“Mom…Dad…I want to borrow some money. I need this money to buy a ticket to New York City and money for cab fares.” My mother said, “Where are you going to stay?” I told her that I had a friend named Jeffrey that said I can stay with him at his apartment until I get on my feet.
Jeffrey had dirty blonde hair and wore metal framed glasses. He was there to go to dentistry school. He laughed at everything that I said. He asked if I was coming to New York to be a stand up comic.
So when the plane landed, I took a cab to his place. It was a brick structure that was five stories tall. With my suitcase, and portfolio filled with my artwork, in hand I rang his buzzer. I climbed the stairs. Jeffrey lived on the third floor and he was there to welcome me.
Jeffrey had two other roommates that were bartenders. “Now let me show you where you are going to sleep.” It was a small room with a small couch that converted into a single bed. I got up every morning, got dressed, and hit the streets to find a job.
The most important fashion illustrator in the country was Kenneth Paul Block . I thought to myself that maybe I could be his assistant. When I got to the lobby, they told me that there were no jobs available. I said maybe he would like to take a look at my work. It was a “No.”
Then I headed to Macy’s…Gimbal’s…and Bloomingdale’s. The answer was the same No… no… no… Then it was time to visit advertising agencies. The most famous one was on Madison Avenue. I went to the office and they said, “You will have to wait a while to see the person in charge of illustrations.” I waited two hours…then his secretary said that he had gone to lunch.
I finally found a job! It was sketching speakers at a company called Wharfedale Speakers. They brought out speakers for me to draw. Big ones….small ones… and medium sized ones. Is this what I went to art school for? So I quit.
I felt a little lost. Every other day I would go to a pay phone to call my mom and dad. When they asked how I was doing I would say, “Things are looking up.” It was a lie.
The building I was staying in did not have a washer and dryer. A block away there was a cleaners that did dry cleaning and laundry. It was next to a small theater and Oh Calcutta was playing. Saul from the cleaners gave me a ticket. He said, “You will really love this show. No one has clothes on.” I said, “No thank you.” …..to be continued.
