I was doing a personal appearance in New Orleans when Anne Rice, the novelist who wrote the books Interview with the Vampire and The Witching Hour, asked me to come over to her house. She lived in a mansion in the Garden District. When I rang the doorbell her housekeeper let me in.
She took me into the living room to wait. The room was filled with Bru French Porcelain dolls. These dolls were created in 1866. To tell you the truth they were a little scary. I felt that they were all looking at me at the same time. I looked over in the dining room and there were skeletons sitting in the chairs. I did not know if they were real. I did not ask.
I waited about 15 minutes and I was escorted upstairs where Ms R was on a treadmill. She asked me if I could help her lose weight. I brought her some of my products and went over them with her. After we finished I went down the stairs and did not look in the living or dining room. I got in my car and went back to my hotel.
I was eating in a restaurant called Ma Maison. It was owned by Patrick Terrail and an up and coming chef named Wolfgang Puck. I was eating a salad with mixed greens, sliced strawberries, and poppyseeds. From my table, I could see the parking area. A white Lincoln Continental convertible pulled in. In the back seat was a man dressed in a blue and white seersucker suit and he had a straw hat on.
He and his two friends sat at a table across from me. It was Orson Wells. He looked over at me and said, “Out of all the people that I could sit near, they had to sit me next to you.” He had quite a bit of weight to lose. You know me if someone doesn’t ask me for help I don’t say a word.
One morning I was walking on Park Ave. There was a lady that was coming my way. She had large sunglasses on and was dressed in black. As she got closer to me my heart skipped a beat. It was former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. In a whisper I said hello and she said hello back. Do you remember how beautifully she dressed? Everyone copied her style.
I was just invited to a luncheon by my friend Terry Moore. She was a childhood actress and was nominated for her performance in Come Back Little Sheba. Her last partner was….Howard Hughes.
At the luncheon I was seated next to Shirley Jones. For years she owned a chocolate store called Edelweiss. I was in the store buying a few pieces of Chocolate for a friend. …..ok for me. lol. In the store there was a lady named Sally Kellerman she was in the movie Mash. The sales lady had a small box in her hand and Ms K was carefully choosing her chocolates. I said to the sales lady I want your biggest box and I told Ms K to pick out all the treats she wanted and it was on me. She said thank you and left the store.
Then at the luncheon I met Tippy Hedron . Do you remember her from the movie The Birds. That was a frightening movie. Years before she invited me to her animal sanctuary. I sat down with her next to a lion. The lion opened his mouth and I put half of my head in it . For some reason I was not panicking. I then pet his face and mane.
You will never guess who called me. Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. They asked me to come to South Carolina. On their property they have a house for physically challenged children.
I flew in and was taken to their hotel. They put me in a room in the top floor. The suite was stunning. When I went to the bathroom and looked at the sink the spout was a gold plated swan head and the faucets were the swan’s wings. When I did the show, there were over one hundred people answering the phones. The contributions were pouring in. I taught the children a class while Tammy and Jim looked on. The next day we had lunch then I got on a plane and came home.
I have a lot of airplane stories. Let me begin with this one.MGM had several planes that were small and elegant. There was a chef on board who would make you anything you wanted to eat. At the back of the plane were two private compartments. They were enclosed in glass and the interior was very comfortable with rosewood paneling…
In walks Julia Roberts and her boyfriend at the time Jason Patric. They were not very happy looking and were seated in the middle of the plane. I walked out and said to Ms R “Come and take this compartment and I will sit in your seats.” And she did. I watched her as she fell asleep.
She is such a famous actress and won an Academy award for her performance in Erin Brockovich. Who could forget her in Steel Magnolias. She is now happily married to a cinematographer named Daniel. She has two precious kids Hazel and Phinnaes. To be continued…
