The Memorial Wall

Restaurateur, owner of Antonio's Mexican Restaurant. In the 1970's, he changed the perception of how people thought of Mexican food, beyond tacos and burritos, and started a trend that continues to this day, where more traditional dishes were brought to the mainstream as Mexican Cuisine. He was born in Monterrey, Mexico in 1937. The fifth child (of seven brothers and three sisters) to Maria and Antonio Sr. In the 1950's, he came to Los Angeles not yet able to speak the language, but eager to learn and make his dream of owning his own restaurant a reality. He worked in almost every restaurant and nightclub in town, as a dishwasher, busboy, and eventually when he learned enough English, as a waiter. He met the love of his life Yolanda, and together they raised five children. In the early 1960's, he worked in the commissary of Warner Brothers studios. As a waiter, he took care of Frank Sinatra, Jane Fonda, Barbra Streisand, Francis Ford Coppola, and even took care of the head of the studio Jack Warner. When having asked Mr. Warner advice about him opening a restaurant, Mr. Warner told him "don't go into the restaurant business! You won't make any money!" After working at the studio,he'd come home, have a bit of dinner, take a short nap and then get ready for his second job as a waiter at "The Chianti" a popular Italian restaurant on Melrose Avenue. He would often times, come home very late and very tired. Next day, he'd start his routine working at the studio. He did this for ten years, until he saved enough money to open his own restaurant. In 1970, on April 6, he finally opened his restaurant "Antonio's" on Melrose Avenue, only a few blocks away from The Chianti! The same day he opened his restaurant, his youngest child was born. A son, named Antonio Jr. After many years of hard work and struggles, his dream came true, and people loved the cuisine, and many celebrities enjoyed it as well. After 50 years in operation, his restaurant closed. He had been in declining health because of Parkinson's disease and dementia. He passed away peacefully, at home, surrounded by his loving family who cared for him till the end. He is survived by his wife of sixty plus years Yolanda, and their five children. The youngest having died in an auto accident at the age of twenty. He is also survived by his seven grand children and five great grand children. He was an incredible human being, very much loved, and will be truly missed by all who knew him.

Mickey Cottrell, the PR executive who specialized in the indie film business and worked both as an actor and a producer, died on New Year’s Day at the Motion Picture & Television Fund in Woodland Hills. He was 79.

His death was confirmed by his sister, Suzie Cottrell-Smith, who said he suffered from Parkinson’s disease. Cottrell experienced a stroke in 2016 and had gone to live with his sister in Arkansas before returning to Los Angeles in 2019.

Cottrell was born September 4, 1944, in Springfield, IL, and spent part of his childhood in Monroe, LA. At age 8, he moved with his family to Little Rock, AR, where he grew up. He attended the University of Arkansas and spent more than 30 years in the film and PR industries, co-owning multiple firms including most recently Inclusive PR, repping pics including Bill Cunningham: New York, Stones in Exile, Ballets Russes, Down to the Bone, Body of War and Outfest winners Keep the Lights On and Weekend, among others.

“Some of my successes have given new life to films that might not otherwise have had the chance, ranging in scale from big budget to minute,” he wrote in his LinkedIn bio. “I have had the great joy of representing many important film artists

Among the filmmakers whose careers he championed was Phillip Noyce; he served as a publicist on Noyce’s 1989 thriller Dead Calm starring Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill and Billy Zane.

“He did a lot for Phillip,” Cottrell’s sister Suzie told Deadline. “When Phillip first came to Hollywood, he didn’t know anybody. Mickey was instrumental about getting his films recognized.”

Cottrell’s acting credits include roles in Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho, Tim Burton’s Ed Wood, Paper Hearts, Apt Pupil and The Fluffer as well as John Cameron Mitchell’s Shortbus and two Star Trek series: The Next Generation and Voyager. Cottrell-Smith said her brother wrote some of his own dialogue for My Own Private Idaho, playing a client of street hustler Mikey Waters (River Phoenix).

Cottrell was also a producer of indie films, most recently 2014’s Perfect Cowboy.

