Alan L. Gansberg: Giving Us WeHo’s 1.9
May 25, 2006 – Ryan Gierach, West Hollywood


The host of West Hollywood’s 1.9 televisions show, Alan L Gansberg.
Even after filming between 75 and 100 segments about WeHo lives and landmarks, ideas and ideals for Channel 10’s 1.9 television show, Alan L. Gansberg claims “we’re not concerned about running short of segments to do. West Hollywood maybe be small in size, but it’s big in ideas,” he said. Airing virtually daily on Adelphia’s channel 10, Mr. Gansberg’s show, funded and produced by the city’s communication’s department, films at least four shows containing several segments each year. Every one of them gives us a glimpse into the West Hollywood behind the bustling boulevards, the pulsing night life and the arts and design scene.
He had originally agreed to meet WeHoNews.com at a new Mexican restaurant on the Sunset Strip that we had heard about. As we approached, he met us at the street. “Can we go over to Wacky Waffles,” he asked. “I want to dine in West Hollywood, and this place is just over the line in LA. Greater West Hollywood doesn’t pay business taxes to my city.”
Mr. Gansberg carries his almost militant love for West Hollywood, its people, ideals and its architecture, on his sleeve. He says about the show, “It’s all about the people, places and things of the Creative City, maybe the most creative 1.9 sq. mi. in the planet.” He knows well the borders of the city, as odd as they can be, because of his probable favorite segment of all – the Border Segment. “I wanted to know more about the crazy borders of the city, especially where they cut through buildings and lots. That was my favorite segment.”
Doing the show is made easy by the “substantive nature of the people who choose to live here,” he said. “People who live here are from so many backgrounds and places, have such a high level of world experience and such diverse outlooks, they just make for an interesting set of neighbors.”


A group of architecture devotees listening to John Chase give a lecture on WeHo’s streets. By Ryan Gierach.
Some shows they do are theme shows, he said. One revolved around architecture and included City Urban Designer John Chase on his latest book (“I have a love of architecture, so that one, about the city’s architecture, was a natural for the top,” he said.). Another was entitled “A Day In The life Of The PDC, and one that raised a few eyebrows, the Hustler show.
West Hollywood is full of surprises, he shared. “Take for instance the Koontz Hardware segment,” he said. “I didn’t shop there much before then, so I expected to do the usual up-scale local landmark hardware store kind of segment. It turned out to be surprisingly fun, the guy who hosted us was hilarious.
Another surprise was nearly tasering himself at the Sunset Strip’s famous Spy Shop. They had such neat gadgets; I was playing with them all and I almost tasered myself in the leg,” he laughed. But what came upon him as a surprise only slowly was the realization of how much the city has to offer. “There’s so much here to enjoy, little nooks and crannies of civilization and originality dotting the city.”
He says that stems from the people populating the Creative City. “It’s filled with lots of very good people, people who want the greater good,” he said. “I don’t want that to sound pollyanish, but its true. When you’re removed from prejudice, and to live here in this city you simply must be, people aren’t so concerned with convention in all forms” giving rise to new, creative ways of approaching all things.
The biggest lesson learned during the filming of those four-score segments, he said, was that populations like the Russian community or the Gay community have much more in common then they realize. “People are all trying their best to make their way in the world. When you talk to them they don’t speak about their sexuality, country of origin or their age, they talk about the subject at hand. They transcended that which often defined by others outside West Hollywood. I think that West Hollywood and its people have gotten them past being concerned about being defined by outsiders.”


The city’s diversity extends to manifestations of architecture. By Ryan Gierach.
What’s invigorating to him about the city is the diversity. “You can walk through some of the finest art galleries in the world on one end of town and then dine in some of the best Russian delis going on the other,” he said. “Where else can you enjoy all that under the umbrella of tolerance?”
Having spent years working in the television and film industry, Mr. Gansberg says that this show feels like the best “fit” to him. “I started out as an interviewer, and personally as well as professionally enjoy interviewing people – I find it fascinating.
“There not a soul alive you can speak with who can’t contribute to society in some way through an interview, and here in West Hollywood we’re blessed,” he said, “because here we have so many people with that extra verve, that spark that comes from living here.”
Tune in to Channel 10 to check out the sparks of life in 1.9’s shows.
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Filmography as: Writer, Producer, Director, Miscellaneous Crew
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Filmography as: Writer, Producer, Director, Miscellaneous Crew
Miscellaneous Crew - filmography