Sherman visited by world famous event planner

Charlie Scola, also known as “Party Charlie,” a former celebrity event planner for large corporations and most big names in Hollywood, was in Clear Lake the weekend of Aug. 10, visiting his old friend Bob Sherman. Scola, who is 98% retired now, got a boost to his party planning business from Sherman’s referrals to his connections in the movie making industry and the two have remained friends throughout the years.

Sherman, a Clear Lake resident who is best known now as the producer of the Nightmare Haunted Hike, said he spent much of his growing up years at the Iverson Location Movie Ranch, which was situated in the Santa Susanna Mountains in the northwest corner of Chatsworth, Calif. The Iverson Ranch was owned by his grandparents and as many as 2,000 motion picture and television shows used the Iverson Movie Ranch to shoot their outdoor scenes.

“When I got out of high school, I told my uncle [Joe Iverson] I would come out and work for him. And I worked with him for several years. One day he looked at me and said, ‘I’d like to give you the place when I die.’ Well, I didn’t see that coming. And I told him, ‘I’ll tell you what. I don’t want to wait for you to die. Just give it to me now.’ So I took over the studio in my early 20s,” Sherman said.

Sherman remodeled a large section of the studio into a big banquet area for his own, but was soon talked into renting the space for weddings, corporate picnics and special events. While Sherman was still shooting low-budget B movies and commercials he said the party room rental was bringing in thousands of dollars in supplemental income - and that is how he met Scola.

Party Charlie just happened to have catered a wedding event for a friend’s family. “Bob loved what I did, and he and I clicked,” Scola said. “He liked the idea that I come in and I handle everything - decor, staff, valet, security, food. And he says, ‘Charlie’s a one-stop-shop.’”

Scola has led an interesting life with successes that are no doubt buoyed by his infectious zest for life. “I’ve always been involved with the party planning,” said Scola who got a job working at a hotel called the Town and Campus and Goldman Caterers Banquet Center in West Orange, New Jersey at 17. “They had 12 banquet halls that could seat thousands of people. I was the youngest banquet manager they ever had,” he said.

Later he got a job working in a commissary doing catering at Laird International Studios in Culver City, where they filmed “Gone With the Wind.” 

Since everyone, including actors and directors, needed to eat, Scola visited with Steve Martin, who was filming the movie “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid,” and Michael Landon, of “The Little House on the Prairie” TV series. It was here that he learned about a hush-hush movie (later known as E.T.) that was being directed by Steven Spielberg.

“I learned a lot about the studio stuff. And it was fun. It was a great time. I met so many people,” he said with a smile. “So many people.”

While working at the studio he met Eileen McFadden and the two started their own catering business. McFadden’s boyfriend happened to be involved with CBS Records and, “In no time at all…we were getting things [booking parties] with the band Toto, Kim Carnes, who had just busted through with “Betty Davis Eyes,” and Kenny Rogers. It was unbelievable. We did so many record companies,” Scola said. “We always had so much fun working, and employees had a great time working with us. I think we weren’t so much about the money. We were more about enjoying ourselves, making sure the clients were happy, making sure they were smiling. And the referrals just came in.”

In addition to catering Scola said, “I had the events company and my business just continued to grow and grow and grow. I’ve done stuff for Hugh Hefner, [Universal Studios’] City Walk’s grand opening. I was senior producer for the “ScareLA” event for four years in a row. And we would get about 30,000 people over the two days,” Scola said.

For the past several years Scola has been the producer of a private fundraising concert in Malibu for the EB Research Partnership, the largest non-profit dedicated to funding research for treating and curing Epidermolysis Bullosa, a skin disease affecting children. Some of the top names in the music industry have performed and almost everyone you can imagine in the movie industry has attended.

Scola brings in the nation’s top food vendors, such as the world’s number one sushi chef Nobu Matsuhisa. He even brings in trailer-size portable restrooms. “These restrooms have marble floors and chandeliers. They’re beautiful inside, it’s the Rolls Royce of bathrooms. I bring in generators for power distribution, I work with the stage people, I bring in the stage, I bring in all the rentals and sometimes, if it’s inclement weather, I will bring in huge tents. I deal with the permits, I deal with the valet parking, we bring in the sheriff’s department for security. And then we have private security (for the actors and actresses and studio execs),” Scola explained.

“I’ve lost track of how many parties I’ve done in my lifetime because you know, sometimes on a weekend, when Eileen and I were together, we would do 9 to 10 parties on a weekend. I mean, we had a big company, we had a warehouse, we had trucks. We had warehouse managers and kitchen managers. I had two personal assistants. That’s how busy we were. And now I’m 98% retired, enjoying life and I’ve been traveling the world and that’s what I really enjoy,” Scola said.

Charlie Scola is a public speaker and the author of “Party Planning Secrets: The Ultimate Guide to a Successful Party,” which teaches people how to socialize their way to health and success. A big part of that success, according to Scola, is how you greet your guests. “That is so paramount, and I built an entire industry in my business by developing that… It changes everything. It literally changes your cells. Your cells change, moment by moment, by your attitude. I’ve done a lot of research on that” he said.

Scola said he lives a very positive life and just wants to make people laugh and have a good time. That is why he is writing a second book called “Attitudes and Gratitude: The Steering Wheel of the Brain.”

Scola said, “Hire people who have good attitudes. I can teach you where the fork and the knife goes, but I can’t teach you to have a good attitude. Attitude is a steering wheel of the brain. A good attitude will open up doors you never thought could be opened.”