At the MPTF, Cottrell was a member of the writing club the Grey Quill Society. As part of the fund’s Giving Day in 2020, Matthew McConaughey read an excerpt from Cottrell’s short story The Fireman’s Equipment.

Cottrell was a famed raconteur, often holding court in a booth at Musso & Frank Grill in Hollywood (the restaurant is located near Cottrell’s office, a space formerly occupied by Debbie Reynolds’ company).

“He was the most fun brother ever,” Cottrell-Smith said. “So many good memories of when I was a kid — we’d sing together, dance, just all kinds of fun things that went on all the time when he was around. … He was just so fun, full of life, entertaining. Every woman in the neighborhood adored him. He had a job when he was a teenager where he would take the bus downtown and he had to walk two or three blocks home from the bus stop, and he’d be singing and dancing all the way home. And all the ladies in the neighborhood would come outside and watch him.”

She added: “He knew every movie ever made and every little bit actor that was in movies. It was amazing. I could just ask him the question and he always knew the answer when it came to a movie.”

John McAvoy, a colleague of Cottrell’s at Inclusive PR from 2014-19, told Deadline: “I don’t want to reduce his life down to his work as a publicist because in many ways you feel that it was his journey as a person and an artist that allowed him to practice PR in the way that he did… He was an artist first and he taught me that, at its best, publicity is about pure enthusiasm and joy and that it can be a vital part of a broader creative process rather than merely a necessary lubricant in the sales process. RIP to the Wizard.”

Cottrell is survived by his sisters Suzie and Gigi. He was predeceased by his older brother, Rod.

Jane was an artist. She graduated from Art College in 1968 and was awarded a travel scholarship to study temple art in India. We met as students and were married in 1969 after her return from her travels. She originally taught in special education schools before moving to teach Art, but after 10 years she gave up teaching altogether and became a freelance artist, craft maker, machine knitter and silk painter. We moved into in our current home in 1975 as it provided her with the studio space she needed after she went freelance. She was known to her many friends as Flossie.

Flossie continued to paint, draw and make collages for the next 40 years, but as well as this she learnt machine knitting and produced a huge variety of knitted pieces bearing the label ‘Designed and Made by Flossie’. She loved sourcing good wool - hand dyed, hand spun, as well as different specialist wools. She sold her work at the Country Market and at a variety of craft events and craft shops in the area. No two pieces were the same except that is for the soft, fine lambswool lace shawls, which always sold well. She also learnt the skills of silk painting and produced for sale many hand painted scarves and other items. She really enjoyed singing in a local choir and was also a member of an art class for many years.

Flossie was a remarkable and fiercely independent woman and thinker. She would never follow convention for the sake of it and always determined her own course. In her art and in her life, she was independently minded. She was strong and adventurous. Her paintings and collages were drawn almost entirely from her imagination and were made to meet her own creative needs. They were a most important part of who she was and how she saw the world. She never exhibited them.

The diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease came about ten years ago. We were both helped enormously not only by Parkinson’s UK but also by the specialist PD nurses, whom we saw regularly. We were also members of a great local PD support group. Eventually the disease, and the associated dementia robbed her of her motivation, her enthusiasm, her energy and her courage. She lost her ability to write, and most importantly lost her drawing and painting skills. She also lost her love of reading, even her beloved Jane Austen. 

It was a huge privilege to have been married to Flossie for over 50 years. She was kind, caring and very loving. We had lots of laughs and lots of fun. Don

• Radio presenter Richard Cartridge diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2016
• His family claim the BBC treated him as a 'weak old man' following his diagnosis 
• Daughter Lucy claims he felt 'bullied' by colleagues and received £20 cut in pay 
• The 72-year-old died just six weeks into his retirement during pandemic in 2020

The BBC has launched an investigation after the family of a radio presenter who died two months into retirement complained about his treatment following a life changing diagnosis. 

Richard Cartridge, 72, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2016, worked at the BBC for 47 years, but his family claim he was treated as a 'weak old man' following his diagnosis.  

His daughter Lucy claims he was treated differently in the workplace by senior staff, had his pay cut by £20 and felt 'bullied' by his colleagues, according to The Sun.

The 32-year-old said she feels the BBC is 'directly responsible' for his death, six weeks after he left his job. 

