Barracuda

  Sometimes, you meet people just starting out.  Other times, you meet people who have been at it for a long time.  This next set are examples of that.

 The first was Gary Lewis.  He was the frontman of Gary Lewis and the Playboys back in the 60's.  He was also the son of the comedian Jerry Lewis.  Gary had a lot of hits back in the day, but now he was the solo headline act at a free benefit concert at the Township.  Believe it or not, The Shirelles were the opening act.  Then, there was a country artist called Andy Childs who stole the show.  Everyone was so tired of clapping by the time Gary took the stage, he did his best to do a good show.  My Cobbwebs friends, Chris and Del, went with me to the show.  We had really gone to see Gary, but the other acts were really good.  We had brought a tape of our music to give to Gary after the show, so we waited by the stage door for him to come out.  When he did, we were the only ones there.  We talked to him for a few minutes and gave him the tape.  He was very cordial to us and put the tape in his back pocket.  We made a point not to talk to him about his famous father.  He had heard that a lot growing up and was probably sick of it.  We wanted to talk about the music.  Later, we heard from Gary about our tape, and he told us how great it was.  Our original 60's rock and roll touched a chord with him.  He was a nice guy.

 The second was a group called Heart.  Maybe, you've heard of them.  They were playing a show in Fort Worth in 1977.  I wasn't able to go to the show that night, but I took a guess what hotel they would be staying at.  It was the one closest to the venue.  It was also the same hotel that JFK had stayed on November 21, 1963, before being killed the next day.  I went to the hotel early that morning and hung out in the lobby until the band came down to leave.  They were travelling in an old beat-up van.  No planes or limos for them.  I liked them right away.  I held the door for them, as they loaded up the van.  Their drummer was very nice to me, as was Nancy Wilson.  Ann?  Not so much.  The guitar players said thank you, when I opened the door.  Ann?  Not so much.  It would have been a really good time to ask them for their autographs, but I didn't think to do that.  I was surprised that no one else showed up to cheer them leaving.  It was just me and them.  I was respectful, and I think they appreciated that.  Ann?  Maybe not so much.  

Winging

 I like to be around good musicians.  Creativity oozes from their veins.  Such was the case with the next two encounters I had.  And, they had something in common in a roundabout way.  One was mentioned in a Beatles song, and one played with a Beatle.

 The first was B.B. King.  I saw him in concert in Columbia.  A Blues legend.  A genius guitar player.  A very nice man.  After the show, he was backstage signing autographs for those lucky enough to have a backstage pass.  I waited at the Stage Door for almost 90 minutes for him to come out.  He loaded up "Lucille" (his guitar) in the trunk of his limo.  The case was specifically molded to the guitar, so there would be no moving about in the trunk.  He talked with me and three other fans who had stayed outside.  We got pictures and plastic guitar pins as a reward for our perseverance.  As his limo was pulling out of the parking lot, I was heading back to my car.  The driver honked the horn, and Mr. King waved at me from his window.  By the way, The Beatles song that he is mentioned in was "Dig It" off of the "Let It Be" album.  John Lennon sang the line.

 The second was Denny Laine.  I met him at Beatlefest in Chicago in 1995.  Beatlefest was a gathering of Beatle fans and collectors, along with some celebrities.  Before joining Wings with Paul McCartney, he was in The Moody Blues.  He had an autograph table there, and I had brought the Wings album "London Town" for him to sign.  He was very gracious.  He was very easy to talk to and seemed to enjoy the interaction with the fans.  Most people brought "Band on the Run" albums for him to sign, but the cover was just too dark to see the autograph.  He made mention to me that he didn't see many "London Town" albums.  Most people wanted to talk about Paul, but I spoke for a minute with him about The Moody Blues.  He seemed grateful to be recognized by something other than Wings.  

 Both men were nice in their own way.  Both were giants in their respective genres.  Both were amazing musicians.  Both were unforgettable.

Green

 The next two are actors whose roles were vastly different, but who both were very friendly and interesting to talk to.  One was pretty famous in the 1960's on TV.  The other was a character actor on TV and in the movies.  

