When I was a kid, every weekend my mother would take Lenny and me to the movies. A few blocks away from my house was Canal Street… filled with department stores and four movie theaters.
Our favorite theater was the Sanger Harris. It was quite ornate. Before going into the theater we made a stop at the snack bar. I got a large popcorn with extra butter…Milk Duds and a Dr Pepper. Did you know that one of Dr Pepper’s ingredients is prune juice?
With our snacks in hand, we would sit in maroon velour seats. Then, the lights went out, and the big curtains opened. I poured the milk duds into the hot popcorn so they would melt.
Shirley loved Bette Davis. She could read the phone book and get an Oscar. lol. Who can forget Bette in All About Eve and Dead Ringer…..
Decades later, when I was making some money, I invested in some real estate. One of the properties was a classic brick building. And guess who lived in the penthouse? Bette Davis!
One day I was driving by the building and the front door of the building opened and Ms Davis came out. She was wearing oversized sunglasses and a knit blazer and skirt smoking a cigarette. I would have run over to say hello…but I chickened out.
Then, there was Lana Turner. My favorite movies of hers were The Postman Always Rings Twice and Imitation of Life. Years later I was walking into a specialty grocery store and Lana Turner was walking out with a small bag of items. She was wearing a lilac silk blouse with black pants and a Gucci belt I have some memory huh?…
“May I carry your groceries out to your car?” She said, ”No thank you. You are a nice gentleman.”
There was something special about Katherine Hepburn. It was how she talked and held her head high. I saw her in a lot of movies but my favorites are African Queen and Guess Who is Coming to Dinner. When I moved to Los Angeles I was at a gas station filling up and…..a car hit me from the back. I got out to see what happened. Ms Hepburn got out of her car and said. “I am sorry. I will pay for the damage to your car.” I told her not to worry about it and drove off.
Back then, I loved horror movies. My favorite actor was Vincent Price. He stared right in the camera and had that deep voice. House on Haunted Hill was my favorite. Then he starred in The Tingler. Years later I was invited to a dinner party and across from me was Vincent Price and his stunning wife. He said to me, “Could you please pass the rolls? and I said, “Yes sir. Right away.”
How many times did you see The Ten Commandments? Charlton Heston was fantastic. I always wanted to know how he parted the Red Sea. During one Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Charton Heston was king of a parade called Endymion . I was on the float behind him. After the parade, all the floats rode into the convention center.
They were serving a dinner on round tables with white tablecloths. I was seated next to Charlton Heston. It was very hot in the center and Charlton was sweating so much. I took my napkin and wiped the sweat on his brow and face.
Who doesn’t love Marilyn Monroe… she was sexy and very innocent looking at the same time. She could do comedy like Some Like It Hot or a serious role like the movie The Misfits. I never got to meet her. But when I hit the road jack, I will be buried in a cemetery….right across from Marilyn Monroe. I guess gentleman do prefer blondes.
Love,
Richard
A big shout-out to Shevonne from TMZ who reads my messages every day. Say hello to Harvey and the staff for me….
