Part 3
There was only one more spot in the video…..it was my mom. Shirley has danced all of her life. I think she came out of my grandmother’s womb dancing. She danced all over the country.
She was known for an unusual act called the devil and the lady. She put one hand in a paper mache head of a devil. She had the devil’s hand around her waist and they danced together.
One day one of the other dancers got sick and they asked my mother to do the famous fan dancing. My mother was very tiny and she had to dance with four foot fans.
When I called and asked her to be in my video. She said “Honey I get to dance with my baby.” I remember the set being small and we rehearsed the moves for a couple of days .The music was a little jazzy. We were all dressed in pastel jogging attire.
When the video was released it was a massive success. They chose a famous photographer to do the cover of the video and single shots of all of us.
Before I talk about the photographer. I want to talk about his famous father. His name was Harry Langdon. He was a silent movie star. Many compared him to Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. My gosh he was so funny.
His son is Harry Langdon Jr. He took photos of Diana Ross, Cher, Anita Baker, and Halle Berry to name a few. We all went to his studio on Wilshire Blvd and climbed the stairs to the second floor.
I shook his hand and hugged him. He looked at me and stared into my eyes. He was trying to figure out how to photograph me. I am enclosing a picture of my mom and me during that shoot.
He pulled two light boxes to shine on our face to….make us look younger. I looked 20. lol. I am pleased to say that Mr Langdon Jr is 89. I have been photographed by several photographers and I was honored for him to take my photo.
Then we hit the road. We went to eight cities. So many came out to see us all. We danced a little and then sat at long wooden tables so my stars autographed pictures of themselves. There I was sitting next to my mom and when someone came up to her. She would say “Who should I sign this for?”
When we finished our appearance we would go back to the hotel. My mom and I had adjoining rooms. Many times we ordered room service. I would sit across from Shirley and watch her eat. One evening I asked her …”do you want me to cut up your food?” She said “How insulting Dicky.”
….to be continued…
Love,
Dicky
