Damon Charles: Personal Comments and Stories of Actors and Industry People I've Met, Known, and Worked With
People keep telling me I need to write a book on all the people I have worked with in the industry. Sounds nice, but I'm not one for sitting down and writing in any kind of order. I can relate stories, and most people think I do it well. So here goes with my "non-book" story of my wonderful life in the entertainment industry.
These are personal comments, and some stories of people I have met, known, and worked with throughout my career. Some are people you will recognize from being on camera. Some you may not know because they are never seen on camera, as their jobs are behind the camera to make what you see "believable".
Nothing really scandalous will be said. So if that is what you are looking for ... you came to the wrong site. I do have the nickname "Mr. Secrets" in the industry because people know I will never tell the things I've sworn not to, nor say anything to hurt anyone intentionally.
I will say if they were nice or not. And in some cases elaborate in great detail why I am saying what I say.
However you should remember, just because they were nice or nasty to me, doesn't necessarily mean it is their true nature to ALL man and beast. As for the nasty ones, perhaps they just got out of bed wrong ... I'll leave that up to you to decide.
In any case ... I feel lucky to have worked with all of these people at least once in my life. Good or bad.
This is going to take a long time to compile, so keep checking back for updates with names, and additions to stories.
This list is not in any particular order ... it is created just when a name or face pops into my head.
Enjoy ... Damon Charles
It used to be that if you wanted to write me or make comments, you could do it on the IMDb Message Board at the bottom of the Damon Charles webpage. Unfortunately on February 17, 2017, IMDb discontinued this feature on all pages. Sadly, contacting me now is impossible as I am not on Facebook or any other social networks. I here give you full permission to feel free and put a link to this list on YOUR Facebook or other social media pages. Let's make this "List" soar with viewers. I do appreciate all the responses I did get in the past, and more than appreciate all the positive feedback I had been getting for having it up.
Thanks, Damon Charles
These are personal comments, and some stories of people I have met, known, and worked with throughout my career. Some are people you will recognize from being on camera. Some you may not know because they are never seen on camera, as their jobs are behind the camera to make what you see "believable".
Nothing really scandalous will be said. So if that is what you are looking for ... you came to the wrong site. I do have the nickname "Mr. Secrets" in the industry because people know I will never tell the things I've sworn not to, nor say anything to hurt anyone intentionally.
I will say if they were nice or not. And in some cases elaborate in great detail why I am saying what I say.
However you should remember, just because they were nice or nasty to me, doesn't necessarily mean it is their true nature to ALL man and beast. As for the nasty ones, perhaps they just got out of bed wrong ... I'll leave that up to you to decide.
In any case ... I feel lucky to have worked with all of these people at least once in my life. Good or bad.
This is going to take a long time to compile, so keep checking back for updates with names, and additions to stories.
This list is not in any particular order ... it is created just when a name or face pops into my head.
Enjoy ... Damon Charles
It used to be that if you wanted to write me or make comments, you could do it on the IMDb Message Board at the bottom of the Damon Charles webpage. Unfortunately on February 17, 2017, IMDb discontinued this feature on all pages. Sadly, contacting me now is impossible as I am not on Facebook or any other social networks. I here give you full permission to feel free and put a link to this list on YOUR Facebook or other social media pages. Let's make this "List" soar with viewers. I do appreciate all the responses I did get in the past, and more than appreciate all the positive feedback I had been getting for having it up.
Thanks, Damon Charles
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WWII veteran, dance instructor and diversely talented stage & screen actor were all inclusions on the resume of this perpetually busy US actor who didn't get in front of the cameras until around the time of his fortieth birthday. The stockily built Charles Durning was one of Hollywood's most dependable and sought after supporting actors.
Durning was born in Highland Falls, New York, to Louise Marie (Leonard), a laundress, and James Gerald Durning. His father was an Irish immigrant and his mother was of Irish descent. Durning first got his start in guest appearances in early 1960's TV shows. He scored minor roles over the next decade until he really got noticed by film fans as the sneering, corrupt cop "Lt. Snyder" hassling street grifter 'Robert Redford' in the multi award winning mega-hit The Sting (1973). Durning was equally entertaining in the Billy Wilder production of The Front Page (1974), he supported screen tough guy Charles Bronson in the suspenseful western Breakheart Pass (1975) and featured as "Spermwhale Whalen" in the story of unorthodox police behavior in The Choirboys (1977).
The versatile Durning is equally adept at comedic roles and demonstrated his skills as "Doc Hopper" in The Muppet Movie (1979), a feisty football coach in North Dallas Forty (1979), a highly strung police officer berating maverick cop Burt Reynolds in Sharky's Machine (1981), and a light footed, dancing Governor (alongside Burt Reynolds once more) in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982). Durning continued a regular on screen association with Burt Reynolds appearing in several more feature films together and as "Dr. Harlan Elldridge" in the highly popular TV series Evening Shade (1990). On par with his multitude of feature film roles, Durning has always been in high demand on television and has guest starred in Everybody Loves Raymond (1996), Monk (2002) and Rescue Me (2004). Plus, he has appeared in the role of "Santa Claus" in five different television movies.One of the nicest people I have ever known ... both in the entertainment industry and out. Very caring of all he worked with, whether they be people in front of or behind the camera.
He loved singing to me, even while in the makeup chair ... and I loved hearing him. He had a great voice. The joke around the set was, if you could not find Charles on the set, then he had to be in the makeup trailer singing to Damon. And they were usually right. I can think of more than just a few occasions where you would hear someone on the walkie-talkie say, "Where is Charles Durning?" Then a voice would pop in and say, "He's probably singing to Damon again." I can only think of two times that I had to get on my walkie-talkie and say, "Sorry guys, not at this minute."
I might have hurt his feelings once when I said I had wished I had a "grandfather" like him. He never said anything about it or made a face when I said it ... but looking back, I should have said "father". He really wasn't that much older than me.
Truly wish he was still around.
Damon Charles- Producer
- Writer
- Music Department
Merv Griffin was a singer and band leader, movie actor, television personality and media mogul who in his time hosting The Merv Griffin Show (1962) was second in fame and influence as a talk show host only to Johnny Carson. Griffin was best known for creating the two most popular game shows in television syndication history, Wheel of Fortune (1983) and Jeopardy! (1984), which are watched by hundreds of millions of people all over the world. In the business world, he was identified as the visionary chairman of The Griffin Group.
Born in the San Francisco, California suburb of San Mateo, Griffin "came up through the ranks" in the classic sense, entering talent contests, writing songs, singing on local radio station KFRC-San Francisco, and later touring with Freddy Martin Orchestra. He became increasingly popular with nightclub audiences and his fame soared among the general public when he struck gold in 1950 with "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts", which reached the number one spot on the Hit Parade and sold three million copies.
Continuing to record hits, including "Wilhelmina" and "Never Been Kissed", Griffin made a foray into motion pictures after Doris Day saw his nightclub performance and arranged a screen test for him at Warner Bros. Studios. While under contract at Warner Bros., he appeared in a number of hit movies, including So This Is Love (1953) with Kathryn Grayson and The Boy from Oklahoma (1954) with Will Rogers Jr., and Lon Chaney Jr..
Television then discovered him. As a regular performer on The Arthur Murray Party (1950), The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar (1957) and others, he was offered the opportunity to host his own television series, Play Your Hunch (1958). It was during this period that he conceived the idea for what was to become one of the most successful game shows in television history, Jeopardy! (1964). But it was in 1962 that his career took its most dramatic turn. He became a substitute host for Jack Paar on The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar (1957) and scored some of the highest ratings in the show's history. As a result, NBC gave him his own hour-long daytime talk show program, The Merv Griffin Show (1962).
Griffin's name and talk show career will always be seen in the light of that of Johnny Carson, the "King of late night TV", with whom Griffin directly competed on CBS from 1969 to 1972. Griffin's first daytime talk show began on the same day Carson first hosted The Tonight Show (1962). While Carson's style was indebted to his long apprenticeship in Los Angeles in the 1950s, Griffin was based in New York, where he socialized with New York's theater and café crowds. Griffin's approach to television talk was influenced by two New York shows, David Susskind's The David Susskind Show (1958) and Mike Wallace's Probe and Night Beat (1956), and like Susskind and Wallace, he openly embraced controversial subjects. In 1965, Griffin was criticized as a "traitor" when he aired a special from London in which Nobel Prize-winning philosopher Bertrand Russell denounced the Vietnam War.
Despite his success on daytime television, it was late night that was The Holy Grail for talk show hosts. In 1969, CBS hired Griffin to directly compete with Carson in the 11:30 PM to 1:00 AM time slot that had proven a grave yard for other personalities. Not one to shy away from controversy, Griffin began to be harassed by CBS censors who objected to the antiwar statements of his guests and ordered him to feature pro-war guests for balance. "The irony of the situation wasn't wasted on me", Griffin recalls in his autobiography. "In 1965, I'm called a traitor by the press for presenting Bertrand Russell, and, four years later, we are hard-pressed to find anybody to speak in favor of the Vietnam War".
In March 1970, CBS censors pixilated antiwar activist Abbie Hoffman because he was wearing a shirt that resembled an American flag. The resulting blurred image meant that Hoffman's voice emanated from a "jumble of lines". CBS also pressured Griffin into sacking his long-term sidekick Arthur Treacher, who had been his television mentor, because he was too old. The censorship did not boost the ratings for Griffin, who was facing stiff competition from the genial Carson, who himself was criticized during the era for shying away from controversial subjects.
In 1972, a fed-up Griffin negotiated a syndication deal with Metromedia to move his talk show back to the daytime, and in the event he was terminated by CBS. The deal was signed in secret as a penalty clause in his CBS contract gave him $1 million in the event of his being fired. Later that year, CBS terminated Griffin's late-night talk show and Griffin immediately made the transition to Metromedia's syndicated network.
While Griffin may have been a washout in late night television (and he had LOTS of company - EVERYONE who went up against Carson lost the ratings race, and Johnny always came out the victor), Griffin's impact on daytime was immense, specifically through his production of game shows. An avid fan of puzzles since childhood, Griffin first produced a successful game show in 1964, Jeopardy! (1964) for NBC. After 13 seasons as a daytime talk show host, Griffin retired from his talk show in 1986 to devote himself to producing his highly profitable game shows.
Jeopardy! (2002) remains the second highest rated game show in television syndication while Wheel of Fortune (1983) continues to be the longest running game show to hold the number one spot in television syndication history. Other Griffin successes in the game show field included "One in a Million" and Joe Garagiola's Memory Game (1971), both airing on ABC, Let's Play Post Office on NBC, and Reach for the Stars (1967).
In 1986, Griffin sold his production company, Merv Griffin Enterprises, to Coca-Cola's Columbia Pictures Television unit for $250 million as well as a continuing share of the profits of the shows. At that time, the transaction represented the largest acquisition of an entertainment company owned by a single individual. Subsequently, Sony Pictures Entertainment purchased Columbia and he retains the title of executive producer of both "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" (for which he still creates puzzles and questions.) He served as Executive Producer of "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" (2000).
After his retirement from daytime chat, Merv became a real estate baron, acquiring the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, which is now the venue of choice for virtually all of the Tinseltown's most high profile events such as The Golden Globe Awards, The Soap Opera Digest Awards, and The American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Awards. He also owns the Hilton Scottsdale Resort and Villas in Arizona, and St. Clerans Manor, an 18th century estate once owned by director John Huston which is located near Galway, the premier resort destination in Ireland.
In January 1998, Griffin opened The Coconut Club, one of the country's hottest swing/dance clubs, at his Beverly Hilton Hotel. This weekend venue, fashioned after Hollywood's famed Coconut Grove (where Griffin headlined as a boy singer with The Freddy Martin Orchestra) features live Big Bands, Swing Orchestras, and Rock Bands amidst a glamorous nightclub setting.
He was honored with the prestigious 1994 Broadcasting and Cable "Hall of Fame" Award, alongside such figures as Diane Sawyer and Dan Rather. Winner of 15 Emmy Awards, Griffin was presented an Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show Emmy for 1993-1994 as executive producer of Jeopardy! (1984) He had also been the recipient of the coveted Scopus Award from the American Friends of Hebrew University, "The Duke Award" presented by the John Wayne Cancer Institute, and he had been honored by the American Ireland Fund and the SHARE organization. He was Lifetime Honorary Festival Chairman of La Quinta Arts Festival and recently donated his Wickenburg Inn and Dude Ranch to Childhelp USA.
In March 2001, the Gold Label released his new CD, "It's Like a Dream", for which he composed the title song. Among his private passions are his family, son Tony Griffin, daughter-in-law Tricia, and grandchildren Farah and Donovan Mervyn, his long-haired sharpei dog Charlie Chan, his La Quinta ranch near Carmel, where he raises thoroughbred racing horses, and his 135 foot, four-story high ocean going yacht, Griff. Merv Griffin died at age 82 of prostate cancer in Los Angeles, California on August 12, 2007.Merv was definitely one of the richest people I have ever worked with ... and he loved to tell you how rich he was. Not in a bad bragging way, but to show that anyone can become successful, even coming from nowhere special in life.
I only worked with Merv when he was living at his Beverly Hills Hotel. He had other makeup people at his other homes and places he went. No one full time, which he should have had since he did wear makeup whenever he was in public ... which was a lot. One day he told me that he wanted me to become his personal full-time makeup artist, but to do that I MUST get married. At first I thought he was joking, but he said he was serious ... that all the staff people close to him were married. I looked at a few staff people and said, "Merv that guy is gay, that guy is gay, and that guy is gay. And I can't believe you don't realize it, but almost everyone knows you're gay too." He said that people speculated but really did not know, and that is why he surrounded himself with "married" staff and friends. Well I had no intention of ever leaving Andy or getting into a fake marriage just to do his makeup full time, so my work association with Merv ended not too many months after this conversation.
I believe it was the second or possibly third time that I worked with Merv that I finally met his (then) boyfriend. Absolutely beautiful ... and extremely NICE! He and I got along really well right from the beginning. I said that I couldn't believe that Merv hadn't given him his own talk show, since he was so good looking and personable. He just said, "perhaps one day" and blushed at my comment. A few months after my working relationship ended with Merv, I saw a billboard with the grinning face of his boyfriend staring down at me while I was driving on Ventura Blvd. I couldn't believe it ... there he was promoting his new radio show. With such a great looking face, why hide it on radio? But that is why he had his own billboard, to put that face with the voice. It worked, he got a big following. As time went on, he became famous (and extremely rich) in his own right. Sadly like Merv, or because he learned from Merv, he too is tightly in the closet, even though rumors of him being gay are so rampant that he is constantly photographed dating or has publicity rumors of possible engagements.
Merv had more power in Hollywood than most people may realize. He could make or break a person with a simple phone call ... and from what I've heard from others (especially those who tried to "OUT" him) ... he did. You were his friend or you weren't, there was no middle ground with Merv. If you were his friend it meant you did exactly what he wanted from you. I have no idea if Merv really had any true friends or just people (he used) and those who used him to get ahead. Guess it doesn't really matter.
Damon Charles- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Mickey Rooney was born Joe Yule Jr. on September 23, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York. He first took the stage as a toddler in his parents vaudeville act at 17 months old. He made his first film appearance in 1926. The following year, he played the lead character in the first Mickey McGuire short film. It was in this popular film series that he took the stage name Mickey Rooney. Rooney reached new heights in 1937 with A Family Affair, the film that introduced the country to Andy Hardy, the popular all-American teenager. This beloved character appeared in nearly 20 films and helped make Rooney the top star at the box office in 1939, 1940 and 1941. Rooney also proved himself an excellent dramatic actor as a delinquent in Boys Town (1938) starring Spencer Tracy. In 1938, he was awarded a Juvenile Academy Award.
Teaming up with Judy Garland, Rooney also appeared in a string of musicals, including Babes in Arms (1939) the first teenager to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a leading role, Strike Up the Band (1940), Babes on Broadway (1941), and Girl Crazy (1943). He and Garland immediately became best of friends. "We weren't just a team, we were magic," Rooney once said. During that time he also appeared with Elizabeth Taylor in the now classic National Velvet (1944). Rooney joined the service that same year, where he helped to entertain the troops and worked on the American Armed Forces Network. He returned to Hollywood after 21 months in Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (1946), did a remake of a Robert Taylor film, The Crowd Roars (1932) called Killer McCoy (1947) and portrayed composer Lorenz Hart in Words and Music (1948). He also appeared in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard. Rooney played Hepburn's Japanese neighbor, Mr. Yunioshi. A sign of the times, Rooney played the part for comic relief which he later regretted feeling the role was offensive. He once again showed his incredible range in the dramatic role of a boxing trainer with Anthony Quinn and Jackie Gleason in Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962). In the late 1960s and 1970s Rooney showed audiences and critics alike why he was one of Hollywood's most enduring stars. He gave an impressive performance in Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 film The Black Stallion (1979), which brought him an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He also turned to the stage in 1979 in Sugar Babies with Ann Miller, and was nominated for a Tony Award. During that time he also portrayed the Wizard in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with Eartha Kitt at New York's Madison Square Garden, which also had a successful run nationally.
Rooney appeared in four television series': The Mickey Rooney Show (1954) (1954-1955), a comedy sit-com in 1964 with Sammee Tong called Mickey, One of the Boys in 1982 with Dana Carvey and Nathan Lane, and The New Adventures of the Black Stallion (1990) from 1990-1993. In 1981, Rooney won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of a mentally challenged man in Bill (1981). The critical acclaim continued to flow for the veteran performer, with Rooney receiving an honorary Academy Award "in recognition of his 60 years of versatility in a variety of memorable film performances". More recently he has appeared in such films as Night at the Museum (2006) with Ben Stiller and The Muppets (2011) with Amy Adams and Jason Segel.
Rooney's personal life, including his frequent trips to the altar, has proved to be just as epic as his on-screen performances. His first wife was one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, actress Ava Gardner. Mickey permanently separated from his eighth wife Jan in June of 2012. In 2011 Rooney filed elder abuse and fraud charges against stepson Christopher Aber and Aber's wife. At Rooney's request, the Superior Court issued a restraining order against the Aber's demanding they stay 100 yards from Rooney, as well as Mickey's other son Mark Rooney and Mark's wife Charlene. Just prior, Rooney mustered the strength to break his silence and appeared before the Senate in Washington D.C. telling of his own heartbreaking story of abuse in an effort to live a peaceful, full life and help others who may be similarly suffering in silence.
Rooney requested through the Superior Court to permanently reside with his son Mark Rooney, who is a musician and Marks wife Charlene, an artist, in the Hollywood Hills. He legally separated from his eighth wife in June of 2012. Ironically, after eight failed marriages he never looked or felt better and finally found happiness and peace in the single life. Mickey, Mark and Charlene focused on health, happiness and creative endeavors and it showed. Mickey Rooney had once again landed on his feet reminding us that he was a survivor. Rooney died on April 6th 2014. He was taking his afternoon nap and never woke. One week before his death Mark and Charlene surprised him by reunited him with a long lost love, the racetrack. He was ecstatic to be back after decades and ran into his old friends Mel Brooks and Dick Van Patten.So you would think a guy who had been in the entertainment business from the age of a child to an elderly man would be happy and nice. Especially a man who was always famous, worked with some of the biggest names in the business, married some of the most beautiful women in the industry, had money, lost money, had money again, and lost it again would at least be somewhat nice.
Well no. You would be very very wrong.
Before his death, and (surprisingly) even after, you would be very hard pressed to find too many people in the industry that has a kind word to utter about him. Even directors of photography have a term that they use with their crew. When you hear the cameraman say, "Give me a little Mickey Rooney," they are saying, "Give me a little creep."
I was told we would be interviewing him for a documentary on an actress, and everyone was in such a panic. The director came to me and said that she knew I can usually get people to relax and have a good time, so asked that I meet and talk with him before any crew members. I thought, no problem. Oh how wrong I was.
We went to the hotel to film him, and I walked up to greet him (with the crew huddled together far behind me). I introduced myself, and said that I wanted to thank him for doing "Sugar Babies" which to me was one of the best times I've had in a theatre. That is when the vulgarity started.
Mickey: What the f@#k are you talking about?
Me: I took my better half to the show for his birthday and we loved it.
Mickey: You're a G#d d#@n liar. You couldn't have been more than five f#@#@#g years old when we did that d#@n show.
Me: Well thanks for making me feel so young, but no, I did see it. And by the way Mr. Rooney, I'm your makeup artist.
Mickey: I don't wear any f#@#@#g makeup you f#@#@t.
At that point I turned to my poor director and said; "He's all yours." The tears were already flowing down her cheeks.
After his tirades and unending foul cursing to our sound-man who was trying to hide a microphone on him, and the single finger gestures he kept making to the cameraman who was trying to get different focuses on him, our director asked her first question. (Never should have gotten this far.) She asked if a certain (dead) actress was considered funny. He said, "Yes she was funny, but Whoopie Goldberg is really funny," and then proceeded to talk only about her. After about ten minutes of this I looked at the director and she was shaking and tearing. I looked at the cameraman and the soundman and they both knew what I was thinking, and shook their head YES. The cameraman turned off the camera, the sound man unhooked his equipment and I went to Mr. Rooney and told him to "Get the hell out of my chair." (They had used my tall chair because he was so short.) I then let loose with my own brand of admonishment for such behavior. His "people" quickly lead him away much to our relief.
If you think my story about him is something, you should hear all the others that circulate at industry parties.
You can almost assume that anything you read good about him was put out by a paid publicist. Or possibly someone who paid him $500.00 to come to a party. Yes during the last years of his life, he would actually rent himself out to anyone's party for money, food, and drink. Why not? ... No one else wanted him at their parties.
A "Personal Quote" from Mr. Rooney's IMDb page: "I don't get caught between lesbians and gays. If you can't say something nice about someone, just shut your mouth."
Well why didn't you practice what you supposedly preached, you little *Mickey Rooney?!
*see above as to what DP's mean when they say "Mickey Rooney".
Oh, and yes ... Whoopie Goldberg is very funny!
Damon Charles- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Rock Hudson was born Roy Harold Scherer, Jr. in Winnetka, Illinois, to Katherine (Wood), a telephone operator, and Roy Harold Scherer, an auto mechanic. He was of German, Swiss-German, English, and Irish descent. His parents divorced when he was eight years old. He failed to obtain parts in school plays because he couldn't remember lines. After high school he was a postal employee and during WW II served as a Navy airplane mechanic. After the war he was a truck driver. His size and good looks got him into movies. His name was changed to Rock Hudson, his teeth were capped, he took lessons in acting, singing, fencing and riding. One line in his first picture, Fighter Squadron (1948), needed 38 takes. In 1956 he received an Oscar nomination for Giant (1956) and two years later Look magazine named him Star of the Year. He starred in a number of bedroom comedies, many with Doris Day, and had his own popular TV series McMillan & Wife (1971). He had a recurring role in TV's Dynasty (1981) (1984-5). He was the first major public figure to announce he had AIDS, and his worldwide search for a cure drew international attention. After his death his long-time lover Marc Christian successfully sued his estate, again calling attention to the homosexuality Rock had hidden from most throughout his career.I liked him a lot (and he liked me, more than I cared for) ... but he was a very sad man.
