49,716 Speaker 4: Whiskey A Go-Go, up a few stores. 98 00:06:51,016 --> 00:06:53,976 Speaker 1: Little Hungary sat at the center of Golden Age Hollywood 99 00:06:54,416 --> 00:06:57,496 Speaker 1: and was in particular a gathering place for European émigrés. 100 00:06:58,236 --> 00:07:01,156 Speaker 1: People like the actress and singer Marlena Dietrich and the 101 00:07:01,196 --> 00:07:05,576 Speaker 1: director Billy Wilder hung out there. Ramona loved the glamour, 102 00:07:06,376 --> 00:07:09,196 Speaker 1: maybe more than she loved the daily grind of parenting. 103 00:07:10,276 --> 00:07:14,796 Speaker 4: I guess, you know, she adored Mickey, but really was, 104 00:07:15,716 --> 00:07:20,586 Speaker 4: what's the word, self-indulgent. You know, wanted to connect with 105 00:07:20,626 --> 00:07:22,866 Speaker 4: all the famous people that came into Little Hungary. 106 00:07:25,286 --> 00:07:28,466 Speaker 1: There's a picture I've seen of Mickey with Ramona. He's 107 00:07:28,506 --> 00:07:31,746 Speaker 1: about two years old and is wearing a little military-type suit. 108 00:07:32,766 --> 00:07:37,426 Speaker 1: She's ravishing, head tilted back, eyes closed, like a starlet 109 00:07:37,586 --> 00:07:41,846 Speaker 1: on a movie poster. He's kissing her cheek intently, holding 110 00:07:41,906 --> 00:07:45,156 Speaker 1: onto her chin as if for dear life. And she 111 00:07:45,196 --> 00:07:47,416 Speaker 1: looks like she's a million miles away. 112 00:07:49,216 --> 00:07:51,656 Speaker 4: So, you know, Miklos was working all the time, and 113 00:07:51,696 --> 00:07:54,876 Speaker 4: Ramona was sleeping until the afternoon. I don't know if 114 00:07:54,916 --> 00:07:58,656 Speaker 4: she was drinking. I mean... That's what happened to her 115 00:07:58,676 --> 00:08:02,946 Speaker 4: later in life. She drank and ended up just tithing 116 00:08:03,006 --> 00:08:07,986 Speaker 4: money to a TV evangelist. I think it was a 117 00:08:08,026 --> 00:08:12,966 Speaker 4: complex relationship for Mickey, you know, and carried on through 118 00:08:12,986 --> 00:08:15,916 Speaker 4: all of his relationships with women. They want to nest, 119 00:08:16,036 --> 00:08:17,276 Speaker 4: but he didn't want to nest. 120 00:08:18,556 --> 00:08:23,096 Speaker 1: Ramona definitely wasn't the nesting type. In 1939, she went 121 00:08:23,116 --> 00:08:25,616 Speaker 1: to Las Vegas and filed for divorce from Miklosch. 122 00:08:28,386 --> 00:08:33,186 Speaker 5: Mickey Dora was definitely, unquestionably robbed of having a secure, 123 00:08:33,726 --> 00:08:37,146 Speaker 5: comfortable childhood. There's zero question about that. 124 00:08:38,066 --> 00:08:40,686 Speaker 1: This is the surf historian Matt Warshaw. 125 00:08:41,506 --> 00:08:45,156 Speaker 5: Mickey was born to this gorgeous alcoholic mother who married 126 00:08:45,556 --> 00:08:50,076 Speaker 5: a Hungarian sort of gentleman. And the marriage, I think, 127 00:08:50,436 --> 00:08:52,876 Speaker 5: was unhappy almost from the jump. 128 00:08:54,156 --> 00:08:58,586 Speaker 1: Mickey's parents just basically had nothing in common. Ramona was 129 00:08:58,646 --> 00:09:03,206 Speaker 1: on a path to self-destruction. Miklos was an old-world asthete, 130 00:09:03,626 --> 00:09:06,966 Speaker 1: a wine connoisseur, an art lover, the epitome of the 131 00:09:07,066 --> 00:09:12,686 Speaker 1: European gentleman. After the divorce, Ramona moved on quickly, and 132 00:09:12,706 --> 00:09:16,576 Speaker 1: the person she found, Gard Chapin, was nothing like Miklos. 133 00:09:17,836 --> 00:09:23,116 Speaker 1: Gard was 6'1, buff, a carpenter. People who knew him 134 00:09:23,176 --> 00:09:26,296 Speaker 1: described him as a, quote, Aryan blonde. 135 00:09:28,206 --> 00:09:32,186 Speaker 5: And Ramona almost right away started dating the hottest, the 136 00:09:32,286 --> 00:09:37,046 Speaker 5: best surfer in California, possibly the world, which didn't mean 137 00:09:37,086 --> 00:09:39,326 Speaker 5: a whole lot in the 1940s because there weren't a 138 00:09:39,326 --> 00:09:39,906 Speaker 5: whole lot of us. 139 00:09:41,606 --> 00:09:44,186 Speaker 1: The problem with Gard Chapin was that he was a bully. 140 00:09:45,246 --> 00:09:49,366 Speaker 1: According to his contemporaries, he was aggressive and narrow-minded and 141 00:09:49,486 --> 00:09:52,966 Speaker 1: always going on about who was or was not a Jew. 142 00:09:54,076 --> 00:09:58,936 Speaker 1: Miklos Sr. thought he was a disaster. Miklos said Gard 143 00:09:58,996 --> 00:10:02,276 Speaker 1: thought laws were for his own protection, but didn't believe 144 00:10:02,316 --> 00:10:05,426 Speaker 1: he had to abide by them. As a grown man, 145 00:10:05,666 --> 00:10:07,826 Speaker 1: Gard would steal from the ice cream vendor at the 146 00:10:07,866 --> 00:10:09,036 Speaker 1: beach and think it was his. 147 00:10:09,276 --> 00:10:09,536 Speaker 6: Funny. 