Jimmy Dunne, a well-known song and jingle writer and poet, has established a bocce league in Pacific Palisades and despite no park after the fire, was able to keep the league going.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT
By CHAZ PLAGER
Pacific Palisades is blessed with several individuals who have stepped up to save community and organizations after the Palisades Fire. For well–known TV composer and resident Jimmy Dunne, putting in backbreaking effort after the fire was something he was already used to. And, as he explained to me, he honed those skills through an unlikely avenue— bocce ball.
Dunne first happened upon bocce ball seventeen years ago, when he and his friends were driving through the hills of a town in France. By chance they happened upon “this beautiful little park at sunset, absolutely full of people of all ages, all of them playing the same game: ‘boules’, the French version of bocce ball.
“It was this amazing sight of community, of this whole town gathering at this park to play this one game together. And so me and this other guy, we said ‘We gotta bring this back to Los Angeles’.
After a year, I hear from my friend that he just built a bocce court, and I think to myself ‘I got some work to do!’”
Dunne then began to reach out to country clubs in or around the Palisades, the first being the Bel Air Bay Club, in hopes of convincing them to install bocce ball courts.
Dunne managed to snag a collaboration with the general manager of the club, and two bocce courts were installed. “Keep in mind, I had never rolled a bocce ball before,” Dunne laughed. “But it was an instant hit. It was more than the game. It was appealing to people’s desires to gather— to have a community! And suddenly we had over 250 people in bocce leagues.
“I then pitched the idea of the bocce courts to the next club over, the Beach Club, and they too have about 250 members playing bocce right about now.”
Following the explosion of bocce’s popularity, the Hillcrest Community Club took notice, inviting Dunne to meet with the principals there. The Hillcrest Club now has over four bocce courts and 300 members participating in leagues every week. The Griffin Club and the Miramar Hotel in Montecito followed suit, working with Dunne to create courts that saw immense popularity from many patrons.
“To be honest, my interest has so little to do with bocce. It’s all about the merit of belonging and the importance of community in our lives,” Dunne said. “Hillcrest, Montecito, Griffin, Bel Air, they’ve all had the same results. They created belonging in the community they serve.”
With multiple successful attempts under his belt, Dunne then took the next step towards bringing bocce towards a wider audience: installing courts in a public park, namely the Palisades Recreation Center.
At the time, the space currently occupied by the bocce courts was a patch of unkept dirt, which Dunne thought to be a waste. However, trying to convince a public entity to add something to a public space as a private citizen is rather difficult.
Dunne said that architect Bill McGregor is to thank for the finished product, dedicating hours of work to planning the courts. The American Legion also stepped up to help fund the effort, leading to the courts being named “Veteran’s Garden” in their honor.
At the base of the large American flag in that garden, words intended to represent the hearts of veterans, and all of the Palisades are stenciled. At night, the moon will shine through the base and project the words onto the ground.
“And I want to stress that this didn’t just happen because of me,” Dunne said. “Bob Harder and Bill McGregor, among others in this community, are the reason we’ve been able to get anything done. The Palisadians are, to me, the true flowers in this garden.”
More than one thousand players have registered and played in the bocce leagues Dunne has helped create over the last sixteen years.
Following the fire, the Palisades courts were damaged and no residents were allowed in the park. Dunne appealed to the Santa Monica Public Park, asking if bocce could continue to be played on their lawn bowling area as construction progressed. They agreed, and for eight months, the Palisades Bocce League continued to practice until the day the Palisades courts reopened on September 7.
“If there’s anything I learned from [the fire], it’s that everyone’s situation is unique. Everyone is still suffering. We’ve lost more than our homes. We’ve lost our places to gather. I wanted to ensure that we didn’t lose our courts forever. The Pacific Palisades is, and always will be, a magical town that attracts the best people humanity has to offer. And I am so happy and proud to have raised our kids in this magnificent home.”
Jimmy Dunne and Councilmember Tracy Park at the reopening of the bocce courts.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT
(Editor’s note: Dunne’s family lost a home, but a second place, a condo is still standing. For the past seven months, while displaced in Marina Del Rey, Dunne has been taking Palisadians on a “mental health” cruise, a 45 minute ride on a duffy (small boat), another way of keeping community together.)
Palisades residents who play bocce, celebrating the opening day.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT