TRAGEDY STRIKES ... AT 7TH AND MONTANA

It was a sad day at 7th and Montana today as word spread that one of our own -- the Local Curmudgeon known among real estate agents across the Southland as "The Notorious Mr. Evil" for his tendency to hide neighborhood Open House signs when he thought no one was looking -- has met an untimely death. According to The Los Angeles Times, Evil -- a prominent lawyer who moonlighted as a comedian at the Ha Ha Cafe -- died on Wednesday after falling from the cliffs above the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu. "We have no idea what he was doing in the Peruvian mountains," said one insider, "Machu Picchu is nearly 8,000 feet above sea level. There couldn't possibly be any Open House signs at that altitude." Evil was no stranger to the Grim Reaper. In 1987, one of his clients stabbed him in the chest with an ice pick during an otherwise routine courtroom appearance in Torrance. "The guy was trying to stab me in the heart," he later quipped, "But in a lawyer it's hard to find." "He was heartless, all right," said one real estate professional. In lieu of a wake, an open house will be held next week on 9th Street.