148 00:10:10,436 --> 00:10:14,336 Speaker 1: He was that guy. Gard took to fathering Mickey in 149 00:10:14,356 --> 00:10:19,576 Speaker 1: an erratic, eccentric way. Mickey revered him and feared him. 150 00:10:33,646 --> 00:10:37,886 Speaker 1: Mickey's stepdad, Gard Chapin, was a surf pioneer, part of 151 00:10:37,936 --> 00:10:41,536 Speaker 1: the first generation of Californians to try the ancient Polynesian 152 00:10:41,576 --> 00:10:47,176 Speaker 1: pastime of riding waves. In the 1930s, when Gard started surfing, 153 00:10:47,496 --> 00:10:51,016 Speaker 1: it was largely unknown on the California coast. Just a 154 00:10:51,196 --> 00:10:55,976 Speaker 1: few extreme guys doing a very offbeat thing. The early 155 00:10:56,016 --> 00:11:00,576 Speaker 1: California surfers rode heavy, homemade redwood planks. They could weigh 156 00:11:00,716 --> 00:11:04,516 Speaker 1: over 100 pounds. That's like riding a dining room table, 157 00:11:05,276 --> 00:11:08,996 Speaker 1: especially when compared to the fiberglass potato chips people ride today. 158 00:11:10,136 --> 00:11:12,686 Speaker 1: Here's Matt Warshaw, surf historian again. 159 00:11:13,826 --> 00:11:17,486 Speaker 5: Before the war, surfboards were mostly all wood. They were 160 00:11:17,506 --> 00:11:20,986 Speaker 5: either hollow or solid wood, and they were mostly finless. 161 00:11:21,506 --> 00:11:23,326 Speaker 5: And so there wasn't much control. 162 00:11:24,226 --> 00:11:27,086 Speaker 1: Most of the early surfers didn't move around on the wave. 163 00:11:27,586 --> 00:11:31,986 Speaker 1: They just went straight, locked into a rigid, statuesque stance. 164 00:11:33,076 --> 00:11:35,796 Speaker 5: A lot of it was just standing up and looking good, 165 00:11:35,856 --> 00:11:38,756 Speaker 5: just sort of holding your arms or your shoulders a 166 00:11:38,796 --> 00:11:40,586 Speaker 5: certain way and just trying to look like you were 167 00:11:40,606 --> 00:11:41,136 Speaker 5: in control. 168 00:11:42,036 --> 00:11:46,666 Speaker 1: Gard didn't do that. Gard was a charger. He'd do 169 00:11:46,686 --> 00:11:48,866 Speaker 1: this move where he would drop to one knee and 170 00:11:48,946 --> 00:11:50,986 Speaker 1: cut back toward the breaking part of the wave to 171 00:11:51,046 --> 00:11:53,866 Speaker 1: pick up speed and momentum, then turn back toward the 172 00:11:54,006 --> 00:11:56,266 Speaker 1: unbroken wave and fly. 173 00:11:56,286 --> 00:11:59,926 Speaker 5: If you're riding the right kind of wave and you're 174 00:11:59,966 --> 00:12:02,756 Speaker 5: coming in at an angle and The wave's barely breaking, 175 00:12:02,846 --> 00:12:04,846 Speaker 5: and you do a big swooping turn kind of back 176 00:12:04,886 --> 00:12:07,926 Speaker 5: to where it's breaking a little bit more. It's a cutback. 177 00:12:08,926 --> 00:12:14,086 Speaker 1: According to Matt, Gard invented the cutback. That's like in skiing, 178 00:12:14,386 --> 00:12:16,516 Speaker 1: being the person who invented the pole plant. 179 00:12:17,636 --> 00:12:19,556 Speaker 5: And the surfers who were all around in the 40s, 180 00:12:19,556 --> 00:12:22,156 Speaker 5: they were the surfers that everyone sort of heard of, 181 00:12:22,456 --> 00:12:26,116 Speaker 5: much more famous than Gard. To a man, and it's 182 00:12:26,186 --> 00:12:29,326 Speaker 5: all men, say that Gard was the guy. He was 183 00:12:29,366 --> 00:12:30,346 Speaker 5: the high-performance guy. 184 00:12:31,586 --> 00:12:35,326 Speaker 1: Gard surfed just like he lived, on the edge of aggression, 185 00:12:35,926 --> 00:12:36,966 Speaker 1: spoiling for a fight. 186 00:12:37,666 --> 00:12:40,306 Speaker 5: Gard Chapin knew how to turn his board, ride high. 187 00:12:40,366 --> 00:12:44,866 Speaker 5: He could literally surf past surfers. And as he was 188 00:12:44,936 --> 00:12:48,236 Speaker 5: doing that, he'd be yelling abuse at everybody. He'd just, 189 00:12:48,936 --> 00:12:51,956 Speaker 5: get out of here, coming through. And that was Gard Chapin. 190 00:12:51,996 --> 00:12:55,236 Speaker 5: He was the best surfer. He was the most aggressive surfer. 