Front Row Lady: Stories From a Life

Kathleen Larronde Hellwitz was born in Hollywood Hospital and would have gone straight to her dressing room, but her mother wouldn’t let her because she was determined to be famous herself. Kathleen grew up in Studio City in the ‘40s and ‘50s where every other house was occupied by somebody connected to the industry­­­­­—an actor, writer, set designer or musician. Throughout her school years, she was always figuring out ways to get herself on stage. She was also a teacher in Watts in the ‘60s and a Sunkist grower in the small town of Ojai where she moved with her second husband in the ‘70s. While Kathleen didn’t become famous, she became such an avid supporter of local theater and young people who dreamed of becoming famous themselves that people began to call her “the Front Row Lady.” And then at the ripe old age of 75, Kathleen finally got her chance at fame when she started writing and performing monologues at Kim Maxwell’s Studio in Ojai, California. This memoir grew out of those monologues.