The Terrible Catsafterme

I had stopped creating my “Dante’s Info” newsletters in the Summer of 2000 around the time that Denise and I attended the Sea-Tac convention. But when I resumed production of them in early 2002, one of the first things I did was to publish the article “Highlights of the 2000 Convention.” Here is the article in its entirety. As this was written for the express purpose of publication in the newsletter, it is simply a broad overview of the convention. I’ll add a bit more personal reminisces in future postings…

Sure the convention’s been over for twenty years, but traditions must prevail as I make my Dante’s Info report for the fourth consecutive convention. (I did not attend Birmingham, so therefore I had nothing to say about it). Hopefully, this report and reminder of the fun to be had will get you all geared up for the next convention slated for Nashville, Tennessee, July 11-14, 2002.

I have only two words to describe this convention: IN-CREDIBLE. The effort that went into this outing, the 12TH INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION of THE SONS OF THE DESERT, was apparent from the moment we walked in the door of the Sheraton Tacoma Hotel and Convention Center in Tacoma, Washington. For the duration of the convention, Jack Taylor and the Seattle Beau Hunks Tent did everything possible to ensure that every convention delegate had a truly magical time

Sea-Tac 2000 was attended by only two members of the A-Haunting We Will Go Tent, Denise F*rrell and her brother Brad. But what we lacked in number, we made up for in sleepiness. After long layovers and aggravating flight delays, we finally arrived on Thursday, July 20, late as usual, just in time for the No-Host “Blotto” cocktail Party and the Saps at Sea-Tac Buffet. We had missed two seminars and the Billy Gilbert Sneeze-Off but the dinner made up for it; great food and warm Sons comraderie abounded as we enjoyed the Video Parade of Tents and other frivolity. 

Denise looks on as I mug with my Headlines Game scoresheet

Friday saw a few of the “traditional” goings-off such as the Laurel and Hardy Cinema (two of them!), the dealers room (opened at midnight!), the Grand Council Meeting (idiots!), and Pee-Wee contest, plus some interesting new games: The Flying Deuces Glider Toss, Beau Hunks Grenade Toss, Putting Pants on Philip Relay Race, and various Pick a Star “Screen Tests.”

Several celebrity guests graced our presence at the convention, several making their convention debuts. Amazing that sixty years after Laurel and Hardy and Our Gang said goodbye to the Hal Roach Studios, that we have managed to add new celebrity attendees to our conventions every year. Present at Sea-Tac: Dorothy “Echo” deBorba, Edith Fellows, Peggy Cartwright, Gordon “Porky” Lee, and hometown gal Patsy Britten. All five were most notable for their roles in the Our Gang comedies and each had many stories to share in their own “Meet the Stars” forum and a pair of autograph sessions. How great it is to have these film legends with us!

The first full convention day was topped off with the Hollywood Party Banquet, a dapper dinner with live entertainment from the Gentlemen Jugglers, an amazing pair with an uncanny knack for throwing things. A splendid day which did not end for me until the wee hours of the morning.

Bob in the Dealer’s Emporium

It was unbelievable that as we began Saturday, the convention was already coming to a close. It seemed so unfair. But the day was packed with more fun than a Dante’s Info is packed with garbage. It began with session two of the Grand Council wah-wah session at which I was voted one of the four American Advisory Council members (in the space of time that followed, we were able to guide the Intra-Tent Journal out of its financial troubles which has enabled it to be published once again on a regular schedule). We then enjoyed Bob Satterfield’s seminar on the Laurel and Hardy (Movie) Locations and the Laurel & Hardy Team Trivia Contest, in which I once again competed. John Duff, Jimmy Wiley the 3rd, and I composed the Charley Chase team. Like Jimmy, we were third.

“An Evening With Laurel and Hardy” at the Pantages Theater (where Stan performed his vaudeville act both solo and with his common-law wife Mae several times between 1918 and 1921) was next on the agenda. In the glorious theater of old, we were entertained with both film (Two Tars) and live performance that included Laurel & Hardy lookalikes, their co-stars in character, and their films’ music. The evening was capped off with an ice-cream social back in Laurel and Hardy Town.

I purposely waited until the end of this article to talk about Laurel and Hardy Town because it was one of the most memorable “attractions” at any convention. Of course, nothing can top having Laurel and Hardy’s actual co-stars present with us and nothing has ever been able to beat visiting the actual locations where they filmed (at Hollywood ‘80), but the sheer creativity behind the reconstruction of many of the sights seen in the boys’ films left me open-mouthed, wide-eyed, and beaming like a bull in a chinese restaurant. Large furniture as seen in Brats, the electrical supply shop from Tit For Tat, the music box from The Music Box; all of it very impressive and uncannily reproduced to perfection. I can still summon a mental image of host Jack Taylor with bloodshot eyes up at 3:00 A.M. every night. . .for two years!

Denise and me with our beers in front of the Shield and Hatley Music Store in Laurel and Hardy Town

Plus we had on site a giant Sons escutcheon, movie poster reproductions, giant-sized colored artwork, banners, newsletter displays, a reproduction of a Model T, and even a makeshift camel all adorned our Convention Center area. There was always something to look out at during the few odd seconds when there was nothing to do.

One last memory to leave you with: The Laurel and Hardy Headlines Game. It is difficult to make this game sound as impressive as it was but the gist of the game was to view over 100 ”newspaper clippings” and headlines (all created just for the game) and determine which Laurel and Hardy film they referred to. Some were straight out of the films (and somehow recreated perfectly to look like the actual clipping), such as the “Honolulu Liner Sinking” headline from Sons of the Desert. Others mentioned plotlines from the movie and still others were even more obscure (an ad for shellac referred to Busy Bodies). And adding even more fun was the inclusion of some-if-not-all of the convention delegates names popping up in articles surrounding the main clipping. 

Much to my delight, this article appeared just below the Love ‘Em and Weep clipping: “MAN SITS ON FLAGPOLE FOR 32 DAYS: When Brad F*rrell finally climbed down from atop an eighty-foot flagpole it was learned that he was not up there to set any records. ‘I was painting the flagpole when the ladder I was standing on slipped from under my feet.’” Absolutely brilliant.

Unfortunately, Denise and I had to take an early flight home on Sunday morning and missed out on the Farewell Brunch but we were left with some incredible memories from a most wonderful convention. Jack and the Beau Hunks tent, I belatedly salute you. Nashville has some huge footsteps to follow!

To be continued…

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 29th, 2007 at 6:33 am and is filed under 2000's - Early, Laurel and Hardy, Vacations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.