191 00:12:57,416 --> 00:13:00,346 Speaker 1: Gard was a regular at San Onofre. a long stretch 192 00:13:00,386 --> 00:13:03,126 Speaker 1: of beach in Orange County where the waves are soft 193 00:13:03,166 --> 00:13:07,126 Speaker 1: and crumbly and roll in one after the next. It 194 00:13:07,166 --> 00:13:10,526 Speaker 1: was a community. The surfers made big bonfires and brought 195 00:13:10,546 --> 00:13:14,836 Speaker 1: their ukuleles and slept on the beach. After Gard got 196 00:13:14,866 --> 00:13:18,096 Speaker 1: together with Mickey's mom, Ramona, he started taking Mickey there. 197 00:13:18,996 --> 00:13:22,996 Speaker 1: And sometimes he just left him there to fend for himself. 198 00:13:25,356 --> 00:13:29,896 Speaker 1: Mickey's nickname at Sano was Meatball. He was a sandy, 199 00:13:29,996 --> 00:13:33,836 Speaker 1: sunburned version of a Victorian street urchin. He had a 200 00:13:33,876 --> 00:13:35,596 Speaker 1: reputation as a petty thief. 201 00:13:36,676 --> 00:13:39,536 Speaker 5: And Mickey was just this, I mean, middle school age 202 00:13:39,596 --> 00:13:41,966 Speaker 5: kid hanging around these older guys and going up the 203 00:13:42,026 --> 00:13:45,866 Speaker 5: point to go surf a place called Trestles and stealing 204 00:13:45,946 --> 00:13:48,526 Speaker 5: food to sort of, he was hungry and he was 205 00:13:48,566 --> 00:13:52,546 Speaker 5: just sort of semi-abandoned. Having a great time, I think 206 00:13:52,566 --> 00:13:56,076 Speaker 5: having a huge adventure, but then guard would show up 207 00:13:56,256 --> 00:13:58,436 Speaker 5: later on and say, where's Mickey? And somebody would find 208 00:13:58,476 --> 00:14:00,716 Speaker 5: him and off they'd go back up to L.A. 209 00:14:04,056 --> 00:14:08,176 Speaker 1: Over time, Miklos, Mickey's father, began to lose influence over 210 00:14:08,216 --> 00:14:12,226 Speaker 1: his son. Miklos was busy at his restaurant, Little Hungary, 211 00:14:12,726 --> 00:14:15,206 Speaker 1: a reality that Gard seemed to make a mockery of. 212 00:14:16,146 --> 00:14:18,366 Speaker 1: He would come into the restaurant hot off the beach, 213 00:14:18,746 --> 00:14:21,926 Speaker 1: Mickey in tow, shouting that his wife owned the place. 214 00:14:23,146 --> 00:14:25,996 Speaker 1: Gard and his sidekick, Mickey, would storm into the kitchen 215 00:14:26,146 --> 00:14:27,856 Speaker 1: and grab whatever food they wanted. 216 00:14:28,766 --> 00:14:30,906 Speaker 5: You know, for his part, Miklos, who I get the 217 00:14:30,946 --> 00:14:33,426 Speaker 5: feeling was just sort of in over his head because, again, 218 00:14:33,726 --> 00:14:36,476 Speaker 5: he's the one coming over from far away. And he 219 00:14:36,496 --> 00:14:40,996 Speaker 5: was very handsome, sophisticated. He also loved the beach. But 220 00:14:41,836 --> 00:14:45,276 Speaker 5: with Gard and with Ramona, Miklos still had the thick accent. 221 00:14:45,656 --> 00:14:47,456 Speaker 5: He could only be sort of so cool. 222 00:14:48,496 --> 00:14:52,586 Speaker 1: Gard seemed determined to turn Mickey into an American boy. 223 00:14:53,816 --> 00:14:57,766 Speaker 1: Over Miklosch's objections, he forced Mickey to get circumcised at 224 00:14:57,806 --> 00:15:04,286 Speaker 1: the age of 12. I wonder what kind of mockery Gard, 225 00:15:04,746 --> 00:15:09,546 Speaker 1: a quote-unquote Aryan and a xenophobe, subjected Mickey to, this 226 00:15:09,626 --> 00:15:14,336 Speaker 1: dark-complected child from Budapest whose father spoke heavily accented English. 227 00:15:17,716 --> 00:15:20,716 Speaker 1: Gard was a carpenter and worked with a legendary surfboard 228 00:15:20,756 --> 00:15:24,206 Speaker 1: shaper named Bob Simmons, Mickey hung around the shop and 229 00:15:24,246 --> 00:15:27,666 Speaker 1: learned a lot from them. But as an adult, he 230 00:15:27,706 --> 00:15:32,526 Speaker 1: really didn't talk that much about Gard and his influence. Occasionally, 231 00:15:32,626 --> 00:15:38,096 Speaker 1: he'd drop cryptic hints about Gard's odd disciplinary programs. Once, 232 00:15:38,176 --> 00:15:40,456 Speaker 1: toward the end of his life, Mickey made the offhand 233 00:15:40,496 --> 00:15:45,516 Speaker 1: remark that Gard was a dangerous psychopath. When Mickey did 234 00:15:45,576 --> 00:15:49,876 Speaker 1: open up about Gard, the stories were alcohol-soaked and violent. 235 00:15:51,506 --> 00:15:52,886 Speaker 5: Every now and then, Mickey would get in sort of 236 00:15:52,926 --> 00:15:56,426 Speaker 5: a confessional mode and say, yeah, you know, guard used 237 00:15:56,446 --> 00:15:58,886 Speaker 5: to come home drunk, wake me up, and beat the 238 00:15:58,926 --> 00:16:01,616 Speaker 5: shit out of me. There was just a lot of 239 00:16:01,666 --> 00:16:04,256 Speaker 5: famous surfers from that period in the 40s and 50s 240 00:16:04,296 --> 00:16:07,096 Speaker 5: who said, all seemed to say the same thing, which 241 00:16:07,136 --> 00:16:10,276 Speaker 5: was that they thought he was, you know, in their words, 242 00:16:10,316 --> 00:16:13,606 Speaker 5: the living end when it came to surfing. But he 243 00:16:13,636 --> 00:16:17,006 Speaker 5: was just someone that you wanted to keep distance from 244 00:16:17,166 --> 00:16:19,266 Speaker 5: at a party, you know, especially as it got later. 245 00:16:19,306 --> 00:16:20,846 Speaker 5: You just wanted to sort of stay away from him. 246 00:16:21,386 --> 00:16:23,266 Speaker 5: The story that I've been told a few times, and 247 00:16:23,306 --> 00:16:26,286 Speaker 5: I think Mickey tells the story, is that one night 248 00:16:26,726 --> 00:16:31,336 Speaker 5: guard came home drunk, woke up Mickey, said, come with me. 249 00:16:32,296 --> 00:16:35,316 Speaker 5: And they drove somewhere in LA. I don't know what 250 00:16:35,376 --> 00:16:37,956 Speaker 5: street it was, but it was the first street where 251 00:16:38,576 --> 00:16:42,516 Speaker 5: LA had just put in parking meters. And guard got 252 00:16:42,576 --> 00:16:45,876 Speaker 5: out of the car drunk. He grabbed a baseball bat 253 00:16:45,896 --> 00:16:49,066 Speaker 5: and just went down the block and just smashed the 254 00:16:49,106 --> 00:16:52,216 Speaker 5: head off every meter. and said something like, this is 255 00:16:52,236 --> 00:16:53,936 Speaker 5: what they're trying to do to us, Mickey. Look at 256 00:16:53,956 --> 00:16:56,496 Speaker 5: what they're trying to do. And then, you know, I 257 00:16:56,516 --> 00:16:57,976 Speaker 5: don't even know why he had to have Mickey there, 258 00:16:58,016 --> 00:17:00,196 Speaker 5: but he wanted Mickey to see him doing this, committing 259 00:17:00,216 --> 00:17:02,436 Speaker 5: this act of violence because, you know, the city of L.A. 260 00:17:02,476 --> 00:17:07,226 Speaker 5: or the county was, you know, screwing them, screwing everybody 261 00:17:07,256 --> 00:17:09,906 Speaker 5: over by putting in parking meters and put Mickey back 262 00:17:09,946 --> 00:17:14,106 Speaker 5: in the car and drove home and passed out. I 263 00:17:14,146 --> 00:17:17,066 Speaker 5: do think Mickey later realized that Gard was a monster. 264 00:17:18,936 --> 00:17:22,076 Speaker 1: Miklos Sr. grew concerned that Mickey might be in danger 265 00:17:22,686 --> 00:17:24,126 Speaker 1: and did the best thing he could think of at 266 00:17:24,146 --> 00:17:24,566 Speaker 1: the time. 267 00:17:25,826 --> 00:17:29,666 Speaker 5: At one point, when Gard and Ramona were both being, 268 00:17:29,686 --> 00:17:35,286 Speaker 5: you know, sort of particularly bad parents, Miklos sent Mickey 269 00:17:35,326 --> 00:17:40,266 Speaker 5: to a boarding school. And Mickey hated that. 270 00:17:41,296 --> 00:17:44,516 Speaker 1: Mickey was sent to St. John's Military Academy, which was 271 00:17:44,576 --> 00:17:46,456 Speaker 1: run by the Sisters of Mercy nuns. 272 00:17:47,266 --> 00:17:49,966 Speaker 5: I do think that Miklos did that not as punishment. 273 00:17:49,986 --> 00:17:52,166 Speaker 5: I think that he felt that Mickey living with Gard 274 00:17:52,286 --> 00:17:54,686 Speaker 5: and Ramona was in a situation that Mickey needed to 275 00:17:54,706 --> 00:17:55,446 Speaker 5: be removed from. 276 00:17:56,676 --> 00:18:01,016 Speaker 1: Mickey wasn't cut out for military boarding school. If a domineering, 277 00:18:01,216 --> 00:18:05,136 Speaker 1: unpredictable stepfather had given him an uneasy relationship to authority, 278 00:18:06,036 --> 00:18:09,446 Speaker 1: a bunch of drill sergeants and nuns only intensified it. 279 00:18:11,346 --> 00:18:15,566 Speaker 1: Mickey was not a good boy at school. There's even 280 00:18:15,606 --> 00:18:18,766 Speaker 1: a story of him putting fiberglass shavings from shaping a 281 00:18:18,826 --> 00:18:24,806 Speaker 1: surfboard in the head nun's kotex. Mickey was about 14 282 00:18:24,806 --> 00:18:29,146 Speaker 1: when Miklos sold Little Hungary. Miklos, who had remarried and 283 00:18:29,206 --> 00:18:32,106 Speaker 1: fathered a daughter, moved to South America to get into 284 00:18:32,186 --> 00:18:39,256 Speaker 1: shrimp farming. Mickey was set adrift. But on the beach, 285 00:18:39,956 --> 00:18:46,176 Speaker 1: he was someone. He was Mickey Chapin, guard's kid, He 286 00:18:46,216 --> 00:19:05,266 Speaker 1: wasn't abandoned, he decided. He was free. When Mickey Dora 287 00:19:05,286 --> 00:19:08,976 Speaker 1: became a famous surfer in the 1960s, an interviewer for 288 00:19:09,016 --> 00:19:11,976 Speaker 1: Surfer Magazine asked him why he had dropped the name Chapin. 