A native of Seattle, Billy attended the High School of Performing Arts, magnet program at Hollywood High School. After high school, he started modeling. At age 21, he become a hairdresser to the stars, working at a chic Beverly Hills Salon; in 2000, he published his book "Everything is Going to be Just Fine, The Ramblings of a Mad Hairdresser." Billy then began his filmmaking career, illustrating fantastic real-life stories. He has just begun promotion of his first feature film "The Pure Eccentrics: San Francisco." Photo courtesy of Billy Clift.

Born and raised in San Francisco, “Beach” has earned certificates from four universities: Washington and Lee in Virginia, the National University of Mexico, the Ecole d'Architecture of Fontainbleau, France, and the Royal Academy at Copenhagen, Denmark. He worked for some years as an assistant to John Bakewell, architect of San Francisco's City Hall, with whom he collaborated on a book about the classical tradition. A veteran of World War II and the Korean conflict, Beach later served for years as a guide, ranger and historian for the state historic parks at Hearst Castle, Benicia, and Sonoma. He lives in Sonoma, in a Palladian villa of his own design and is the author of "San Francisco: Building the Dream City," published in 2002 by Scottwall Associates of San Francisco, with James Heig as editor and co-author. Photo courtesy of Billy Clift.

A native of Nisqually, Washington, John learned the art of story telling when his father took him to the Indian reservation across the river from the small farming community where he grew up. From his mother, author of two local history books, he developed an interest in history. John is a preservationist through his volunteer efforts, first as a tour guide at the Palace of Fine Arts and the Haas-Lilienthal House, then involvement in the national landmarking of the Swedenborgian Church, and now involved in the national landmarking of St. John’s Presbyterian. John’s attributes his dedication to his desire to leave behind “the best of San Francisco”. Photo courtesy of Billy Clift.

Wayne is a multi-talented designer of gardens and interiors, as well as decorative tiles, marquetry, fenestration and hardware. He is a well-respected fine artist and educator; his work has been shown in magazines and on television, and his botanical watercolors are included in highly regarded public and private collection all over the world. Photo courtesy of Billy Clift.

It was in the late 1960's that Richard decided to purchase his own home. Real estate prices were very high, as they are today, but he was determined to find a suitable residence and managed to find a pair of Victorian flats that were desperately in need of help. His friends thought he had lost his mind but he embarked on a whole new life long effort of lovingly renovating and restoring his Noe Valley Victorian flats to their original splendor. Photo of courtesy of Billy Clift.

A native of Lexington, Nebraska, Richard was addicted to the stories his Grandparents told him about helping found a small town in Nebraska in the 1870's. His "collecting" habit, which evolved from his grandparents, began in junior high school when he bought his first piece of Victoriana, a dresser. Richard’s first Victorian era home was a small house on the unfashionable end of Elizabeth Street. After three years of restoration, he sold it and bought his present Grove Street house which he restored to its 19th century charm and filled with magnificent decoration, furniture, and a collection of 15 player pianos. Admittedly not a career-oriented person, while Richard worked for 35 years for Arthur Andersen & Co., the “house project” served as his escape from the 20th century. Photo courtesy of Billy Clift.

A native of Chicago who grew up in Los Angeles, Mike graduated UCLA with a BA in Political Science and later earned a Masters Degree, also in Political Science, from San Jose State. He moved to the Bay Area in 1979 and lives in San Francisco with his wife Janice Wright (a KCBS reporter), and two sons. Since 1980, Mike has won over 100 local, state and national awards for his work, including 12 Emmys; he has been awarded the Best Writing Emmy Award for News or Programming in Northern California in six of the last seven years. After two decades at KCBS Radio, where he still reports on a weekly basis, Mike became a reporter on Channel 5 KPIX, the CBS-owned station in San Francisco. Incidentally, Mike’s first television appearance was on The Dating Game as a college freshman…and he won. Photo courtesy of KPIX.