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.

Western

  When I was a kid, I loved watching westerns on TV.  Shows like Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, The Lone Ranger, The Wild Wild West, and so many more.  Most of them came on CBS.  For some reason, I didn't care for most of the westerns on NBC.  They just seemed not as real as some of the others.  And, I wasn't allowed to watch Gunsmoke or Have Gun Will Travel, because they were too violent.  I did meet two actors who were on NBC western shows.

 The first was Lorne Greene.  He came to the opening of Richland Mall in Columbia.  He was on Bonanza.  I know that was a very popular show.  I just didn't watch it.  It came on opposite Perry Mason, which my mother loved to watch, and later opposite the Smothers Brothers, which I liked to watch.  CBS was big in our house.  When Lorne came to the mall, he was swamped by little kids.  He looked a little perturbed at that prospect, but he tried to be nice.  Everybody wanted his autograph, but he brought black and white photos with his printed signature.  I shook his hand and told him my name.  He had rough hands. You could kind of tell that he just wanted to get paid for his appearance and leave.

 The second was Leif Erickson.  He was on the NBC show The High Chaparral.  I watched a few episodes of that show, but not because of him.  He had come to Columbia to make an appearance at our Christmas parade.  After the parade, there was a luncheon for him.  My father was invited to go, and he took me.  I got to sit at the head table next to Leif.  When he turned to talk to me, his breath could have knocked the spots off of a horse.  He was drunk.  He could barely sit in his chair next to me.  I hadn't been around someone that drunk before.  He wasn't the guy I saw on TV.  He was a lush.  

 One thing I realized about both of these men.  The actors you see on TV or not always the same in real life.  They both should have tried to be actors with the public.  Instead, they were just two guys who would have rather been somewhere else. 

Named

  The next two couldn't be more different except for the fame part.  One was an actor who won an Academy Award.  The other was an actress primarily on TV.  One I met on purpose, and the other was by accident.  Both were very interesting people.

 Jack Palance had written a book of poetry and was at a book signing in Columbia.  He had won an Oscar for "City Slickers" and was the epitome of the tough guy on screen.  Before I meet someone famous, I think of something we have in common.  That way, we have something to talk about.  As I was standing in line to meet Jack, I thought of three things we had in common.  We were both actors.  We both knew Yoko Ono.  And, we had both worked with Burt Lancaster.  When it was my turn to get a book signed, I told him my three things.  I told him that Burt taught me how to dance.  With a wry smile, he said that he didn't know Burt knew how to dance.  I told him that he knew enough to teach me.  We had a big laugh over that.  Jack was a very nice guy in person and nothing like the characters he played on the big screen.

 Julie Newmar was best known for playing Catwoman on the "Batman" TV series.  She was on other TV shows including "The Monkees".  She was living in Ft. Worth the same time I was.  I was with some friends to go to the premiere of the movie "Superman".  We got there kind of late and had to sit down front.  It was a big theater.  As being in some movies, I have a habit to watch the end credits to see if I know anyone on the crews.  When the movie was over, my friends left along with almost everyone else.  I looked over to see a woman toward the front looking at the credits.  We were the only two left in the theater.  I realized she was Julie Newmar.  As we were there, I started to get a bit uncomfortable.  I thought it would be best if I left before her, so I walked out.  My friends were running around outside with their arms stretched out like Superman.  I joined in.  I ran around the corner of the theater, and my fist went smack dab into Julie's chest.  It bounced off.  I was really embarrassed and apologized profusely.  She smiled and told me that it was all right.  She was wearing a peach-colored mini dress that was knitted.  She said she noticed me reading the credits, and I told her why.  She said she did the same thing.  We talked for a couple of minutes, and then I rejoined my friends.  She was nice in a lot of ways.  Outside and inside.  

Namely

 There have been many people I have met over my lifetime.  As you have seen so far, some are pretty well-known.  Politicians, musicians, actors, and more.  There were two that could have not been any different to me.

 One was Hope Olson.  That name might not be familiar to you, but she was the Playboy Playmate of the Month for October 1976.  She was the first model I had met, and yes I had seen her pictures.  I was working at Sanger Harris Department Store in Fort Worth, and she came to do a personal appearance promoting jeans. I was a little nervous meeting her, but she was very nice.  She was signing pictures of herself (just headshots).  I asked her to sign one for me, and she wrote:  "To Walter, Best of things to you always, Lots of love, Hope Olson".  The picture is on my wall in my bedroom along with other autographed pictures of folks I have gotten over the years.  I had a friend in seminary, and I asked if she could sign one to him thanking him for last night as a joke.  She did it.  I don't know if he still has it, but we thought it was funny.  The last I heard, Hope went back to her home in Wisconsin and got her degree in Early Childhood Education.  

 The different one was Halle Berry.  She was playing one of the female leads in "The Program".  I was working on that film as a football fan. She had only been acting in movies for a couple of years and not obtained the fame she would get later.  To watch her act was like watching paint dry.  She really wasn't very good, but neither was this movie.  At the time, she was married to David Justice who played for the Atlanta Braves.  David had flown up to Columbia from Atlanta to spend some time with his wife on the set.  It was during a lunch break that I saw him standing around, and I went up to him to say hello.  We started talking about baseball, when Halle walked up to us.  She yelled at him and asked why was he talking to me?  She then yelled at me for talking to him.  He tried to tell her that we were just talking about baseball, but she then said some choice words to me, which I will not repeat.  Needless to say, she basically told me to go away, and then she told him that he was there to see her and not me.  She was extremely unprofessional.  They divorced a few years later.  I knew who wore the pants in that family.  She later went on to win the Oscar for "Monster's Ball".  She deserved it.  Her acting had gotten better.  But, she was too much of a diva, when I met her.  I hope she has mellowed out.