It wasn’t Hollywood where dreams of stardom came true for Steve Jaffe. It was Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Here’s the story:

Last month, Jaffe, 52, a real estate executive in West Los Angeles, traveled to the coastal South American city for the third time in four years to relax and visit a friend, Eduardo Maruri.

Early in his 10-day trip, Jaffe met Maruri at his office for lunch. Maruri, who runs the largest advertising agency in Ecuador, was busy putting together submissions for what many consider the Academy Awards of the advertising world, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

A couple of executives were discussing radio ads and asked Jaffe to listen to one they’d done in English. Obliging, Jaffe told them the ad was funny, but the actor clearly wasn’t a native English speaker. Perplexed, the executives asked him to read and record the way it should sound so their actor could study his inflection. Happy to help, he read the copy and then went to eat.

The next day, Jaffe stopped by for lunch again. That’s when he got a surprise proposition: Maruri asked Jaffe to record voiceovers for all the English ads they planned to submit to the Cannes festival.

Jaffe was thrilled to volunteer for the job.

“It’s been a dream of mine to do voiceover work,” said Jaffe, executive vice president and general counsel for BH Properties. “I couldn’t get down to the studio fast enough.”

Over the next few days, he recorded several commercials and even wrote a few. He said he’s waiting to hear if any of his ads win at the festival this June, and he’s agreed to keep doing voice work for Maruri.

“Now I’ve got experience and a reel, and I want to pursue voiceover work here,” he said.

Sowing Seeds

Lucas Donat, founder of ad agency Tiny Rebellion in Santa Monica, decided if he was serious about buying a farm after he retired, he should probably start with his own backyard.

So when Donat and his wife, Traci, rebuilt their Malibu home five years ago, they converted about a half-acre into a minifarm complete with a coop, eight chickens and a beehive.

“We decided to practice farming on that land,” said Donat, 51. “And I will tell you, there’s a ton of food and it’ll keep you busy – between the chickens and bales of hay and composting and planting.”

He said even his 16-year-old daughter, Lily, has taken an interest in gardening.

He spends a few hours a week tending to his many vegetables and fruits such as strawberries, pomegranates, kale and collard greens.

Donat said he’s not sure Malibu has any restrictions for such an operation; he joked that after this column appeared he might have to get a permit.

But one good thing: He said there have been no complaints from neighbors about the hens.

“I think if we had a rooster it would have been a problem,” he said.

Staff reporters Bethany Firnhaber and Subrina Hudson contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].