Larry Stevenson’s public memorial will take place on Saturday, April 7th at 8.30 AM on the sand at the Venice Beach Breakwater (located at the end of Windward Ave).
Stevenson, the inventor of the skateboard “kicktail”, died of Parkinson’s Disease on March 25th in Santa Monica at the age of 81.
Stevenson, who attended Venice High School, Santa Monica College and USC, was also a lifeguard here in Venice Beach in the 50′s. In 1969, Stevenson added the “kicktail” and then the “double kicktail” to skateboards, which were until that point flat pieces of wood. The kicktail, combined with the invention of urethane wheels, created modern skateboarding as we know it.
