Who named the Emmy, Grammy, Tony, etc.? Who was Hendrix Pond named after?

Dear Matthew Alice:

Who is the Emmy named after? And the Tony? The Grammy? Who decreed that all these major awards have to end in y? What about the Pulitzer Prize? When will you be up for one?

Sponsored
Sponsored

-- mattyj, the Net

Matmail:

Who is the Hendrix that Hendrix Pond in Scripps Ranch is named after?

-- Anonymous Donor

Anonymous, I hope this wasn't to be your 15 minutes of fame. The elves ate your e-mail, mistaking it for a slice of jalapeño jack, and your name is forever lost. But the question lingered in our memories. So wouldn't it be great if the tiny, muddy, duck-filled pond really was named for Jimi? His own secret memorial, right there in the middle of developmentland? (I assume that's why you asked the question...) But of course, no such luck. Hendrix, like Hoyt and Evans and Jerabek, other local eponymous landmarks, is a historical name from the time the Scripps family owned the land. Hendrix took care of the Scripps livestock and was second-in-command on the rancho. The pond (in a glen between Atrium and Aviary, at the south end of Scripps Ranch) was a watering hole on the original spread.

And for Matty, re: Emmy and Tony and Grammy -- a thing, a person, a thing. "Emmy" (from 1949) is a twist on "immy," short for "image orthicon tube," a critical bit of early TV technology. "Tony" (1947) is Antoinette Perry, a turn-of-the-century champion of women in theater, founder of the American Theatre Wing. "Grammy" (1958) is short for "gramophone." And I'll pass on the Joey (Pulitzer). I'm holding out for a Slick Willy, for excellence in fooling most of the people most of the time.

Return to Straight From The Hip

Related Stories