His self-loathing about his sexuality was his downfall. He tried to accept it, but never could.
His friends called him "Roy," because that was his birth name and what he preferred. He did not like "Rock Hudson." However he did like the fame and fortune "Rock Hudson" gave him, but not the private part.
In the middle 1970's I begged him to come out of the closet. He told me that if anyone knew or believed Rock Hudson were gay, he would die. When it came out that he was suffering from AIDS, he said, "Now people know Rock Hudson is gay, and now I'm dying."
Not too long before he died, Roy asked me if I'd ever write a book about all the gay actors and actresses I've worked on. I jokingly said, "Maybe some day, but I'll change your names so nobody knows who's who." Roy asked, "What will my name be?" I replied, "I've picked a name no one will ever associate with Rock Hudson (long pause)... Stoney Mississippi." That was the best laugh Roy had in years, and he needed it.
Such a sadness I have in my belief, that hiding his sexuality was the main reason he ended up with AIDS.
I am getting very tired of reading books, watching interviews and commentaries about his "kiss with Linda Evan". No one seems to have the correct information about what he did hoping it would protect her from getting AIDS. Everyone has it wrong with what he gargled with! He did not use mouthwash, he didn't even use multiple mouth washes like I keep reading or hearing about ... he used ONLY Vodka, and gargled every 10 minutes for more than 2 hours before the kiss that rocked the world, and sadly made some people afraid to be with or around Linda Evans after it came out Rock Hudson had died of AIDS. Roy loved her, and did his best to protect her. Please, let's get the facts right.
There will be a lot more added to this person in the future. Keep your eye out for some funny and very sad stories.
Damon Charles- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Shelley Winters was born Shirley Schrift of very humble beginnings on August 18, 1920 (some sources list 1922) in East St. Louis, Illinois. Her mother, Rose Winter, was born in Missouri, to Austrian Jewish parents, and her father, Jonas Schrift, was an Austrian Jewish immigrant. She had one sibling, a sister, Blanche. Her father moved the family to Brooklyn when she was still young so that he, a tailor's cutter, could find steadier work closer to the city's garment industry. An unfailing interest in acting began quite early for Shelley, and she appeared in high school plays. By her mid- to late teens she had already been employed as a Woolworth's store clerk, model, borscht belt vaudevillian and nightclub chorine, all in order to pay for her acting classes. During a nationwide search in 1939 for GWTW's Scarlett O'Hara, Shelley was advised by auditioning director George Cukor to get acting lessons, which she did. Apprenticing in summer stock, she made her Broadway debut in the short-lived comedy "The Night Before Christmas" in 1941 and followed it with the operetta "Rosalinda" (1942) initially billing herself in both shows as Shelley Winter (without the "s").
Within a short time, Shelley pushed ahead for a career out west. Hollywood proved to be a tough road. Toiling in bit roles for years, many of her scenes were excised altogether during her early days. Obscurely used in such movies as What a Woman! (1943), The Racket Man (1944), Cover Girl (1944) and Tonight and Every Night (1945), her breakthrough did not occur until 1947, and it happened on both the stage and big screen. Not only did she win the replacement role of Ado Annie Carnes in "Oklahoma!" on Broadway but, around the same time, scored excellent notices on film as the party girl waitress who ends up a victim of deranged strangler (and Oscar winner) Ronald Colman in the critically-hailed A Double Life (1947) directed by Cukor. From this moment, she achieved a somewhat earthy film stardom, playing second-lead broads who often met untimely ends (as in Cry of the City (1948) and The Great Gatsby (1949)), or tawdry-black-stockinged and feather-boa-adorned leads, as in South Sea Sinner (1950) in which her eclectic co-stars included Macdonald Carey and Liberace!
As a tarnished glamour girl and symbol of working-class vulgarity in Hollywood, Shelley was about to be written off in pictures altogether when one of her finest movie roles arrived on her front porch. Her best hard luck girl storyboard showed up in the form of depressed, frumpy-looking Alice Tripp, a factory girl seduced and abandoned by wanderlust Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun (1951). Favoring gorgeous society girl Elizabeth Taylor who is totally out of his league, Clift is subsequently blackmailed by Winters' pathetic (and now pregnant) character into marrying her. For her desperate efforts, she is purposely drowned by Clift after he tips their canoe. The role, which garnered Shelley her first Oscar nomination, finally plucked her out of the sordid starlet pool she was treading and into the ranks of serious femme star contenders. But not for long.
Winters just couldn't escape the lurid bottle-blonde quality she instilled in her characters. During what should have been her peak time in films were a host of badly-scripted "B" films. The obvious, two-dimensional chorines, barflies, floozies and gold diggers she played in Behave Yourself! (1951), Frenchie (1950), Phone Call from a Stranger (1952), Playgirl (1954), and also Mambo (1954), in which co-starred second husband Vittorio Gassman, pretty much said it all. She grew extremely disenchanted and decided to return to dramatic study. Earning membership into the famed Actors' Studio, she went to Broadway and earned kudos, thereby reestablishing her reputation as a strong actress with the drug-themed play "A Hatful of Rain" (1955). Co-starring in the show was the up-and-coming Anthony Franciosa, who became her third husband in 1957. Her renewed dedication to pursuing quality work was shown by her appearances in a number of heavyweight theater roles including Blanche in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1955). In later years, the Actors' Studio enthusiast became one of its most respected coaches, shaping up a number of today's fine talents with the Strasberg "method" technique.
By the late 1950s, she had started growing in girth and wisely eased into colorful character supports. The switch paid off. After a sterling performance as the ill-fated wife of sadistic killer Robert Mitchum in Charles Laughton's The Night of the Hunter (1955), she scored big in the Oscar department when she won "Best Supporting Actress" for the shrill and hypertensive but doomed Mrs. Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank (1959). From this period sprouted a host of revoltingly bad mamas, blowsy matrons, and trashy madams in such film fare as Lolita (1962), The Chapman Report (1962), The Balcony (1963) Wives and Lovers (1963), and A House Is Not a Home (1964). She topped things off as the abusive prostitute mom in A Patch of Blue (1965) who was not above pimping her own blind daughter (the late Elizabeth Hartman) for household money. The actress managed to place a second Oscar on her mantle for this riveting support work.
With advancing age and increasing size, she found a comfortable niche in the harping Jewish wife/mother category with loud, flashy, unsubtle roles in Enter Laughing (1967), Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976) and, most notably, The Poseidon Adventure (1972). She earned another Oscar nomination for "Poseidon" while portraying her third drowning victim. At around the same time, she scored quite well as the indomitable Marx Brothers' mama in "Minnie's Boys" on Broadway in 1970.
In the 1970s and 1980s, she developed into an oddly-distracted personality on TV, making countless talk show appearances and becoming quite the raconteur and incessant name dropper with her juicy Hollywood behind-the-scenes tales. Candid would be an understatement when she published two scintillating tell-all autobiographies that reached the bestsellers list. "Shelley, Also Known as Shirley" (1981) and "Shelley II: The Middle of My Century" (1989) detailed dalliances with Errol Flynn, Burt Lancaster, Marlon Brando, William Holden, Sean Connery and Clark Gable, to name just a few.
Thrice divorced (her first husband was a WWII captain; her only child, Vittoria, was the daughter of her second husband, Gassman), she remained footloose and fancy free after finally breaking it off with the volatile Franciosa in 1960. Her stormy marriages and notorious affairs, not to mention her ambitious forays into politics and feminist causes, kept her name alive for decades. She worked in films until the beginning of the millennium, her last film being the easily-dismissed Italian feature La bomba (1999). She enjoyed Emmy-winning TV work and had the recurring role of Roseanne Barr's tell-it-like-it-is grandmother on the comedienne's self-named sitcom. Her last years were marred by failing health and, for the most part, she was confined to a wheelchair. Suffering a heart attack in October of 2005, she died in a Beverly Hills nursing home of heart failure on January 14, 2006.
It was reported that only hours earlier on her deathbed she had entered into a "spiritual" union with her longtime companion of 19 years, Gerry McFord; a relationship of which her daughter disapproved. Gregarious, brazen, ambitious and completely unpredictable -- that would be Shelley Winters, the storyteller, whose amazing career lasted over six colorful decades.I met Shelley through another actress in 1983, and her and I hit it off immediately ... probably because we were both close to Rock Hudson at one time or another, and had some great "personal" stories to share, but only between each other. Even though she seemed very open about her life and sexual dalliances in her biographies, there are still some things you don't tell the general public.
We never worked together, nor were we best of friends, but whenever we would run into each other (which seemed often), she would yell out, "You're Damon Charles!," and I'd respond, "Didn't you used to be Shelley Winters?" Of course the people around us thought us to be crazy ... and we were.
One time I was in the cashier's line at Pic 'n Save in Burbank California. There was a short heavier woman with a huge hat covering her face in front of me. All of a sudden I feel someone squeezing my so-called love handles ... I jumped a mile. Shelley whipped off her hat and said, "Gotcha!" That summed up the kind of woman she was: open, brash, funny, lovable, but mostly ... unpredictable.
Damon Charles- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
John Forysthe was born Jacob Lincoln Freund in Penns Grove, New Jersey, the son of Blanche Materson (Blohm) and Samuel Jeremiah Freund, a Wall Street businessman. He chose to pursue acting over the objections of his father. He did some work in radio soaps and on Broadway before signing a movie contract with Warner Bros. His early career was interrupted by World War II. During the war, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps appearing in the Air Corps show "Winged Victory". After the war, he helped found the Actors Studio. He has had the most success on television, with healthy runs on Bachelor Father (1957), Dynasty (1981) and as the unseen voice of Charlie Townsend on Charlie's Angels (1976). John Forsythe died at age 92 of complications from pneumonia on April 1, 2010 in Santa Ynez, California.In my opinion, John Forsythe could never find a "negative" in a person. He seemed to me to be the male version of Little Mary Sunshine. I never once heard him say a disparaging word against anyone ... even though there were times anyone else would have let loose. He always seemed to me to be a true GENTLEMAN.
During one conversation, Rock Hudson's name came up. I asked what he thought about all the controversy over the kiss he and Linda Evans had on Dynasty? He said that he didn't know there was any controversy over it. I said it was because people were scared that Linda Evans may eventually come down with AIDS from the open mouth kiss Rock gave her on an episode. John just laughed and said, "Roy never had AIDS." The director overhearing this conversation popped in and said, "Rock died of AIDS, and he was gay." John said, "No no, those were just vicious rumors. Roy was straight as can be." The director and I just looked at each other. That was the end of that conversation. John truly was the male version of Little Mary Sunshine. A really fine gentleman who found everything wonderful. A wish we all could strive for.
Personal clarification about the kiss: According to Roy (Rock) he stressed so much about the upcoming kiss with Linda that he gargled Vodka every 5 to 10 minutes before the kiss was to happen, hoping to kill every germ in his mouth.
Damon Charles- Actor
- Director
- Writer
With features chiseled in stone, and renowned for playing a long list of historical figures, particularly in Biblical epics, the tall, well-built and ruggedly handsome Charlton Heston was one of Hollywood's top leading men of his prime and remained active in front of movie cameras for over sixty years. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film, The Ten Commandments (1956) , for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He also starred in Touch of Evil (1958) with Orson Welles; Ben-Hur, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor (1959); El Cid (1961); and Planet of the Apes (1968). He also starred in the films The Greatest Show on Earth (1952); Secret of the Incas (1954); The Big Country (1958); and The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965). A supporter of Democratic politicians and civil rights in the 1960s, Heston later became a Republican, founding a conservative political action committee and supporting Ronald Reagan. Heston's most famous role in politics came as the five-term president of the National Rifle Association, from 1998 to 2003.
Heston was born John Charles Carter on October 4, 1923, in No Man's Land, Illinois, to Lila (Charlton) and Russell Whitford Carter, who operated a sawmill. He had English and Scottish ancestry, with recent Canadianforebears.
Heston made his feature film debut as the lead character in a 16mm production of Peer Gynt (1941), based on the Henrik Ibsen play. In 1944, Heston enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces. He served for two years as a radio operator and aerial gunner aboard a B-25 Mitchell stationed in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands with the 77th Bombardment Squadron of the Eleventh Air Force. He reached the rank of Staff Sergeant. Heston married Northwestern University student Lydia Marie Clarke, who was six months his senior. That same year he joined the military.
Heston played 'Marc Antony' in Julius Caesar (1950), and firmly stamped himself as genuine leading man material with his performance as circus manager 'Brad Braden' in the Cecil B. DeMille spectacular The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), also starring James Stewart and Cornel Wilde. The now very popular actor remained perpetually busy during the 1950s, both on TV and on the silver screen with audience pleasing performances in the steamy thriller The Naked Jungle (1954), as a treasure hunter in Secret of the Incas (1954) and another barn storming performance for Cecil B. DeMille as "Moses" in the blockbuster The Ten Commandments (1956).
Heston delivered further dynamic performances in the oily film noir thriller Touch of Evil (1958), and then alongside Gregory Peck in the western The Big Country (1958) before scoring the role for which he is arguably best known, that of the wronged Jewish prince who seeks his freedom and revenge in the William Wyler directed Ben-Hur (1959). This mammoth Biblical epic running in excess of three and a half hours became the standard by which other large scale productions would be judged, and its superb cast also including Stephen Boyd as the villainous "Massala", English actor Jack Hawkins as the Roman officer "Quintus Arrius", and Australian actor Frank Thring as "Pontius Pilate", all contributed wonderful performances. Never one to rest on his laurels, steely Heston remained the preferred choice of directors to lead the cast in major historical productions and during the 1960s he starred as Spanish legend "Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar" in El Cid (1961), as a US soldier battling hostile Chinese boxers during 55 Days at Peking (1963),played the ill-fated "John the Baptist" in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), the masterful painter "Michelangelo" battling Pope Julius II in The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), and an English general in Khartoum (1966). In 1968, Heston filmed the unusual western Will Penny (1967) about an aging and lonely cowboy befriending a lost woman and her son, which Heston has often referred to as his favorite piece of work on screen. Interestingly, Heston was on the verge of acquiring an entirely new league of fans due to his appearance in four very topical science fiction films (all based on popular novels) painting bleak futures for mankind.
In 1968, Heston starred as time-traveling astronaut "George Taylor", in the terrific Planet of the Apes (1968) with its now legendary conclusion as Heston realizes the true horror of his destination. He returned to reprise the role, albeit primarily as a cameo, alongside fellow astronaut James Franciscus in the slightly inferior sequel Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970). Next up, Heston again found himself facing the apocalypse in The Omega Man (1971) as the survivor of a germ plague that has wiped out humanity leaving only bands of psychotic lunatics roaming the cities who seek to kill the uninfected Heston. And fourthly, taking its inspiration from the Harry Harrison novel "Make Room!, Make Room!", Heston starred alongside screen legend Edward G. Robinson and Chuck Connors in Soylent Green (1973). During the remainder of the 1970s, Heston appeared in two very popular "disaster movies" contributing lead roles in the far-fetched Airport 1975 (1974), plus in the star-laden Earthquake (1974), filmed in "Sensoround" (low-bass speakers were installed in selected theaters to simulate the earthquake rumblings on screen to movie audiences). He played an evil Cardinal in the lively The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974), a mythical US naval officer in the recreation of Midway (1976), also filmed in "Sensoround", an LA cop trying to stop a sniper in Two-Minute Warning (1976) and another US naval officer in the submarine thriller Gray Lady Down (1978). Heston appeared in numerous episodes of the high-rating TV series Dynasty (1981) and The Colbys (1985), before moving onto a mixed bag of projects including TV adaptations of Treasure Island (1990) and A Man for All Seasons (1988), hosting two episodes of the comedy show, Saturday Night Live (1975), starring as the "Good Actor" bringing love struck Mike Myers to tears in Wayne's World 2 (1993), and as the eye patch-wearing boss of intelligence agent Arnold Schwarzenegger in True Lies (1994). He also narrated numerous TV specials and lent his vocal talents to the animated movie Hercules (1997), the family comedy Cats & Dogs (2001) and an animated version of Ben Hur (2003). Heston made an uncredited appearance in the inferior remake of Planet of the Apes (2001), and his last film appearance to date was in the Holocaust-themed drama of My Father (2003).
Heston narrated for highly classified military and Department of Energy instructional films, particularly relating to nuclear weapons, and "for six years Heston [held] the nation's highest security clearance" or Q clearance. The Q clearance is similar to a DoD or Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) clearance of Top Secret.
Heston was married to Lydia Marie Clark Heston since March 1944, and they have two children. His highly entertaining autobiography was released in 1995, titled appropriately enough "Into The Arena". Although often criticized for his strong conservative beliefs and involvement with the NRA, Heston was a strong advocate for civil right many years before it became fashionable, and was a recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, plus the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2002, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and did appear in a film or TV production after 2003. He died in April 2008, a memorable figure in the history of US cinema.In 2001 while I was doing the series Intimate Portraits, I was called to go to Charlton Heston's home so that I could make him up for an interview about Shirley Jones. I met the director in his driveway and walked towards the house. As we turned the bend in the driveway, I said, "Oh my God! ... This is exactly the same as my house." I knew the designer and builder had made about 10 of these homes overhanging the hills and canyons of Studio City and Beverly Hills, but didn't realize they were all exactly the same ... except for size.
When we got to the door Mr. Heston greeted us, and I asked if I could use his bathroom. He started to tell me where it was, but I said, "I know exactly where it is." When I came back he looked very puzzled and asked if I had been there before. I told him no, but that I had exactly the same home overhanging the hills of Studio City. My home however was about half the size, same exact layout, just size difference. Of course size means a lot to some men. He had not done anything to the house since it was built in the mid 1960's. The flagstone entry court way with palm tree was still there. The house was painted the same drab green mine was originally. The large stairwell window was still the ugly hammered amber glass. The inside wasn't updated at all ... this is what you would call a real mid-century modern.
While I was making Mr. Heston up, we talked. I asked him things about working with Shirley and he seemed very confused as to which Shirley I was referring to. I kept reminding him it was Shirley Jones. I told the director that he seemed a little confused and she came over and started talking with him. After about a minute or two, we realized his memory was not all there. Later we found out he was in the first stages of Alzheimer's.
When we started filming, the director would ask a question and Mr. Heston was to answer it in a conversational manner. Sadly he didn't have any answers. He couldn't remember Shirley Jones at all. Instead of leaving this giant man of the screen out of the show, it was decided that he would be fed the words to say. And that is what we did ... but it was hard, as he would almost forget what he was told to say just a minute before. It was sad to see Mr. Heston like this, and sadder to know that at times he realized he was no longer what he had been. It showed in his eyes. There was a lost look that had to be hid by subtle camera work. Luckily we had a great cameraman on that shoot.
When we were finished we were all dazed by the experience, but somehow Mr. Heston rallied, and in the end was so gracious to us, saying he really enjoyed the interview and hoped we would all work together again soon.
Sadly Mr. Heston ended up fighting Alzheimer's for seven years, before losing that one last battle.
Damon Charles- Actress
- Director
When, at 50, Mabel Albertson was given the supporting role of Mrs. Carter, young actress Aileen Stanley Jr.'s mother in a Warner Bros. Technicolor musical romance, little did she know that she was starting out a movie and TV career in which she would shine as "the ultimate haughty judgmental (often wealthy) mother-in-law (or mother, or stepmother, or auntie)" in an impressive series of films, TV films or TV series episodes. Mabel Albertson's comic gifts helped her to make these generally obnoxious characters hilarious. She is indeed memorable as Jerry Lewis' mother-in-law in Don't Give Up the Ship (1959), as George Hamilton's mother in All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960) or the domineering mother-in-law of poor Anthony Franciosa in Period of Adjustment (1962). On television, Tom Ewell, Dick Van Dyke and Dick Sargent, among others, were given the same treatment by their screen mother.
Even at 50 years of age, Mabel Albertson was no newcomer to the business. In fact, she had been a successful vaudeville performer in the 1920s, a radio star in the 1930s and a theater actress and director in the 1940s. She had tried her hand in films twice (in 1928 and 1940) but without much success. Ironically, it was the film business that had previously rejected her which would make her unforgettable from the early 1950s to the late 1970s when Alzheimer's Disease put an and end to a long and fruitful career.Dear sweet wonderful Mabel. I absolutely adored this woman, and she me.
How can you not love a woman who so convincingly says, "Frank get me a martini. I feel another sick headache coming on." (On Bewitched, she played Darrin's mom.)
Sadly we never really got to work together for more than one filming day. While on location in Colorado, Mabel had the hardest time saying a very simple line. After a few hours of struggling with it, she finally said to the (frustrated, but caring) director, "I think I am losing my memory and you'll have to get someone else." Mabel was right, her memory was slowly fading, and the Colorado altitude did not help matters.
After I finished the film and got home, I called Mabel to see how she was feeling. She invited me over for tea at her home in Mandeville Canyon. It was just up the street from her ex-daughter-in-law Cloris Leachman's home, where Mabel and I first met. (They still remained close even after the divorce. Cloris loved Mable and Mabel loved Cloris) While having tea, Mabel asked if I wanted to see a photo of Cloris in the Miss America Pageant, and of course I said yes. Mabel left to get the photo and took quite a while. Then she appeared in the doorway (with photos), looked at me, and asked who I was. I reminded her of who I was, when we met first, the film we almost did together, and that the photos she was holding were the ones she wanted to show me. She smiled, walked over, kissed me on my forehead and said, "Damon dear, you have to forgive me, I'm losing my mind." I smiled and kissed her cheek, but I was crying inside. She was so far off from the characters she often portrayed as envious, devious, or especially ... uncaring. She didn't deserve what was happening to her.
We were definitely friends, saw each other periodically, and talked on the phone a lot. Each time though, the memories faded. One late night at about 11:00 PM, I got a call from Mabel. Andy answered the phone and asked if she were OK ... she said yes, but that she needed to talk to me. I got on the phone, and she said she had some exciting news that she just couldn't wait to share with me. She sounded absolutely lucid during the phone call:
Mabel: Damon dear, I've got great news ... I'm moving closer to you.
Me: Well that's wonderful Mabel, where are you moving too?
Mabel: ### Avenue
Me: No Mabel, that is where Andy and I are moving this week.
Mabel: Oh? ... Well I knew one of us was moving there.
It wasn't a sad conversation because I realized, even in her little lost world there was a small place for me. The last time we talked, she told me that Cloris was going to now start taking care of her, and perhaps we should remember each other from the nice visits we had at HER house and all the phone conversations. And I do.
Thanks Cloris for taking care of this fantastic lady.
Damon Charles- Joe Viterelli was born on 10 March 1937 in The Bronx, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Analyze This (1999) and Analyze That (2002). He was married to Catherine Brennan. He died on 28 January 2004 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.I only got to work with Joe on one movie, but one experience working with Joe would make anyone feel like they had known him their entire life. He did however say that if he ever got his film "Sonny Boy" going, he wanted me to be a consultant, and also his makeup person. I read the script one late night on the set. It was a funny story about a Mafia boss's gay son that will have to take over his dad's position, and the problems of being gay created.
Joe was funny. He could drive you crazy with his insecurities (especially how his hair looked) but you still loved the guy.
