List of people from Topanga, California explained

This article is a list of notable people who were born in and/or have lived in Topanga, California.

Actors

In the 1920s, Topanga Canyon became a weekend getaway for Hollywood silent film stars. The rolling hills and ample vegetation provided both privacy and attractive surroundings for some of the famous.

Actors currently or formerly residing in the Topanga area include:

• John Kassir^[1]
• Kadeem Hardison

• Richard Dean Anderson (1980)
• Blu del Barrio^[2]
• Lisa Bonet^[3]
• Eric Pierpoint^[4]
• Kyle Chandler^[5]
• John Clark^[5]
• Bob Denver
• Tony Dow
• Sharon Farrell
• Teri Garr^[5]
• Will Geer^{[6] [5]}
• Billy Gray, and his late mother Beatrice Gray^[5]
• Emile Hirsch^[5]
• Jennifer Holden^[5]
• Dennis Hopper^[5]
• Jason Isaacs^[5]
• Joshua Jackson^[5]
• Katherine Kelly Lang
• Cloris Leachman
• Eric Mabius^[5]
• Wendie Malick^[5]
• Jason Momoa
• Viggo Mortensen^[5]
• Lupita Nyong'o^[5]
• Uschi Obermaier, model and actress^[5]
• William O'Leary^[5]
• Lynn Redgrave^[5]
• Molly Ringwald^[5]
• Joseph Rosendo
• Ricky Schroder^[5]
• Natalie Shaw
• Vinessa Shaw
• Amy Smart^[5]
• Sissy Spacek^[7]
• Dean Stockwell^[5]
• Russ Tamblyn, raising his daughter Amber Tamblyn^[5]
• Jeffrey Tambor, with wife Kasia and 2 children^[5]
• Barry Watson^[5]
• Robin Williams^[5]
• Jan-Michael Vincent^[5]

• Michael Stoker, Actor and Firefighter served at LACOFD Station 69 in Topanga

Musicians

In the musical fields, in 1952 Woody Guthrie was one of the early American musicians who moved to the Topanga area.^[8] As nearby Los Angeles grew into a major music industry capital in the 1950s and 1960s, Topanga Canyon was one of the city's bohemian enclaves some performers preferred living in.^[5]

Current and former musicians of the Topanga area include:

• Nick Hexum^[9]

• Mark Andes^[5]
• Christopher Drew
• Ryan Bingham^[5]
• Vic Briggs^[10]
• Randy California^[11]
• Linda Ronstadt
• Ed Cassidy^[5]
• Justin Chancellor^[5]
• Alice Cooper^[5]
• Pee Wee Crayton^[5]
• JC Crowley^[5]
• John Densmore^{[5] [11]}
• Neil Diamond^[5]
• Danny Elfman in 1989 at the time he was composing the Simpsons Theme (see his MasterClass, Lesson 5)
• Don Felder^{[5] [11]}
• Jay Ferguson^[5]
• Mick Fleetwood^{[5] [11]}
• The Flying Burrito Brothers^[5]
• Julia Fordham^[5]
• Leif Garrett 1970's teen idol
• Marvin Gaye^{[5] [11]}
• Lowell George^{[5] [11]}
• Woody Guthrie^[8]
• Colin Hay^[12]
• Richie Hayward^[5]
• John Helliwell^[13]
• Gary Hinman, music teacher and a victim of the Charles Manson gang; lived on Old Topanga Canyon Road in 1969
• Bob Hite^{[5] [11]}
• Jacknife Lee^[5]
• Adam Jones^[5]
• Bernie Leadon^[5]
• John Locke^[5]
• Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane^[5]
• Charles Milles Manson (né Maddox) cult leader
• Joni Mitchell^[5]
• Jim Morrison^[5]
• Van Morrison^[5]
• Hani Naser (1950–2020), Jordanian-American musician
• Grace Potter^[14]
• Billy Preston^{[5] [11]}
• Chris Robinson
• Ryan Ross^[5]
• Stephen Stills^{[5] [11]}
• Fred Tackett^[5]
• Taj Mahal^{[5] [11]}
• Big Joe Turner^[5]
• Alan Wilson^[5]
• Neil Young^{[5] [11]}
• David Frank of The System^[15]

Writers

• Hugh Lofting, author of Dr Doolittle was living in Topanga at the time of his death in 1947^{[16] [17]}
• Millicent Borges Accardi, NEA poet, lives in Topanga and writes theater reviews for the local Topanga Messenger newspaper^{[18] [19]}
• Hampton Fancher, screenwriter, author, and director, lived for years on Old Canyon Boulevard^[20]
• Marija Gimbutas, archaeologist and Indo-European scholar noted for her Kurgan hypothesis and controversial books about Old European religion and society, lived in Topanga for decades^{[21] [22]}
• Al Martinez, Pulitzer Prize winning former L.A. Times columnist, lived for decades in Topanga,^[23] often commenting on the nature of life there^[24]
• Jon Povill, writer of Total Recall and some episodes of Sliders, as well as producer of resides there
• Oliver Sacks, neurologist and author, lived on Iowa Trail in Topanga from 1963 to 1965^{[25] [26]}
• Hope Edelman, writer of New York Times bestseller Motherless Daughters^[27]

