STATS <i> An occasional compendium of the arcane,</i> the <i> trivial and the </i> i<i> ntriguing. </i>

BEETHOVEN’S BEST YEARS In his 30s (1800-1809), Ludwig van Beethoven had his most prolific period, writing 62 major works including the first six symphonies, the 4th and 5th Piano Concertos, the Moonlight, Pathetique and Appassionata Piano Sonatas, the Violin Concerto and “Fidelio.”

Source: Bill Meredith, American Beethoven Society

BANG-UP CONCERT SALES

Ticket sales for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 1985-86 season in the Music Center Pavilion (the first with conductor Andre Previn) increased 8.5% over the previous year, with 291,349 tickets sold for a 93% capacity rate. But the “most popular musical weekend in the world,” according to the Philharmonic? The Tchaikovsky Spectacular Concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Since it started in 1969, the sell-out event featuring the 1812 Overture (with cannon and fireworks) has attracted 504,600 fans. This year’s Aug. 22 and 23 shows drew 17,000-plus each night and sold out a month in advance.

(Source: L.A. Philharmonic)

COUNTY MUSEUM’S MOST POPULAR SHOWS

“King Tut Exhibition,” artifacts from Tutankhamum, Feb. 15 to June 15, 1978, 1,250,629 visitors.

“A Day in the Country,” French impressionism, June 28 to Sept. 16, 1984, 460,000 visitors.

“An Elegant Art--Fashion and Fantasy in the 18th Century,” March 8 to May 29, 1983, 107,326 visitors.

Source: County Museum of Art

HOTTEST OPERA VIDEOS

The 10 most popular operas on videocassette :

1--”La Traviata” starring Placido Domingo and Teresa Stratas; directed by Franco Zeffirelli; on MCA Home Video.

2--”Carmen” starring Placido Domingo and Julia Migenes-Johnson; on RCA-Columbia.

3--”The Magic Flute” directed by Ingmar Bergman; on Paramount Home Video.

4--”Der Rosenkavalier” starring Elisabeth Schwarzkoph, Sena Jurinac, Anneliese Rothenberger, Otto Edelmann; conducted by Herbert von Karajan; a 1962 production filmed in Salzburg, Austria; on Video Arts International.

5--”Parsifal” directed by Hans Jurgen Syberberberg; one of two Wagner operas now on videocassette; a 1984 film; on Corinth Films.

6--”La Boheme--Live From the Met” starring Jose Carreras and Teresa Stratas; on Paramount.

7--”Boris Godunov,” a 1954 Russian film version which uses actors lip-syncing to the voices of stars from the Bolshoi Theatre; on Corinth Films.

8--”Tosca--Live From the Met” starring Placido Domingo and Hildegard Behrens; on Paramount.

9--”Turandot” starring Jose Carreras and Eva Marton; a Vienna production directed by Harold Prince; on MGM-UA.

10--(tie) “Tales of Hoffmann” starring Placido Domingo, Luciana Serra, Agnes Baltsa, and Ilena Cotrubas; a Royal Opera Covent Garden production; on Thorn-EMI-HBO. “Die Fledermaus” starring Kiri Te Kanawa and Hermann Prey; on Thorn-EMI-HBO.

Source: Richard Hornak, columnist/critic for the Opera News

SEX Rx FROM DR. RUTH

Number of calls that come in for Dr. Ruth Westheimer during her two-hour radio show on Sunday nights: 3,000. Most frequently discussed problems that are “specifically sexual”: Women: Sexual satisfaction/inability to have orgasms. Men: Premature ejaculation/inability to maintain an erection.

Source: Dr. Ruth Westheimer

VIDEOS AND HIT SONGS

Number of Billboard’s Hot 100 songs represented by a video 5/81: 23 songs out of 100.

5/82: 30 songs out of 100.

5/83: 59 songs out of 100.

5/84: 76 songs out of 100.

5/85: 78 songs out of 100.