On the first day of us filming together he asked me to lock the makeup trailer door to keep people out while he showed me some things. He took out what appeared to be a "contact" from one of his eyes ... it was a piece of cloth painted to look like an eye. He made it and painted it! Not a store bought contact. He said the eye was dead and there was no feeling in it, so the cloth did not hurt. He wanted me to know about it in case it started slipping in his eye, as he didn't want to look like "Jack Elam". He also showed me where he hid his heart medication. In case there was a problem, I was to administer it to him (hopefully) without anyone from the production noticing it.
Joe died not long after we did the film together. I got a call from Scott Baio asking me to come to the funeral ... BUT, it was a secret that Joe had died and not to let anyone know about it. Seems that Joe had a Super Bowl commercial that was to air ... and if it was known that he died before that day, they might pull the commercial.
Well the funeral was probably the best and most unusual I have ever attended. It seemed that Joe knew everyone in the world ... people from all walks of life. From the rich and famous, to the unknowns whom he befriended too.
The funeral was at the cemetery in a chapel. The priest was dressed regally and talked solemnly ... very unlike Joe himself. After a short speech, he asked for people to come up and speak about Joe. He then went and sat in what appeared to be a throne next to the pulpit. A twisted crippled man on metal crutches got up and very slowly made his way to the pulpit. I asked Scott who he was, and he said it was Sammy Shore, Pauly's dad. Well this is when the funeral became GREAT! Sammy Shore is a very funny man. He eulogized Joe in such a way that no one could stop laughing. In fact, you laughed so hard you cried. Even the priest seemed to slump in his throne to hide his laughter. Everything he said about Joe was true ... and everything he said ended up funny. This is how funerals should be. Our lives should not be remembered with sadness, but with laughter about all the things that have happened to get us through life.
Joe had friends ... REAL friends. All I can hope is that he knew that.
A couple weeks after the funeral, I heard on the radio that Joe had "just" died. Ah, the Hollywood publicity machine working at its best ... knowing we all kept this great funeral a secret until after Super Bowl Sunday was amazing.
Joe will definitely be missed, not only by his friends, but the fans who loved his wonderful Mafioso characters.
Damon Charles - Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Drago was well known for his villainous parts (leading or supporting), and his rugged yet scary looks and evil smile. He was born William Eugene Burrows in Hugoton, Kansas. He became interested in acting and took his mother's maiden name "Drago" as a stage name. At first he worked as a stuntman in Kansas, then attended the University of Kansas. After graduating he worked as a radio host before joining an acting crew that led him to New York. He began his acting career at the end of 1970s.
After appearing in multiple TV series as a guest actor, he appeared in such low-budget films as: Windwalker (1980), Vamp (1986), Hunter's Blood (1986), Freeway (1988), Dark Before Dawn (1988), Gwang tin lung fo wooi (1989), True Blood (1989), Martial Law II: Undercover (1991), Lady Dragon 2 (1993) and Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow (1993). He also appeared in Walker, Texas Ranger (1993). Other well-known appearances were in: Mad Dog Time (1996), Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004) and The Hills Have Eyes (2006) (the remake), as the leader of mutant nomads. He did an extensive work on TV, most notably on Charmed (1998). He also produced an instructional acting video with his wife, Silvana Gallardo.Scary, Scary, Scary!!!!!!!!!!!! No, not really.
Billy is a very nice guy, who is a much better actor than some people give him credit for.
He IS NOT one of these actors who must stay in character from the time they walk on the set to the time they go home. Some performers are even worse than that, and can't get out of character until they get a new part in another project. (Now that is scary.) But Billy has fun when he works. He knows when to act, and when to be Billy.
When we have had him over for dinner or at parties, many of the guests (at first) are afraid to go up to him, or talk with him. Billy is very approachable and loves "his fans". If you see him on the street ... say a big "Hi Billy". But please don't bother ANY actor who may be eating, or out for a family night.
Sadly, Billy passed away in 2019 at the young age of 73. His friendship and on-screen characterizations will be missed greatly.
Damon Charles- Actress
- Soundtrack
Born in 1911, Jeanette Nolan began her acting career in the Pasadena Community Playhouse. While still a student at Los Angeles City College, she made her radio debut in 1932, aged 20, in "Omar Khayyam", the first transcontinental broadcast from station KHJ. Her film debut was probably also her best part: Lady Macbeth opposite director/actor Orson Welles's Macbeth (1948). Her final film role was as Tom Booker (Robert Redford)'s mother, Ellen Booker, in The Horse Whisperer (1998).
She appeared in more than 300 television shows, including episode roles in Perry Mason (1957), I Spy (1965), MacGyver (1985), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), and as a regular on The Richard Boone Show (1963) and The Virginian (1962). She received four Emmy nominations.
Nolan died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, in 1998, aged 86, following a stroke.Oh what a lovely lady! Of course you cannot mention Jeanette without mentioning her equally lovely husband John McIntire. They were Hollywood's King & Queen of Great Married Couples!
The first time Jeanette and I worked together was when I was very very young. I thought her amazingly spry for an "old" person. We went snowmobiling one day. She driving ... me holding on to her waist from behind for dear life, as we went flying up and over hill after hill. Now that I look back, I realize she was younger than I am now when we did that. I can almost understand why on a few occasions some young whippersnapper calls me "Pops". I may understand it, but don't like it. However, in my defense of thinking, Jeanette was older than her actual years ... she tried to keep up that appearance all the time. On screen, radio, and stage, she always played people much older than she really was. That and her great talent is why she worked so much, and for so many years.
Jeanette was a wealth of information with stories of Hollywood, old and new. The famous and infamous people she and John knew throughout their lives would blow anyone's mind. Yet they were the most down to earth couple in Hollywood I have ever met.
They always wanted me to come and stay a summer with them at their cabin in Montana. It had no running water, electricity, or ... FLUSHING toilet. It was because of the latter that I never went for a stay. I know, my loss. They loved it in Montana because it was the cabin that John built himself. Of course when it got cold, they weren't stupid ... they came back to their sunny home in Southern California.
There were times when we didn't see or talk for a while ... but as soon as we were together again, we seemed to carry on our conversation with where we had left off before. I was giving my mom and dad a personal tour of Warner Brothers one day and while on the back lot, we hear a woman yelling, "Damon, Damon." I turn and see Jeanette running toward me and she jumps into my arms hugging and kissing me. I introduced her to my parents (who were fans). We talked for a little longer, then she had to get back to her production. My mom asked why Jeanette was so excited to see me since it sounded like we just talked recently. I told her it had been almost four years since last we saw each other. I have no illusions of grandeur. I'm sure Jeanette did this with everyone .... well, maybe just a little bit more with me. Yeah, that's it.
A Grand Lady!
Damon Charles- Actor
- Soundtrack
John McIntire possessed the requisite grit, craggy features and crusty, steely-eyed countenance to make for one of television and film's most durable supporting players in western settings and film noir. Born in Spokane, Washington in 1907 and the son of a lawyer, he grew up in Montana where he learned to raise and ride broncos on the family homestead. After two years at USC, he spent some time out at sea before turning his attentions to entertainment and the stage. As a radio announcer, he gained quite a following announcing on the "March of Time" broadcasts.
In the late 1940s, John migrated west and found a niche for himself in rugged oaters and crimers. Normally the politicians, ranchers and lawmen he portrayed could be counted on for their integrity, maturity and worldly wise, no-nonsense approach to life such as in Black Bart (1948), Down to the Sea in Ships (1949), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), Scene of the Crime (1949) Ambush (1950) Saddle Tramp (1950) and The World in His Arms (1952). However, director Anthony Mann tapped his versatility and gave him a few shadier, more interesting villains to play in two of his top-notch western films: Winchester '73 (1950) and The Far Country (1954) and a kindhearted role in The Tin Star (1957). Television helped John gain an even stronger foothold in late 1950s Hollywood. Although his character departed the first season of the Naked City (1958) program, he became a familiar face in two other classic western series. He won the role of Christopher Hale in 1961 after Wagon Train (1957) series' star Ward Bond died, and then succeeded the late Charles Bickford in The Virginian (1962) in 1967 playing Bickford's brother, Clay Grainger, for three years.
John's deep, dusty, resonant voice was utilized often for narratives and documentaries. In the ensuing years, he and his longtime wife, actress Jeanette Nolan, became the Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee of the sagebrush set, appearing together as the quintessential frontier couple for decades and decades. They were married for 56 years until John's death of emphysema in 1991. They both outlived their son, Tim McIntire, a strapping, imposing actor himself, who died in 1986 of heart problems.Told you that you couldn't mention Jeanette without mentioning John too.
When I first met Jeanette I had no idea she was married to John. One night when she and I were out to dinner after production, we started talking about 1960's TV shows that I liked to watch. One show in particular was my favorite (for a while) ... Wagon Train. I told her that I really like Ward Bond as the wagon master because he was always so caring towards the people in the group. Then I said I stopped watching it after Ward died and they replaced him with that damn John McIntire. He was so mean and nasty to everyone. Jeanette just smiled. A week went by and she said that her husband was coming up at the end of the week and wanted to take me out to dinner ... that he had heard a lot about me, and thought we'd have a fun time. The week went by, production was done for the day, and I was in my hotel room. A knock at the door, I run to open it ... and there stands 6' John McIntire with the biggest grin on his face. I start to fall backwards from embarrassment and he grabs me in a bear hug, lifts my (almost) 6'3" frame off the ground and starts bouncing me up and down saying, "So you think I'm a son-of-a-bitch do you? Well I'm gonna show you how wrong you are!" He then planted a big kiss on my right cheek and started laughing so hard.
I have to tell you, that dinner with Jeanette and John (and John's hidden flask) was and is one of the highlights of my working in the entertainment business.
I was working with Jeanette a week before John died, and I talked to him on the phone. He reminded me of the night we first met, and said the reason he grabbed me so hard was because it looked like I was going to faint. Who knows, I might have.
They were such fun.
Damon Charles- Make-Up Department
- Actor
- Producer
Damon grew up in a suburb of San Diego, California, a small community known as Lomita Village. From ages of 5 and 10, he put on plays in his backyard and garage ... writing, directing, building sets, doing makeup, and acting. By the time he was 11 and continuing until a year before he finished high school, he was very active in school plays and community theater including The Old Globe Theater and Starlight Opera.
At the start of 12th grade, Damon's parents threw him out of the house for being gay. Because of this, he had to secretly live alone in a canyon cave behind his high school so that he could finish his last year. Damon graduated but did not attend the ceremony. He instead watched it from the top of a hill. Damon, even though still a minor, then left San Diego to find his future. He headed to Big Bear, a small mountain community, where he stayed for 6 months working various jobs and meeting people who helped him understand and accept himself. His friends in Big Bear, old and young, told him to either move to New York and get in with the "theater" crowd or go to San Francisco and share his artistic flair with the hippie movement. With winter already started, New York did not seem like the right choice, so off to San Francisco it was.
Upon arrival in San Francisco, Damon felt like a little kid in a candy store ... Artistic freedom pretty much everywhere, people helping people do what made them happy, acceptance for being who and what you were, and encouragement for what you wanted to do. It was in San Francisco that Damon became a street artist, blending his artistic ability and makeup techniques he had learned in theater classes, and started body painting naked guys and girls. He made money from the tourists on Powell Street and the police never bothered him as long as he painted the "private" parts while draped under a towel so the audience could not see "that part" until painted. One eventful day, near the end of the "hippie movement", a well-known makeup artist suggested Damon move to Los Angeles, apprentice with him, and then hopefully become a makeup artist too. Within a year, Los Angeles was Damon's new home.
Intensive makeup training began and Damon learned willingly. When he started working professionally, he was one of the youngest makeup artists in the business (most makeup artists then were age 30 or older). Because of his youth, talent, outgoing personality, or perhaps a combination of them all, Damon found himself requested as a personal makeup artist for some of the top actors of the 1970's. The majority of those performers however happened to be gay. Damon could keep the secrets that were meant to be kept. He even worked under a variety of names to protect and hide the fact that he was probably the only artist at the time making up the majority of closeted performers.
In the early 1980's, requests came in from Ned Tanen, the then president of Paramount Studios, as well as other studio executives and industry professionals, for Damon to open a makeup training school teaching updated techniques that were so desperately needed in the industry. With more coaxing and financial backing from these sources, Damon opened The Institute of Studio Makeup, Ltd. in 1984 with a 10 year plan of accepting no more than 48 students per year and graduating no more than 480 students by the end of that period. The backers figured that this was the number of people and time needed to replenish the dwindling stock of qualified makeup artists in the industry.
With The Institute's 10 year plan to end approaching, Damon and his spouse Andrew Levinson decided in 1992 to branch out and create their own line of skin and hair care products. The result was an infomercial called The Damon Charles Total Rehydration System. It was the first all gel skin and hair care system, and was sold exclusively on television. With the success of the infomercial, Damon in 1996 reentered the industry doing makeup and was financially able to pick and choose only the projects he felt viable, and only worked with people who enjoyed the business as much as he.
Damon continues to teach privately and still works on film and television, and continues working as a ghost makeup artist, personal makeup artist, and key makeup artist.
Damon married his life partner of 37 years, producer Andrew Levinson, on June 20, 2008 when the California Supreme Court made same sex marriage legal. July 24, 2021 marked Andrew and Damon's 50th year together.I'm on this site because I am lucky enough to share a fantastic life with the next person down on this list. Without him, I have no idea where I'd be in this world ... but wherever that might have been, I wouldn't be happy.
At this writing it is 2014, and we have been together for 43 years. Legally married for 6.
Thanks for everything Andy.
Damon Charles- Producer
- Actor
- Composer
Originally in the music industry, Andrew branched out into producing and financing personal endeavors of his spouse, makeup artist Damon Charles. In the early 1980s, Andrew along with other Hollywood insiders helped finance Damon to open a makeup training school teaching updated techniques that were so desperately needed in the entertainment industry; The Institute of Studio Makeup, Ltd.
In 1994 when Damon decided to create his own line of skin and hair care products, The Damon Charles Total Rehydration System, that sold exclusively on television during the early 1990s, Andrew was there for financial backing and production support.
Andrew married his life partner of 37 years, makeup artist/producer Damon Charles on June 20, 2008 when the California Supreme Court made same sex marriage legal. July 24, 2021 marked Andrew and Damon's 50th year together.Andy is my "better half", just as Andy calls me his better half. Once Andy used that phrase while talking about me to an 18 year old actor (who will remain nameless). This young man truly thought that statement meant that Andy and I were twin brothers. It wasn't until another actor in the makeup trailer whispered to him what it really meant. We think hearing the real meaning made him blush ... however he being red-headed and freckled it was hard to tell. Nothing wrong with being young and naive. Actually it was kind of cute.
Andy doesn't spend too much time around sets, but when he does, he is a great observer and helps me remember, facts, dates, and stories.
Everyone I've worked with in the industry knows Andy and I are a couple and have always treated us as such.
Andy is everything to me.
Damon Charles- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Rudy Vallee started his career as a saxophone player and singer and later became a bandleader. In the 1920s and early '30s he had a hit radio program, The Fleishmann's Yeast Hour (although his explosive, ego-driven personality made his cast and crew hate him). In the early 1930s he was ranked with the likes of Bing Crosby and the tragic Russ Columbo in the Hit Parade. A huge hit on radio in 1933 with his program, initially known as 'The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour,' Vallee was considered a slavedriver by his staff. He was known to instigate fist fights with virtually anyone who got on his nerves. During his show's run he slugged photographers, threw sheet music at pianists' heads, and socked hecklers in their noses. While audiences loved him, most of his staff hated him. As a very popular star in nightclubs, on records, and in movies, he helped other singers, such as Alice Faye--who was his band singer for a while--and Frances Langford to start their careers. In his early movies he often played the romantic lead, but later he switched to stuffy and comic parts. He also appeared on Broadway. The mid-'60s Broadway hit "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" was filmed in 1967 with him in his original Broadway role.I never worked with Mr. Vallee, but spent over 4 hours with him at his house on a chance meeting.
I was getting gas at a station on Cahuenga Boulevard West when I looked at the man pumping gas into his car next to me. I noticed it was Rudy Vallee. I smiled and said hello, and that I had been a fan of his since I was a kid. He came over and introduced himself to me. I told him I still had multiple 78 RPM records of his, and that as a kid I tried to imitate him when singing ... although my attempts failed miserably. He laughed and then said, "Would you like to come to my house for dinner?" I jokingly said, "Sure, when?" He said, "Right now, just follow me home." This was before cell phones so I ran over to the phone booth and called Andy to tell him I'd be home late because I was having dinner with Rudy Vallee.
I followed Mr. Vallee up to his home off of Mulholland Drive and was introduced to his wife Eleanor. He took me down to his "music room" and gave me a stack of mimeographed sheets of papers on reviews of his performances, articles written about him, and copies of fan letters, and said they were for me to keep. He then said he was going to get our dinner and bring it down so that I could eat and listen to some of his old and NEW recordings. While he was getting the dinner, I browsed through the large amount of paperwork and noticed that all of the stories and fan letters were based on his "sexual prowess", proclaiming him to actually cause females to have orgasms while watching and listening to him perform live. Multiple "reviewers?" called him, "The Man With A Cock In His Voice!" Needless to say, when he returned with the food, my mind was pondering whether he had all his faculties or not. First by inviting a total stranger to his house, and second, for giving me such paperwork. He seemed friendly enough, and I knew I wasn't some weirdo that could have easily hurt him and his wife. I asked if he had ever brought a stranger home before, and he said, "No, but I seemed genuinely happy to meet him, so thought it a nice gesture". I told him it was, but in the future he really should be more careful.
We talked while we ate, and he told me that he hated Tiny Tim for imitating his style, that he was just a big freak with a ukulele. He also started ranting on about disliking Bing Crosby ... but I never really got a straight answer as to why.
After we were done eating, he put on some music. A couple old songs, then some new songs sang in his unique manner that he hoped to have put out to the general public in the near future. Sadly not too many young people, nor even those middle age would know who Rudy Vallee is or was, so getting his new music published was going to be a long haul if anything. He truly believed he was still as famous as ever and people would be scrambling to purchase his new recordings. We visited for a few hours and I really enjoyed meeting him and spending time with the "man" and not the "image". It was late, and I needed to go, but could tell he really enjoyed the company, and of course being recognized and admired for his work. I thanked him for his time and generosity in sharing some of his life with me. At that point he actually seemed somewhat humbled.
As I was leaving (with my load of papers) he handed me a postcard of Eleanor and him holding his autobiographical book. On it was his phone number and address. He said that I should come by again and he would have "his boy" take me (I believe he said under his tennis court, but not sure) to look through his trunks of memorabilia.
I never did call or go back. I wanted to remember the Rudy Vallee I loved to hear sing when I was a kid. I did worry that someday he could be seriously hurt if he brought strangers home. Hopefully Eleanor put a stop to that ... as when he introduced me to her, I could tell she wasn't happy he brought someone home, and that is probably why we ate downstairs.
After Mr. Vallee died, I read that two guys bought all his memorabilia and they were shocked by some of the writings he had about himself, but they said they were going to put it all out in a book. Guess by today’s standards, it just wasn't juicy enough to ever find a publisher.
No matter what, Rudy Vallee is and was the best J.B. Biggley EVER ... in any production of How To Succeed In Business.
Definitely a one of a kind person who deserves to be remembered for his innovative talent and persona.
Damon Charles .- Producer
- Director
- Actor
Zalman King was born on 23 May 1942 in Trenton, New Jersey, USA. He was a producer and director, known for 9½ Weeks (1986), Galaxy of Terror (1981) and In God's Hands (1998). He was married to Patricia Louisianna Knop. He died on 3 February 2012 in Santa Monica, California, USA.1996 was my first contact with Zalman King, and it came in the form of a strange phone call:
Zalman: This is Zalman King. Is this Damon Charles?
Me: Yes, how can I help you?
Zalman: I'm doing some video productions based on my TV series The Red Shoe Diaries. I am looking for a discrete gay or gay friendly makeup artist/hairstylist to be the department head. I was given your name by some close acquaintances who said you could handle anything. Can you come in tomorrow to interview?
Me: No problem ... what's the address, time.. etc. etc. etc.
Well I arrived at his warehouse stages and production office in Canoga Park twenty minutes before my interview, and was met by a very nice young assistant of his. He said that Zalman was not busy, so I could actually have an earlier appointment. But then in a flustered voice he said, "From what we have heard about you, you'd probably be the best for these productions, but now seeing you, I don't think you'll be hired." I just looked at him in shock. He took me into the office and Zalman was looking at a script. He glanced up at me for no more than a second or two, then back down at his script. That was the last time I saw Zalman King's eyes! We talked for about five minutes (all the while his eyes on the script), and what we said was pretty much nothing. In the end, Zalman said, "Thanks for coming in, but eeeerrrrr, I think, eeerrrr, we will be looking for aaaahhh someone with aaaahhh a *Younger Point Of View."
*Translation: A person in their middle 40's was too old for his personal preference.
Flash Forward one year.
It is now 1997 and I am doing makeup and hair for a series called Intimate Portraits. We are doing a show on Jacquline Bisset, and I am to makeup Zalman King for his interview. I walked into the same production facility I had been at the year before, set up my makeup table, chair, and supplies and waited for Zalman to come in. He walked over to me and said that he really did not wear makeup. I said, "With a nose like that, you better ... or no one will EVER see the rest of your face." (Seriously, what did I have to lose.) He looked shocked that anyone would talk to him like that, but then sheepishly sat down in my chair. I proceeded to do his makeup and hair, and when I was done I handed him a mirror to have a closer look. He stared at himself for at least a minute, then grabbed my arm and said, "You are REALLY GOOD, you should come work for me." I smiled and said, "Thanks, you don't remember me, but let me tell you a story .................." When I was done relating the experience of the year before, he did his interview, and then literally ran out of the production facility without saying goodbye to anyone ... or even having his makeup removed ... by little OLD me.
Damon Charles- Actress
- Additional Crew
Carol Ann Susi (February 2, 1952 - November 11, 2014) was an American actress best known for her portrayal of the voice of recurring unseen character Mrs. Wolowitz on the television series The Big Bang Theory (2007). Susi was born in Brooklyn and was of Italian descent. She studied acting at HB Studio in New York City before moving to Los Angeles in the 1970s. Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974) was her first screen appearance. Susi also had extensive experience in live theater and voiced a character on the video game installment of CSI: NY (2008). On November 11, 2014, she died of cancer, aged 62.Sadly this is being written the day after her untimely passing.
Carol had a funny, genuinely nice personality that lit up any room she was in. In the makeup trailer, she kept us in stitches. She was easy to work with and didn't care what you did with her makeup or hair to create a character, except she had to use ONLY her lipstick (which was one shade of red). The blue hue in the red made her teeth look whiter than what they were. On the set she was professional, but you still couldn't help but laugh at almost anything she said. That voice was real, and it exploded out of this very energetic little lady ... an odd, but saleable combination. She was meant to be a character actress ... nothing else, and she enjoyed it.
She definitely made her lasting mark for the history of film and television, and will never be forgotten. She'll be missed by all who were fortunate enough to have worked with her, and of course her friends and family.
