Meeting Janet Burston 1995
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007
I got the bee in my bonnet to track down Janet Burston way back in 1992 when my friend Dick Bann told me that he had nearly uncovered her whereabouts – his information indicated that she was working in a Denny’s restaurant in Fresno. He had no desire to contact her, but offered to pass on her phone number for me. By the time I followed up with him and tried to call her, the line he gave me had been disconnected. Flash forward to 1994 when I met Bill Cappello. He had already provided the whereabouts for both Harry Spear and Beverly Crane, when I asked him to see what he could find out about Janet Burston. Read the rest of this entry »
While the day’s earlier events are now relatively lost from memory, I can distinctly and vividly recall most of the evening’s activities on Thursday June 29, 1995. The afternoon doubtlessly consisted of Laurel and Hardy location scouting and cemetery haunting. But this was the night that the Los Angeles Conservancy presented a screening of the Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece Vertigo in the majestic State Theatre. I arrived grossly under-dressed and Bob and I prepared to pounce on one of the evening’s special guests while we waited in line to gain entrance to the theater. 
The thing I remember about getting my picture take with midget actor Billy Barty was that I was it was just in the nick of time as he was on his way out of the Hollywood Collector’s Show during the Summer of 1995. And so was I. Bob wasn’t with me for some reason during a portion of our second day at the show, June 25, so I didn’t really have anyone to take pictures of me and the stars. I had actually already purchased a nice shot from him of The Mickey McGuire series. The so-named Mickey would eventually become Mickey Rooney and the little, tiny co-star was later better known as Billy Barty. 
I’ve been anxious to get this tale told again. I, as one of only three known Our Gang buffs ever to talk to Harry Spear in person, often get asked the question “What’s the deal with Harry Spear?” and its a big, long deal so I’ll be glad to finally have a place to refer interested parties. The tale begins at the New York ’94 Sons of the Desert where I first met Bill Cappello. We had many lively discussions with the theme “whatever became of…?” After finding out how great he was at tracking down long-lost celebrities, I immediately remarked, “you should try and find Harry Spear” to which he responded “I did!”