SAN DIEGO — This Saturday, Nov. 23, a special screening of the new Tom Hank's movie "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" will help raise money for one San Diego's best neighbors: the Larry Himmel Neighborhood Foundation. In this Zevely Zone I went to the UltraStar Theaters in Mission Valley to visit with Larry's son, Miles Himmel.
Miles and I watched a trailer of the movie with Tom Hank's singing, "It's a beautitful day in this neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine? Could you be mine?"
As Hanks prepares to play Fred Rogers, Miles can't help but think about his dad.
"We thought Mister Rogers and Larry Himmel are two of a kind, two symbolic characters in their neighborhoods and we are the Larry Himmel Neighborhood Foundation and they are the Mister Rogers' neighborhood so two people that put smiles upon the faces of everyone. So we thought 'hey, this looks like it's going to be a great movie, so let's invite the neighborhood to watch this movie,'" said Miles.
Saturday's special screening is $20 and will raise money for the Larry Himmel Neighborhood Foundation. Larry was taken from us five years ago and far too soon by pancreatic cancer.
"It still hurts it's nothing to get over," said Miles.
He says Larry's memory is kept alive by San Diegans everyday.
"I was at the dentist the other day and a lady was sitting there working on my teeth and she said, 'wait, is that is your father?, And I said, 'yeah' and she said 'he did a story on me six years ago. I had an ice cream parlor in Poway'", said Miles.
Larry was always putting a positive spin on things, even in 2007, when his home burned down in front of him.
"He was always in work mode, you know. That's the first time we saw our house burn," said Miles "My mom and I were sitting next to each other crying and he focused and went to work and that's kind of how he was. He was always like Mister Rogers. He always had a smile on his face."
Creating smiles was Larry's gift. This is the time in the article when Larry would deliver a funny line. So it is in that spirit that Miles and I said together, "We are not as funny as him, so we should give something away. Let's give a drink away and popcorn so we are throwing in a drink and a popcorn, to watch the movie for $20"
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Come join the Larry Himmel Neighborhood Foundation on Saturday, Nov. 23. They've rented out UltraStar Cinemas in Mission Valley for the screening of the new Tom Hanks movie, "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood."
Mr. Rogers and Larry share many things in common including the way they connected with their community. Let's celebrate and enjoy an afternoon together.
Tickets are $20 and include popcorn and a drink! All proceeds from the event will go to the San Diego Center for Children. A BIG thanks to Team Kia of El Cajon for sponsoring this event.
Three sets of tickets are being given out for free. To win free tickets go to Jeff Zevely's Facebook page and share your favorite memory of Larry. The winners will be notified within 24 hours.
For event and ticket information, click here.