Damon Charles- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Ed Begley Jr. was born on 16 September 1949 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for A Mighty Wind (2003), Pineapple Express (2008) and Whatever Works (2009). He has been married to Rachelle Carson-Begley since 23 August 2000. They have one child. He was previously married to Ingrid Taylor.A man of true conviction. You may or may not agree with the politics or lifestyle Ed represents, but you have to admire a person who actually lives the life he projects and espouses. Unlike so many who say one thing and then do otherwise.
The first time I did Ed's makeup, I noticed how dry his lips were and suggested he put a little mayonnaise on them just before going to bed at night. The humectants in the mayonnaise would draw moisture from the air and soften the skin on his lips. He said he couldn't use mayonnaise. I asked if he had an allergy, and he said no, but that he was a vegan. I admit, I was totally unaware that vegans will not even put any animal products (eggs) ON their skin.
Ed's house has no artificial wood. His clothes have no leather or any animal by-products. And he uses no chemicals other than natural ones. He walks or rides his bike all around Studio City, and when he has to go further he drives his electric cars. He composts almost everything so that (by his own words) his weekly trash could literally fit into a glove-box of a car. He truly lives the life he purports to be living. Compared to most people in the industry (and out), Ed lives a very humble life. He has a lot of friends, and knows just about everyone ... probably because he does not push his lifestyle on others, nor does he try to convert you. He once told me that few people could afford to live the way he does. It costs more to have less ... so he would never judge anyone by the way they live. He's lucky enough to be able to afford what he does.
The only fault I have with Ed, is that because he knows so very many people, he has gotten into a bad habit of referring to any person he is talking with as "buddy", as opposed to using their name. I guess it's not the worst name someone could be called.
Unfortunately, Ed's lips were still dry the last time I did his makeup, because there truly is no natural humectant that will work safely or effectively on lips.
Damon Charles- Actress
- Soundtrack
Rosemary Shirley DeCamp was the quintessential small-town American mother, a calming and steadying presence in scores of films in the 1940s and 1950s. She came to Hollywood after a successful career on the stage and in radio, making her film debut in 1941. Though she worked for many studios, she was most closely associated with Warner Bros., for whom she made many pictures, often playing a young mother or the friend or sister of the heroine. Her best-known role was probably as the mother of George M. Cohan (played by James Cagney) in the classic Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). She also did a lot of work on television; she was a regular on The Bob Cummings Show (1961) and played Marlo Thomas's mother on That Girl (1966).When I was a young kid I just loved watching anything that had Rosemary DeCamp in it, especially The Bob Cummings Show. It was when she was doing that show, that I wrote her a "fan letter". I had never written a fan letter to anyone, but there was something about her that just wanted me to write and say ... "I wish you were my aunt" ... or something in that line. She seemed so much like family.
Well my fan letter was never answered and the years went by.
When I got into the entertainment business, Rosemary was pretty much only doing television, and I was mainly doing films, so our lives never crossed paths .... until one day I got a call asking if I would be interested in working on a small film with a semi-retired (very hard of hearing) actress by the name of Rosemary DeCamp. Wow! Out of nowhere came the opportunity to meet the woman I so loved as a kid. I didn't ask what the film was, how much money it paid, where it was being shot ... I just blurted out, "Yes, when?"
When Rosemary and I met, it was amazing how fast we "clicked". Probably because I talked loud and she could hear me. (Andy is very hard of hearing, so I am used to talking loud and clear.) She clung onto me when we walked anywhere as she was a little shaky. She told me all about her family life as I would do her makeup or when we ate together. She was exactly what I thought she was as a kid ... a very warm and caring individual you just wanted to have as a family member or good friend.
One day I said that I had written her a fan letter as a kid. She looked surprised, and asked if I got a response? I said no. She said she tried to respond to all fan letters herself, and that she kept all that she had gotten throughout the years. She asked when I sent it, and that she would look through her old files. I thought she was just being nice, and forgot all about it ... UNTIL ... our last day of filming. Just after I finished doing her makeup for the last time, she kissed me and handed me a little letter ... it was the one I wrote so many years ago. She apologized for not answering it, but said it was more meaningful for her to have it now that we had met, and became friends. She also said that something was in the mail for me.
A few days after we finished the film, I received a "fan letter" from Rosemary to me. It was so thoughtful and beautifully written. One of my entertainment mementos that will forever be cherished.
Rosemary retired completely a few years later, but we remained "Xmas Card" friends until her death. Something we had in common, was that both of us had always hand-made personalized Xmas cards ... never store bought.
Xmas 2000 was the last Xmas Card I received from Rosemary. I miss them.
Damon Charles- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Larry Harmon was born on 2 January 1925 in Toledo, Ohio, USA. He was a producer and actor, known for Bozo: The World's Most Famous Clown (1958), The All New Adventures of Laurel & Hardy in 'for Love or Mummy' (1999) and Commander Comet (1953). He was married to Susan Harmon. He died on 3 July 2008 in Los Angeles, California, USA.AKA: BOZO, The World's Most Famous Clown
My former friend and neighbor John Leverence who was Vice-President of The Television Academy and Awards Director of The Emmys asked if I would like to be host to two of my childhood television idols, Maila "Vampira" Nurmi and Larry "Bozo" Harmon, at the 1996 Local Emmy Awards Show in Los Angeles. The awards show was honoring TV stars from the past. I jumped at it.
The awards were being held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and I was to meet each person as they arrived, ready them for their appearance on the show, then watch out for them all night. The first to arrive in his shiny white Rolls Royce was Larry Harmon (Bozo) and his lovely wife Susan. As soon as I introduced myself, Larry instantly changed his personality to the very gregarious BOZO The Clown ... including the BOZO laugh. I thought this was pretty "cool".
However as we walked through the crowds of people he seemed quiet and reserved ... UNTIL ... I would introduce him to another celebrity. Then BOZO appeared again ... or at least the personality of BOZO. The first time it happened it was fine, but as the night progressed it got a little bit weirder each time. Two personalities trapped in one body, with BOZO trying to escape (actually EXPLODE OUT) with the meeting of every new person. It was all harmless, and if I didn't see the changes so quickly and effortlessly at least 100 times in one night, I still would have thought it "cool".
When we were by ourselves (in our *group of 7) his wife did most of the talking between them, and Larry seemed distant and quiet, unless he was talking about how rich he was. He was rich because he bought the rights to BOZO (he did not create the character as he originally had said), and that he "franchised out" all the BOZO the Clowns throughout the world. He got paid for each and every person that got to be Bozo. He also said he owned all the rights to the Laurel & Hardy franchise. He said he never had a manager or an agent, so all money went to him directly. I'm sure a lot of performers would like that idea.
At the after-party when anyone (except Larry) wanted a drink from the open bar, they went up and got it themselves. But when Larry wanted one, he'd send me to get it. The first time was fine, but after that I realized he didn't want to leave a tip for the bartender. Even when we were leaving, and his Rolls Royce was brought out to him, he refused to tip the guy who brought it. Even people in Honda cars were tipping at least $5.00 ... so I gave the tip after Larry drove off. The guy said thanks and, "Who the hell was that a--hole?" I said, "Bozo." And he said, "Oh, that clown!"
Larry was a great clown, a man who knew how to make money and make people happy ... at least on TV and film ... but he was also probably one of the cheapest, stingiest people I have ever met. Guess that was why he was so rich.
*Our group of 7 consisted of myself and Andy, Larry and Susan, Maila "Vampira" Nurmi, her niece and her niece's date.
Damon Charles- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
The original glamour ghoul herself, "Vampira", of late night 1950s television, was actually born Maila Syrjäniemi (later changed to the easier surname Nurmi) on December 11, 1922 in Gloucester, Massachusetts (not Finland as she often claimed). Her uncle was the multiple Olympic medal runner Paavo Nurmi.
It was director Howard Hawks, of all people, who discovered Maila while she was performing in Mike Todd's Grand Guignol midnight show "Spook Scandals". Hawks escorted the lovely blonde beauty to Hollywood with the hopes of grooming her into the next Lauren Bacall. Cast in the film version of the Russian novel "Dreadful Hollow", the project was put on hold so many times that Maila walked out of her contract in frustration. She became a cheesecake model and an Earl Carroll dancer for several years in his revues, sharing a chorus line at one time with future burlesque stripper Lili St. Cyr.
Married at the time to child actor-turned-screenwriter Dean Riesner, she came up with the idea of "Vampira" at a masquerade contest where she based her costume on Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons. Heavily painted up with long fingernails, a mane of raven-colored hair, and slim-waisted black attire, the Morticia gimmick won the best costume award that night... and more. She caught the attention of local television and was placed under contract to Channel 7 in Hollywood to see if she could encourage late night viewers to stay up and watch its regular programming of cheapjack horror schlock. The macabre madam was a genuine hit (for one season, at least, in 1954-55), adding a sexy nuance and silly double entendres to her campy horror set.
She earned an Emmy Award nomination in 1954 for "Most Outstanding Female Personality". Fan clubs sprouted up all over the world. She appeared in "Life", "TV Guide" and "Newsweek" magazine articles, and could be seen around and about town and in Las Vegas judging contests and making variety special appearances. Songs were written about the "Queen of Horror". She even appeared with arms outstretched and ghoulishly attired in the worst cinematic failure of all time, Edward D. Wood Jr.'s Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), as Bela Lugosi's zombie-like mate, for which she is infamously associated. Lugosi actually was a huge fan of hers and had always wanted to work with her. Wood shot some footage of her years later as a tribute to Lugosi (he died in 1956 during filming) and added it before the film's release.
By the late 1950s, Maila's extended "15 minutes" of fame was over. With her career at stake (pun intended), she stretched things out with haphazard appearances in abysmal movies [The Beat Generation (1959); Sex Kittens Go to College (1960)] before closing the lid permanently on "Vampira". In later years, Maila divorced her writer/husband and became passionately involved in animal protection rights. A painter on the sly, she created some "Vampira" portraits that became a collector's item. Living very modestly in Southern California, she appeared in a small gag cameo in the film I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998). Malia Nurmi died at age 85 of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2008.AKA: Maila Nurmi
As I said above ... my former friend and neighbor, John Leverence who was Vice-President of The Television Academy and Awards Director of The Emmys, asked if I would like to be host to two of my childhood television idols, Maila "Vampira" Nurmi and Larry "Bozo" Harmon, at the 1996 Local Emmy Awards Show in Los Angeles. The awards show was honoring TV stars from the past. I jumped at it.
Maila arrived at the show in a limousine provided by The Television Academy. Maila did not want to come, but John promised her a little star treatment for one night. He also allowed her to bring her niece and her niece’s boyfriend as moral support.
I would not have recognized Maila if I hadn't already been told what to expect ... an old woman with missing teeth. Hey, we don't all grow old gracefully so when I saw her, I beamed a big smile and she gave a shy grin back. Maila seemed very nervous, was very reserved, and right away said she felt out of place. When I would introduce her to celebrities, she would smile a closed grin, speak a few words and then retreat to her niece's company.
As the evening wore on, Maila opened up to Andy and I about her feelings of just not belonging in this group. She talked about when she had her (almost literally) fifteen minutes of fame as Vampira, and how she went downhill from that point on. She talked about her lawsuit against Cassandra Peterson's "Elvira" character, claiming it was lifted from Vampira, and how losing that lawsuit destroyed her spirit. Knowing Andy and I were gay, she talked openly about all the famous "gay actors" (including Rock) who she was a "beard" for and wanted to be "seen with her" when she was famous ... but later when fame was gone, wouldn't even return her calls. She felt these weren't her people anymore. She was dirt poor, and lived in a place I was told should be uninhabitable. Her dress came from the Goodwill and her glasses were from a drug store, with at least five places where they were taped together. Larry's constant talk of being so rich did not help her self esteem any that night.
So my two childhood television idols were nothing what I imagined they would be when I finally met them. Even so, they lived a life so few get the chance to. One ended up rich, rich, rich, while the other was poor as dirt ... but they both survived a life in the industry that can be extremely rewarding (for Larry) or unjustly forgetful (for Maila). No matter what, I believe both probably would have done it all again in a heartbeat. Both Larry Harmon and Maila Nurmi passed in 2008. Maila was 85 and Larry 83. So money or not, fame or not ... we all end up the same one day.
Damon Charles- Actor
- Soundtrack
Johnny Downs was born on 10 October 1913 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Mad Monster (1942), Coronado (1935) and Sing Another Chorus (1941). He was married to June Ellen Draper. He died on 6 June 1994 in Coronado, California, USA.Growing up in the 1950's meant there was a lot of LOCAL TV shows ... especially from early morning until late afternoon. Most shows were geared toward children and bored housewives. Regular nation-wide programming did not start until early evening.
One of the most popular kids shows was hosted by a local San Diego celebrity, Johnny Downs. Johnny played a nice friendly "harbor captain", and showed Popeye cartoons and Little Rascal comedies between his time playing with the kids. My mom surprised me one day by taking me down to the television station and getting me on the show with a bunch of other kids. I thought this was great.
I WAS WRONG.
From the time the kids were taken away from their parents, and herded onto the sound-stage by a child wrangler (yes, that is what they were called) until someone yelled "done" or something like that, it was not fun.
When we were on the air, we were all supposed to look happy and play with the toys around the set. But when the cameras were off, we were told to sit still and "shut up". And it was Johnny who yelled "shut up" multiple times when not on the air. If he got close to you (while on camera), you could smell alcohol on his breath. And if you were in ear shot of him while he was not on camera, you heard words that you were not supposed to know about as a child.
Johnny Downs was not nice to any of us kids that day. Perhaps it was a bad day ... I don't know. All I know is, that when my mom told me I was accepted to be on Romper Room, another children's show, I begged her not to take me. I think I even cried! I didn't go.
Damon Charles- Actor
- Soundtrack
Broad-shouldered and beefy Claude Akins had wavy black hair, a deep booming voice and was equally adept at playing sneering cowardly villains as he was at portraying hard-nosed cops. The son of a police officer, Akins never seemed short of work and appeared in nearly 100 films and 180+ TV episodes in a career spanning over 40 years. He originally attended Northwestern University, and went on to serve with the US Army Signal Corps in World War II in Burma and the Phillipines. Upon returning, he reignited his interest in art and drama and first appeared in front of the camera in 1953 in From Here to Eternity (1953). He quickly began notching up roles in such TV shows as Dragnet (1951), My Friend Flicka (1955), Gunsmoke (1955) and Zane Grey Theatre (1956). He also turned in several strong cinematic performances, such as gunfighter Joe Burdette in the landmark western Rio Bravo (1959), Mack in the excellent The Defiant Ones (1958), Sgt. Kolwicz in Merrill's Marauders (1962) and Earl Sylvester in the gripping The Killers (1964). In the early 1970s Akins turned up in several supernatural TV films playing "no-nonsense" sheriffs in both The Night Stalker (1972) and The Norliss Tapes (1973), and was unrecognizable underneath his simian make-up as war-mongering Gen. Aldo in Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973). Akins continued starring in films and TV right up until the time of his death from cancer in 1994. By all reports a very gregarious, likable and friendly person off screen, Akins was married for over 40 years to Theresa "Pie" Fairfield, and had three children, Claude Marion Jr., Michele & Wendy.Claude was a very fine character actor who worked all the time ... and deservedly so. And for as long as I knew him, he was always a nice respectful person to everyone he met.
With all the work he had, it was amazing how few people actually knew his name. Fans recognized the face, and his voice especially, but the name in most cases was confused with someone else ... not an actor, but a singer ... Chet Atkins!
Claude was very much like a character from the movie Soapdish. He loved going to the Northridge Fashion Center, in Northridge California and standing in the cosmetic department of the Bullocks department store ... right near where the up escalator would drop off their riders. He'd be all smiles as they ascended and would spot him. Many would just smile and say a simple "hi", but quite a few would actually come over and say that they really enjoyed his performances ... and some would ask for autographs.
One of the times I was with him standing next to the Clinique counter, he said that he would bet me that most people would have his name wrong when they talked with him ... I didn't take the bet, but stood there with him for about 2 hours as people would come up and talk. He was right! The majority of people who talked to him would come up and say, "Mr. Atkins I really enjoy your performances," or something to that manner. But it was almost always "Mr. Atkins" ... and some would actually call him "Chet".
Believe it or not, this did not bother him at all. He actually thought it funny, because if any of these people asked for his autograph, he would sign it "Chet Atkins". There has to be hundreds of people out there that have the wrong autograph, yet were so happy to meet him and get one ... real or not.
Damon Charles- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Annette Joanne Funicello achieved teenage popularity starting in October 1955 after she debuted as a Mouseketeer. Born on October 22, 1942 in Utica, New York, the family had moved to California when she was still young. Walt Disney himself saw her performing the lead role in "Swan Lake" at her ballet school's year-end recital in Burbank and decided to have her audition along with two hundred other children. Annette became the last Mouseketeer of the twenty-four that was picked. By the run-through in 1958 of The Mickey Mouse Club (1955) in which she appeared in her own multi-segmented series entitled "Annette", she had become the most popular Mousketeer of them all and the only one kept under contract by Walt Disney after he canceled the show. Her popularity was such that by the late 1950s, she was simply known as "Annette" -- America's sweetheart and the first "crush" for many a teenage baby boomer. Whenever anyone spoke of Annette, no last name was ever needed as everyone knew who you were talking about.
The popular teenager became synonymous with wholesome entertainment and was borrowed by Danny Thomas in 1959 to play Gina, a foreign exchange student, on The Danny Thomas Show (1953) (aka "The Danny Thomas Show") and also that same year had a recurring role on the Disney television series Zorro (1957). She made her well as other Disney film vehicles for several years, including The Shaggy Dog (1959), Babes in Toyland (1961) and The Monkey's Uncle (1965). During this time, the modest young singer had a couple of hit singles on the "Hot 100" charts, notably, "Tall Paul", and as a result, traveled with Dick Clark's caravan on singing tours around the country. At one point, she and teen idol Paul Anka became an item and he wrote both "Puppy Love" and "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" with her in mind. Their busy careers led to them parting ways.
During the early 1960s, American International Films wanted to use her in a fun-on-the-beach movie. They presented the idea to "Mr. Disney", as Annette always called him and with whom she was still under contract. To everyone's surprise, he gave his consent, with the only condition being that she make sure her navel was completely covered by a one piece bathing suit. The first movie, aptly titled Beach Party (1963) starred Robert Cummings and Dorothy Malone as the older generation who explore the younger set represented by Annette (as "Dee Dee") and her love interest Frankie Avalon (as "Frankie"). The "teenage" couple (actually she was 20 and he 23) proved so popular in this that they were whisked into a number of sand-and-surf romps (Muscle Beach Party (1964), Bikini Beach (1964), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965)) that showcased the actors engaging in harmless fun while singing and dancing in the sand, and falling into silly slapstick.
After the surfing craze died out in 1965, Annette married Jack Gilardi, Paul Anka's agent, and became the mother of his three children -- Gina, Jack Jr. and Jason. While appearing in a few other movies that did nothing to further her career, including Fireball 500 (1966), Thunder Alley (1967) and Head (1968), she appeared as a guest on shows and, most famously, became the spokesperson for Skippy Peanut Butter in a host of commercials. But she phased out her career in favor of family.
She and Gilardi divorced in 1983. Three years later, she married Glen Holt, a harness racing horse breeder/trainer. Within a year into her second marriage, Annette was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She hid her condition for five years before making a formal announcement (in 1992) for fear that her uncontrollable movements might be characterized as drunkenness. She became the most famous spokesperson for the disease. Annette's life was filmed as a television movie with A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story (1995) co-starring her good friend, Shelley Fabares. Receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993, Annette was eventually wheelchair-ridden and went into complete seclusion.
Following a tragic March 2011 incident in which their Los Angeles house burnt to the ground and both Annette and husband Glen were hospitalized with smoke inhalation, the couple moved to Bakersfield, California. A little more than a year later, and over 25 years after she was diagnosed with this long and painful illness, Annette passed away on April 8, 2013 from complications at age 70. To the present, her foundation continues to raise money to help find cures for this and other debilitating disorders, including Lou Gehrig's disease.I was never Annette's makeup artist or actual hairstylist. But in the 1970's, I did acquire Max Factor wigs for her and style them. She was a big wig wearer at that time.
Annette was very nice and easy to please. She was so confident in who she was, that her celebrity never got in the way of her just being a "real" person when she was out with the public. She always seemed thankful for her life, her fans, and the people who cared for her.
When Max Factor quit making wigs, she must have turned to her regular hairstylist because I did not see her again until the 1990's.
I saw Annette and her new husband Glen shopping inside Costco. Annette was in a wheelchair with Glen pushing her. I walked over and introduced myself to Glen and then proceeded to talk to Annette. She was wearing her "rose-colored glasses" (the way the world should be seen through) and had a big smile on her face when I got in front of her. She did recognize and remember me but had a very difficult time talking. I kept the conversation short, thanked her for all the wonderful things she did to make "our" lives happier, and then thanked Glen for being so supportive of her.
Sad that bad things can happen to such really good people!
Damon Charles- A marvelously quirky and distinctive 4' 3" character actress, with a larger-than-life presence on film and TV, Zelda Rubinstein gave up a long and stable career in the medical field as a lab technician in order to strive for something more self-fulfilling as middle age settled in. At the age of 45, the feisty lady gave up the comfort of a stable paycheck and attempt an acting career, a daunting task for anyone but especially someone of her stature and type. Within a few years, she had beaten the odds and became a major movie celebrity thanks to one terrific showcase in a Steven Spielberg horror classic. In the process, she served as an inspiration to all the "little people" working in Hollywood who are forced to toil in cruel and demeaning stereotypes.
Zelda May Rubinstein was born on May 28, 1933 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Dolores and George Rubinstein, who were Polish Jewish immigrants. Zelda was the youngest of three children, and the only "little person" in the family. Her childhood and teenage years were decidedly difficult in terms of coping with her "interesting variation," which was caused by a pituitary gland deficiency. With no designs on acting at the time, she went the normal route of college and received a scholarship to study at the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her degree in bacteriology and worked for a number of years as a lab technician in blood banks. In 1978, Zelda, in a pursuit of something more creative in her life, abandoned her cushy but mundane job and threw herself completely into acting. She made her movie debut as one of the little people in the Chevy Chase slapstick comedy Under the Rainbow (1981). It all came together so quickly with her second film Poltergeist (1982) in the scene-stealing role of Tangina, the saucy, self-confident, prune-faced "house cleaner" with the whispery, doll-like voice who is brought in to rid a suburban home of demonic possession. Co-writer/producer Spielberg claims he designed the psychic role specifically for a "little person". The film became an instant summertime hit and Zelda created absolute magic and wonderment with the testy role, receiving some of the movie's best reviews. The character actress went on to appear in the two "Poltergeist" sequels. The "Poltergeist" movie projects were eventually dubbed "cursed" due to the untimely deaths of some of its performers, particularly two of the three children of film parents Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams. 22-year-old Dominique Dunne was slain in 1982 by a jealous ex-boyfriend only a few months after the first film's release, and angelic little Heather O'Rourke, age 12, died of an intestinal obstruction just months before Poltergeist III (1988) made it to the screen.
