1950s #1 Updated 11/4/25: 1950 Census. Gardena. Move to San Fernando Valley. Ned & Virginia LaRocca. The Marinello/Bartletts. Recording Industry LA. Leith Stevens.

The content explores the LaRocca/Cotterell family’s history, focusing on their move to Studio City, CA, in the early 1950s. It highlights Joseph LaRocca’s profession as a Radio Orchestra Manager and Virginia LaRocca’s role as a Christian Science Practitioner. The narrative details their transition from Gardena, the family’s connections in the area, and their adaptation during post-WWII suburban growth. Notably, Joseph and Virginia’s joint listings in directories become an anomaly and hints at changes in family dynamics, including references to their children and other relatives in the region.

Family History #2. 1930s & 1940s. The Great Depression. Peoria. Move To LA. Frank & Rose. Marinellos. Radio City. Sunset and Vine. KNX. CBS. Architecture. Tom Breneman. Jane Harker #2 Warner Brothers. Samuel Lanier. Updated 10/20/2025

Frank LaRocca, brother of Diana Cotterell’s grandfather and defacto father Ned, was a violinist. He worked as a music director in Decatur, Illinois during the 1920s. Frank’s wife was named Rose. The rest of the LaRocca family still lived in nearby Peoria, Ill., where the LaRocca children of Sal and Anna had grown up. Decatur Herald Aug. 23, 1925 Mildred Marinell”o” was a first…

Family History #1: 19-Teens, 1920s, Vaudeville. Joseph And Roxy LaRocca. Peoria. Virginia & Josephine Young. SLC. The Great Depression. Oakland. Meet Jane Harker #1. Warner Bros.

Roxy LaRocca, known as “the Wizard of the Harp,” was a celebrated vaudeville performer and the great uncle of Diana Cotterell. Originating from a musically inclined family, Joseph Ned LaRocca was Roxy’s younger brother, and both toured the vaudeville circuits. Their father, Salvatore, was also a harpist. The LaRocca family faced challenges during the transition from vaudeville to emerging mass-media forms like radio, ultimately leading Roxy to retirement and local political involvement in Peoria.