She claims issues began when her father requested to work as a BBC Radio Solent host from home but was refused. 

Several months in the coronavirus pandemic, in June 2020, he was told his contract with the BBC would not be renewed. 

In his final broadcast, he told listeners: 'I don't know what I'm going to do now.' 

Mr Cartridge, who had left a staff job at the organization in 2006 and had returned on a freelance basis, was admitted to hospital shortly afterwards and died just six weeks later. 

Daughter Lucy said her father was a 'shell of a person' when she last saw him and added that he received 'no care or empathy' from the BBC. 

She has now written directly to Director General of the BBC Tim Davie.  

A spokesperson for the BBC said: 'Richard Cartridge was a much loved presenter and our sympathies are with his family. We have spoken to his daughter Lucy and remain in contact.'

Mr Cartridge was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2016 - four years before his death. 

The disease is a long-term degenerative disorder which affects the central nervous system, in turn affecting the motor system. 

Symptoms of the disease usually emerge slowly and as it progresses, non-motor symptoms become more common. 

Early symptoms include tremors, rigidity, slowness in movement and difficulty in walking. The person may also experience cognitive problems, which may present with depression, anxiety and apathy. 

Parkinson's Disease dementia also becomes common in the advanced stages. 

Diane, the eldest child of Cosby and Florence Cottrell, was born in Los Angeles, California. Diane and her younger brother Mel grew up on the Cottrell Avocado and Christmas Ranch located in La Puente, California. As children, they enjoyed riding horses, tending fruit trees and living a country lifestyle. Diane's father, Crosby M. Cottrell, was an Executive for Fairchild Aerial Surveys and her mother, Florence Elizabeth, was a full time wife, mother and managed the day-to-day operations of the ranch.

After graduating from the University of Redlands, she met her future husband, Don Tomkins, a star of the Occidental College football team. They married in 1961 and started their life together in an apartment in Rosemead, before moving to their dream home on the 9th hole of the Glendora Country Club. They both enjoyed golf and socializing at the Club.

Diane and Don also shared a passion for hunting and fishing and ventured to the farthest reaches of Africa, the Arctic tip of Alaska, and everywhere in between! They were active members in the LA chapter of Safari Club International, an organization dedicated to protecting the freedom to hunt while promoting wildlife conservation worldwide. They especially loved their trips to the 'Save Conservancy', an 800,000 acre privately owned wildlife preserve, founded by Roger Whittall in Humani, Zimbabwe.

When they weren't traveling, Diane pursued her passion for teaching children (grades 2-4), a career she enjoyed for over 40 years! With Del Docterman, also a Coolidge 4th grade teacher, they developed a teaching strategy that allowed each teacher "to teach to their strengths". After retiring, Diane returned for many years to teach Art Classes, especially "Van Gogh Sunflowers". Her Students loved her!

Diane loved holidays and was an avid collector of decorations of all sorts, especially Annalee's. She delighted in whimsical displays and looked forward to opportunities to share with others. Diane was a dedicated member of the Glenkirk Church in Glendora and could always be counted on to create special decor for church luncheons.

Diane was an Educator, a collector and a worldwide traveler. She had lots of friends, but her longest and closest friend was Josette Temple who she met in the 2nd Grade. In their retirement they enjoyed outings to the Performing Arts Centre at Citrus College and rarely missed a show!

In 2005, DIane lost Don. It was an especially difficult time for Diane, because she was in the early stages of Parkinson's Disease. Her brother Mel and sister-in-law Jan lived nearby and played a big role in her ability to maintain her independence for as long as possible. THey continued to look out for her for the rest of her life.

In 2016, it became impossible for Diane to continue to live independently, so she moved to Atria Senior Living in San Dimas where she was able to enjoy socializing in a safer environment. As the disease progressed and Diane needed full time care, she moved to La Posada in San Dimas in November 2018. She lived there until she passed away peacefully on January 2, 2020.

Diane was kind and generous, worked hard and believed in helping others. She was fortunate to marry her soul-mate, and together they were able to see and experience places and things that most people only dream about. She now rests in peace, leaving all of us with the memories we have of her and her life, a life well-lived.