Picture this: a Los Angeles newspaper runs a photo of a leaping UCLA Song Girl in mid-air, holding a pom pom in one hand and her college valedictory address in the other. Get it? Pep and brains. The photo is actually kind of ridiculous, although my legs look good. What I remember about graduating from UCLA was speaking to thousands of people in Pauley Pavilion and losing—just for a moment—my place in the speech. I left soon after for graduate study in Paris. I grew up in Hollywood (with one stretch in Hyde Park, Chicago), the daughter of a radio/TV personality dad and a showgirl-turned-politically active mother. My husband Ron Dammann (President, Stendahl Galleries) and I went to Hollywood High and have been going steady, ever since. My degrees from UCLA (B.A.) the University of Rochester (M.A.) and La Sorbonne are in French literature. So I sent my kids to Le Lycee Francais de Los Angeles, where they wore Gallic uniforms and spoke only French. This proved to be heaven for my daughter and pure hell for my son, who was threatened more than once with the guillotine, out back. They became actors. For years I have written for radio, television, motion pictures and the stage. I began producing for Los Angeles theatre recently—something I am good at and intend to continue. But the story of my husband's grandfather has consumed me for some time, and Exhibitionist is the culmination of years of immersion in the family history with the intent of writing a book that chronicles the life and times of one of the most colorful, influential art dealers of the twentieth century. I hope you, who read the story and visit these pages, will let me know if I have come close to achieving that goal. Recognition Phi Beta Kappa Writers Guild of America Award Nominations (two) in Radio Drama Moondance International Film Festival Sandcastle Award for Feature Screenplay La Femme Film Festival Best Screenplay Ragdale Foundation Writing Fellowship Residencies and Juror, Selections Committee Hedgebrook Writing Fellowship Residencies and Reader, Resident Selections L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation Award Nomination for "Best Musical," Producer Historical Society of Southern California Research Grants, 2007 and 2008 Memberships Writers Guild of America, west Women in Film Women in Theatre Pen USA Ethnic Arts Council of Los Angeles Hollywood Presbyterian Church UCLA Alumni Association Order of the Golden Bruin North Carolina School of the Arts Parents Association Yale Parents Association Author headshots: Paul Gregory