Others

• Henry Hill, gangster; moved to Topanga Canyon after he was put on probation in 2009^[28]
• Clement Meighan, archaeologist and UCLA Professor of Archaeology/Anthropology; resided in Topanga over 30 years.^[29]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 'Tales from the Crypt' star John Kassir brings wooded Topanga retreat to market . 2022-09-12 . Baltimore Sun.
2. Web site: Star Trek's Blu del Barrio & Ian Alexander: Transgalactic Heroes . Dawn . Ennis . February 7, 2022 . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220207140421/https://www.out.com/print/2022/2/07/star-treks-blu-del-barrio-ian-alexander-transgalactic-heroes . February 7, 2022 . December 30, 2022.
3. Jason Momoa Is Happiest in the Mud and the Dirt . January 19, 2017 . . Emily . Zemler . February 11, 2021 .
4. Web site: Eric Pierpoint. www.littlereview.com. 7 October 2018.
5. Web site: Topanga History & Culture. Teresa Penner. teresapenner.com. March 18, 2018. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160901031706/http://teresapenner.com/topanga-history-culture. September 1, 2016.
6. Web site: Lisa Marks . Hounded out of Hollywood: Topanga film festival and the legacy of Will Geer | Film . theguardian.com . August 8, 2012 . 2014-05-21.
7. Sissy Spacek Acts Her Age . October 18, 1979 . . Cameron . Crowe . Cameron Crowe . February 11, 2021 .
8. Web site: Lifetimeline. www.woodyguthrie.org. March 18, 2018.
9. Web site: 2012-09-04 . 311 Frontman Nick Hexum Buys Topanga Equestrian Estate for $1.97M . 2022-09-12 . Trulia's Blog . en.
10. Vic Briggs Biography, From Rock Star to Ragi; antionmusic. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
11. http://www.rockandrollroadmap.com/places/homes-of-rock-and-roll-stars/los-angeles-area/topanga-canyon Rock and Roll roadmap.com: Topanga Canyon rock and roll scene
12. Web site: Johnston . Chris . Lunch with Colin Hay . January 19, 2013 . 2015-03-06.
13. Web site: Candela . Miguel . JOHN HELLIWELL Interview, April 2003 . August 12, 2010 . 2015-03-06.
14. News: Varga. George. March 11, 2020. Grace Potter, a happily remarried first-time mom, on love, divorce and band break-ups. San Diego Union-Tribune. June 21, 2020.
15. http://davidfrankmusic.com/?p=416, Blog post in David Frank | music production
16. Web site: Death certificate for Hugh John Lofting . .
17. Web site: Topanga Journal and Malibu Monitor from Topanga, California on October 3, 1947 · 1 . 2022-09-15 . Newspapers.com . en.
18. Web site: 2020-07-01 . "Dispatch from a Pandemic: Topanga, California" by Millicent Borges Accardi . 2022-09-15 . Another Chicago Magazine . en.
19. Web site: Topanga . N/A . Ca 90290 . Millicent Borges Accardi . 2022-09-15 . Poets & Writers . en.
20. Web site: Fancher Goes His Own Way / 'Blade Runner' writer now directing serial-killer film . September 19, 1999 .
21. Web site: Obituary: Marija Gimbutas . . February 23, 1994 .
22. Web site: Leslie . Jacques . 1989-06-11 . THE GODDESS THEORY : Controversial UCLA Archeologist Marija Gimbutas Argues That the World Was at Peace When God Was a Woman . 2024-04-02 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
23. Web site: Columnists . www.latimes.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20080507061100/http://www.latimes.com/news/columnists/la-columnist-amartinez,0,184482.columnist . May 7, 2008.
24. Web site: Al Martinez webpage . Almartinez.org . 2014-05-21.
25. Web site: Oliver Sacks: Tripping in Topanga, 1963 - Los Angeles Review of Books. December 12, 2012. lareviewofbooks.org. March 18, 2018.
26. News: Neurologist Oliver Sacks On The Hallucination That Saved His Life . en . NPR.org . 2022-09-15.
27. Web site: 2009-09-20 . Author Hope Edelman's 'journey of faith' . 2022-09-15 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
28. Web site: Real-Life 'Goodfellas' Mobster Henry Hill Dies In Los Angeles Hospital . 2022-09-15 . www.cbsnews.com . en-US.
29. Web site: University of California: In Memoriam, 2000 . 2022-09-15 . texts.cdlib.org.