Sometimes I stay at home on Saturdays, maybe do a few chores, watch a little TV. Sometimes things are more exciting and I travel up to Findlay or visit with family. Then there are Saturdays like the one on April 30, 2011, where I choose to spend Saturday in the New York City area, giving new meaning the phrase “New York Minute” – which is about how long I felt like I was there. You probably won’t be surprised that the event that precipitated this bizarre act of travel was the Spring Chiller Theatre Show. After attending not one, but two Hollywood Shows already in 2011, I hadn’t really been planning on attending Chiller already. However, it wasn’t long before the incredible line-up, which pretty much blew away both of the 2011 Hollywood Shows put together, convinced me otherwise.
The centerpiece of the show for me was the reunion of the five kids from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Having only met two of them in the past, it was especially thrilling to get to see all of them gathered in one room. This inclusion in itself merited getting the travel plans underway. I checked with both Bill and Peter to see if they were in. Unfortunately Bill wasn’t available to spend the day with us but did offer to lend his place to let me crash on Saturday night. I bought the plane ticket on Expedia and I was ready to go. Peter wasn’t sure what his schedule would bear that weekend, but told me that he’d make sure I got to Chiller.
The day itself came around quickly. As a weary traveler, I wasn’t looking forward to all of the rigmorale associated with flying there for such a short time – and thanks to Ashleigh having Briana over the night before, I did it on a deficit of sleep. I got up at 4am to get ready and head out to the Dayton airport. After three failed attempts to find an open fast food joint for breakfast, I finally got some at the McDonalds in Huber Heights. My insanely early flight was at 6:05am. I found myself rushing at the airport to the point that they actually called me name as someone who hadn’t shown up at the gate. I made it in the nick of time, being happy that I had an empty seat next to me on the first flight that landed at 9:03. I wasn’t so lucky for my second flight out of Washington/Dulles. I re-boarded almost immediately to catch the 10:44 flight and found a black man with thick thighs next to me.
I landed at Laguardia at 9:30am. I had to wait only about 15 minutes for Peter to arrive to pick me up. We headed directly to Chiller being held at the Hilton in Parsippany, New Jersey. As far as celebrities go, this show was one of the best overall. Had I not already met over a dozen of the celebs in the past, I would have needed an even more gigantic bankroll. Here are the celebs present whom I had already met: Loni Anderson, Dana Ashbrook, Ernest Borgnine, Gary Busey, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Gross (whom I made sure to say hello to and thank him for being so nice in Chicago), Joyce Hyser, Sean Kanan, Ken Kelly, Heather Langenkamp, Larry B. Scott, P.J. Soles, Pat Priest, Butch Patrick, Mike Lookinland, Susan Olsen, Geri Reischl, Denise Nickerson, Paris Themmen, and Rudy Sarzo. This gathering alone would have made this a great show for the typical fan.
Getting in the long, narrow line for the Wonka kids
I must say that I do have mixed feelings about the Chiller Show overall. As I said, I was really looking forward to seeing this parade of celebrities whom have meant something to me (which you can peruse beginning here). The only bad thing is that it’s just not really all that fun trying to maneuver around the insanely crowded show. In fact, at times it is just downright harrowing. But I will also say that I was quite pleased that, with a handful of exceptions, the bulk of the celebrities were not charging for photos with them if you purchased an item.
There weren’t a whole lot of surprises at the show, although I did pick up a few that I hadn’t necessarily planned on getting. As has become custom at both the Hollywood Show and the Chiller Theatre, I saw A Christmas Story celebrity Scott Schwartz roaming the crowd as a fan. It was also great to see ‘Fake Jan’ from The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, Geri Reischl, again too. She greeted me with an enthusiastic “Brad!” as soon as she saw me. What an amazing memory she has! The biggest disappointment – in fact the only one – was that Fright Night star Chris Sarandon cancelled at the last minute. He would have been a biggie for me. Joseph Bologna was one of the others on my list who had cancelled about a month before the show (as had Meredith Baxter, whom I had already met in Chicago).
She wasn’t a celebrity. She was the lady who served me the hotdog.
A hotdog in a different state – in this case New Jersey – always merits chronicling
With money at the ready for my next celebrity encounter
Peter gets a free picture with class-act celebrity P.J. Soles
As we were almost ready to leave, Peter had the chance to meet up with a really nice friend of his named Brian, whom he hadn’t seen in years. With the incredible crowds that had been present at the show, Peter and I spent nearly the entire afternoon there, arriving a little before it opened up at 11am, and staying until 4:15. I did all of this on one mere chili dog that was being sold at the show, whereas Peter did it on a cup of coffee. By the time we were out of there, I was quite ready for dinner… which brings us to the second portion of the trip.