Although Zelda would not find a role quite up to the standards and popularity of Tangina, her subsequent career remained surprisingly active with a number of weird parts woven into both comedies and chillers -- often variations of her eccentric Tangina role. She played a mental patient in the Frances Farmer biopic Frances (1982), which showcased Jessica Lange in the Oscar-nominated title role; a squeaky-shoed organist in John Hughes sweet-sixteen comedy classic Sixteen Candles (1984) co-starring Brat Packers Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall; the demented mom in the gruesome, Spanish-made horror-thriller Anguish (1987) [aka Anguish], which has since reached cult status; a mentor witch in the comic fantasy Teen Witch (1989); a hermit in a National Lampoon-based slapstick Last Resort (1994); a betting clerk in the Sci-Fi adventure Timemaster (1995); an ill-fated nun in the thriller Little Witches (1996), and; a theatre director in the flick Critics and Other Freaks (1997).
Into the millennium, she made some odd, slapdash appearances in such minor fare as Maria & Jose (2000), Wishcraft (2002), Cages (2005), Angels with Angles (2005), Unbeatable Harold (2006) and Southland Tales (2006). In her last film, she furthered her horror icon status with a small cameo in the slim-budgeted indie Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006) that also featured Robert Englund of "Freddy Krueger" fame. Zelda also found an "in" doing voiceovers, her doll-like tones ideal for cartoons and such, and in commercials promoting such items as Skittles candy. She enjoyed extended popularity on TV with a regular series role on the first couple of seasons of Picket Fences (1992). Her character later was killed off in a freakish accident (fell into a freezer!). In her last years she narrated, and "Exorcist" child star Linda Blair hosted, TV's Scariest Places on Earth (2000). The actress also appeared on stage in such productions as "Deathtrap" (as a psychic, of course), "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Suddenly, Last Summer," "The Slab Boys" and "Black Comedy". She also appeared as Yente in a production of "Fiddler on the Roof".
An outspoken social activist, Zelda was a staunch advocate for the rights of little people who formed the nonprofit Michael Dunn Memorial Repertory Theater Company in Los Angeles in 1985. The actress gained additional attention and respect, if not popularity (her career suffered for a time as a result), as an early and outspoken HIV/AIDS activist. As the poster mom for AIDS awareness, she valiantly appeared in a series of maternal newspaper/billboard advertisements imploring her gay son to practice safe sex. The series of ads ran from the mid-to-late 1980s. Zelda also participated in the first AIDS Project Los Angeles AIDS Walk and attended the 25th Anniversary Walk on October 12, 2009.
A couple of months before her death on January 27, 2010, Zelda suffered a heart attack. Complications set in (kidney and lung failure) and she passed away at age 76 on January 27, 2010, at Barlow Respiratory Hospital in Los Angeles, California.Zelda was perfect for being in the entertainment industry. She played her part to the hilt ... and I'm talking "off camera" as well as on.
After her amazing and riveting portrayal in Poltergeist, she started claiming to actually have paranormal powers ... this of course lead to hosting a TV show about the weird and unnatural, and lecturing at functions. Did she really have these extrasensory powers? Well probably not any more than the rest of us have. But Zelda played her part well in life ... she enjoyed relating them to others, and each time embellishing on the facts a little more. Much to the listeners delight.
Rumors of the so-called Poltergeist "plague" only helped the movie have multiple sequels. On Poltergeist III, a rumor was started that while filming a scene, Zelda had to stop because she felt her mom's spirit pass through her. Her mom had died that day ... but according to "publicity" legend, her mom died the exact moment Zelda felt it, not earlier that day. I asked Zelda if she started that rumor ... and she said, "No, but it's a good one."
Damon Charles - Producer
- Additional Crew
Freddie Fields was born on 23 July 1923 in Ferndale, New York, USA. He was a producer, known for American Gigolo (1980), Victory (1981) and Glory (1989). He was married to Corinna Tsopei, Cherie Latimer, Polly Bergen and Edith Fellows. He died on 11 December 2007 in Beverly Hills, California, USA.I met Mr. Fields, or "Freddie" as he asked me to call him, when we were doing a biography on Steve McQueen. We did the interview at his lovely "Old Hollywood" mansion in Beverly Hills. By today’s standards, it would just be considered a nice bigger-than-average home in Beverly Hills ... but this one had charm and style. I admit I was very taken by the style and layout of the home, and while I was doing his makeup, Freddie said that the way I was doing makeup was the way old Hollywood artists did it ... with charm, confidence, and flair. I told him the house must be bringing that out in me, because I really felt I was in Norma Desmond's home from Sunset Boulevard, and was reliving that period of time.
After I made him up and while the camera and lighting was being prepared, Freddie and I sat by his pool in the inside courtyard and talked. He brought us both out a drink, and while we were talking, he said I had an old soul and was born too late in life to actually ever enjoy what Hollywood was all about. The glamour, glitz, and fakeness of it all. He said it ... Fakeness! That was the period of time that the studios "created" stars with the help of makeup artists, costumers, directors of photography, and most importantly, publicists. The grand days where being fake allowed you to believe these stars were perfect so you wanted to see their pictures. Not like today when we find out a star is a drunk, a wife-beater, or worse yet ... we know their political views ... so we swear never to watch another film they make.
Yes Freddie, I would have loved to work during that period. But working in the era I have been in, is just as wonderful to me too.
Damon Charles- Francesca Hilton was born on 10 March 1947 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Dion Brothers (1974), Forever Fabulous (1999) and A Safe Place (1971). She was married to Joseph Piche. She died on 5 January 2015 in Los Angeles, California, USA.An interesting yet very sad person was in this lady's body, and she didn't seem to know how to deal with the two sides. At least that was my impression of her while I was making her up.
I made up Francesca for an Intimate Portrait on her aunt Eva. At first Francesca seemed all laughs and fun, with very interesting anecdotes about her life as a person in general, as well as that of being the daughter of Zsa Zsa. Then as the makeup progressed, so seemed the dark side of Francesca's life. So dark in fact, that I was close to tears with one story she told me, and had to stop and pretend to clean my glasses.
Francesca said that all through her childhood she felt as though she was living the life of Cinderella ... not the good part though ... the part where Cinderella was made to believe she didn't "belong" and was just a servant. Francesca claimed that when her mom, aunts, and grandmother were together (even if she was in the room), they only spoke in Hungarian. They would never speak English unless it was to tell her to do something or get something for them. She said that she was never part of a conversation with the women that were supposed to be loving to her. She said there was no demonstrative affections shown towards her, yet her mom, aunts and grandmother showed affection towards each other. (It was at this point where I went to wipe my glasses.) Francesca realizing what I was pretending to do then snapped back into the bubbly lively person that had sat down in my chair. When I started back to finish her makeup and hair, she took my face in both hands and pulled me closer to her. She said, "You care ... you and I are going to be really good friends." I think I let out a nervous laugh and then finished the makeup. During the actual interview that was done with her, we had to keep stopping because she was telling things that would never be used in an Intimate Portrait show. We had to keep reminding her that she was to talk of her aunt only ... and could basically say only things that the general public already perceived to be truths about her aunt. Needless to say, she did not have a big part in the show.
As to whether the stories she told were true or not makes one wonder. There really is no reason to make them up, yet she really did seem to be totally screwed up emotionally. And something caused that.
Before she left she gave me her phone number and again said, "You and I are going to be really good friends." I never did call her. Probably very selfish on my part, but I really did not need or want to go on a roller-coaster ride of emotions that she seemed to exude. As I said, I was being selfish ... because if anyone really needed a friend, she seemed to be the prime candidate.
This is being written on the day of her untimely death. All I can hope is that she did end up having friends, real friends.
Damon Charles - Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Christine Jorgensen was an actress, nightclub entertainer, and the first transgender person to be widely publicized in America. On December 1, 1952, her transition was the subject of a front-page story in the New York Daily News and she became a celebrity overnight.
Christine sold the exclusive rights of her story to William Randolph Hearst's The American Weekly, which published her five-part series, "The Story of My Life," in 1953. She also launched a successful nightclub act, recorded several songs, and appeared in TV, radio, and theatrical productions. From the 1960s until her death in 1989, Christine lectured at college campuses, discussing gender identity and advocating for transgender rights.
Christine published her autobiography, Christine Jorgensen: A Personal Autobiography, in 1967, and went on to sell over 400,000 copies. She was also the subject of a biopic, The Christine Jorgensen Story (1970). Her 1957 interview with Nipsey Russell has been depicted in the 2005 Off-Broadway production, Christine Jorgensen Reveals. Recently she was portrayed by Jamie Clayton in Equal (2020).
Christine died of bladder and lung cancer in 1989. She was inducted into Chicago's Legacy Walk celebrating LGBT history in 2012, honored in San Francisco's Rainbow Walk in 2014, and included in the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor at Stonewall National Monument in New York City in 2019.The New York Times
Christine Jorgensen, 62, Is Dead; Was First to Have a Sex Change
By JOHN T. McQUISTON
Published: May 4, 1989
Well that headline wasn’t true ... or at least the writer and editor for the New York Times didn't do their research. Christine was not the first person to have a sex change. Not by a long shot. She was however the first to get dramatic press coverage about it. And that was done purposely by Christine.
In the early 1970's I was dealing with quite a few pre-op transsexuals. For some reason, that time period seemed to be big in sex change operations, especially being performed at certain teaching colleges throughout the United States. Those transforming needed guidance and help with their outward appearance and I was there to help them realize you are not putting makeup on a man's face to look like a woman, but on a "Face" ... that's it. We all have feminine and masculine features; you just need to know which to accentuate and which to diminish. It was during this time that Andy met Christine at UCLA and told her about me. She asked that I call her. I called and she asked me to come to dinner at her place in West Hollywood.
Dinner was in the outside courtyard of her apartment complex. She and her sister Dorothy were very nice and hospitable. She was very interested in my life ... my never being "in-the-closet" so to speak, and my work with transsexuals. I was very interested in anything that wasn't what she claimed in her book or what was shown in her film The Christine Jorgensen Story. Surprisingly, she was very candid with me, and I believe ... totally honest.
The first item she told me was that the operation and all that followed was carefully thought out in advance and paid for with the help of a newspaper company (she wouldn't say which paper). That paper was to have first coverage on everything that she was going through. Publicity was the most important thing if she was to be accepted and not ridiculed! (That sure wasn't in the book or movie.)
Second, I asked her if she were to have been born later in life when gay people were starting to come out of the closet and be accepted for who they are ... would she still have a sex change? Her answer made her visibly shake and her voice quiver as she said, "Probably not." (That was so contrary to everything she ever said to the press or on TV interviews.) I asked why she felt that way now and why she didn't say it to the press or when she gave lectures at colleges? She said she had been meeting other people like me over the last few years that were happy with their sexuality and never hid it. Noting that the majority of us said that we never had bad consequences just by being "out and happy with ourselves". People either liked us for who we were or just avoided us. She also said that she couldn't say it to the press because then her whole life would have been a lie. At the time she did it, it seemed right. She couldn't say she was "gay", even though she admitted to me she knew she was. Gay people at that time were very closeted, bullied, and sometimes blackmailed. She felt that by becoming a transsexual she was able to create an acceptable life, especially with publicity, and that also gave her fame. I admired her candor with me, but only wish that sometime before she died, that she would have re-written her life story.
There were a lot of other questions and candid answers to and by both of us that I won't go into. But my last question to her that I feel is important for others to know was, "Do you have any regrets?"
Christine's answer was very moving and she actually cried saying it, "That I was never allowed to marry!" (The U.S. Government would not change her birth certificate. According to them, she was still male.)
As to whether she would have ever publicly told all that she said to me, I guess doesn't really matter. Because in the end, Christine truly was a gracious and admirable woman.
Damon Charles- Actor
- Director
- Producer
A former college athlete at the University of Texas, Fess studied drama in the early fifties and debuted in Springfield Rifle (1952). He made only a handful of movies until he was signed by Walt Disney to star in the "Davy Crockett" series. When Walt was looking for an actor to play the part of Davy, he screened the sci-fi movie Them! (1954) with James Arness. When he saw Fess in a scene, he chose him over Arness and Fess became an instant celebrity when "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier" debuted in 1955. His appeal with children was enormous with the coon-skinned hat, the #1 hit song "The Ballad Of Davy Crockett", The Davy Crockett Bubble Gum Cards and Comic Books. But the craze ended almost as fast as it started in 1956, and Fess was typecast. Fess appeared in other Disney movies dealing with the early years of Davey and also in non-Crockett parts such as Old Yeller (1957). By 1959, unable to achieve the success that he had gained as Crockett, his career had leveled off. He made guest appearances on a number of television shows, but his attempted return to television in the series Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1962) was not successful. Unable to procure the rights to play Crockett from Disney, Fess tried the frontiersman role once again with the TV series Daniel Boone (1964). He played this role for six years and the fact that he had a beautiful red-headed wife in a color series did not hurt him at all. After Daniel Boone (1964), Fess retired from the screen and went into real estate, which was profitable. He was later forced to sue his "Daniel Boone" producers over the profits generated by the series.Fess Parker was the first "real actor" I ever met.
When I was in kindergarten, I was one of the biggest Davy Crockett fans you could imagine. I had everything that was Davy Crockett ... hat, outfit, and of course a lunch pail and Thermos (that might be worth a fortune now). I knew the Davy Crockett song forward and backward. My mom even had to wake me up one night because I was humming it in my sleep. Of course now I know almost every boy at that time was as big a fan as I was.
My older sister was going to be in a parade as a pom-pom girl in San Diego, and Fess Parker was the MAIN ATTRACTION to the parade. I got all suited up like a miniature Davy Crockett and sang the song all the way to the parade.
When we arrived at the parade area, we went to where the pom-pom girls were forming. I was standing by a pole watching and singing Davy Crockett ... All of a sudden from the other side of the pole, I heard a deep voice singing along with me. I turned to see who it was and there towering over me like some big giant was Davy Crockett himself ... Fess Parker! He picked me up and put me on his shoulder straddling his neck, and all the while he kept singing. When I was up in the air (both physically and mentally), he asked if I were comfortable. My parents came over when they saw me towering above the crowd's heads. Mr. Parker asked if they would let me ride on his neck throughout the whole parade. Well I guess the look on my face made them both say yes right away. Shocking, because my dad usually wasn't the type of person to do anything to make me happy.
All along the parade I sang and sometimes he sang too. When we were all done, he signed my autograph book and then with a big smile said, "I'll see you" and then left.
He was ALMOST right that he'd see me again. In 2000, I was called to make up John Forsythe at Fess Parker’s hotel in Los Olivos. I went up to Los Olivos the day before and was put up in the best suite at Mr. Parker's hotel. Fess and John were good friends and Fess was going to come visit on the day I did John's makeup. This was my chance to tell him how great that moment was for me as a kid.
I slept on the most comfortable bed ever that night, with a roaring fire in the biggest fireplace I have ever seen. It really was a spectacular place for such a small town. I met John at his car and walked him into my suite. While I was setting up my supplies for him, I got a call from the front desk asking for John. John took the phone, talked a little, and I heard him say, "Oh that's too bad." At that moment I knew Mr. Parker was not coming. Fess had a bad cold, and wasn't going to come over since he knew John was just getting over a severe case of pneumonia.
Well that blew my chance of one last ride on Davy Crockett's shoulders. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Damon Charles- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Tyne Daly was born on 21 February 1946 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Judging Amy (1999), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Cagney & Lacey (1981). She was previously married to Georg Stanford Brown.Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless have to be considered two of the nicest actresses (people) I have ever met or had the pleasure of working with.
So I'll tell you why about Tyne here ... and Sharon in the story next person down on this list.
I met Tyne twice in my life. On both occasions, I just could not get over her infectious smile and gracious manner.
The first time I met her was briefly while I was with Rock Hudson. Hate to admit it, but we were all much younger and thinner at the time. I don't remember the conversation, but I do remember her laughing, and laughing, and laughing. Gotta love someone who can have a good laugh.
The next time I met Tyne was quite a few years (and pounds ... at least for me) later. Her hair was now beautifully grey and EXTREMELY long. Did I ever tell you how much I hate doing long hair? Even though I am known for my makeups, I still have to do hair occasionally, especially in interviews or when hired to be the performer's personal makeup and hair artist. I can do hair, and usually do it well, but long hair .... ahhhh, what are you supposed to do with it?
Well, I was called to do Tyne's makeup and hair for an interview at a Beverly Hills hotel. I was set up in the bedroom while the interview was going to be in the living room ... I'm so happy for this, as the cameraman, director, producer, and others were not able to see me almost faint when I saw her hair length. Luckily Tyne still had the sense of humor she had when I met her before, and laughed very hard when she realized I was horrified by having to handle that much hair.
To gain my composure, and hopefully her respect, I did her makeup first. She loved it ... especially the false lashes and how easily I put them on her. Something other makeup people had difficulties with on her ... or at least that is what she said.
Now came time to do the hair ... all that hair! Out came the pins, clips, bands, teasing comb, etc. Sweat started to appear on my forehead. Then it dawned on me ... we are doing an interview ... a talking head ...no one sees the back side of her head. The sweating stopped. I took more than three quarters of the hair and put it in a band and placed it behind her head so that it could not be seen. The front quarter of hair that was left was carefully arranged with few pins, teasing, and even spray. It was OKAY ... not great, but okay. Tyne looked at me and said, "What was all your worrying about, this is great." Now seriously, how can I not think this lady is one of the nicest people I'll probably ever meet?
When Tyne finally cut her hair to the now great styles she keeps it in, I hope that perhaps a little bit of her did it to spare other makeup and hair people who just get flustered thinking about what to do with all that hair. But I'm gathering she really did it because it is more appealing on her, shows off her great face and wonderful smile, and has to be easier for her to handle. Now if I can ever get down to Los Angeles to do her makeup (and hair) again, I'll be in seventh heaven.
Damon Charles- Actress
- Producer
Few actresses have the distinction of being recognized and revered worldwide for multiple iconic roles in groundbreaking television shows. Sharon Gless is one of them.
Generations of TV viewers know and love the remarkable characters brought to life by this standout multi Emmy and Golden Globe winning actress: Christine Cagney (Cagney & Lacey), Debbie Novotny (Queer As Folk) and Madeline Westen (Burn Notice), among many others. With over four decades of indelible television, film, and stage roles to her credit, Gless continues to enchant her longtime followers and captivate new fans with every appearance.
In 1972, the head of Talent at Universal Studios perceived a take-notice quality in Sharon Gless and signed her as a contract player, a coveted breakthrough opportunity for any young actress. Gless remained under contract for the next decade, until the studio ended all talent contracts in 1982, earmarking her as the last contract player in the history of Hollywood.
During her contract years with Universal, Gless appeared in top-rated television series including: The Rockford Files, The Bob Newhart Show, Kojack, Adam-12, and Faraday and Company. After reoccurring guest-star spots on Marcus Welby, M.D., Gless was offered the role of Kathleen Faverty, a medical professional and James Brolin's first love interest. Robert Young appreciated the young rising star's talent and she was cast in two television movies to play his daughter. When the Marcus Welby, M.D. storyline changed, Gless' career advanced when she was chosen to play Maggie Philbin, the only female main character on Switch, an action series starring Robert Wagner and Eddie Albert, for all three seasons from 1975 to 1978.
L.A. Law creator, Steven Bocho, had earlier developed a situation comedy, Turnabout, (1979), in which a married couple, through magic, switch bodies. Loving the cross-gender acting challenge, Gless played Penny, who has embodied her husband, Sam. Noting her naturally husky and sultry voice and precise comic timing, Gless was next cast to play Carole Lombard in a successful TV movie directed by John Erman, The Scarlett O'Hara War (1980). It was during a screening of The Scarlett O'Hara War that television producer Barney Rosensweig discovered Gless and entreated her to star in his upcoming TV project, Cagney and Lacey. By the start of production, Gless had already been cast in the popular series, House Calls, as Jane Jeffries, making her unavailable for Cagney & Lacey's 2-hour pilot movie and first episodes.
Gless stepped in to the role of New York Police Detective Christine Cagney in 1982 and Cagney and Lacey made television history as the first hour-long drama to feature two females in the leading roles, who brought public awareness to serious cultural issues for women: date rape, breast cancer, addiction, sexism in the workplace, career choices, abortion, and moral dilemma. Over 30 million American viewers watched the show every week and Gless garnered two Emmy awards for Best Lead Actress in a Drama and six total nominations, along with a Golden Globe award and six nominations during the show's highly-rated run. After the show ended, Gless won an additional Golden Globe for her starring role in the drama series, The Trials of Rosie O'Neill, and two more Emmy nominations.
In popular demand, Gless, also costarred in a feature film with Michael Douglas, The Star Chamber, as well as telefilms: Honor Thy Mother, Hobson's Choice, Hard Hat & Legs, Separated by Murder, and the heartbreaker, Letting Go, with John Ritter.
From 1994 to 1996, Gless reunited with TV partner Tyne Daly for a quartet of critically acclaimed Cagney & Lacey television movies.
In 2000, Gless took a daring chance with a role that opened to viewers the underground lives of gay and lesbians in America, playing the outrageous and bold, yet tender, character Debbie Novotny in Queer as Folk. Her portrayal of a devoted mother to a gay son and confidant to his gay friends in this unexpected Showtime smash series, touched countless hearts and changed the definition of family for millions of viewers. In five seasons, Gless accomplished with her brilliant interpretation of Debbie what had previously taken decades in acceptance of gay and lesbian family members.
Now known for her ability to portray characters with multi-layered, startling and complex emotions, U.S.A. network cast her in their radical series, Burn Notice, (2007- 2013) as a chain-smoking persuasive woman, Madeline Westen, who helps her son establish a new life, by using an unpredictable mixture of heart and heat. Gless earned her 10th Emmy nomination for work in this series. Her 11th Emmy nomination was for Guest Actress in a Drama series, portraying Colleen Rose, an ambitious Hollywood agent harboring chilling secrets on FX's Nip / Tuck in 2008.
Recently, Gless also appeared in two independent features, Once Fallen, with Ed Harris and Amy Madigan, and Hannah Free, in the title role of Hannah.
In 2016, Gless became an intriguing surprise character, much talked about on social media, in four episodes of The Exorcist on Fox TV, sharing the screen with Geena Davis.
Throughout her TV and film career, Gless has also acted on stage to rave reviews in various productions, debuting with Oscar-winner Kim Hunter in Watch on the Rhine at Stage West in Massachusetts. She then starred in London's famed West End as Annie Wilkes in the adaptation of Misery alongside Bill Paterson, for an extended run. Her comedy chops were applauded in Neil Simon's Chapter Two with Tom Conti, and she returned to the West End to star in Jane Prowse's A Round-Heeled Woman in 2011-12 to standing ovations. Gless has also led the cast of Claudia Allen's Cahoots at Victory Gardens in Chicago and appeared in Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues at Madison Square Garden.
Gless has a star on the renowned Hollywood Walk of Fame, an award for Excellence in the Arts from DePaul University in Chicago, and has recorded radio plays, including 'Night, Mother, which earned her the International Sony Award.
