Shortly after Andrew Silber opened his Whale & Ale pub in San Pedro, he hired a retired violinist to provide entertainment every Friday night. He thought it would be a short-term gig, since the violinist, Harry Hall, was 82 years old.
But 19 years later, Hall is still playing. With pianist Rob Klopfenstein, he spends an hour or so performing a range of hits. The duo draws in enough patrons to fill the pub most Friday nights.
When Hall turned 100 last year, he was believed to be the only centenarian regularly playing at an entertainment establishment in the country. And he’s kept on going. For Hall’s 101st birthday earlier this month, the Whale & Ale was packed as a standing-room-only crowd offered their birthday wishes.
Hall played an assortment of violin standards, ranging from the century-old Gypsy melody “Csardas” by Vittorio Monti to a “new” hit: Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
“It’s kind of surreal,” Silber said. “It’s rare to see a violinist play like this even beyond 90 years, let alone 100 years.”
Also amazing: Hall usually drives his own car, walks into the pub unaided and hooks up his violin to an amplifier by himself.
“At his age, to come down here every Friday night and then go home again: It’s mind-blowing,” Silber said.
So why does Hall keep playing?
“I do it just for the fun of it,” Hall said in a phone interview.
Hall started playing violin at 9 and performed professionally for more than 60 years; one of his favorite gigs was as accompaniment for former Olympic ice skater Dorothy Hamill’s “Ice Capades.”
Hall said he plans to keep performing as long as he can. But he does admit that he’s slowing down – just a bit.
“Sometimes I get a little tired,” he said.
Cycling Chef Pours It On
Chef Quinn Hatfield, owner of Michelin-starred restaurant Hatfield’s in Hollywood and Sycamore Kitchen in the Fairfax District, is earning stars outside of the kitchen as a competitive cyclist. The chef placed second in two of his three races at last year’s USA Cycling Masters Track National Championships in Indianapolis. And he’s hoping to take the top spot at this year’s Masters race in Seattle.
“I’ve got to go back and turn those second places into first places,” he said.
Hatfield began racing competitively six years ago after taking an intro class at Velo Sports Center, an indoor bicycle track in Carson. His specialty is sprint cycling and track racing, which Hatfield compared to the 100 meter dash in track.
He’s serious: He trains about three hours a day, six days a week.
“Competing is fun, but I mostly like the training,” he said. “It keeps me sane and feeling good.”
Staff reporters Howard Fine and Subrina Hudson contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].