289 00:19:12,926 --> 00:19:19,426 Speaker 1: Mickey's answer? Quote, Gard's untimely premeditated murder in Mexico can 290 00:19:19,586 --> 00:19:23,746 Speaker 1: only be linked with his individualistic personality. For my own 291 00:19:23,786 --> 00:19:26,066 Speaker 1: peace of mind, I felt it would be safer to 292 00:19:26,206 --> 00:19:29,946 Speaker 1: use my given name. The events that led up to 293 00:19:30,006 --> 00:19:34,166 Speaker 1: Gard's death in the late 50s were depressing. A noirish 294 00:19:34,306 --> 00:19:38,206 Speaker 1: downward spiral for the beautiful Ramona and her surfing stud. 295 00:19:39,246 --> 00:19:40,936 Speaker 1: Surf historian Matt Warshaw. 296 00:19:42,366 --> 00:19:46,316 Speaker 5: Guard was rear-ended while waiting at a traffic light and 297 00:19:46,396 --> 00:19:50,536 Speaker 5: broke his neck and couldn't work and he couldn't surf 298 00:19:50,576 --> 00:19:53,036 Speaker 5: for something like a year. He was in a lot 299 00:19:53,076 --> 00:19:56,806 Speaker 5: of pain for the rest of his life and that 300 00:19:56,846 --> 00:20:00,046 Speaker 5: didn't help with his drinking. So he became a worse 301 00:20:00,106 --> 00:20:03,786 Speaker 5: drunk and he would dry out and then go back 302 00:20:03,826 --> 00:20:04,306 Speaker 5: to drinking. 303 00:20:05,546 --> 00:20:09,166 Speaker 1: Ramona and Gard broke up and Ramona became a secretary downtown, 304 00:20:09,706 --> 00:20:14,436 Speaker 1: living in hotels with various boyfriends. According to Mickey's half-brother, 305 00:20:14,716 --> 00:20:18,276 Speaker 1: Gard and Ramona's son, Gard got addicted to codeine an 306 00:20:18,496 --> 00:20:22,016 Speaker 1: absinthe that he smuggled in from Mexico. He was already 307 00:20:22,056 --> 00:20:25,906 Speaker 1: a liability. Now he came fully unglued. 308 00:20:25,926 --> 00:20:28,986 Speaker 5: At some point he was down in Mexico, I think, 309 00:20:29,066 --> 00:20:32,986 Speaker 5: fishing and trying to not drink, and then he was 310 00:20:33,026 --> 00:20:35,436 Speaker 5: going to row a dinghy out to a friend's boat, 311 00:20:36,256 --> 00:20:38,376 Speaker 5: and the dinghy turned up the next day, and Gard's 312 00:20:38,416 --> 00:20:41,056 Speaker 5: body turned up five days later. And it looks like 313 00:20:41,096 --> 00:20:43,756 Speaker 5: he just had been drinking or something and fell off 314 00:20:43,796 --> 00:20:50,646 Speaker 5: the boat, or some kind of late-night one-man... Mickey talked 315 00:20:50,686 --> 00:20:53,106 Speaker 5: about it as if Gard, you know, knew too much 316 00:20:53,166 --> 00:20:55,606 Speaker 5: about too many people and he was killed. And, you know, 317 00:20:55,866 --> 00:21:00,586 Speaker 5: and again, you're just cutting through layers of weirdness. Mickey 318 00:21:00,626 --> 00:21:03,406 Speaker 5: tried to make it sound like Gard was murdered, which 319 00:21:03,446 --> 00:21:04,346 Speaker 5: I don't think is true. 320 00:21:05,786 --> 00:21:09,036 Speaker 1: But Mickey believed it or said he did. And he 321 00:21:09,096 --> 00:21:14,336 Speaker 1: hinted at dark conspiracies. Mickey told his friends that Gard 322 00:21:14,596 --> 00:21:20,456 Speaker 1: knew too much. About what? He said the state was 323 00:21:20,516 --> 00:21:25,776 Speaker 1: somehow after him. It was all very mysterious. What's clear 324 00:21:26,556 --> 00:21:29,306 Speaker 1: is that Mickey was not the same after Gard's death. 325 00:21:30,226 --> 00:21:35,286 Speaker 1: He became more enigmatic, more paranoid. But he also started 326 00:21:35,326 --> 00:21:38,686 Speaker 1: to seem much less like a California kid and more 327 00:21:38,746 --> 00:21:44,786 Speaker 1: like a European dandy. Mickey was back in touch with 328 00:21:44,826 --> 00:21:48,146 Speaker 1: his birth father, Miklosch, who had returned from South America 329 00:21:48,346 --> 00:21:52,046 Speaker 1: and was working in the wine business. Eventually, Miklosch would 330 00:21:52,086 --> 00:21:55,686 Speaker 1: work for the eminent winemaker Baron de Rothschild, representing his 331 00:21:55,766 --> 00:21:59,076 Speaker 1: wines in the United States and frequently traveling back to Europe. 