Always the happiest when acting in a series or on screen, Gless also finds great fulfillment in lending her indomitable voice to issues involving human rights and LGBTQ causes and was honored by Norman Lear's People for the American Way for her unwavering dedication to helping others. 2017 finds Gless joining stars like Chita Rivera, Kelli O'Hara, and Ben Vereen in "Concert for America: Stand up, Sing Out," on Broadway and in Chicago, benefiting Planned Parenthood, NAACP, and the Sierra Club, and others.So you probably already read about Tyne Daly (story just above), now it is my turn to tell you why Sharon Gless is one of the nicest people in the industry ... and perhaps ... BEYOND!
I only met Sharon twice too. But once you meet her you will always remember her for being a real down-to-earth person.
The first time we met was while I was working as a day player on a TV show. We were shooting at the Queen Mary on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City California. The Queen Mary was a female impersonator review club when not being used to film TV shows.
Sharon got along with everyone .. and knew pretty much everyone by name. Not just the actors, makeup, hair, and costumers that she worked closely with .. but also the grips, production assistants, and just about anyone it takes to make a show work.
When she wasn't in the makeup or costuming trailer, or filming, you could probably find her with the grips telling jokes ... and she had some good ones to tell. Her laugh is infectious. It's deep and booming like her voice, and everyone loves it.
I didn't see Sharon again until I was requested to do her makeup and hair some years later. I told her about when we met before, and she said she seemed to remember. But like I said about Tyne ... I at least had gained weight since then, so my appearance had changed. Sharon's appearance had changed too over the years ... and in a good way. Her appearance now went with her amazing voice and gave her much more character. In turn, the ability to play a wider range of roles, which thankfully producers have given her the chance to do.
While doing her makeup, I reminded her of the jokes she was telling on the one day we had worked together. She then proceeded to start telling me one joke after another ... keeping me in stitches while I was working on her. I was laughing so hard that the director actually popped in a few times to see if all was okay. It was better than okay ... At the time, it was the most fun I ever had while doing makeup. (She only got bested a few years later by dear sweet Charles Durning who loved singing to me while I was working on him in the makeup trailer.)
As I said before, you gotta love someone who loves to laugh ... and can make you laugh just as hard too. Sharon is the one!
Damon Charles- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
A graduate of the University of Minnesota, Eddie Albert was a circus trapeze flier before becoming a stage and radio actor. He made his film debut in 1938 and has worked steadily since, often cast as the friendly, good-natured buddy of the hero but occasionally being cast as a villain; one of his most memorable roles was as the cowardly, glory-seeking army officer in Robert Aldrich's World War 2 film, Attack (1956).Seven years before his passing, I got a call to go to Eddie Albert's house in Pacific Palisades to make him up for a documentary.
When I got to Mr. Albert's nice older Spanish style two-story home, it stood out from the rest of the neighborhood. Most of the other houses were huge mansions. But his house had a great view of the Pacific Ocean. Probably one of the best views.
I was greeted by his housekeeper who showed me around the house and then took me out to the backyard. I was told that while he was doing Green Acres, he bought the house next door, tore it down, and put in a huge vegetable and fruit garden. Seems the show actually inspired him. His corn was actually growing tall, unlike his poor farm on Green Acres.
After about ten minutes Eddie came outside and introduced himself. He then apologized for the construction noise of a mansion being built on the other side of him. He said he couldn’t believe how long it was taking to build and just couldn't understand why anyone would need a house so big. He then said he bet that the property might have cost up to $100,000 dollars to buy. At first I thought he was fooling around, but then realized he was serious. He had lived in his house for about 50 years and never kept up with what property values were soaring to. I just left it at that, and proceeded to do his makeup.
While I was making him up, we talked about a lot of things ... his past work experience, his hero war record, his wife, his son, and his extensive work in helping Hispanics break into show business. All of it very interesting, and he went into very extensive detail with what he had to say. I was truly impressed that this 92 year old man knew so much, and was so articulate in his stories. (All his interesting stories forgave him for not knowing the soaring prices of property.)
After we filmed, Eddie showed me around his "farm" next door, then I took his makeup off and left this fine gentleman.
When I got home I told Andy how interesting Eddie was, and that he had so many wonderful stories, and went into such detail with each story. Andy looked on the Internet to see if Eddie had a website. He did, and Eddie was probably one of the early performers to actually have one at that time.
Andy started reading Eddie's website out loud. As Andy was reading it, I immediately noticed that it was literally "word for word" the same stories that Eddie had told me ... AND ... in the exact same order.
Eddie actually had his whole life story memorized!
Memorized or not, he was an amazingly interesting and cordial man who I enjoyed spending a few hours with.
Damon Charles- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Ben Gazzara's screen career began with two critically acclaimed roles as heavies in the late 1950s. He turned to television in the 1960s but made a big screen comeback with roles in three John Cassavetes films in the 1970s. The 1980s and 1990s saw Gazzara work more frequently than ever before in character parts. If he never became the leading man his early films and stage work promised, he had a career notable for its longevity. He was born Biagio Anthony Gazzara on August 28, 1930, in New York City. The son of a Sicilian immigrant laborer, he grew up on New York's tough Lower East Side. After seeing Laurette Taylor in "The Glass Menagerie," Gazzara decided he wanted to become an actor. He studied engineering (unhappily) but quit after receiving an acting scholarship (he worked under well-known coach Erwin Piscator).
Gazzara then joined the Actors Studio, where a group of students improvised a play from Calder Willingham's novel End as a Man. The tale of a brutal southern military academy reached Broadway slightly changed in 1953 but with Gazzara still in the principal role. It was a star making part (he won a Theatre World award) and he then played leads in the original productions of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1955) and "A Hatful of Rain" (1955) (he was nominated for a Tony). Bigger names Paul Newman and Don Murray played those last two roles on the big screen but Gazzara made his movie debut in The Strange One (1957) the film version of "End as a Man." The film was a critical but not commercial success. His next role was as the defendant in Anatomy of a Murder (1959) which was a big hit.
Gazzara followed this with an Italian venture co-starring Anna Magnani, The Passionate Thief (1960), two Hollywood films The Young Doctors (1961) and Convicts 4 (1962) and then another Italian film Conquered City (1962). None of these did much for his career, and he turned to television. He appeared in the successful series Arrest and Trial (1963) and Run for Your Life (1965). In between, he made A Rage to Live (1965), a film version of John O'Hara's novel. He returned to films in The Bridge at Remagen (1969) and with a cameo appearance in If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969). His buddy in the cameo was John Cassavetes, who directed and co-starred with him in Husbands (1970), a critical success. Gazzara made two more well-received films with his good friend Cassavetes: The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) and Opening Night (1977).
Gazzara's other films in the 1970s were undistinguished apart from the sprawling Voyage of the Damned (1976) and a rare leading role in director Peter Bogdanovich's Saint Jack (1979). Bloodline (1979) and They All Laughed (1981) (also directed by Bogdanovich) were only notable because of Gazzara's off-screen relationship with co-star Audrey Hepburn (ironically, Gazzara had declined to make his screen debut in War and Peace (1956) starring Hepburn). Tales of Ordinary Madness (1981) was another lead for Gazzara, but it received a mixed critical reception. Other big-screen roles in the 1980s were scarce apart from Road House (1989), a Patrick Swayze vehicle that Gazzara believed out of all his films had been the most repeated on television. He worked much on the small screen, including the groundbreaking television movie An Early Frost (1985), playing the father of an AIDS victim.
The 1990s saw Gazzara working like never before, appearing in 38 films. Most were for free-to-air television or cable but he also worked on the big screen in The Spanish Prisoner (1997), The Big Lebowski (1998), Happiness (1998) and Summer of Sam (1999). His television work included a guest appearance as an executive assistant attorney in a 2001 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)- a nice touch since
Gazzara has often returned to the stage throughout his career-in "The Night Circus" (1958) (where he met second wife Janice Rule), "Strange Interlude" (1963), "Traveller Without Luggage" (1964), Hughie/Duet (1975) (nominated for a Tony), "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1976) (again Tony nominated), and "Shimada" (1992). He has also worked as a director on episodes his series Run for Your Life (1965) and The Name of the Game (1968) and the television movies A Friend in Deed (1974) and Troubled Waters (1975) featuring his friend Peter Falk. The unreleased Beyond the Ocean (1990) (which he also wrote) was his final film as a director.
In 2003 Gazzara appeared in the independent Dogville (2003) adding Lars von Trier to the list of interesting and acclaimed directors with whom he has worked. There can't be many actors who can boast that they have acted in films by Otto Preminger (Anatomy of a Murder (1959)), John Cassavetes, Joel Coen (The Big Lebowski (1998)), Spike Lee (Summer of Sam (1999)), and Lars von Trier, among others. Ben Gazzara died at age 81 of pancreatic cancer on February 3, 2012.Benny was a very nice guy to me. Most people on a set found him to be very gruff in both voice and demeanor, so crew members were slightly intimidated or some were even scared of him. But I personally think that was just for show. He really wasn't like that at all.
He was always interesting to talk with while sitting patiently having his makeup and hair done. His toupee was his only vice. It had to be just right ... even if it was perfect, he always had to at least pretend to make a slight adjustment himself. No big thing.
Benny had a nickname for me that made for a funny incident one day on a movie set. His nickname for me was "Sweetheart". I have no idea why he picked it. It wasn't because he was making fun of me for being gay. Benny (known as a macho man) was not homophobic at all. I guess it was just his term for endearment.
On the night of this incident, I was on the set doing "last looks" on a performer when a new-to-the-film production assistant (PA) came in and went up to a female and asked if she was "Sweetheart"? When she said "no", he went to each of the other females on the set and asked each one of them if they were "Sweetheart" ... with each one saying no. This poor PA was getting upset because Benny sent him to find "Sweetheart" to come help him with something urgent. Finally the PA just yelled out, "Is there a girl here that Ben Gazzara calls 'Sweetheart'?" I raised my hand and the whole set broke out into laughter as the PA's screamed, "What? How the hell is 'Sweetheart' a guy?!"
After that incident I suggested Benny ask for "Damon" when he sent anyone to look for me. I think he might have asked for me by name one or two times after that, but then it reverted to "Sweetheart" and we just left it that way.
I liked Benny very much. Too bad more people on the set didn't get to know what a great guy he really was.
Damon Charles- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Her father Joseph was a minister and her mother was named Ella Mae. Her birth name was Pearly Mae but her parents anticipated she would be a boy and when a girl was born she was nicknamed "Dickie". Her brother was entertainer Bill Bailey (1912-1978). She spent her early life in Washington DC where she received her early education. Bailey frequently appeared in the Old Howard theater in downtown Washington. As a young woman she toured the Pennsylvania mining towns as a dancer and later as a singer in Vaudeville. She starred in the film St. Louis Blues opposite Nat King Cole, which was the biography of W.C. Handy. Her greatest theater role was in the Broadway musical "Hello Dolly".Pearl was a personal client of mine in the 1970's. We never worked on a show together but she asked me what makeup products she should buy and how she should wear them. Sadly most of the people who had done her makeup in the past did not know how to work on darker skin.
My motto has always been "Skin is Skin". We are all made up of just varying degrees of shade and light. A "makeup artist" knows that, but she must have had only "makeup applicators" who called themselves "artists".
I helped her buy a variety of different products for her street and film wear. I also taught her how to apply them if she felt uncomfortable with whoever was on the set. One big thing I taught her and other actresses of a darker complexion, is that some foundations have a tendency to turn ashen about 30 minutes after application. To remedy this problem, I showed them how to add just a tiny amount of vegetable oil to the product and this would stop the color from changing.
Pearl was a very fine lady and nice person, and probably the best Dolly Levi since Carol Channing.
Damon Charles- Actress
- Writer
- Composer
Karen entered Northwestern University at 18 and left two years later. She studied under Lee Strasberg in New York and worked in a number of off-Broadway roles. She made a critically acclaimed debut on Broadway in 1965 in "The Playroom". Her first big film role was in You're a Big Boy Now (1966), directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Shortly after wards, she appeared as Marcia in the TV series The Second Hundred Years (1967).
The film that made her a star was Easy Rider (1969), where she worked with Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, and a supporting actor named Jack Nicholson. She appeared with Nicholson again the next year when they starred in Five Easy Pieces (1970), which garnered an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for Karen. Her roles mainly consisted of waitresses, hookers and women on the edge. Some of her later films were disappointments at the box office, but she did receive another Golden Globe for The Great Gatsby (1974). One role for which she is well remembered is that of the jewel thief in Alfred Hitchcock's last film, Family Plot (1976). Another is as the woman terrorized in her apartment by a murderous Zuni doll come to life in the well received TV movie Trilogy of Terror (1975). After a number of forgettable movies, she again won rave reviews for her role in Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982). Since then, her film career has been busy, but the quality of the films has been uneven.What a nice lady. When I worked at Warner Brothers, Karen would often find herself lost or didn't know which way to go to where she was supposed to be. I helped her out one time by walking her to the right sound stage ... from that day on, whenever she was lost she found me and asked me to take her. I always made the time to do it and she always gave me a nice kiss on the cheek for the effort.
Sadly another nice person gone too soon.
Damon Charles- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Jay Thomas was born in Kermit, Texas, to Katherine (Guzzino), a tap-dancing South Louisiana belle of Italian descent, and T. Harry Terrell, Sr., an oil man. Reared in New Orleans, he was always active in sports and performing. He won his first award as emcee of the Jesuit High School talent show. He boxed, wrestled, played football, and ran track. At 16 he started as a stand-up on Bourbon St. He attended Gulf Coast College, University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt University, Central Piedmont College, and Jacksonville University, graduating with an AA, BS, and MA. He became a sports announcer and DJ in college. He also found time to put in three years of small college football as a QB. When NYC beckoned Jay continued his eclectic career as a top rated morning DJ, comic at the Improve in NYC, and began an active off Broadway acting career, that saw him mix drama and comedy. His first TV role was in "Mork and Mindy". Then on to LA radio as the #1 jock at Power 106, The Ensemble Theater Group, and recurring on "Cheers" as Carla's ice hockey playing husband. He won two Emmy awards for portraying Jerry Gold on"Murphy Brown". He starred in his own TV shows "Married People" with Beth Armstrong and "Love and War" with Susan Dey and later Annie Potts. He appeared as a leading guest star in dozens of sitcoms, cop shows, and MOW's opposite Judith Light, John Tuturro, and Christine Lahti. On the big screen he was featured in "Mr. Holland's Opus", "A Smile Like Yours", and "Santa Claus" 2 and 3. Returning to the stage he starred in plays written and directed by Wendy Wasserstein and Woody Allen. Recently he has hosted shows at Carolines in NYC and the Bellagio in Vegas. He guest starred in an episode of "Hung" on HBO. He won the best actor for and was a co-writer of best comedy at the LA iTV Fest for "Talker". And the Jay Thomas talk show airs daily on SiriusXM.Jay was a makeup artist's dream. A genuinely nice guy from the first meeting to the last day of shoot, and then beyond.
I had the pleasure of doing dastardly deeds to Jay for his makeup designs, and Jay laughed (with delight) at each horrible process I put him through ... face falling in horse s#!t, face being covered in thick gooey mud, a broken disjointed nose, black eye, hammer impression embedded in his forehead (it was a comedy), a missing front tooth with swollen lip, and oh yeah, covered with black soot from catching on fire. Each day of filming he had to progress from the normal handsome man he was, to the most disfigured (yet funny) bumbling horse thief he was playing. A truly terrible film, but Jay said the makeup made it worth coming to work each day.
Like I said, a makeup artist's dream. But most of all a truly nice guy and friend.
Jay, we'll miss you. Gone way too soon.
Damon Charles- Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Richard Morton Sherman was born in the spring of 1928 in New York City to Rosa and Al Sherman. Together with his older brother, Robert B. Sherman, the Sherman brothers would follow in their songwriting father's footsteps to form one of the most prolific, lauded and long lasting songwriting partnerships of all time.
Richard was an enthusiastic and energetic child and youth, still bearing that trademark trait well into his seventies. Following seven years of frequent cross-country moves, the Shermans finally settled down in Beverly Hills, California in 1937. Throughout Richard's years at Beverly Hills High School and Bard College in upstate New York, he became fascinated with music and studied several instruments including the flute, piccolo and piano. At Bard, Richard majored in music and wrote numerous sonatas and "art songs" during his time there but it was Richard's ambition to write the "Great American Symphony" which eventually led him to write songs.
Within two years of graduating, Richard and his brother Robert began writing songs together on a challenge from their father. In 1957, Richard married Elizabeth Gluck with whom he had three children. In 1958, the Sherman brothers enjoyed their first hit with their song, "Tall Paul", sung by Mouseketeer Annette Funicello. The success of this song yielded the attention of Walt Disney, who eventually hired the Sherman brothers on as staff songwriters for Walt Disney Studios.
While at Disney, the Sherman brothers wrote what is perhaps their most well-loved song: "It's a Small World (After All)" for the New York World's Fair in 1964. Since then, "Small World" has become the most translated and performed song on earth.
In 1965, the Sherman brothers won 2 Academy Awards for Mary Poppins (1964), which includes the songs "Feed The Birds", "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and the Oscar winner, "Chim Chim Cher-ee". Since Mary Poppins (1964)' motion picture premiere, the Sherman brothers have subsequently earned nine Academy Award nominations, two Grammy Awards, four Grammy Award nominations, and an incredible 23 gold and platinum albums.
Robert and Richard worked directly for Walt Disney until his death in 1966. Since leaving the company, the brother songwriting team has worked freelance on scores of motion pictures, television shows, theme park exhibits and stage musicals. Their first non-Disney assignment came with Albert R. Broccoli's motion picture production Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), which garnered the brothers their third Academy Award nomination.
In 1973, the Sherman brothers made history by becoming the only Americans, ever, to win First Prize at the Moscow Film Festival for Tom Sawyer (1973). They also authored the screenplay for "Tom Sawyer".
In 1976, The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (1976), was picked to be the Royal Command Performance of the year, and the event was attended by Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. A modern musical adaptation of the classic Cinderella story, "Slipper" also features both songscore and screenplay by the Sherman brothers. That same year, the Sherman brothers received their star on the Hollywood "Walk of Fame" directly across from Grauman's Chinese Theater. Their numerous other Disney and Non-Disney top box office film credits include The Jungle Book (1967), The Aristocats (1970), The Parent Trap (1961), Charlotte's Web (1973), The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977), Snoopy Come Home (1972), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), and Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989).
Outside the motion picture realm, their Tony-nominated smash hit, "Over Here!" (1974) was the biggest grossing original Broadway musical of that year. The Sherman brothers have also written numerous top selling songs including "You're Sixteen", which holds the distinction of reaching Billboard's #1 spot twice; first with Johnny Burnette in 1960 and, then, with Ringo Starr, fourteen years later. Other top-ten hits include "Pineapple Princess", "Let's Get Together", and more.
In 2000, the Sherman brothers wrote the song score for Disney's blockbuster film The Tigger Movie (2000). This film marked the brother's first major motion picture for the Disney company in over 28 years.
In 2002, "Chitty" hit the London stage and received rave revues. "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Stage Musical" is currently the most successful stage show ever produced at the London Palladium. In 2005, a second company will premiere on Broadway (New York City). The Sherman brothers wrote an additional six songs specifically for the new stage productions.
In 2003, four Sherman brothers' musicals ranked in the "Top 10 Favorite Children's Films of All Time" in a (British) nationwide poll reported by the BBC. The Jungle Book (1967) ranked at #7, Mary Poppins (1964) ranked at #8, The Aristocats (1970) ranked at #9 and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) topped the list at #1.
Richard Sherman resides in Beverly Hills, California with his wife, Elizabeth.What an absolutely delightful man!
Who knew that when I was 12 sitting in the Fox Theatre in San Diego watching Mary Poppins, that 40 years later I would be doing makeup on the Mary Poppins 40th Anniversary Special Edition DVD ... actually who knew there would even be something called a "DVD"?
Working on the project brought back so many memories of my youth ... pretty much due to Richard and his amazing recollection of anything and everything that had to do with the making of Mary Poppins. Not only the memories of that project, but also the other things he and his brother worked on for Disney ... plus even telling me stories (playing piano and singing songs just for me) from his own youth and his amazing composer father. I love when people tell me stories of their life.
Richard and his wife were so personable, and Richard's smile and energy was infectious to almost all around him. I say almost, because off camera all those around him seemed to laugh and smile except one person. The crew was in awe of him, Dick Van Dyke laughed and joked with all he said ... but sadly the one person who did not smile unless on camera, was the one the special edition was really about. (Maybe they were having a bad day) Nevertheless, Richard made that DVD Special Edition something worth owning. Before cameras would roll, Richard would talk about what happened in the making of Mary Poppins so that all could talk and reminisce on camera in a natural way. He even reminded of the time he and his brother literally had to come up with a brand new song overnight because a performer refused to sing the song they had already written for a particular scene. He joked about it and said at the time it was not fun ... but in the end it became one of the more memorable songs from the film, so in hindsight it was a good thing.
Richard Sherman is a man who now makes my childhood memories of seeing Mary Poppins even better ... because I now know it was he and his brother who really made that film what it is ... memorable because of the songs. And most memorable to me now because Walt Disney listened to his suggestion and hired Jane Darwell to do her scene "Feed the Birds" that made everyone in the theatre cry. To make the memory even better, Richard said that Walt Disney even sent a Rolls Royce to pick up the ailing actress from the Motion Picture Country Home and made sure everyone treated her like a star. How great is that?!
Richard is full of an endless amount of stories from his wonderful life. Too bad there just isn't enough time to hear them all. But thank you Richard for sharing those I got to hear during the time we worked together.
Damon Charles- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lovely, busty, and curvaceous blonde bombshell Carol Ann Doda was born on August 29, 1937 in Solano County, California. Carol grew up in San Francisco. Her parents divorced when she was only three years old. Doda dropped out of school and got a job as a cocktail waitress at age fourteen. She attended the San Francisco Art Institute and worked as a waitress and lounge entertainer at the Condor Club in the North Beach section of San Francisco.
On June 19, 1964 the nineteen-year-old Carol performed her first topless show at the Condor Club. The act was an instant success and Doda immediately became a major American cultural sex icon of the 1960s: Many of the delegates for the 1964 Republican National Convention went to see Carol's show, noted writer Tom Wolfe profiled her in his 1968 book "The Pump House Gang," and she appeared as Sally Silicone in the delightfully outrageous psychedelic cult favorite Head (1968) with The Monkees. Moreover, Doda enhanced her breasts from a size 34B to a size 44DD with silicone injections, thus becoming one of the first strippers to have her breasts surgically enlarged for her career. At the peak of her 1960s popularity Carol was performing twelve shows a night at the Condor Club. On September 3, 1969 Doda began performing completely nude and continued to do so until a law was passed in 1972 forbidding total nude dancing in public places that served liquor. From the late 1960s through the late 1970s Carol was the spokesperson for the San Jose, California TV station KICU-TV Channel 36. She was still dancing three times a night at the Condor Club in 1982.
