Louis Perry has provided security to such high-profile people as former Vice President Al Gore and boxing star Manny Pacquiao, but nothing quite compares to his current assignment.
Perry is overseeing the personal security of Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician to Michael Jackson charged with involuntary manslaughter in the pop singer’s death. For each day of the trial, which is set to begin at the end of this month, Perry personally drives Murray from an L.A.-area home – the location of which he can’t disclose – to downtown’s Los Angeles Superior Court with paparazzi in tow.
But Perry, 50, isn’t worried about the aggressive photographers. It’s the obsessed Jackson fans who keep Perry up at night, such as one who called Murray a murderer outside of the courthouse.
“The big issue is that there won’t be a crazy person who loved Michael Jackson sitting and waiting and who attempts an assault on the doctor,” he said. “But if there’s a life being threatened, you have to do what you have to do.”
Perry, who launched downtown security firm Kadima Security Services in 2008, reached out to Murray’s lawyers several months ago about handling security. He eventually got the job after taking the doctor for a test run, driving him to famed Beverly Hills eatery Crustacean for dinner and then escorting him to a downtown nightclub.
Perry said he and Murray hit it off immediately and became fast friends – he’s even having the doctor over for dinner soon.
So do Perry and Murray ever talk about Jackson?
“I don’t go there because that’s a sensitive issue,” he said.
Taking the Field
Scott London is playing a new position in the world of L.A. sports. London, partner-in-charge of KPMG LLP’s audit practice in Los Angeles, was elected chairman of the L.A. Sports Council on Sept. 7. He is only the third chairman of the organization, following Alan Rothenberg and John Argue.
The Sports Council focuses on bringing amateur athletic competitions to Southern California. While it isn’t focused heavily on bringing the National Football League back to Los Angeles, London said a new stadium would have tremendous impact on the area’s ability to attract other major events.
“We aren’t going to bring the Olympics here during my tenure, but my goal is to bring world championships for sports like track and field and another World Baseball Classic,” he said.
Baseball is one of London’s biggest passions. He played college baseball at Cal State Northridge and helps pitch batting practice for his son’s high school team. He’s a Dodgers season ticket holder and travels every year to Dodgers Fantasy Camp in Vero Beach, Fla., former home of Dodgers spring training. The Dodgers still have the fantasy camp in Florida because the team’s new site in Glendale, Ariz., doesn’t have the right sleeping accommodations.
“There’s about 100 guys who go to Vero Beach each year,” said London. “It’s fun. We play games with some of the former players who go back there.”
Staff reporters Alexa Hyland and David Nusbaum contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].
