Who was Les Cripe?

September 10, 2007 11:23 PM

Who was Les Cripe?

Saw this name on a tombstone in Westwood Memorial. The name stuck with me because I thought it was a French phrase - which I tried to look up when I got home later in that day - no dice.

A month later, I checked out a book from the Los Angeles Public library. The front piece of the book said it was dedicated to the memory of Les Cripe.

I tried an imdb search for Les Cripe, and found the movie "Gods and Monsters" was dedicated to him (her?). Alas, the information trail has grown cold...

Anyway, is anyone familiar this person and what his/her impact on Hollywood (or other places) might have been?

I'm simply curious - the name and the potential mystery stirs my historical imagination. Thanks in advance for any information!

posted by seeka to society & culture (13 comments total)

Do you remember any of the other information on the tombstone? What was the book? That might help with context. [I am curious -- Gods & Monsters was a great movie]. Maybe something to do with the Hanna character, if she was based on a real person or James Whale?
posted by nnk at 5:10 AM on September 11, 2007

What was a guitar, Alex? According to Wikipedia.... (sorry, I know) Garcia played a Stephen Cripe Custom "Lightning Bolt" guitar... interesting, but probably not the answer
posted by Jacen at 5:22 AM on September 11, 2007

I found that this is an intruigin question. A real enigma. Google doesn't come up with much as you probably have seen for yourself.

Les Cripe is an anagram for Pericles.
And a wild guess.
posted by ollsen at 7:11 AM on September 11, 2007

The book is the most recent of the three - it's Snakelust by Kenji Nakagami, translated by Andrew Rankin (source). I've been trying to find contact information for Andrew Rankin; but all I've found out is that he's a prolific Japanese-to-English translator and a somewhat recent grad student at Tokyo University's literature department (and he's probably not the drummer of the Pogues). I'd say he's your best bet for a horse's-mouth answer, if you can manage to contact him.
posted by ormondsacker at 9:24 AM on September 11, 2007

seeka, on your blog you indicate the book was donated (to the library) in memory of Les Cripe, but here you seem to indicate the book was dedicated to Les Cripe. Which is it? Might help to track the information down.
posted by pasici at 11:05 AM on September 11, 2007

clear-up: the author did not dedicate the book to les cripe, rather, a piece of paper was pasted into the book declaring the book was donated to the library in memory of les cripe.

thanks for all your help! this smells like a mystery!
posted by seeka at 12:33 PM on September 11, 2007

For what it's worth, a search of the social security death index for Lester Cripe (no listing for Les Cripe) turned this up:

born 28 September 1896
died December 1977 [that's interesting! no exact date....]

Last residence is listed as Las Vegas, NV. (There's also a bit more information, but I can't see how listing his SSN etc here is helpful)

A search of Ancestry.com had him living in the midwest -- moving between KS, IN and IL until 1920, when he would have been 24-- perhaps that's when he moved out west?

A cursory search hasn't turned up a spouse either.
posted by kalimac at 4:05 PM on September 11, 2007

one hit in the LA Times Archive:

Chapter Names 2 Semifinalists
Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Dec 21, 1969. pg. CS8, 1 pg

The American Field Service's El Segundo chapter selected Les Cripe, son of Mr & Mrs L.L. Cripe or El Porto. Finalists live with a family abroad for 3 months.
posted by zepheria at 5:16 PM on September 11, 2007

This is one of the better questions I've seen in a while. Good luck!
posted by borkingchikapa at 9:53 PM on September 11, 2007

Tried a bunch of people search services like ancestry.com, too. There is (has been) a bunch of Lester or Leslie or Lesley Cripes throughout the U.S.
But no hints as to their relevance regarding their involvement with Hollywood or something.

Maybe it's a total inside joke ...
Probably one will have to ask the director of "Gods and monsters" if that's at all possible.

What a great mystery.
posted by ollsen at 12:51 AM on September 12, 2007

I just sent an e-mail to Lions Gate Films, the production company of "Gods and monsters".

***********
Dear Madams and Sirs!

In the popular questions and answers community ask.metafilter.com a fellow member posted a question about the identity of a certain "Les Cripe".

I quote:
"Saw this name on a tombstone in Westwood Memorial. The name stuck with me because I thought it was a French phrase - which I tried to look up when I got home later in that day - no dice.
A month later, I checked out a book from the Los Angeles Public library. The front piece of the book said it was dedicated to the memory of Les Cripe.
I tried an imdb search for Les Cripe, and found the movie "Gods and Monsters" was dedicated to him (her?). Alas, the information trail has grown cold...
Anyway, is anyone familiar this person and what his/her impact on Hollywood (or other places) might have been?
I'm simply curious - the name and the potential mystery stirs my historical imagination. Thanks in advance for any information!"

A bunch of community members, me included, have since tried to unravel the mystery about the identity of Les Cripe.
Internet research has come up with nothing.

Do you by any means have any information about the mystery of Les Cripe?

We would really appreciate it.

Thank you in advance for your efforts in putting our curiosity and minds at ease.

With kind regards

Oliver B.
**************
posted by ollsen at 1:21 AM on September 12, 2007

My French is pretty crap despite being Canadian; does Le Scripe mean anything?
posted by juv3nal at 9:17 PM on September 25, 2007

Les Cripe, to whom the film Gods and Monsters was dedicated by friend and writer/director Bill Condon, was a publicist for Disney who died of AIDS in 1990.

And that comes from someone who should know.
posted by roger ackroyd at 5:59 PM on November 10, 2007 [1 favorite]