Doda had acting roles in the 1980s adult features Honky Tonk Nights (1978), Trashi (1981), The Seven Seductions (1982), and Never So Deep (1981). Carol eventually retired from stripping in the 1980s and started her own rock band called the Lucky Stiffs. She opened her own lingerie shop called Carol Doda's Champagne & Lace Lingerie Boutique in San Francisco. Doda still continued to perform fully clothed at several clubs in the North Beach area of San Francisco which include Amante's and Enrico's Supper Club. Carol died of kidney failure at age 78 in a hospital in San Francisco on November 9, 2015.Stripper/Singer/Actress
Back in my youth, before I got "discovered for makeup artistry", I was a long-haired street person who slept in the alleyways and rooftops of San Francisco. Like most of us living on the streets, we slept during the day as it was safer than being asleep in a doorway or alley at night. Our living at night meant that San Francisco was our playground and only the fun people were out then. My playground (and that of my street friend Ray) consisted mostly of North Beach because the "mob?" kept that area safe from violence, as many of the clubs might have been owned by them. Keeping the police far away from gay street kids was a good thing back then. All I know is that no one ever treated me badly there. I didn't beg, but almost every bar or restaurant offered me food and drink during the night. Of course I always offered to do a chore, but rarely was taken up on it. The gay bars and the strip joints were always the best places to go because that is where the people didn't judge you, seemed happy, and were very caring to all. Even though I was very much underage and definitely looked like a homeless person (but clean), very seldom were Ray and I ever asked for an ID or refused entrance into clubs. That is how Ray and I came to know Carol Doda.
One night we were approached by the doorman of The Condor Club as we were walking by. He asked if we were gay but curious to see a topless woman? I'm sure he just wanted to see our expressions when we first saw Carol's legendary large breasts. He then ushered Ray and I inside the club and there was Carol Doda talking to a man at the front between shows. I guess our eyes bugged out as Carol started laughing and came over to us. She said, "Hello boys. You like what you see?" We just giggled. Then there was a little talk about us living on the street, and then she had to go do her next number ... but before she left, she kissed us both on the cheek and said we should pop our heads in whenever we were by there. Well Ray and I did from that point on. Almost every night, we would pop our heads in at least once. If Carol was there and saw us, no matter what she was doing she always waved and yelled, "Hi Boys". Of course if she were dancing at the time, people would turn to see who she was waving to. At that point Ray and I would run away.
As time went by we seemed to be able to judge when she was on a break and would stop by then. If she were on a break she would talk with us. She was very nice and talked intelligently. She said she had been on her own since about 14 so had an understanding and love for street youth. I believe she either said she was going to college, or was going to start college so she had something to fall back on after her dancing career came to an end. She said our life was not destined to be street youth forever, and we'd survive. On one of the last times that Ray and I visited with her before I finally left San Francisco, Carol asked us if we wanted to feel her "silicone"? Ray did, but I didn't. We didn't know at the time that Carol's breast weren't real, or that she was one of the first "strippers" to have silicone injections. In fact, I don't even think I knew what silicone was before that night ... and later when I started doing special effects makeup, silicone had changed greatly.
I would gather that the very nice and caring Carol Doda had a lot of "boys" she used to say "hi" to throughout her long career. But I can proudly say I was one of them, and like she predicted ... I did survive my street days.
Damon Charles- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Maggie stars as "Althea" on the popular AMC series "Fear the Walking Dead". She is most often recognized from the hit series "Lost" , "Californication" on Showtime, and the "Taken" and "Twilight" franchises. Maggie has also starred on Broadway in William Inge's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Picnic" directed by the Tony-nominated director Sam Gold . Maggie was named one of Variety's Top 10 Actors to Watch.I was Maggie's very first professional makeup artist ... and I'm proud to have been such. She was young (under 18), new to the movie industry ... and the people in it, and more than a little naive about how people may try to handle her and her career. Her mom and I had many talks about the pitfalls and problems some people may encounter from others when trying to break into the business. Because of a letter Maggie and her mom sent me, I believe I was of great help in the two of them making smart decisions for Maggie's future in the industry.
It is amazing how Maggie's career has taken off without her having to do any low budget productions or having to take small bit roles. I believe the reason for this "meteoric climb" (at least by industry standards) up the industry ladder is because Maggie is very intelligent, really determined to be the best at what she does, and most of all ... has a mom and family that is so supportive of her and her career choice, that they sacrificed a lot to bring her to Los Angeles for her first lead performance in the Internet soap opera, Rachel's Room. And, that she and her mom had the good sense to stay and turn down roles that were small and would not lead to anything other than more small roles.
There is one thing that I suggested to Maggie, and I am glad she did not take my advice as it definitely makes her stand out from other actresses. I suggested she change her name because I thought "Maggie" sounded old-fashioned. I WAS WRONG! When you hear the name Maggie, you automatically think of her ... or the other amazingly wonderful actress ... Maggie Smith.
My wish for Maggie is to always be as wonderfully sweet as when we first met. But with her family upbringing, I think that is a natural. Much love to you Maggie and your mom.
Damon Charles- Actress
Betty Garde was a versatile actress, who began in show business after winning a playwriting competition at high school. Joining Actor's Equity in 1922, she became a noted performer on stage in Boston and Philadelphia, eventually making her debut on Broadway in 1925. Betty, at least early in her profession, was particularly noted for her penchant for comedy, often receiving high praise from the critics. During the 1930's and 40's, she became a prolific radio actress, at the same time maintaining a busy career in the theatre. In addition to voice acting, she also produced and directed her own drama series on CBS, entitled "Another Chance". She starred in and directed the soap opera "My Son and I" in 1939. Additionally, she featured on Eddie Cantor's show, in specials for Orson Welles and in the radio anthology series "Theater Guild on the Air".
Her film and television roles became more frequent from the late 1940's. She was effectively reprehensible as Wanda Skutnik, the key witness who sends innocent Richard Conte to jail in the gripping drama Call Northside 777 (1948). Another 'tough' role was her prison inmate Kitty Stark in Caged (1950), a minor film noir. Her most famous role was as Aunt Eller in the original Broadway production of "Oklahoma!" (1943). Among many guest-starring roles on the small screen, her stand-out performance has to be that of Lois Nettleton's overwrought landlady, Mrs. Bronson, in the seminal The Twilight Zone (1959) episode 'The Midnight Sun'.I never worked with Betty, but she was my neighbor in the last apartment Andy and I lived in. It was a beautiful apartment with many "industry" people living in it. Marjorie Marshall (Garry and Penny's mother) lived on the other side of us with our dens having an adjoining wall. Betty's and our apartments shared an adjoining wall too ... the master bedroom wall! Because of that wall, Andy and I had the hardest time talking to Betty if her husband "Frank" was with her. (Reason below.)
Betty and Frank were very nice to us and now that Andy and I look back, we feel bad that we didn't spend the time with them that they wanted. Betty was always asking us to come over for lunch, dinner, drinks, or to look through her scrapbooks from her Broadway productions and other things she was in. We never did if the two of them were together ... which was most of the time. It was that wall ... that wall that adjoined our bedrooms. Oh that wall!
Almost EVERY NIGHT at around 1:00 AM to 2:00 AM, we would hear Betty's very loud and DEEP voice boom through the wall ... "FRANK get the hell off me!" "Stop that!" And so on, and so on. This would go on for at least ten minutes or more until Frank finally realized he had no chance (to possibly play leap frog?). Andy and I had a very hard time not laughing out loud while this was happening.
Now you know why it was hard to talk to Betty when Frank was around. We just couldn't keep a straight face and did not want to embarrass either of them. They were both really nice people but I guess they did not realize the walls were thin enough for Betty's strong Broadway theatre voice to penetrate through it. We probably should have told them that we could hear them the first time it happened, because we lost two years of not having the good fortune of calling them FRIENDS.
It was definitely our loss, and being very young at the time is a poor excuse for not just letting it go, and be happy that at least people their age were still active ... well, at least one of them.
Damon Charles- Actor
- Soundtrack
Eddy Arnold was born on 15 May 1918 in Henderson, Tennessee, USA. He was an actor, known for Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), Groundhog Day (1993) and The Brave One (2007). He was married to Sally Gayhart. He died on 8 May 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.For a short time in the middle 1970's, I was not only doing makeup, but also a very "interesting" (real word would be "weird") hair transplant procedure. It looked great but needed a lot of care after it was done. It was an extremely expensive procedure so most of my clients were movie stars, or people in some form of entertainment where they were in front of an audience.
Eddie Arnold flew out to Encino California to see me about having the procedure done. We talked for about 4 hours. He was very nice and really wanted the procedure, even though I stressed how much upkeep it needed. Finally I just flat out told him, I wouldn't do it, as his schedule did not seem conducive to this procedure. I suggested he stay with wearing the toupees he had worn for years (which he did). He went to write a check for my time ... $1,000. I stopped him and said there would be no charge, but that my grandmother was probably his biggest fan and she would be in seventh heaven if he were to call her. Well he did. A few days later he called my grandmother in San Diego and talked with her for more than an hour ... he even sung to her over the phone.
Now who do you think my grandmother's favorite grandchild was from that day on?!
Damon Charles- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Scott Vincent James Baio was born on September 22, 1960 in Brooklyn, New York. He was the third child of Mario and Rose Baio, who had emigrated from Italy. At the young age of nine, Scott decided that he wanted to be an actor. Soon after, his parents took him on interviews and he was able to land in small roles in commercials. His first real taste of success occurred in 1976 when he beat out 2,000 other child actors for the starring role in the child gangster film Bugsy Malone (1976). The following year, Scott's popularity soared after he was chosen for the role of Chachi Arcola, The Fonz's cousin, on the ABC sitcom Happy Days (1974). Soon after, Scott's parents moved him to Hollywood to help him keep up with the demands of his acting career. Throughout his stint on Happy Days (1974) from 1977 to 1984, Scott still managed to appear in several films, including Skatetown U.S.A. (1979), Foxes (1980) and Zapped! (1982) and even starred in three other short-lived sitcoms (Blansky's Beauties (1977), Who's Watching the Kids (1978), and the "Happy Days" spin-off Joanie Loves Chachi (1982)). This exposure helped him become a major teen idol in the early 1980s.
After Happy Days (1974) went off the air in 1984, Scott moved to CBS where he was given the starring role on the sitcom Charles in Charge (1984). He played a college student who was hired to watch over three children. After one season on CBS, the series was retooled and moved to first-run syndication where it ran successfully from 1987 to 1990. Since Charles in Charge (1984) ended, Scott has been able to stay busy, albeit with a relatively lower profile. He has had starring roles on Baby Talk (1991) and Diagnosis Murder (1993) and guest starring roles on Veronica's Closet (1997) and Arrested Development (2003). He has even tried his hand behind the camera, directing episodes of The Wayans Bros. (1995) and Unhappily Ever After (1995).
Offscreen, Scott has made a few headlines as well. In 1997, he was rumored to have died in a car accident, but this was quickly declared as false. He has gained a reputation for dating several high-profile (mostly blonde) actresses, most notably Pamela Anderson, Heather Locklear and former co-star Nicole Eggert. In 2007, VH1 played this reputation into a reality series called Scott Baio Is 45... And Single (2007). On the show, he meets with a life coach to try and find reasons why he is still single. In order to accomplish this, he must revisit his ex-girlfriends (including Erin Moran and Julie McCullough) to find out what went right and what went wrong in the relationships. Follwing the completion of the first season, he announced that his girlfriend, Renee Baio, was pregnant with his first child. On November 2, 2007, she gave birth to a baby girl, Bailey Deluca.Scott is on my Personal IMDB Bio as one of the nicest people I have ever worked with. He is very professional and really does care about the production, the cast, and the crew.
The first time we met, I felt (real or not) that he was a little uncomfortable with me for being openly gay. Trust me, he is not the only performer in Hollywood who gives that first impression!
Because I like my performers to be totally comfortable, I suggested that Scott be made up by one of my female assistants. But I think the other stars, and perhaps the producers suggested he would be better off in my hands. So when I suggested he may be more comfortable with my main assistant, he said that he would be OK with me. At first there was some apprehension and I could actually feel his physical tension when I touched him or got my face close to his. But as time went on, he became more relaxed with each day, until there was a very personable relationship between us which carried over to multiple projects.
At no time did I ever think Scott was homophobic. Who knows what was going on in his mind? But whatever it was, it was real, and he had every right to feel the way he felt. I'm just glad that with time he changed, and considered me a friend ... not just a makeup artist.
One night Andy and I were at his house for dinner. At that time he was engaged to Jeanette Jonsson (probably one of the most beautiful women I have ever met ... but why not? He only dated beautiful women ... and eventually married one too).
While eating dinner we were talking about the possibility of their wedding and where they would like to have it. Scott said he was thinking of their backyard and Jeanette said that she would like that, but that she would also like to get married in her country of Sweden. Then Jeanette said something that shocked me almost as much as it seemed to shock Scott. She said that Andy and I should come to Sweden with them and we could have a "Double Ceremony". I looked at Scott's face across the table from me, and it really showed how shocked he was. (Not a good actor at that time.) As I said, I was shocked, but laughed and said, "As much as we'd love to, I just don't think it would be good for Scott's career at the time." That was it, we dropped that conversation and moved on to something else.
I'm so glad he is married and has a beautiful child. He dearly loves Bailey and enjoys being a father.
Scott, thanks for being a friend, and naming Andy's and my 12' tall horse statue "Big' F'n Horse" which has become so memorable to so many people.
Damon Charles- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Neil Simon was born on 4 July 1927 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for The Odd Couple (1968), Murder by Death (1976) and The Goodbye Girl (1977). He was married to Elaine Joyce, Diane Lander, Marsha Mason and Joan Baim. He died on 26 August 2018 in New York City, New York, USA.Definitely a great writer with funny stories. Whether his stories were actually written from his life experiences makes me wonder. Sadly he was one of the most depressing people you could ever know or be around.
Enough Said.
Damon Charles- Actor
- Additional Crew
Alan Cranston was born on 19 June 1914 in Palo Alto, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Candidate (1972), On the Edge (1998) and Bicentennial Minutes (1974). He was married to Norma Weintraub and Geneva McMath. He died on 31 December 2000 in Los Altos, California, USA.In 1976 Andy was acting as a Advance Man for Senator John V. Tunney during his re-election campaign against S.I. Hayakawa. On many occasions I was tagging along, helping in any way I could. Meeting and working behind the scenes with many political figures was an eye opening experience to see how politicians really act, and what they do and say when out of the public eye .. especially when not making campaign speeches. One could say it really turned both of us off to the whole political system.
On election night, Andy and I were at the Tunney Campaign hotel in Tunney's private suite along with some of his friends, political figures, entertainment executives and actors watching the TV's and waiting for election results. I was sitting on the couch talking to Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows when Senator Alan Cranston walked up and said, "You look like you have a soft shoulder to rest my head on." Before I could say a word, he was on the couch next to me with his head on my left shoulder and soon fast asleep. Hmmmm, the man who was successfully sued by Adolph Hitler was actually sleeping on my shoulder. What a story to tell my grandkids one day ... no, no, no ... I forgot, I'm gay, and Andy and I decided we were too selfish to have kids. So I'm telling this to you instead of any grandkids we might have had.
As the night progressed we were all very aware that John Tunney was going to lose the election. When the news stations gave what they considered the final results, there was a loud uproar from the people in the room. Mr. Cranston awoke, looked at me and said, "What happened?" I said, "We lost." With that he got up, shook my hand and said, "Oh well", and then left the room.
In the 4 hours together, I only said two words to Mr. Cranston so I can't say I knew him, but I can say he slept on my shoulder the whole time. Guess he liked my shoulder so much that he didn't want to try someone else's.
Damon Charles- Actress
- Soundtrack
Ruth Roman was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, the youngest of three daughters of Lithuanian-Jewish parents Mary Pauline (Gold) and Abraham Roman. Her father, a carnival barker, died when she was a small child, forcing her mother to support the family by working as a waitress and cleaning woman. Ruth grew up in the poor tenement district of Boston, Massachusetts, where she went to school. However, she left school after just two years to pursue an acting career. Her chosen path proved to be strewn with obstacles: in New York, she obtained a job posing for stills for a crime magazine, but theatrical work eluded her. She then worked as a hat check girl at a night club before calling it quits and returning to Boston. There, she made ends meet as an usherette during the day while at night performing with the New England Repertory Company, her first steady acting job. She also studied drama and eventually graduated from the Bishop-Lee Theatre School.
Trying to get into films, Ruth unsuccessfully made the rounds of agents and producers for two years (1940-42), until a bit part as a WAVE came her way in the film Stage Door Canteen (1943). With $200 to her name, she purchased a one-way ticket to Hollywood, where she found shared accommodation with other aspiring starlets, naming it, optimistically, 'the House of the Seven Garbos'. After a screen test with Warner Brothers failed to result in a contract, Ruth had another run of six hard years playing bit parts, many of them uncredited, some ending up on the cutting room floor. A sole speaking part of consequence was in the titular role of Jungle Queen (1945), a Universal serial (after subsequent acting lessons, Ruth was aghast when the serial was rereleased in 1951).
Ruth finally got her big break when producer Dore Schary cast her (against character, as a murderess) in the RKO thriller The Window (1949). That same year, she successfully auditioned for Stanley Kramer's boxing drama Champion (1949) as the dependable wife of the fighter (Kirk Douglas). After this turning point in her life, the shapely, smoky-voiced brunette secured a contract with Warner Brothers. During the next phase of her career, she moved effortlessly from glamorous and seductive to demure and wholesome in films opposite stars like James Stewart, Errol Flynn, and Gary Cooper. Look Magazine billed her as the 'Big Time Movie Personality of 1950', and by the following year she was receiving some 500 fan letters per week.
While many of her leads were in westerns (albeit mostly A-grade ones), Ruth was somewhat more memorable in support of Farley Granger (as his upper-crust lover and the raison d'etre for the planned murder of his wife) in Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (1951). Another offbeat role was as a gangster's moll in the British-made updated adaptation of Shakespeare's Joe MacBeth (1955). As Lily, she is the power behind angst-ridden Paul Douglas ('Joe'), whom she easily manipulates to do her bidding. In The Bottom of the Bottle (1956), she was at her dependable best as the supportive wife of lawyer Joseph Cotten. Arguably, her last noteworthy performance on the big screen was in Alexander Singer's romance/drama Love Has Many Faces (1965).
By the 1960s, Ruth had made the transition to middle-aged character parts and began to appear mostly on television in shows like The Outer Limits (1963), Mannix (1967), Gunsmoke (1955), and (in a recurring role) in The Long, Hot Summer (1965). She also toured nationally with theatrical productions of "Plaza Suite", "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf", and "Two for the Seesaw". For the actress, who was said to disdain the trimmings of Hollywood stardom, real-life drama came when she and her son counted among the 760 survivors of the sinking of the luxury cruise liner 'Andrea Doria' in 1956. In September 1967, she jumped from her burning car but still managed to make her scheduled performance in "Beekman Place" at the Ivanhoe Theatre. Ruth died in September 1999 at her home in Laguna Beach, aged 76.I met Ruth in the 1970's while I was being promoted by Coty Cosmetics as "World Famous Damon". Coty had me traveling the country trying to promote their new and expensive brand of makeup called "Coty 24K". Nice product, absolutely beautiful stunning packaging, but way too expensive for the Coty line. In the end it failed miserably.
While I was taking an hour break from makeup demonstrations, a woman walked up to me, and in a "Norma Desmond" attitude and style held out her hand (to take and kiss?) and said (with an air of grandeur), "Hello, I'M Ruth Roman!" I was almost ready for her to say, "... and you're NOT!"
I took her hand and led her up on the platform where I was doing the makeups. I knew exactly who she was. At one time she was (just shy of being) a star. But sadly with age, many who were "names" and stars become lost to the newer generation of performers and their audience. I realized she still saw herself as bigger than life, and I was willing to help her in that belief ... even if for a few minutes.
We sat on the two director chairs I had and talked for the full hour. My assistant brought us coffee and some sort of pastry. Ruth was so happy to tell me about her life, film career, accidents and tragedies, son, and even her marriages. For some reason people open up to me about things they might not normally tell others. No problem ... you won't hear anything she told me, as she "swore?" me to secrecy.
Our talk was truly enjoyable and enlightening as to personalities that were once big but now relegated pretty much to parts on television. They still have to pay the bills. Luckily she was able to travel and do theatre, which is very rewarding because you hear the actual love from your live audience with their laughs, sighs, and applause.
I knew by the end of our conversation that Ruth was up on stage with me and would love some of that adoration. So when the hour was up, I turned back on my microphone and announced to the audience, we had on stage the famous actress RUTH ROMAN! The "older" people knew who she was and immediately applauded. As soon as that happened, Ruth was in her element and graciously waved to her "fans".
I put another microphone around Ruth's neck while I proceeded with her makeup. Because of our conversation about what I was doing with her makeup design, and with her talking about her film career, our audience grew from about 50 people to be at least 300 to 400 grouped tightly in around us. I had never seen so many people in one place in a mall. I was a little afraid the second floor might fall, and asked the people to please spread out a little. When I was all done with Ruth's makeup, the audience gave what would be considered by some a "standing ovation" for about five minutes. Ruth then kissed me a goodbye and went down among her "fans" and proceeded to sign autographs.
I really think that was one of the best times she had at being "recognized" in a very long time. As she walked away, she called out my name, smiled a big smile, and blew me a kiss.
With that, I again announced, "Ruth Roman everyone, Ruth Roman." Applause, applause, applause ...
Damon Charles- Actor
- Soundtrack
A character actor who seems to pop up everywhere as the stereotypical cop, military officer and/or tough guy, von Bargen could turn in performances of stunning complexity when given the chance.
Daniel von Bargen was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 5, 1950 to Juanita (Bustle) and Donald L. von Bargen. Of German and English descent, he grew up in Cincinnati for most of his childhood before moving with his family to Southern California. He attended Purdue University, majoring in drama. He joined the Trinity Repertory Theatre in Providence, Rhode Island, after graduation and worked with them for many years. A breakthrough role in Mastergate (1992) by Larry Gelbart launched him onto Broadway. He starred in off-Broadway productions of "Beggars in the House of Plenty", "Macbeth", "The Cherry Orchard", "Hurlyburly", and "Uncle Vanya." On TV, he was best-known for his roles in Malcolm in the Middle (2000) and The West Wing (1999).
His role in The Postman (1997) as the Pineview sheriff who suspects Kevin Costner's character of being a fraud, was a stand-out as von Bargen infused the role with the pathos of a man caught between just trying to survive and wanting to believe in the hope the Postman represents. In an otherwise mediocre film, audiences were moved to tear up as his character shouts, "Ride Postman! Ride!", just before being put to death for assisting in the rebellion. His more evil side was brought out in Clive Barker's Lord of Illusions (1995) as he played Nix, an older, wiser, more magical and supernaturally gifted type of Charles Manson character rising from the dead to "murder the world".I worked with Daniel on a film that had a lot of very talented performers, but Daniel stood out among the others. He was very intense and outwardly unhappy. I thought that this was because his character was that way and perhaps he was a method actor. But after a few days working together, we started talking of things outside of the entertainment industry. I saw that he was sketching and so we started talking about drawing and painting. I told him my medium used to be oils but I switched to acrylics because I felt oils might be a cause of cancer in artists. His comment was so negative. He said, "Well we all have to die of something. Why not cancer?" I had no comment to that other than to ask if he enjoys art. Again a very negative answer of, "No, not really."