332 00:22:00,516 --> 00:22:03,516 Speaker 1: He got Mickey a job working for a distributor, but 333 00:22:03,536 --> 00:22:07,616 Speaker 1: it didn't last. Mickey slept with the boss's wife. That 334 00:22:07,636 --> 00:22:11,836 Speaker 1: was okay. Mickey didn't want to work. He wanted to surf. 335 00:22:13,826 --> 00:22:17,906 Speaker 1: Rent wasn't an issue. Mickey crashed with Miklosch's mother, Nadina, 336 00:22:18,126 --> 00:22:21,686 Speaker 1: at her place in West Hollywood. Nadina, who was born 337 00:22:21,726 --> 00:22:24,226 Speaker 1: in Russia and spent most of her adult life in Vienna, 338 00:22:24,546 --> 00:22:29,666 Speaker 1: was a voice coach known to her students as Madame Desanctus. Now, 339 00:22:29,986 --> 00:22:33,216 Speaker 1: Mickey started talking with an accent and using quirky Eastern 340 00:22:33,266 --> 00:22:37,376 Speaker 1: European hand gestures. It was like he was becoming some 341 00:22:37,556 --> 00:22:43,866 Speaker 1: impressionistic air quotes version of Miklosch. When Gard died, Mickey 342 00:22:43,906 --> 00:22:47,966 Speaker 1: Chapin died with him. From then on, in most circumstances, 343 00:22:48,366 --> 00:22:51,706 Speaker 1: he would be known as Mickey Dora. The name and 344 00:22:51,726 --> 00:22:55,066 Speaker 1: the mannerisms would stick. Matt Warshaw again. 345 00:22:56,376 --> 00:22:59,896 Speaker 5: Mickey Dora did have this way of talking that apparently 346 00:22:59,936 --> 00:23:02,916 Speaker 5: everybody at Malibu and elsewhere would start emulating, where, you know, 347 00:23:02,956 --> 00:23:05,036 Speaker 5: a lot of sort of hand gestures and a lot of, 348 00:23:05,096 --> 00:23:07,076 Speaker 5: there was sort of a pause in the way. And 349 00:23:07,336 --> 00:23:09,836 Speaker 5: it wasn't, he didn't talk like other surfers at all. 350 00:23:09,876 --> 00:23:12,776 Speaker 5: There was none of that kind of California nasally thing. 351 00:23:13,186 --> 00:23:15,416 Speaker 5: that surfers do, you know, he talked in a sort 352 00:23:15,436 --> 00:23:18,496 Speaker 5: of a precise way. Or if you see people in conversation, 353 00:23:18,536 --> 00:23:22,516 Speaker 5: you'd see people doing these kind of gestures that Mickey did. 354 00:23:23,736 --> 00:23:25,936 Speaker 5: And it was all kind of old world somehow. It 355 00:23:25,976 --> 00:23:29,926 Speaker 5: wasn't Southern California surfy stuff. That's all coming from Miklos, 356 00:23:30,366 --> 00:23:30,846 Speaker 5: the father. 357 00:23:35,566 --> 00:23:40,286 Speaker 6: He was this really uneasy split between two very different fathers. 358 00:23:41,616 --> 00:23:45,436 Speaker 1: Stevie DeVicentis, the film writer, was fascinated by Mickey's two 359 00:23:45,476 --> 00:23:47,116 Speaker 1: dads and how they shaped him. 360 00:23:47,996 --> 00:23:53,016 Speaker 6: You had Miklos as his birth father, who was this erudite, aristocratic, 361 00:23:54,016 --> 00:23:57,746 Speaker 6: accomplished businessman, lover of the arts, expert of fine wine, 362 00:23:58,066 --> 00:24:01,206 Speaker 6: and by all accounts, a real gentleman and a lovely man. 363 00:24:01,546 --> 00:24:05,826 Speaker 6: And then you had Gard, his stepfather, who is, you know, 364 00:24:06,166 --> 00:24:10,166 Speaker 6: widely recognized to be a very, very difficult and problematic person. 365 00:24:10,656 --> 00:24:13,896 Speaker 6: And he was paranoid. He fought a lot, loved guns. 366 00:24:14,516 --> 00:24:18,356 Speaker 6: He was a very angry man, by all accounts. And 367 00:24:18,636 --> 00:24:21,276 Speaker 6: you can see both of these things in Mickey. You 368 00:24:21,296 --> 00:24:26,816 Speaker 6: can see all of the appreciation of art and imagination 369 00:24:27,226 --> 00:24:32,186 Speaker 6: and curiosity about culture and seeing culture where others might not. 370 00:24:32,606 --> 00:24:38,626 Speaker 6: And then you also see the fierce, almost violent protectionism 371 00:24:38,706 --> 00:24:43,766 Speaker 6: about territory. And paranoia, thinking people want to know what 372 00:24:43,786 --> 00:24:46,506 Speaker 6: you're doing, thinking people want to break into your house. 373 00:24:46,546 --> 00:24:48,146 Speaker 6: I mean, Mickey had a bear trap inside of his 374 00:24:48,186 --> 00:24:51,206 Speaker 6: front door. There's nobody trying to break into Mickey's house. 375 00:24:51,246 --> 00:24:52,746 Speaker 6: Nobody cares for Mickey. You know what I mean? Like, 376 00:24:53,266 --> 00:24:57,946 Speaker 6: it's paranoid. And you see these very distinct fathers very 377 00:24:57,986 --> 00:24:58,806 Speaker 6: much alive in him. 378 00:25:00,006 --> 00:25:03,616 Speaker 1: As a child, Mickey had been more or less abandoned. 