When I was 8 years old, I went and visited the record store three blocks away. They were playing a song and I did not know who was singing. The owner said “That’s Barbra Streisand.” I immediately bought the record and played it every day.
At 15, I visited my aunt and cousins in Bronx, New York. I took a subway to Manhattan. I snuck into the Wintergarden theater to see Funny Girl. I was in heaven. I joined her fan club which was run by her stepsister…we will talk about her later.
When I was a waiter she came in a with the producer of her movie Funny Girl. His name was Ray Stark. I did not wait on them I left through the back door. When I opened Ruffage,my salad bar, Barbra came in with her best friend. Guess what I did? I left through the back door.
I found out her stepsister, Roslyn, who is so beautiful and has beautiful almond-shaped eyes …opened a bakery in Westwood. I went there to meet her, and I asked her to come to the studio and work out…and she did. When she came into work out she brought her mother Diane Kind. I told her mom that I loved her daughters and that they both sang amazing.
I was Jay Leno’s reporter when Barbra played the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas. I also was invited to see Barbra at Madison Square Garden in New York City. I got to meet her manager M.E. I gave him a box and asked him to bring it backstage to her. Do you want to know what was in it? A diamond ring. The next day it was returned to the hotel where I was staying… Over the years Barbra has written me 4 times. I have never opened these notes. I still love her music …her songs bring me much joy. So tell me did you ever go crazy about someone who sings?
Love,
Richard
