Diane Wahlberg Nemeth:
CLASS OF 1964
Wayne Memorial High SchoolClass of 1964
Wayne, MI
Marshall Junior High SchoolClass of 1961
Westland, MI
Adams Junior High SchoolClass of 1960
Westland, MI
Cleveland Elementary SchoolClass of 1957
Livonia, MI
Jackson Elementary SchoolClass of 1955
Livonia, MI
Diane 's Story
Life
Immediately after graduation, I traveled to CA to visit a favorite aunt and uncle and decided to stay! I married my first husband, Dave, in May 1965 and had my daughter, Lisa, in December 1966. We were married 3-1/2 years.
Until I remarried in '81, I was a single mom, and concentrated on raising my daughter and work (refer to "work" bio.) Art and I were married on 9/11/81, and just celebrated our 27th anniversary this year (2008.) This has been the BEST part of my life! We both enjoy travel, flea markets, films, concerts, live theater, music and art - as well as family, dogs and garden. I've made antiques my business since '84. Art does commercial and film voiceovers, and has done some on-camera and stage work, and is a legal hearing rep. We love animals and are active in the L.A. rescue community, volunteering time, energy and money to local rescues. We enjoy California and the great variety of places to see and things to do here and the DIVINE Los Angeles weather, and having a lush green garden year 'round!
We love our old Santa Fe - Spanish style house in the Hollywood Hills-Studio City "green belt" (on the fringe of the Santa Monica Mountains Nature Preserve) and have really enjoyed restoring it! This is our first "owned" home, which we bought fifteen years ago. It's in a tiny neighborhood between the Hollywood Bowl and Universal Studios (both short walking distances from the house.) The neighborhood was originally built in the late '20s and early '30s as a colony for people in the film business, working at nearby studios. The old John Barrymore estate is at the end of our street. All the houses are different: ours is Santa Fe, the ones on each side of us are Cape Cod and English cottage; and there's a charming old turreted mini-castle house across the street. Also across the street is the original farm house that was here before the other homes were built - a big Craftsman-type house. When that was the ONLY house in the 'hood, it was in the middle of orchards of orange, lemon, grapefruit and English walnut trees. Many of those trees are still here - we have half a dozen in our gardens. The area is so full of HUGE old trees that from our windows, we can't even see any of our neighbors, making it hard to believe we're in the geographical center of L.A.!
We've so enjoyed restoring our house to its original Santa Fe style. All the bones were intact, but we needed to rid the house of some horrible '70s "updates!" (Ugly wood panelling, old linoleum, brown fibre glass bath tub, etc.) We long ago finished the big stuff; however, as most homeowners know, a house is a work in progress! We were fortunate to find the house - a long story - but we bought it from George Gobel's son, Greg. (Remember George Gobel, the comedian?) As long as we're living in L.A., we can't imagine living in another house.
Traveling within California is fun, as there's so much variety here - endless coastline, mountains, desert, and gorgeous forests. Santa Barbara is our favorite place in the world - and we go there as often as we can!
We like spending time with our family - Art's father, Geza, lives across the street and our daughter, Lisa, lives 10 minutes away. Assorted aunts, uncles and cousins live in the greater L.A. area. We ADORE our fur-kids - four wonderful dogs! I can't imagine our home without them, and they're doing a SPLENDID job of adding PATINA to our floors! LOL! All our dogs are either from the streets or shelters.
School
I was so lucky to have grown up in Wayne-Westland when I did! I had some teachers that were just the best!
When I was seven, I contracted rheumatic fever and had to rely on a home-bound teacher for the entire second grade. It was a lonely year. Miss Agnes Kent, my first (and later, third) grade teacher made numerous visits to see me, always bringing with her TONS of drawings and letters from students in the school from all grade levels; and always bringing sunshine into my life. After a year at home, I was terrified to go into the third grade, so Miss Kent picked me up and took me to school herself. She'd arranged for the entire school to meet us in the parking lot to welcome me back. I was overwhelmed and touched, but was so shy I was trying to hide behind her. She inspired me to learn to read and spell WELL; and she tried to instill in all of us a love and respect for art and other cultures. After not seeing her since the end of third grade, I saw her a few times again in my last year at WMHS - when I was working part-time at Northside Pharmacy. She recognized me after all those years!
Mrs. Huebler - 4th - 5th - 6th grades. My most unforgettable character, if I was writing for Reader's Digest. (Do they still have that feature?) She's been a LIFE-LONG inspiration. She always encouraged us to be "original," creative, and kind; to be thoughtful, spontaneous, sometimes outrageous; to work hard and play hard; to be fair; to always "give it a try and give it your best!" She was an example of courage and grit! The ethics she tried to inspire in her students are still with me. Over the years, there have been many times that I've thought: "What would Mrs. Huebler say? What would she think, or do?" I went back to see her throughout junior high and high school. I saw her again when my first husband and I visited family in Wayne when my daughter was six months old. After that, we exchanged letters and phone calls, until she passed away. I deeply love and cherish her to this day, and would, if I could have a wish, wish every child could have a Mrs. Huebler in his or her life.
