Debbie's Book

POB 40968
Pasadena, CA 91114
(626) 798-7968
fax: (626) 798-5563
www.debbiesbook.com

THE HOLLYWOOD DIVINING ROD

“I look at things differently than most individuals,” Deborah Ann Hemela points out. Popularly known as Debbie, her mission is not exactly to seek out new life and new civilizations—but it’s not far from that. In an effort to make her resource guide, Debbies Book (and yes, that’s “Debbies” sans apostrophe), the best it can be, she seeks out both the ordinary and the extraordinary. Debbies Book, simply, is a directory to anything and everything that’s needed on set, and is used in movies, TV and theater, as well as by photographers, ad agencies and even theme parks.

Hemela began gathering prop and set data back in high school theater, in a journal. Over the years the book evolved, while Hemela was working on all the classic Norman Lear sitcoms of the Seventies. At the suggestion of an art director, she published the first edition, as The Prop and Set Yellow Pages, which debuted in 1978, becoming the first and only book of its kind on the Hollywood scene. As it made the rounds, it became known simply as Debbies Book and that name stuck as the title with the second edition. For some time, it was published every two years, evolving into an annual event only recently. “We now have over 2,000 vendors, 750 categories and 9,000 listings in the book,” Hemela informs us. The July-to-July publishing date corresponds with the TV season.

“What makes my book different from the others that now exist is that the individuals in my book have been interviewed or we’ve gone to their site to see what they have and what they do, and verified that they’re real,” she says.

The index reflects the prevalent terminology and industry usage and is continually updated. “People in the business notice the changes. For example, I put ‘bling bling’ in the book. In the index I put, ‘rapper jewelry—see bling bling’ and ‘wrapper jewelry’ with a ‘w,’ for those people who inadvertently look up the wrong spelling.” In addition to the index by category, there is also a complete index by vendor and supplier. While focusing on the West Coast, listings also cover a smattering of East Coast suppliers.

“The one thing that happens with the book,” Hemela observes, “if you leave it out, it will get stolen, so people usually leave it in their bag or in a desk drawer. Nobody ever sees what Debbies Book is. That’s why I’ve always been kind of underground.” The book sells for $20.

When asked what might be the most exotic or unusual item in the book, Hemela replied: “It’s the individuals that own it who are the most exotic and unusual. In the Seventies, it would have been a condom machine, which would have been hard to find. This year it might be bling bling.” A supplier may not recognize that he is housing a potential gold mine, but Hemela may. “At one inflatables shop I’d visited, I noticed a bodysuit for the comic-book character, The Hulk. I recognized its potential. So this year, under ‘Inflatables,’ he changed his artwork and put in a bodysuit, so people could see it wasn’t just inflatable animals and such.”

-- Jack Neubart