Signal Features Editor
mbuttelman@the-signal.com
Posted: Nov. 14, 2009 6:36 p.m.
The Santa Clarita Valley has long served as Hollywood's "backlot" with film and television productions using the streets, neighborhoods and canyons of the SCV as backdrops to everything from "Star Trek" to "24."
Celebrities throughout the years, like Western silent film star William S. Hart, film star Harry Carey, Jr., Cheryl Ladd of "Charlie's Angels," Linda Gray of "Dallas," Rick Hearst of "General Hospital" and "Twilight's" Taylor Lautner, have called the SCV home.
The SCV's newest celebrity residents include an Olympic ice skating medalist and the original "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer."
Lloyd Eisler and Kristy Swanson were married on Feb. 7 and moved to the Santa Clarita Valley on June 16 with their son, Magnus Hart Swanson Eisler, age 2 1/2.
Eisler, of Canada, with skating partner Isabelle Brasseur, was the 1992 and 1994 Olympic bronze medalist in pairs skating and the 1993 World Pairs Champion.
Swanson, an actress, is probably best known for her starring role in the 1992 film "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Other projects have included "Big Daddy" and "Dude, Where's my Car?" She has worked extensively on television and has more than two dozen movies to her credit.
The couple met when they were paired up on the 2006 FOX reality television program "Skating with Celebrities. The couple won the competition.
Swanson's latest endeavor will see her on an airplane heading for Afghanistan on Friday where she will join actor Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band, John Ratzenberger and Kevin Farley.
"We are going to visit the troops, hang out and have Thanksgiving with them," Swanson said.
Swanson, a "warrior ambassador" for Iraq Star, is devoted to helping the troops.
She became a supporter of Iraq Star, which provides reconstructive surgery to returning war veterans, after attending the taping of an episode of the "Dr. Phil" show.
"I was sitting near the founder of Iraq Star and she asked for volunteers to help transport soldiers from the airport, to doctor's appointments, and that kind of thing," Swanson said. "I told her, ‘I have a minivan and I'm not afraid to use it.' I can carry wheelchairs, crutches, luggage, family. So I got involved."
Eisler said his wife doesn't do things half-way.
"When she gets involved in something she gives 110 percent. When she commits to something it is a full commitment," he said.
That commitment extended to a fundraiser held in Universal City last month that raised $100,000 just from the sale of the Iraq Star motorcycle. The cycle was crafted by "American Choppers" and the episode featuring the bike will air 9 p.m. Thanksgiving Day on TLC.
Eisler is currently working as a coach and also skates with a new partner, Choeleen Loundagin. He has been most closely affiliated with the Pickwick arena in Burbank, but would like to work closer to home.
"I would like to get involved in the skating community in the SCV. The Valencia Ice Station is a fabulous facility - one that is certainly better than many others in the Southland. I go there and skate regularly on my own and to coach," Eisler said. "I know the hockey program at the Ice Station is fantastic. The facility also has the opportunity to be a great draw for figure skating, too. It is probably one of the two best facilities in Southern California."
The couple moved to the SCV for the lifestyle and the schools.
"We like the space and the more suburban style of life," said Eisler. "Our son will be going to school in a couple of years. We know the schools out here are very good. And this is how I grew up - knowing your neighbors. We've only been here a few months and we already know everyone in our cul de sac - we know their names and their children. We know everybody. We took it upon ourselves to get involved in our little community here of 16 houses."
Swanson said the SCV is still close enough to the action that she can do her "mom thing" as well as continue to be a working actress.
"I feel like I'm not that far away and I don't have to be in town every day so I can still be a mom and live out here and still have my career and go into town when I need to," she said.
After her trip to Afghanistan Swanson will travel to Utah to film a movie.
Among Swanson's favorite reasons for living in the SCV is the lack of parking meters.
"I don't have to dig for change any more. I can use my change for my son's piggy bank," she said. "And I can save money on parking tickets."
For more information on Lloyd Eisler visit www.lloydherbieeisler.com. For more information on Kristy Swanson visit www.kristyswansononline.com. For more information on Iraq Star visit www.iraqstar.org.
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