379 00:25:04,796 --> 00:25:08,986 Speaker 1: Ramona hadn't taken care of him. Miklos hadn't either. and 380 00:25:09,066 --> 00:25:14,446 Speaker 1: Gard seemed to mostly nurture Mickey's weaknesses. I get the 381 00:25:14,506 --> 00:25:17,066 Speaker 1: sense that Mickey grew up with this feeling of having 382 00:25:17,106 --> 00:25:21,436 Speaker 1: been denied his birthright, the elegance and sophistication and air 383 00:25:21,476 --> 00:25:25,596 Speaker 1: of wealth that clung to his father, and he was pissed. 384 00:25:26,916 --> 00:25:30,186 Speaker 1: He used to doodle the word retribution on his drawings. 385 00:25:31,846 --> 00:25:35,926 Speaker 1: Mickey wanted that Mr. Dora suave, but he'd grown up 386 00:25:35,946 --> 00:25:38,766 Speaker 1: with Gard, and Gard's questionable ethics. 387 00:25:40,696 --> 00:25:42,256 Speaker 6: I think when it came to the criminal stuff, it's 388 00:25:42,316 --> 00:25:47,176 Speaker 6: a synthesis of the two. It's the willingness to take 389 00:25:47,216 --> 00:25:50,736 Speaker 6: a sucker from Gard, and it's the sophisticated way of 390 00:25:50,796 --> 00:25:52,276 Speaker 6: doing it is from Miklas. 391 00:25:56,526 --> 00:25:59,326 Speaker 1: A few years before Gard's death, Mickey had stopped going 392 00:25:59,366 --> 00:26:03,746 Speaker 1: down to San Onofre. He'd found a new spot, Malibu. 393 00:26:04,736 --> 00:26:08,456 Speaker 1: A long, right-breaking wave that ran from the Malibu movie colony, 394 00:26:08,656 --> 00:26:11,556 Speaker 1: where the movie stars had their hideaways, to Malibu Pier. 395 00:26:13,136 --> 00:26:17,996 Speaker 1: A wave with no one on it. This is almost 396 00:26:18,096 --> 00:26:21,306 Speaker 1: incomprehensible today, when there can be 50 people in the water, 397 00:26:21,566 --> 00:26:25,446 Speaker 1: even on a mediocre day. Malibu is the most discovered 398 00:26:25,526 --> 00:26:26,546 Speaker 1: of the discovered waves. 399 00:26:27,546 --> 00:26:30,746 Speaker 2: It was a wild beach. It was like actually out 400 00:26:30,786 --> 00:26:33,366 Speaker 2: in the country. It was kind of like going to 401 00:26:33,386 --> 00:26:37,176 Speaker 2: the outskirts of out into the country. You go up 402 00:26:37,216 --> 00:26:39,516 Speaker 2: and there's empty lots where the beach houses are now. 403 00:26:40,216 --> 00:26:42,936 Speaker 2: And you wind up this road. It was just like 404 00:26:42,976 --> 00:26:45,736 Speaker 2: an adventure. You're going way out to Malibu. 405 00:26:46,916 --> 00:26:50,456 Speaker 1: This is Denny Auberg again. In the early 50s, he said, 406 00:26:50,836 --> 00:26:54,356 Speaker 1: almost no one knew what surfing even was. He was 407 00:26:54,396 --> 00:26:55,276 Speaker 1: just there to go fishing. 408 00:26:55,296 --> 00:26:58,096 Speaker 2: I would sit there with a drop line and look 409 00:26:58,136 --> 00:27:02,366 Speaker 2: across the cove and see these strange long things leaning 410 00:27:02,426 --> 00:27:05,396 Speaker 2: against this fence, you know, this old barbed wire fence. 411 00:27:06,056 --> 00:27:07,736 Speaker 2: I thought they were some kind of boats. I had 412 00:27:07,796 --> 00:27:10,676 Speaker 2: no idea what they were, but I wondered, what is that? 413 00:27:11,736 --> 00:27:15,236 Speaker 2: And later I found out they were surfboards. By 1956, 414 00:27:15,236 --> 00:27:18,456 Speaker 2: it was a relatively unknown sport that came from Hawaii, 415 00:27:18,536 --> 00:27:22,236 Speaker 2: and people did it, but it wasn't generally known, surfing. 416 00:27:22,356 --> 00:27:24,736 Speaker 2: What is that? See people bobbing around out at sea? 417 00:27:24,776 --> 00:27:26,486 Speaker 2: Why are they doing that? Why are they just waiting 418 00:27:26,516 --> 00:27:26,816 Speaker 2: out there? 419 00:27:30,026 --> 00:27:33,346 Speaker 1: Here at Malibu, Mickey would perfect what came to be 420 00:27:33,396 --> 00:27:37,756 Speaker 1: known as the Malibu style, a laid-back stance with knees 421 00:27:37,816 --> 00:27:42,016 Speaker 1: slightly bent and shoulders loose. The graceful, and Mickey was 422 00:27:42,056 --> 00:27:44,996 Speaker 1: the most graceful, could catfoot to the front of the 423 00:27:45,036 --> 00:27:48,756 Speaker 1: board and ride the nose. It was the golden era 424 00:27:48,896 --> 00:27:52,366 Speaker 1: of Malibu, a period Mickey would call the vintage years, 425 00:27:53,006 --> 00:27:54,766 Speaker 1: or the Genesis period. 426 00:27:54,786 --> 00:27:58,616 Speaker 5: There was two guys that were sort of the kings 427 00:27:58,676 --> 00:28:01,956 Speaker 5: of Malibu in this one really golden sort of period 428 00:28:01,976 --> 00:28:04,036 Speaker 5: that Mickey thought of as sort of this golden period 429 00:28:04,516 --> 00:28:05,036 Speaker 5: in the 1950s. 430 00:28:05,076 --> 00:28:07,476 Speaker 1: Matt Warshaw again. 