 The first was Tom Lester.  You may remember him as playing Eb on "Green Acres" mostly in the 1960's. He was rather dim-witted on the show, but he was nothing like that in real life.  I met him, when he came to Southwestern Seminary to talk about his faith.  He visited my small Religious Drama class one afternoon to talk with us about sharing our faith through our work.  I sat across the table from him and picked his brain about Christianity in Hollywood.  He told us about the few Christians there were in the movies and TV who were willing to keep the faith without compromise.  He told us of his attempt to witness to those on the set.  He said Eddie Albert accepted Christ, but that Eva Gabor didn't want anything to do with it.  He was very easy to talk to.  It is very hard to stick up for what you believe in Hollywood, because most people will do anything to get a job or do anything the director tells you to do in that job.  I applauded Tom for doing the right thing, even if it meant not working in a part that would propel him further in his career.

 The second was Bo Hopkins.  His name may not be instantly familiar to you, but you have probably seen his work on TV and in film.  He played in films like "The Wild Bunch", "American Graffiti", "Midnight Express", and many more.  He did TV shows like "The Virginian", "Gunsmoke", "The Andy Griffith Show", "The Mod Squad", "Hawaii Five-O", "Dynasty", and many more.  He was also in the first episode of "Charlie's Angels".  He usually played a tough guy.  I met him at an event in Greenville.  He was looking for money to finance a film he wanted to make on Shoeless Joe Jackson, who was an early baseball player.  As was my custom, I thought of something we might have in common to start the conversation.  Both of us had worked with Burt Reynolds on movies.  He said he remembered me on "Semi-Tough".  He was just being nice, because there was no way he could have remembered me.  He did tell me that he would cast me in his new movie.  I thought that was very nice, but the movie was never made.  

 Both Tom and Bo were good old country boys.  Tom was from Mississippi, and Bo was from South Carolina.  Hollywood called both of them there.  It was good to meet them in a casual environment.  Both were very down to earth.  They couldn't have been more different.

Wonder

  There were two people that I met who couldn't have been more different visually.  Maybe because one was an actress and singer.  The other was a character actor known for his supporting roles.  One was rather serious, and the other was very funny.

 The first was Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman on TV and put out an album of her songs.  I was living in Fort Worth, and the word got out that she was coming to Six Flags over Texas to open a new ride and sign autographs.  It was raining that day and pretty chilly, but they said she would be there rain or shine.  Since it was raining, they set up her table under a gazebo, which was not big enough for the crowd that showed up.  We were packed in there like sardines.  You couldn't breathe, and people were passing out.  When somebody did, they either fainted standing up, or they were lifted up over the heads of others to be tended to.  Children were especially affected by this crush, and they ended up on the ground to breathe.  When Lynda arrived, she was with some childhood friends from Arizona, so she wasn't paying much attention to her fainting fans.  I was wearing an old Army shirt that I had since college.  When I got up to the table, she said hello to me and I to her.  She looked at my shirt and wrote "Peace, Lynda Carter" on her photo and gave to me.  She was much prettier in person than as Wonder Woman.  We had a moment, but I couldn't hang around.  The line had to keep moving.  I got the flu from being there, but it was worth it.

 The second was M. Emmet Walsh, who was an actor in "Chattahoochee".  You may not recognize the name, but you have seen him in many movies.  He was the doctor examining Chevy Chase in "Fletch".  He was the group sergeant in "Alice's Restaurant".  He was the madman in "The Jerk".  And, many more roles.  Emmet was the ultimate character actor.  One of the things you may not know about a film set is that there is a lot of waiting around.  One might wait for the crew to set up for a scene.  One might wait, because you aren't in a scene being filmed.  One might wait just to be waiting.  Boredom can set in.  Emmet created a way to pass the time.  He gathered some of the other actors around his chair and told jokes.  Most were pretty funny.  Some were kind of dirty.  Then, he would ask the handful of people around him to tell a joke.  We would all laugh.  For a few days, I got to be in that small group of joke-tellers.  Some of our jokes were pretty stupid, but the object was to make Emmet laugh.  If you did, it was a real accomplishment.  When it was time for a scene, he would get into character and perform.  Afterwards, we would be back to telling jokes.  He helped the time to go by faster.  We loved to hurry up and wait with Emmet.  He was a cool guy.