Peter meets up with his old pal Brian
Peter and I maneuvered from Parsippany back to his place, as the GPS did its best to route us off the correct course. We ended up getting there at about 5:50 and immediately walked the short distance to the neareststop of the Metro-North train. It was about a 30-minute jaunt to Grand Central Station where we arrived at about 7pm. From there we walked to Times Square, stopping at just a few key spots for photo ops – and naturally I stopped to get a hotdog from a real-life New York hotdog vendor that gouged me $4.00 for the pleasure.
Waiting for our train to come in
Man, it’s like Grand Central Station around here. Never gets old.
Outside Grand Central Station with the Chrysler Building looming in the background
Getting smarter as I near the New York Public Library
Authentic $4.00 New York hotdog
On the streets of New York City
At the corner of Broadway and 42nd Street – in the Times Square area
The always-hoppin’ Times Square
After I ate the hotdog, we went out to eat. You guessed it – we had dinner at my 6th new Hard Rock Café of 2011, which was my 37th total overall. This one had been opened since 2005 – after it had relocated from its former location near Carnegie Hall. This newer version of the restaurant was located in the former Paramount Theatre location. The site itself has an interesting history, having opened as a premiere movie theatre in 1926, and would eventually showcase live performances from many of the musical elite such as Benny Goodman, the Andrews Sisters, Frank Sinatra, Martin & Lewis, and the Beatles. The theatre closed in 1964 and became office and retail space. In 2000, the World Wrestling Federation purchased the space and restored the Paramount marquee and converted into a nightclub. It eventually closed and the New York Hard Rock was re-located to this spot.
Hard Rock #37 – New York City
As I had offered when we had dinner at Yankee Stadium, if Peter and Bill could get me to the restaurant, I would treat. The only missing ingredient here was Bill, whose company was sorely missed during the Balsamic Tomato Brushcetta appetizers and hamburgers. I opted for the Mushroom & Swiss Burger this time. I had snapped my memorabilia photos during our 30-minute wait for a table, so we took off right after dinner and walked back to Grand Central to catch the train at 9:25.
Entry foyer
Signature Hofner “Beatle” Bass guitar signed by Paul McCartney
Beatles worn stage garb, along with George and John’s personalized TWA travel bags
George Harrison’s guitar and I gently weep. He used this at the Concert for Bangladesh
Proving my location
Orginal door from the Abbey Road Studios
Decorative handmade display of over 300 Gibson guitars
Hard Rock fame at last! My name on the ‘now seating’ board
Peter eats Bill’s share of the Brushcetta
Peter and I enjoying our eats
Bill’s absence was duly and sadly noted
Amidst the glitz and tourists of Times Square at night
Ticket in hand, ready to board our New York City night train
Texting my whereabouts and fond greetings to friends whilst on board the train
Upon our arrival at the train station at 10pm, we walked back to Peter’s car and took off from there without ever actually going into his apartment, where clothes strewn across the room prohibited a visit without him going inside first to clean up. I was exhausted at this point and briefly nodded off in the car. When we arrived at Bill’s house, he greeted us at the front door, wearing a wetsuit and a very tall chef’s hat. This is when things got a little surreal. He invited us into his immaculate kitchen where he was in the midst of preparing crepes, sushi, and gourmet popcorn. In true teppanyaki style, he juggled three spatulas while he cooked the meal. Later on, his butler Jack Roth prepared a nice, soft bed for me to spend the night in an expansive room filled with Oriental tapestries. And then…
Well, and then I woke up. I had nodded off in the car and dreamt of Bill as Peter drove me to the Clarion Hotel near Laguardia. In reality, the plans had fallen through that week with staying at Bill’s place, as he had some other things going on at his apartment (including a plethora of noises) and felt that it would be uncomfortable there. Wanting to get a good night’s sleep, I opted to book the hotel, which also had a shuttle service to the airport. This would keep Peter from having to get up and drive me to the airport as well.
It was a very comfortable room with free wireless internet and a continental breakfast. I got over five hours of sleep before getting up grabbing a cold bagel and catching my shuttle. As unbelievable as it sounds, the airport was one of the simplest to get through as I have experienced in recent days. The plane left at 7:30am and arrived in Chicago at 9:03, as I gained an hour. I sat next to gal that looked like Vicki Lewis. Her boyfriend had disgusting facial hair. The layover was a bit long; my flight back home to Dayton didn’t leave until 10:44. It was short and I got to sit by myself on the one-seat side. I arrived in Dayton at 12:47, losing the hour that I had gained. I had parked at the airport so I walked to my car, drove home, and awaited the arrival of my very pretty girlfriend.
2011 will continue with a special family addition…
Follow the trail of Spring 2011 Chiller celebrities here…
To be fair Brad, I don’t think I said that there were “clothes strewn across the room” – you’re doing a lot of projecting there. I think I wanted to spare you the sight of seeing my night clothes that I had slept in the night before on the floor of the bathroom.
And as for me being 15 minutes late to the airport – as true as that is – you’ve omitted the fact that your plane did arrive earlier than it was scheduled to.
Peter
May 12th, 2011