431 00:28:08,596 --> 00:28:10,456 Speaker 5: And Mickey was the guy that kind of ruled in 432 00:28:10,476 --> 00:28:14,186 Speaker 5: the water. And then Terry Tracy, who everyone knew as Tubestake, 433 00:28:15,076 --> 00:28:18,266 Speaker 5: ruled the beach. The two of them got along okay 434 00:28:19,366 --> 00:28:21,726 Speaker 5: because they each had their own little sort of fiefdom. 435 00:28:22,266 --> 00:28:25,346 Speaker 5: But Tubestake built this shack on the beach and he... 436 00:28:26,616 --> 00:28:31,576 Speaker 5: loved entertaining people. He was, um, himself could be kind 437 00:28:31,616 --> 00:28:33,976 Speaker 5: of cruel, but in general seemed to have a pretty 438 00:28:33,996 --> 00:28:38,056 Speaker 5: big heart. And he, he was funny and he liked 439 00:28:38,076 --> 00:28:40,136 Speaker 5: to sort of hold court and just sort of keep 440 00:28:40,176 --> 00:28:42,976 Speaker 5: everybody laughing. And Mickey would sort of say hi to 441 00:28:43,016 --> 00:28:45,896 Speaker 5: everybody on his way out to go surf. And then 442 00:28:46,236 --> 00:28:48,036 Speaker 5: usually Mickey would just, would just leave. 443 00:28:49,316 --> 00:28:52,496 Speaker 1: This was the scene. Mickey in the water, tube steak 444 00:28:52,536 --> 00:28:55,026 Speaker 1: in a shack on the beach. that a skinny, short 445 00:28:55,106 --> 00:28:58,366 Speaker 1: teenager named Kathy Konar discovered in the summer of 1956. 446 00:28:58,366 --> 00:29:01,626 Speaker 1: He was a great surfer. 447 00:29:03,066 --> 00:29:05,186 Speaker 3: He was a great surfer. I mean, you could pick him. 448 00:29:05,246 --> 00:29:07,706 Speaker 3: If you looked outside, you could pick him up in 449 00:29:07,746 --> 00:29:11,846 Speaker 3: a lineup. He was fantastic. He had hand gestures. I 450 00:29:11,886 --> 00:29:13,966 Speaker 3: don't know if anybody saw. He goes, ah, my name 451 00:29:14,046 --> 00:29:16,176 Speaker 3: is Mickey Dora. He'd go like that. 452 00:29:17,216 --> 00:29:20,996 Speaker 1: Kathy's arrival heralded the end of the Golden Era. In 453 00:29:21,076 --> 00:29:24,636 Speaker 1: Mickey's view, it ushered in a period of of dry rot. 454 00:29:26,156 --> 00:29:28,936 Speaker 1: You may have heard about Kathy. She became the world's 455 00:29:28,996 --> 00:29:34,036 Speaker 1: most famous surfer. To non-surfers, she's probably still the world's 456 00:29:34,096 --> 00:29:37,776 Speaker 1: most famous surfer. But you don't know her as Kathy. 457 00:29:38,406 --> 00:29:40,126 Speaker 1: You'd know her by the nickname the guys on the 458 00:29:40,146 --> 00:29:44,186 Speaker 1: beach gave her. It's a little offensive, but it was 459 00:29:44,226 --> 00:29:44,766 Speaker 1: the 50s. 460 00:29:46,086 --> 00:29:47,906 Speaker 5: Girl and midget and gidget. 461 00:29:49,956 --> 00:29:54,296 Speaker 1: Mickey's world, the surf world, would never be the same. 462 00:29:57,236 --> 00:30:00,996 Speaker 1: Next time on Lost Hills, the guys at Malibu are 463 00:30:01,036 --> 00:30:01,966 Speaker 1: in for a surprise. 464 00:30:01,986 --> 00:30:08,146 Speaker 3: The boo, Malibu, gets good once a summer, and it 465 00:30:08,186 --> 00:30:11,926 Speaker 3: got good It got bitchin'. Brother, was I ever jazzed. 466 00:30:12,346 --> 00:30:15,506 Speaker 3: I was riding four-footers and lining all the way across 467 00:30:15,566 --> 00:30:19,316 Speaker 3: into the bay. I really had a ball and looked better. 468 00:30:19,656 --> 00:30:22,376 Speaker 3: I still miss having a boyfriend, but everything happens for 469 00:30:22,416 --> 00:30:24,976 Speaker 3: the best. And I'll die being an old maid, but 470 00:30:25,016 --> 00:30:25,956 Speaker 3: it's a grand life. 471 00:30:25,976 --> 00:30:28,216 Speaker 1: And I think that's a really good, a. 472 00:30:29,956 --> 00:30:33,316 Speaker 3: Really good piece of writing. 473 00:30:33,016 --> 00:30:33,896 Speaker 5: From my diary. 474 00:30:35,296 --> 00:30:41,556 Speaker 1: That's next in Episode 3, Gidget Goes to Hollywood. Part 1. 475 00:30:41,556 --> 00:30:44,616 Speaker 1: Lost Hills is written and reported by me, Dana Goodyear. 476 00:30:45,136 --> 00:30:48,186 Speaker 1: It's created by me and Ben Adair and produced by 477 00:30:48,236 --> 00:30:53,026 Speaker 1: Western Sound and Pushkin Industries. Subscribe to Pushkin Plus and 478 00:30:53,046 --> 00:30:57,086 Speaker 1: you can binge the entire season right now, ad-free. Find 479 00:30:57,186 --> 00:30:59,766 Speaker 1: Pushkin Plus on the Lost Hills show page in Apple 480 00:30:59,786 --> 00:31:03,406 Speaker 1: Podcasts or at pushkin.fm slash plus.