RARA-AVIS: Ellroy interview

Ned Fleming (ned@networksplus.net)
Wed, 27 May 1998 04:29:43 GMT James Ellroy was featured in Sunday's Kansas City Star's weekly magazine
insert (kind of like "Parade" magazine). I'd love to give you a URL, but
the article hasn't made it into their library of back issues yet, and I
can't figure out how to maneuver through their web page (www.kcstar.com)
to a story of two days ago.

Anyway, the article is a conversation about style between Ellroy and
Steve Cole, a KC restaurateur ("Cafe Allegro"). It's kind of tough
article to describe, and there's little new in it for devotees of
Ellroy, unless it's to reinforce the streak of perfectionism Ellroy
projects. Ellroy did say he had just finished the 343-page outline for
the follow-on to _American Tabloid_, which will be a 1,100-page
manuscript.

Ellroy also said: "My favorite restaurant on earth is a place called the
Pacific Dining Car in Los Angeles. It's been there since 1920. It's an
extremely swanky steak joint on the edge of downtown L.A. that's open 24
hours a day. I met my wife there. We were married there. It's my place
when I'm in L.A., and I don't even eat meat. It's got style comin' out
of its ears. It's dark. It's been expanded from an original railroad car
over the years. It's extremely overpriced (*laughter from both*). Dig
this: a Porterhouse, no salad, no vegetable, no potato -- $14.50 (*more
laughter*)."

He defined style earlier in the conversation as the two 600-dollar pairs
(one brown, one black) of French wingtip shoes and the 1000-dollar
cashmere sweater (that'll "keep you warm in 30-degree weather") he
possesses that will last forever. He lives in Mission Hills, which is
old-time, old-money Kansas City swanky, where his wife is from, where
the guest houses are two-story jobbers that are twice the size of my
ranch-style house.

I guess you'd have to read the entire article to get the full drift.
It's not as off-putting as I suppose the above couple of paragraphs
might make it seem. Ellroy's just a guy who's full of himself and honest
about it. I'll try to post the URL when it shows up in the Star's
on-line archives.

-- 
Ned Fleming
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