The only time I heard him say a positive word is when he expressed great joy in the makeup I did on him. He said it caught every element of the character. Sadly that makeup was as a crazed psycho in a straight jacket confined to a monastery cell. A positive comment on a negative element ... vice versa?
I was saddened to hear when he shot himself in the head, but not really surprised as I found him to be the most negative person I have ever worked with ... and possibly ever known.
Too bad this very talented actor could not beat whatever demons he may have been battling. His performances were always memorable ... but sadly, at least for me, when I watched him his negativity outweighed any performance he gave.
Damon Charles- Marjorie Marshall was born on 1 February 1908 in New York, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Odd Couple (1970), Laverne & Shirley (1976) and Happy Days (1974). She was married to Anthony W. Marshall. She died on 22 December 1983 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Marjorie was Andy and my neighbor in our last apartment. Her apartment backed up to our den wall. This great apartment building had a lot of older entertainment folks living in it and Andy and I were the youngest by at least 30 years. In fact the owner of the building was hesitant about renting to two guys so young, but after talking with us for about an hour, he thought we'd fit in perfect ... and he was right.
Andy and I took an instant liking to Marjorie as Andy and I realized she was a little dingy ... We Love DINGY People. Sadly as the years went on, it became more evident the dinginess was the onset of Alzheimer's so we tried watching out for her as much as possible since she lived alone.
Marjorie tried to be very independent but on a few occasions would ask for help with something she couldn't do. She always seemed to ask me (not Andy) and I loved to help her. For some reason, she thought Andy was my "little son" (he had a beard at the time and we're the same age), and she would always ask me how he was doing in school, and did he need her to help him with his homework? (Andy was in USC Law School at the time)
We did not know Marjorie was the mother of Garry and Penny until at least two months after we first met. Then one day, I heard the phone ring in Marjorie's apartment and then almost immediately heard her leave and go downstairs. I looked out of our balcony and saw her on the street wearing a yellow raincoat. I went down to see if she was okay since the sky was clear and there was no forecast for rain. She told me she was waiting for some friends to pick her up, and she was going to take them to see a taping of Laverne & Shirley. (It was at this moment I put two and two together and realized what the last name "Marshall" meant.) She said her friends told her it was raining at their place, so that is why she was wearing the raincoat. Thinking she was OK, I then went back up to our apartment. An hour later I was on the balcony and there was Marjorie still standing in the same place with the raincoat on. I went downstairs again and asked if her friends were late (this was before cell phones) and would she like me to call someone? She said they were probably just running a little behind and she was fine. Again I went back upstairs but this time I kept looking over the balcony every 10 to 15 minutes to see if Marjorie got picked up. After another hour from the last time, I went down to the street and over to her again. This time I asked Marjorie where her friends were coming from. She said, "San Diego!" I said, "Marjorie, that is a two and a half hour drive." She said, "I know, that's why I came down here, so I wouldn't miss them." At this point I decided to wait with her until her friends came. That was about another twenty minutes. From that point on. if I heard her phone ring and then her apartment door close, I would always go see where she went. If she was waiting on the street for someone to come, I would ask her where they were coming from. I didn't want her to have to stand outside as long as she did before. If it were more than ten minutes, I'd get her to go back to her apartment until close to the time the people were coming, and then I'd go over and tell her it was now time to wait outside.
Marjorie was a dear sweet lady who always had a smile and good-natured way about her. As time went on, we would see her kids, husband Tony, and some cast members from her son's TV shows come by for a visit with her. That was nice of the cast members. We never talked show business with her, nor talked about any of her kids. We liked her ... for her.
A few years after we moved out of the apartment, I was in the May Company Department Store in North Hollywood California doing a makeup demonstration. Marjorie saw me and started running over, calling out my name. I noticed that there was a caregiver with her (trying to catch up). Marjorie grabbed me and kissed me. She then said she wanted to introduce me to someone special. She grabbed hold of the caregiver's arm and said, "Damon, I'd like you to meet Marjorie Marshall." I wanted to cry, but then I put it in my mind that she was "just dingy", and said, "So glad to meet you." The caregiver smiled and winked.
As the (two?) Marjories were walking away, Marjorie turned and yelled to me, ... "Say hello to your little boy from me." That's when I knew which was the real Marjorie!
Damon Charles - Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Bobby Womack was born into a musical family. Managed by their father, he and his brothers formed "The Womack Brothers", a gospel singing group that toured with several national gospel stars. "The Womack Brothers" caught the attention of the legendary Sam Cooke when Cooke was singing on the gospel circuit. When Cooke formed his own record label, Sar Records, he immediately signed Bobby and his brothers. In 1962, they were renamed "The Valentinos" and had their first R&B hit single "Lookin' For A Love". Although he continued to record with his brothers throughout the 1960s, Womack began playing guitar in Sam Cooke's band until Cooke's untimely death in 1964. Without the stewardship of Cooke, however, "The Valentinos" floundered and split up, subsequently beginning Bobby Womack's solo career. Although he had mediocre commercial success as a recording artist throughout the 1960s, he had considerable success as a composer and arranger for R&B/Pop artists such as Wilson Pickett, Joe Tex and Dusty Springfield. He would eventually recorded a string of hits of his own from 1971 through 1976. Among them were "That's The Way I Feel About Cha", "Woman's Gotta Have It" and a newly arranged version of "Lookin' For A Love". His career slumped during the Disco era as his earthy and soulful vocals were suddenly out of vogue. Nevertheless, he returned triumphant in the early 1980s with the recording of the album entitled "The Poet" on which he delivered what has become his signature composition and recording "If You Think You're Lonely Now". His 1972 composition and recording of the song "Across 110th Street"--which was originally recorded for the movie of the same name--resurfaced as the theme for the feature film Jackie Brown (1997). Ironically, the film's star, Pam Grier, had been a back-up singer for Womack when she was a coed at UCLA. Considered by critics and fans alike to be one of the last great "Soul" men, Womack continues to record and perform, and has maintained a devoted following throughout the world.I worked with Bobby only once, and it was in 1999. That was 15 years before he passed away but even at that time he was showing signs of Alzheimer's. Sadly he had to constantly stop his performances of his songs as he would forget the words. His backup singers, especially Altrinna Greyson, were very supportive of his efforts, and would give him words of encouragement when he seemed forgetful and on the verge of possibly crying.
I had already done all the makeup and hairstyles on his backup singers before Bobby was brought to me for his makeup and hair. He just looked at me for minute and then said, "You're not black!" I laughed and said, "How do you know?" That broke the ice. He sat in my chair and I did my work. When I was done, he said he apologized for assuming I could not work on dark skin. I said that I was a "makeup artist" and not a "makeup applicator", and anyway ... skin's skin! He shook my hand and said, "You are so right ... skin is skin."
Damon Charles- Calvin Hill was born on 2 January 1947 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He is an actor, known for Horror High (1973), The NFL on CBS (1956) and The NFL on NBC (1965). He has been married to Janet McDonald since 30 January 1971. They have one child.In 2001 I was called do do makeup on Calvin Hill and some of the Dallas Cowboys for a show on Calvin Hill's football career.
I went out to the hotel in Oxnard California that was next to their training camp. I walked into the lobby and there were all (or at least it seemed like it) of the Dallas Cowboys. I was carrying my makeup box, makeup chair, and makeup table ... I knew how to balance myself when I carried things to locations. All of a sudden I was swarmed by the football players. One taking my box, one taking the chair, and two (yes two) to take my table. I heard one person say; *beep* this is heavy", and the rest of them start laughing. They had set my items neatly to the side and were still surrounding me asking questions about the filming, makeup, etc. I'm almost 6'3", but felt like a dwarf next to all of them. All of a sudden I just blurt out, "I have never felt so small or white in my entire life." Well they got a real kick out of that and proceeded to pat me on the back and shake my hand and introduce themselves. They were all in a really good mood and not at all what I expected football players to be like ... literally gentle giants that liked to laugh and have fun (when not on the field facing their opponents).
Calvin came down to the lobby about 20-30 minutes later and introduced himself to me. I was amazed to see how the players' personalities changed when Calvin appeared. All of a sudden they became quieter and definitely held a lot of respect for him ... When he talked, they listened. He himself was very cordial and had an aura about him that made you realize this man deserved the respect his team was giving him without demanding it in any way.
While I made Calvin up, he told me stories of his life and career as I had informed him that I really wasn't much into sports and honestly I didn't know who he was. He wasn't taken aback by my honesty, quite the contrary. He jokingly said he didn't know anything about me or makeup artistry either, so we were even.
I have to say that my day with Mr. Hill and the Dallas Cowboys was one of the most interesting days I have ever had. To watch them laugh, joke, play pranks on each other, and then immediately go into their "pro mode" and practice or play their game was just like on a movie or TV set ... Professional entertainment at its best!
Damon Charles - This amazingly buxom blond bombshell is one of the true legends on the adult circuit. Porn star Candy Samples' name has become synonymous with huge-breasted bodaciousness over the course of her decades-long career. She's been in and out of the sex business since the early 1970s. She became a fan favorite through her numerous features and constant personal appearances.
She first got into the hardcore scene in the early 1970s, after a few appearances in some softcore features for director Russ Meyer like Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens (1979) (in which she was credited as Mary Gavin). She had long been one of the most sought-after models for magazine and poster work, and she began to parlay that into hardcore success. She starred in a string of hardcore videos during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Candy was one of the stars of the notorious nudie flick Flesh Gordon (1974) (also as Mary Gavin), further solidifying her stature as the biggest name among chesty starlets. What just may be her hottest performance can be found in John Holmes and the All Star Sex Queens (1980), where she takes on Johnnie Keyes and Uschi Digard in a threeway romp. Candy continues to turn up now and again in archive footage in specialty tapes, although she tends to concentrate on her dancing and personal appearances these days.Actress
In 1976 I received a phone call asking if I would be interested in doing makeup on Mary Gavin. I said what my rate was and if they would meet that, I would be happy to make up almost anyone. When that was agreed to, I asked who Mary Gavin was. The man on the phone was very vague but said she was a former model coming out of semi-retirement and would need not just face makeup but body makeup too. He said that would be discussed when we met on the day of the photo shoot. I agreed and the day and time were set.
Later that day I was talking with a friend about the phone call I received, and said it seemed a little odd that I had never heard the name of the model before. My friend asked who she was. I said "Mary Gavin". My friend started yelling and jumping up and down excitedly. He said, "Don't you know who she is? ... That's Candy Samples!" I still had no idea who that was. He said he was going to take me to the bookstore to show me pictures of her. He didn't tell me it would be an "Adult Bookstore". When I saw the pictures of her, my comment was, "OUCH!" Her breast were enormous. My friend asked if I was still going to do the makeup? I said if it was just a one-person photo shoot like I was told, I had no problem ... but if it was going to be a sexual thing then I would leave. He said he would just die to be with me the day I did the makeup and even said he'd carry my makeup box. I said NO.
I arrived 20 minutes early on the day of the shoot. It was being shot in a little building on Santa Monica Boulevard, just east of Fairfax Avenue in West Hollywood California. I set up my chair and makeup table with supplies and waited for Mary (Candy) to arrive. About five minutes after I was completely set up, a very little lady in a shawl walked up to me and said, "Hello, I'm Mary." She did not look at all like the woman I saw in the magazine. She was much smaller than I thought she'd be, her hair was mousy brown, and her breasts were totally hidden by her loose flowing shawl. I introduced myself and asked if she would be wearing a wig, or would I also be doing her hair. She laughed and said she never used her own hair, and that she brought a wig that she would style. She seemed very nice. She asked if it would be okay with me if she got totally undressed for the makeup application. I said it would be no problem as I was told I'd be doing body makeup too. While she was getting undressed, I mentioned that my friend said he'd just die to be here today. She asked, "What is he dying from?" I didn't think she heard me right so I repeated the same statement again, and she replied with the same, "What is he dying from?" I realized she didn't get the jest of the conversation and since I did not want to embarrass her, I just said "cancer." She said, "Oh I'm so sorry."
After I made up her face I started on the body. I lifted one breast to apply makeup under it and inadvertently let out a little grunt. It was heavy! We both started laughing. She said her breasts weighed anywhere from 10 to 15 pounds each. I believed it because she had very deep indentations in her shoulders from where her bra straps had dug in from the weight of her breasts. I ended having to do subtle contour makeup in those indentations to make them disappear on camera. When I was done, Mary looked in the mirror and said it was beautiful EXCEPT she wanted to change one thing ... her lips. I was a little shocked because I really do perfect lip shapes. She said they were too perfect for "her" ... meaning "Candy Samples" ... not Mary Gavin. I said it was no problem. She very carefully removed only the lips that I had created and then literally took the orangish-red lipstick she brought and made totally straight lips. No bow or arch ... just straight across. She was happy, and at that point I was happy that my name was not going to be on the photos, credited as doing the makeup. She put on her wig, and within seconds after she combed the wig straight ... there before me was Candy Samples.
And for you guys who keep asking the same question ... YES, they were real!
Damon Charles - Costume Designer
- Production Designer
Jerry Skeels was born on 31 August 1938 in Evansville, Indiana, USA. Jerry was a costume designer and production designer, known for One West Waikiki (1994), P.S.I. Luv U (1991) and NightMan (1997). Jerry died on 24 July 2007 in Lake Arrowhead, California, USA.Jerry was the main part of the very talented team of "Jeran" Costume Designers. His business and life partner was Randy McLaughlin.
The two of them created some very beautiful and iconic fashions for many stars in the industry.
I met Jerry and Randy when I was in pre-production for my skin and hair care infomercial, The Damon Charles Total Rehydration System. Jerry and Randy offered (at no cost) to loan us three of their highest priced "beaded" gowns for our high fashion models. During the filming of the fashion scene, the models moved swiftly in their turns and spins. As they went through their actions, I would see beads falling or sometimes flying off the gowns. As each bead came off the gowns I would say, "There goes five hundred dollars, a thousand, five thousand, ten thousand ...." (You get the picture.)
Andy and I were friends with Jerry and Randy for many years. So what killed the friendship? What kills most friendships? ... Money!
Andy and I were invited to Jerry and Randy's house for what we were told would be an intimate dinner similar to what we usually did at each other's house. But this time it wasn't dinner and it wasn't intimate. When we arrived there were already about 15 to 20 other people there. All people we knew from the industry, who (supposedly) HAD Money. Jerry and Randy had invited us all over to hear "Their Musical". Yes, they had written a musical and had singers there to perform it for us. In between songs and story lines, Jerry would tell us how much money they needed to get this show onto Broadway. Then Randy would point out the decorated Christmas tree in their living room (it wasn't December) that THEIR fortune teller had told them that MUST remain up until the show opened on Broadway. At that point you could see a lot of people including myself chuckle with disbelief at what was happening. There was to be no dinner. Just a big push to give up our money for a musical project a fortune teller told them would come true, IF ... they left their Christmas tree UP. Well the evening went on and on as no one was willing to give their money for this project. I don't think any of us thought it bad, but it wasn't for Broadway. I think Jerry and Randy lost a lot of friends that night.
Sadly even though Jerry and Randy left their Christmas tree up as they were told to do by the fortune teller, they both died before their project ever got to Broadway. Hmmm, the fortune teller forgot to add that bit of change-in-the-plans.
Damon Charles- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Leo Penn was born on 27 August 1921 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA. He was a director and actor, known for Ben Casey (1961), The Mississippi (1982) and Remington Steele (1982). He was married to Eileen Ryan and Olive Deering. He died on 5 September 1998 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Worked with him once in 1983 ... that was enough. Mean, sarcastic, negative, abrupt, and whatever other bad things you could possibly say about a person.
Let's hope he just got out of bed on the wrong side during that time.
Damon Charles- Writer
- Actor
- Director
William Peter Blatty was born on 7 January 1928 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The Exorcist (1973), The Exorcist III (1990) and The Ninth Configuration (1980). He was married to Julie Alicia Witbrodt, Linda Blatty, Elizabeth Gilman and Mary Margaret Rigard. He died on 12 January 2017 in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.In the 1970's I was doing a very expensive and elite type of hair transplantation procedure besides my makeup work in the film industry. Many of my clients were famous and from the entertainment industry. All but Mr. Blatty were wonderful to work with and on. He was a problem from start to finish ... a prima donna in all terms.
The actual procedure took an initial visit to see if the client were a good match for this type of procedure, a visit to inspect and okay the hair and materials that would be used, a day for the actual procedure, and a followup to make sure all things were in order.
On the initial visit I became acutely aware that Mr. Blatty was homophobic but wanted the procedure, except that he did not want me to touch him too much. I told him that I thought he should consider some other type of procedure and someplace else, but he wouldn't hear of it. I explained that myself, my assistant, and the doctor would all be touching his head a lot. He asked if he could be touched less by me and more by the doctor and my assistant, both whom were females. I said that would be fine.
On the day he came in to have the hair blended specifically for him and have exact measurements made of his scalp, he asked that only my assistant touch him in the measuring, but I could do the hair matching. I complied with his wishes.
On the day of the procedure he reminded me that he wished the assistant and doctor to do most of the procedure even though he knew I was the most qualified to do it. Again, I complied as much as I could, but each time my hand touched his head he froze up, made a gasp, and stayed that way until I took my hand away. When it came to the finishing touches (haircut), it meant that I alone would be doing that. He sat totally frozen and gasping until I was finished. When done, I asked if he liked the look, which shockingly he said yes. He then called over my assistant, gave her a couple hundred dollars in tips for her and the doctor to share. He then turned to me and said, "I do not tip men ... especially gay men," and then left.
He never did come back for his followup visit. That was the only good day for all of us.
I sure hope he got over his phobia of gay people, and at least he did not try to exorcise the "gay" out of me.
Damon Charles- Producer
- Actor
- Director
Ted V. Mikels was born on 29 April 1929 in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. He was a producer and actor, known for The Doll Squad (1973), Blood Orgy of the She-Devils (1973) and Ten Violent Women (1982). He was married to Geneva Kirsch. He died on 16 October 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.Ted V. Mikels
Producer, The Astro-Zombies
How could you not want to meet the guy who produced and directed The Corpse Grinders? Even Ed Wood would be in awe of such a guy.
Well, in the early 1980's I got a phone call from Ted himself asking me to come to his home in Pasadena to talk about doing makeup and effects on a film with him, called The Aftermath. I have no idea how he got my name and number, and I forgot to ask him. I said yes I'd come. However I really was not interested in working with him, but just wanted to meet the man behind such schlock films that made lots of money (especially) in the southern parts of the United States.
I got to his home (which was "castle-like") in the hills of Pasadena California. I thought I was going to be the only person there ... I was wrong. There were about 30 people there, and all that I talked to had said they were going to do his film ... that he didn't do interviews. He just hired you on the phone and you came over for the first production meeting, and that is what this was. Did that mean he thought I was hired because I said I'd come over and talk? ... YES.
For almost an hour we all mingled around downstairs in his living-room and talked. There were quite a few very nice people, and all seemed very excited to get the chance to work on a Ted V. Mikels Production ... it was ALMOST intoxicating.
Then the moment came ... Ted V. Mikels himself appeared at the top of the staircase with two scantily clad, (taller than him) buxom females in his arms. Ted wore skin tight pants, an open vest showing off his chest, and a massive gold chain with some type of big animal tooth hanging from around his neck. His hair was definitely STYLED?, and oh what a mustache ... Huge handlebar mustache like I had never seen other than as a caricature in a play or film. As the three people descended the staircase it seemed almost as if all around me were going to bow in front of him. I was in awe of what was happening around me. Ted went around and introduced himself to each person, but did not ask "your name". After the introductions he then proceeded to talk about the film and what he needed from the people in the room. Not only did he need their services for the job they were to perform, e.g., makeup, wardrobe, props, etc, he was telling them he needed money, food, card tables, chairs, furniture, and the list went on and on. Basically all the people there were supposed to bring anything and everything that would be needed to make a film. You were to mark on the sheet of paper what you would contribute, with no money or reciprocation of any kind being given in return ... You just had to do it if you wanted to work on (now say this in a "Steve Reeves" voice) ... a TED V. MIKELS PRODUCTION! People were filling out paperwork in a frenzy. At this point I just knew I had to get out of there, otherwise I may actually be caught up in the moment and do something foolish ... like actually working on one of his films.
I am not saying that the people there that day were foolish to want to work on his films, nor am I making fun of Mr. Mikels in any way. I actually had a good time talking with the people and seeing who Mr. Mikels was. I found this to be a real eye-opener to how so many people want to be in the entertainment industry, and that they will do almost anything to get into it. Some actually succeed and go on to big productions, but the majority do not. I guess some people will say that any experience is good experience ... I (and most of my friends and colleagues) don't believe slave labor to be so.
Years after this experience, a very funny but sadly accurate film was made showing how a film can be made (not just a pipe-dream) in the same vein that Ted V. Mikels created his ... It was dead-on accurate on how desperate some people are to make, be in, or work on films .... any film. That great film was called "Bowfinger" and starred Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy.
While I give Mr. Mikels kudos to have created an empire of film making for himself, I don't agree with the way it was done. So my suggestion to anyone new to the entertainment industry who did not get to meet or attend a Ted V. Mikels production meeting, and wants to really wants to get into the industry ... PLEASE watch Bowfinger, and then do everything just the opposite of what happens in that film.
You really do have a better chance of success if you listen to those who have already gone on and done well for themselves in this wonderfully fascinating industry, by never working for free ... or better yet, never given more than just their talents to work on a production.
Good luck and hope to see you in the movies.
Damon Charles- Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS. Multi-award winning New York Times best selling author of more than 35 books. Author of national best seller books; Radical Metabolism and Radical Longevity. Pretty impressive resume for someone not really in the showbiz world, but considered as one of the leading experts in alternative care of human beings and their health.
Andy and I were lucky enough to meet and become friends with Ann Louise soon after our (too many years too late) escape from California, after finally arriving in the place Ellen Travolta told me about in 2000 as the most beautiful place on earth. Why did it take us so long to believe Ellen and move here? Well we are here, and almost instantly met so many wonderful people like Ann Louise and other interesting people from all walks of life (including a lot of movie and TV professionals) who escaped from wherever they had lived before, and moved to this paradise. Just with that move, and quickly meeting so many wonderful people probably increased our life-span by years, and we know for sure it definitely bettered our health.
Having Ann Louise, her spouse, and their friends as some of our friends, is totally different than most of the friends we had in California who were either from the entertainment industry or the computer technological field where Andy became a highly desired professional business consultant. Now we definitely have more diverse subjects to talk about, more varied age groups to learn from the older and pass on personal/professional knowledge on to the younger generation. There are parties, dinners, and just in general get-together events because we want to spend time and enjoy each other, as opposed to having to do those things in order to network into your next job.
For those of you interested in alternative wellness and care, you can look into her books, and her Ann Louise Gittleman on-line video chats and informative suggestions and comments. Or who knows, one day you may find this paradise on earth, move here, and be lucky enough to meet this gracious lady.
Damon Charles