5/86: 82 songs out of 100.

(Source: Billboard)

NUMBER OF MTV SUBSCRIBERS

8/81 (start): 2.5 million.

12/81: 3 million.

12/82: 7.5 million.

12/83: 18 million.

12/84: 25 million.

12/85: 27.5 million

8/86: 28.5 million

(Source: MTV Data, quoted in Billboard)

CANNES-OSCAR WINNER

The only film to have won both the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or and the Academy Award: “Marty” in 1955.

Source: Movieline Magazine

GUMBY’S ROOTS

Gumby grew out of creator Art Clokey’s short film “Gumbasia,” which featured animated clay shapes undulating to a jazz sound track.

Gumby was first introduced to a national audience on the Howdy Doody show in 1956. In 1957 NBC aired one season’s worth of half-hour shows. A major syndication success, Gumby was eventually seen in nearly 100 markets. (It is being aired for 13 weeks this summer over KCOP.) Gumby was made of blue-green clay mixed with 25% bee’s wax to prevent cracking. Creator Art Clokey used blue-green because it is associated with fantasy.

Five or six Gumby’s would melt during a typical 10-20 second shooting sequence, 60 to 100 in a typical day. It would take creator Art Clokey and 20 artists and technicians eight hours to make 20 seconds of finished film, as long as six weeks for a full episode.

The Gumby theme song was written by (Sneaky) Pete Kleinow, the steel guitarist in the original Flying Burrito Brothers.

The distinctive swept-up lump on Gumby’s head was modeled after Clokey’s father’s cowlick in his high school graduation picture. Gumby’s name comes from gumbo, a name for clay soil used by Clokey senior.

Gumby’s associates, Prickle and teardrop-shaped Goo, were based on philosopher Alan Watt’s remark that there are two kinds of people in the world, prickly and gooey.

Source: Lorimar-Telepictures

BABY, CAN I PARK YOUR CAR? OR WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE

Parking facilities at major local venues. (Figures are provided by venue representatives)

VENUE CAPACITY COST EXITS Inglewood Forum 3,400 $4 5 Greek Theatre Lot 1 1,000 $2 3 Lot 2 450 $5 2 Lot 3 (Highest lot) 1,200 $2 3 Middle Strip 100 $15 Street Club Four (season tickets) 120 Included 1 Commonwealth 800 $2 Street Hollywood Bowl Gold Circle 100 $14 6 lanes Valet Parking 110 $10 6 lanes Reserved Lot 110 70 $9 6 lanes Reserved Lot 120 225 $8 6 lanes Unreserved Varies $6 6 lanes Odin Lot 1,450 $5 9 lanes Fairfield Lot 1,200 $5 6 lanes Ford Theatre Lot 600 $3 7 lanes Palladium 280 $ 4 2 Irvine Meadows 5,000+ $3 1 Long Beach Convention Center 4,000 $4 20 Pacific Amphitheatre 9,000 $3 5 Santa Monica Civic 860 $3 5 Sports Arena/Coliseum (6 lots) 6,000 $2 6 per lot Universal Amphitheatre 1,500 $3 2

VENUE EXIT TIME Inglewood Forum 10 minutes Greek Theatre Lot 1 Lot 2 Lot 3 (Highest lot) 25 minutes Middle Strip Club Four (season tickets) Commonwealth Hollywood Bowl Gold Circle When the Bowl is Valet Parking sold out, the largest Reserved Lot 110 lots (the combined Reserved Lot 120 Bowl lots and the Unreserved Odin) are empty Odin Lot in 50 minutes. Fairfield Lot Ford Theatre Lot Palladium 15-20 minutes Irvine Meadows 90 min. max. Long Beach Convention Center 20 minutes Pacific Amphitheatre 25 minutes Santa Monica Civic 10 minutes Sports Arena/Coliseum (6 lots) 15 minutes Universal Amphitheatre 18 minutes