I had other inspiring teachers all through school. In junior high, adorable and funny Mr. Chorbagian, who credited me when I spelled "roofs" "rooves" on my spelling test, because my mom was English and said that was the PROPER spelling! LOL! What a wonderful teacher he was! He could be stern when he had to, but could laugh just as easily. Also, Mr. Domanke, who understood and sympathized with my aversion to math, both in junior high and high school. He encouraged me and helped me do my best anyway, and always had a ready laugh! Mr. MacKenzie, my chorus teacher, did his best to bring me out of my shyness and to believe in myself. In high school, I had Mr. Diadiun for Journalism and Hi-Lite. (I did features, interviews, a...Expand for more
nd Between-the-Dots.) He had high expectations of his students; but was also very funny and warm - and you never knew when he'd do his Russian dance! It was in his class that we heard the news about John Kennedy's assassination, and I'll never forget his tears that day. Of course there was also handsome Mr. Theros! What girl at WMHS didn't have a crush on him! But there was so much more than just his appearance: He also knew how to get the best out of his students, encouraging us to THINK! I was fortunate to have had Mrs. McMath for Gregg Shorthand and Mrs. Fitzgerald for advanced typing and shorthand, both tough and inspirational, and always encouraging us to do our BEST.
I'm thankful all these teachers were in my life! Do they make them like that anymore? Any confidence I had, in those early years, came from their encouragement.
College
Coming to L.A. in 1964 - immediately after graduation - I began working, and then was married a year later, had my daughter a year after that, and then was a single mom for twelve or thirteen years. I didn't get to college until I was forty! I was terrified that I'd be the oldest student in school, that Alzheimer's had already set in, etc. and my husband had to do some heavy encouragement (physically pushing me out the door!) to get me there. It turned out to be a wonderful experience and one I'd wished for for a long time.
It was at college that I realized how valuable and high-quality my Michigan public schools education was. I not only fit right in, but had students twenty years younger asking me to read their papers, and teachers treating me like their peer - odd position to be in, but really a confidence-booster! I was surprised, when I looked at my old WMHS transcripts, that I'd pulled off a 3.6 GPA; however, at forty, I did better with a 3.9! (And BOY, did I WORK for that!)
I enjoyed the experience so much and can only say that you're NEVER too old to go back to school . . . I'm still planning to go on with my education and want to earn my Master's. Once again in my life, I was fortunate to have had professors who encouraged me to go forward with my education, several of them telling me I was already doing graduate-level work and writing.
Workplace
Throughout the years, I held a number of jobs. I was secretary at the showroom of an international textile company and a SUPER fringe benefit was that I was the only one in the office who could wear the "model's garments" sent monthly by the New York home office, so had a spectacular FREE wardrobe. I also got yardage samples of stunning fabrics and designed and sewed my own creations. Our office building, in the downtown Los Angeles garment district, housed several magazines, including the now-obsolete CALIFORNIA GIRL Magazine. I was "discovered" by one of their photographers and subsequently did some California fashion photo shoots for the magazine.
I worked for the President of the International Division of United Artists Records in Hollywood, which included doing travel itineraries for UA's musicians, including The Fifth Dimension, Johnny Rivers, Canned Heat, etc. Mark Gordon, with the Fifth Dimension, was also a fan of the jewelry I was making and purchased many rings from me. I worked briefly at two different law firms, decided it wasn't for me, and found work producing audio-visual and written training materials with a company based in San Francisco. I worked with that company for several years, based in their L.A. office, and day-commuting via plane once or twice a week to the main office in San Francisco. Under security clearance, I wrote, edited and did rough artwork for audio-visual training lessons for the armed forces. Part of this work included testing the lessons on military personnel at military bases around the U.S.
When the government contract was up on that particular job, the company asked me to relocate to San Francisco; however, I was reluctant to pull my daughter out of school and away from her dad; and realized I'd already created roots in L.A. Luckily, another job opportunity, very similar to the one I was in, came up locally. I worked there for several years; then was asked by an acquaintance, who published a Los Angeles trade paper called WORLD CINEMA, to do film reviews. He knew I loved films - particularly foreign films - and had a good working knowledge of directors, actors, etc., and could write. I had a press pass to all the screenings - it was a FUN, creative job, and one that lasted until the publisher's death a few years later.
I was in a serious relationship with writer, television and film director, Joel Oliansky, for several years. (He passed away four years ago; and was a highly-respected, Emmy-winning writer/director. He did lots of fine TV work and did the feature film, THE COMPETITION, starring Lee Remick, Richard Dreyfus and Amy Irving. He also wrote BIRD, directed by Clint Eastwood.) I did the background research for projects he was working on for Universal Studios, accompanied him to the Emmys, and we traveled to Europe - my first European trip! In this time frame, I worked on film projects independent of his, including the film LEPKE, starring Tony Curtis. I was hired as an extra, then when the script was revised, was given a tiny part as Legs Diamond's girlfriend. I was in two scenes, including one filmed in February, shot at Paradise Cove (beach) and which required a 1920s bathing suit and immersion into the COLD Pacific! No one had warned me about the rip-tides in February, and I was suddenly caught in one, rescued by the crew and two stuntmen, and given warm brandy and a blanket by Tony Curtis!
Next, I worked on a Canadian film project, a now-world-cult-classic called ILSA AND THE OIL SHEIKS, filming at the old Desilu sound stage. (The production company had Lucy and Desi's old bungalow from their I LOVE LUCY days.) I was hired as production assistant, and later promoted to assistant director, auditioning and selecting actors for the film. PLEASE NOTE: The ILSA film is NOT my cup o' tea - it was WORK! =0)
I've had my own antiques business since '84. It's an ongoing treasure hunt! I deal mainly in vintage costume jewelry - especially bakelite; old and contemporary CA plein air paintings; 1920s through mid-century textiles, some clothing, pottery, home items, toys, etc.
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