Rick Copp on the set of The Golden Girls in 1989 with Rue McClanahan and Betty White.
Rick Copp began making pilgrimages to Palm Springs soon after landing in Los Angeles in the late eighties to begin work as a staff writer on the Emmy winning NBC comedy series The Golden Girls. He knew back then he was destined to make Coachella Valley his home. However, it took another twenty years before he finally bought a place in South Palm Springs and set down some desert roots.
Rick Copp, left, with friend Stephen Wallage visiting Palm Springs from London, England, enjoying cocktails at Azul on North Palm Canyon.
Rick spent years in Hollywood as a writer/producer for sitcoms such as Wings, Dream On, Flying Blind and Barbershop, working in TV animation penning scripts for Scooby Doo and Teen Titans, co-writing the hit feature film The Brady Bunch Movie and creating television pilots for networks such as CBS, ABC, FOX, USA, Logo, Lifetime and Nickelodeon.
Rick Copp’s latest mystery novel co-written with his sister Holly Simason under the pen name Lee Hollis now available everywhere books are sold.
He also has established himself as a successful mystery novelist writing four books under his own name and co-writing a best-selling cozy mystery series with his sister under the pen name Lee Hollis. Death of a Bacon Heiress, is the eighth title in the series and has just been released. He will also begin working later this year on a new series of mystery novels set in his beloved Palm Springs, which will roll out in late 2017.
Rick Copp, left, with the cast of Where the Bears Are fro m left, Ian Parks, Ben Zook and Joe Dietl.
Currently he produces, co-writes and co-stars on the hit web series Where the Bears Are, which has over 18 million views online and successfully raised funds budget for a fifth season at Kickstarter.com.
Rick Cobb says, “PS I love you because…”
- for your Sunday Bottomless Champagne Brunches. No other place in the world has such a variety of restaurants offering mouth watering food options accompanied by an endless flow of champagne. A few of my affordable favorites are Bonjo Johnny’s for their skillet mac & cheese, Giusseppe’s for their make your own pizza and steak & eggs and Pinocchio’s for their Belgian Waffles and Bavarian Meatloaf Dip. All offer patio dining so you don’t have to use your “inside” voice after downing one too many mimosas.
- for your rich Hollywood history. As a movie and TV buff from a very young age, I’ve always been fascinated by the deep connection between Tinsel Town and Palm Springs. There has always been a fabled and sometimes lurid star presence such as Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack weekends, Liberace’s glittery and gaudy show piece homes, and the various bisexual affairs and drug overdoses breathlessly recalled in the gossipy book Palm Springs Confidential.
- for your reputation as a vibrant tourist town. I was raised in Bar Harbor, Maine, home to scenic Acadia National Park, an ideal place to grow up. In fact, I never knew how beautiful the island I lived on was until I actually left and saw the rest of the world. During my high school years, I would chase after cars leaving town that had New York license plates, hoping they might take me home with them as I yearned for a life in the big city. Palm Springs, although geographically dissimilar, has the same feel of a small town that is yet teeming with dozens of world class restaurants and interesting shops, and has a decidedly international flavor given how many people from all over the globe flock here for the pool parties and to attend the many cultural year round events.
- for you making me feel like a young man again even though I’m just north of fifty. A friend of mine made a joke once that when he turned forty in West Hollywood, the Social Police showed up at his door to tell him it was time to move east to Silver Lake. There may have only been a kernel of truth to his observation, but you will never find that kind of ageism in Palm Springs, where men of all ages and types intermingle in a welcoming and nonjudgmental atmosphere. And the older I get, the more I appreciate how years of life experience can make a man more alluring and interesting and attractive, which is a refreshing change from the youth obsessed culture that thrives in Hollywood.
- for basically being on East Coast Time. The nightlife in Palm Springs tends to start and end at an earlier hour than most resort towns. During the week, I usually shut down the computer, pour myself a glass of wine, and hang out with Rachel Maddow (if I have more than one glass of wine I often end up yelling back at the TV screen, “You tell ‘em, Rachel! You go, girl!”). But when I choose to meet friends at a bar or dine at one of the city’s many restaurants, or show up at a private cocktail party (which seem to be happening practically every night of the week) I’m usually home by nine o’clock. If I was still living in New York like when I went to NYU, it would be midnight, which is a far more respectable time to call it a night even though it’s supposedly the city that never sleeps. So yes, I just like to pretend we go by Eastern Standard Time in the desert so I don’t feel old for coming home too early.
1,302 backers pledged $169,945 via Kickstarter to help bring Season 5 to life.
Congrats on your success on so many levels, Rick! We're thrilled to have you in our community, with plenty of bears (but no lions or tigers in sight!).
xoxo
Want to be featured in the “PS I love you because…” column?
To be considered, email me (Nicholas Snow, SnowbizNow@gmail.com) your top five answers (they can be short or long) to the statement, “PS I love you because…” and/or “PS I love you because I enjoy…”, along with two or three biographical paragraphs. Also, send some photos of things you love about the area including, ideally, you doing something you love in the area. Your submission does not guarantee publication. Thanks!