Ricki Lake reunited with family photos found at Pasadena flea market
Patty Scanlon paints women with soulful faces, and that's precisely what she found when she bought a box of vintage inspiration photos from the Pasadena City College Flea Market.
"I just thought, 'Oh that woman's beautiful and I love her vibe," said Scanlon.
However, it wasn't a stranger in the snapshots; it was a familiar face.
"I'm looking at this woman, who I think is really cool and soulful, and I thought, 'I think this is Ricki Lake," Scanlon said.
Her instincts were right. It really was the Hairspray actress and iconic 1990s talk show host. Scanlon intuitively knew she needed to get this box of photos back to her.
"I'm in show business because I'm an actor too," Scanlon said. "I went on Facebook and said 'Do any of you know how to get in touch with Ricki Lake?' I posted a few of the pictures and then, like in two seconds, there was Ricki Lake."
Almost immediately, almost like magic, Lake got in touch with her.
"You guys, the craziest thing happened," Lake said on Instagram.
Lake went on Instagram with Scanlon to share their story with the world.
"I couldn't believe what I was seeing," Lake said. "Because all of it was gone in the fire."
Lake's home, along with all of her family photos, burned down during the Palisades Fire earlier this year.
"I really cannot thank you enough for your generosity, making the effort to find me and the fact that I'm going to get something back that was lost forever," Lake said.
Scanlon said she found a postmarked envelope in the box and believes Lake mailed it to a relative, along with the photos and a thank-you note. She wondered whether the images had been relocated during an estate sale.
"It was like it was meant to be," Scanlon said. "It's like this thing in the universe that said, 'You're going to get those photos, and you're going to give them to Ricki. It's like the Twilight Zone but an upbeat one."
