A mix of Hollywood, local artists and activists gathered recently to kick off efforts to restore an iconic mural of Academy Award-winning actor Anthony Quinn that graces the entire side of a building in Downtown Los Angeles.
A non-profit organization called Bringing Back the Legend is currently raising funds and working with well-known artists Eloy Torrez to restore the mural. The artwork is on the south side of the Victor Clothing Building, a former retail store that has been converted to residential lofts. The mural faces 3rd Street, with Quinn striking a pose similar to the dancing scene he made famous in Zorba the Greek, one of his best-known movies.
Representatives of another non-profit group, known as Operation Street Kidz, hopes to make the restoration of the mural part of an education project for at-risk youths. The group will stage a competition and, eventually, choose two at-risk youngsters to work on the project.
The August 21 kickoff for the project drew a lineup of supporters headlined by Francesco Quinn, son of the late start and a successful actor in his own right. Edward James Olmos also attended the event, along with luminaries from Spanish-language media and the Latino music scene in Los Angeles.
Francesco Quinn reminded the crowd gathered for the kickoff that, while his father became famous for portraying characters of various ethnicities, he was an immigrant from Chihuahua, Mexico, born in 1915 to a father who traced his roots to Ireland and a mother who was a native of Mexico. Quinn arrived with his parents in Los Angeles and a child. The elder Quinn lived in the Echo Park district just northwest of Downtown and the Boyle Heights district on the Eastside as a youth, attending Polytechnic High School and later Belmont High.
Quinn boxed as a youth and checked out architecture before finding his way to fame in Hollywood.
Francesco Quinn told the crowd that the restoration project is a worthwhile effort.
"What comes of this is pride — and art," he said.
Photos by LA Beez.
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