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I didn't know Daniel Balsz passed away!? |
Tom Slick
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 26, 2005
Posts: 1083
From: The Beaches of South Bay, SoCal
|  Posted: 2005-08-26 11:44 pm Permalink
was this discussed here and i missed it?
Balsz, Daniel (79)
Died August 5 at his Las Vegas home. Former L.A. night club owner of "The Tikis," he is survived by his wife Sharon, four kids, seven grandkids. Services held August 12, at Calvary Cemetery, Los Angeles. (323) 261-3106
Published in the Los Angeles Times on 8/11/2005.
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10556
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2005-08-27 02:36 am Permalink
No. I am speechless. Thank you for catching this. He was a great character.
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procinema29
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 31, 2003
Posts: 465
From: los angeles
| Posted: 2005-08-27 2:24 pm Permalink
Those late-night drums from my childhood will be remembered forever.
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Kenike
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 24, 2003
Posts: 1201
From: McKinney, TX
| Posted: 2005-08-27 4:52 pm Permalink
Here's an old thread I dug up about Danny Balsz and The Tikis. Interesting stuff although a bit sad. At least we still have the mugs (if anyone has an extra red one they'd like to unload let me know).
http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=1460&forum=1&hilite=balsz
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tikitortured
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 08, 2004
Posts: 329
From: Huntington Beach Ca.
| Posted: 2005-08-28 10:13 pm Permalink
Hey Tom Slick, your first post on TC and you pulled THAT one out of yer hat? Right past the Grand Honorary Poo-Bahs? Good one!
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valcano
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Aug 24, 2005
Posts: 19
From: l.a.
| Posted: 2005-08-29 08:09 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2005-08-28 22:13, tikitortured wrote:
Hey Tom Slick, your first post on TC and you pulled THAT one out of yer hat? Right past the Grand Honorary Poo-Bahs? Good one!
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Have a little taste....I'm glad you're so excited.
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tikitortured
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 08, 2004
Posts: 329
From: Huntington Beach Ca.
| Posted: 2005-08-29 11:59 am Permalink
Taste? Uh...ok, I'll try really really hard to have more "taste" for you Volcano. Golly gosh, I shoulda taken Cherry Capri's etiquette course when I had the chance.
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Unga Bunga
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 06, 2003
Posts: 5734
From: CaliTikifornia
| Posted: 2005-08-29 12:14 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2005-08-29 11:59, tikitortured wrote:
I shoulda taken Cherry Capri's etiquette course when I had the chance.
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Let me know when you go, because I need to go too.
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Primo Kimo
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 08, 2003
Posts: 323
From: Vermont
| Posted: 2005-08-29 4:33 pm Permalink
Awww Nuts! I always thought I might share a moment with guy before he cashed in. But then again I guess I shared something more... a like mind. I feel a kin to Mr. Balsz as a man driven, often against common sense.
Cheers to Danny Balsz!
Lord knows this man had 'em.
_________________
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Nightmaretony
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Oct 02, 2005
Posts: 39
From: Meadowbrook, CA
| Posted: 2005-10-02 10:03 pm Permalink
I got blessed in seeing both places, but never getting to enjoy them fully.
monterey Park: I grew up in Commerce where my parents still are. Went to school nearby, Bosco Tech, rode my bike sometimes, so was about 14. This would be round 77 or so.
Tiki's was a fascinating looking place on the drive by. when I biked, I decided to sneak in. The place was closed, the rides not running. A kiddie coaster into some rock caverns. a Traver Tumble Bug, kiddie version. Some swan boats marooned dry and sitting in an empty lakebed. I mourned for the place. Farther down on the south side, it looked like more caves, turned out to be a restaurant. VERY dark in there, waiters preparing for the night crowds, so it was actually closed, just getting ready. Went back up the hill round a train track course, dont recall the train. A llama in a cager spit at me. Missed me, but the smell was vERY gross.
Sadly, it was all torn down and is now a storage place, that one chain with all orange, whatever they are.
Anyhoo, couple of years later, former friend invites me to a haunted house at lake elsinore, at Tiki's. They have a giant pumpkin baloon and either 7 or 12 spotlights. I asked if it was the same Tiki's when I got there, they said yup, they moved. I remember a headless horseman on his horse riding round. The haunt wasnt a building one, but a dirt pathway, a roadway.
Ironically, I now live out near Lake Elsinore, and I always wondered what happened to Tiki's. Couldnt find ANYONE with the answer. And for the second delicious irony, I picked up the haunted house bug, am getting ready for opening my own.
but Tiki's is a past memoery I do mourn, even though I never got to fully experience it. Thanks for letting me glimpse of it once again.
Is there any book or picture or video resources about it on here? I ended up doing a search when Danny's name came up from there.
Anyhoo, thanks again.
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paranoid123
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Dec 13, 2002
Posts: 374
From: New York City
| Posted: 2005-10-03 11:46 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2005-10-02 22:03, Nightmaretony wrote:
monterey Park: I grew up in Commerce where my parents still are. Went to school nearby, Bosco Tech, rode my bike sometimes, so was about 14. This would be round 77 or so.
Tiki's was a fascinating looking place on the drive by. when I biked, I decided to sneak in. The place was closed, the rides not running. A kiddie coaster into some rock caverns. a Traver Tumble Bug, kiddie version. Some swan boats marooned dry and sitting in an empty lakebed. I mourned for the place. Farther down on the south side, it looked like more caves, turned out to be a restaurant. VERY dark in there, waiters preparing for the night crowds, so it was actually closed, just getting ready. Went back up the hill round a train track course, dont recall the train. A llama in a cager spit at me. Missed me, but the smell was vERY gross.
Sadly, it was all torn down and is now a storage place, that one chain with all orange, whatever they are.
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I grew up in Monterey Park and my parents still live there now. Unfortunately, I was a few decades too late, as The Tikis was long closed by the time I was born. I was really shocked when I got my copy of "Tiki Roadtrip" to read that Monterey Park was the site of a amusement part, and tiki themed at that. Monterey Park went through a lot of population and cultural changes ad it is now largely a Chinese/Latino area and decidedly pretty 'unhip', so it's difficult to imagine there ever being a place like The Tikis.
_________________
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10556
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2005-10-03 12:01 pm Permalink
Correction again  :
The Tikis (it's correct spelling, NOT "The Tiki's") was NEVER a hip place to begin with, it was all blue collar cheesiness for the masses!
Don, Vic and Steve would have shuddered in disgust had they ever witnessed the goings on there...but that's why we love it! 
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Nightmaretony
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Oct 02, 2005
Posts: 39
From: Meadowbrook, CA
| Posted: 2005-10-25 9:46 pm Permalink
And last night, I went to meet a friend who has a haunt business. Turns out he was the driving force behind the Tiki's haunt way back when! Will be asking mucho questions and looking for pictures, will keep ya updated.....
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procinema29
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 31, 2003
Posts: 465
From: los angeles
| Posted: 2005-10-26 10:24 pm Permalink
Now, THAT would make an interesting story. Pictures would make it even better! I love tiki and I love me some Halloween spooky stuff, so consider me double interested!
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Nightmaretony
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Oct 02, 2005
Posts: 39
From: Meadowbrook, CA
| Posted: 2005-10-31 06:53 am Permalink
didnt get a go this year, my website about my haunted house under construction is at www.nightmarepark.com. I have seen most every theme imnaginable for hauntings, but I am wondering, why NOT a tiki based haunted house? The exotic and scary things of the night are quite perfect there...
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