“You’re Out of Prime Rib,” Then “Leviathan ’99,” and Finally Baskin-Robbins
Tuesday, June 5th, 2007
My last trip to California in 2005 yielded one major disappointment as I was not able to meet Dennis DeYoung following his concert in Vegas. The big disappointment on this trip was Friday night, February 16, 2007 after the Courts show. Bob had gotten himself, David, and me tickets to see one of Ray Bradbury’s live plays Leviathan ’99 – an outer space version of Moby Dick at the Fremont Centre Theatre in South Pasadena. As exciting as it sounds, it simply wasn’t. The biggest letdown, however, was that Ray Bradbury himself was not in attendance. This theater was as small as they come, seating maybe fifty – and it was only about half full. Many – if not most – times, Ray Bradbury will be present at the performances and then have a rather intimate talk with the small crowd after the show. Read the rest of this entry »
Okay, so it’s not my greatest celebrity encounter in the world – it’s still fun. During the Summer of 2006, I became obsessed with collecting every Number One Billboard song ever produced – and wedged snugly in the middle of 1956, not long after the dawn of rock, was a snappy little number called “The Wayward Wind” by Gogi Grant. It peaked at number one on June 16 and remained there for six weeks. Have to admit: first time I’d ever heard of her. Flash forward to February 16, 2007. I’m at the Hollywood Collector’s Show and who should I see sitting there, virtually alone? None other than Gogi Grant herself! And at only $5.00 for this cardboard 5 x 7 head shot, how could I go wrong? 
Dad jotted in his little brown memo book on Wednesday July 30, 1980: “Went to McCabe Forum. No McCabe. Heard tape. He is ill. Saw films. Went to Gen. Session and parade of Tents. Saw films in P.M. Went to tech stars panel. Saw many behind the scenes people. Lasted from about 8:30 to 10:15. Saw movie and visited Hospitality room. Went to bed at 12.” I believe by the time that this first full day of the convention had rolled around, we had met up with our fellow tent members Harry and Helen Carter and two other inactive tent members from Lima, Ohio, who would quickly befriend me, Steve and Sharon Stayonovich. 
Rather fat and miserable, I embarked on another Florida family outing during the week of July 27 – August 3, 1985. This was a rather tumultuous trip, as my family had been shaken to its foundations by my parents marital problems. We all knew that my Dad would be leaving after we returned from this trip. Depression, loneliness, and low self-esteem were all setting in, not entirely as a result of the family issues, but the general oncoming of puberty and the awkward age. Still, no matter how low I felt, I still regard these times with a sense of fond nostalgia – mostly because all these negative feelings have now completely subsided. 
I had spent the Summer of 1985 immersed in old TV and one of my favorites of the classic was “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.” The title character was portrayed by a young actor named Dwayne Hickman, who had gotten his start on “The Bob Cummings Show.” He had later starred in the 1983 TV movie High School U.S.A., which became one of those instant cult classics in my life, which I still repeatedly enjoy to this day. And one other bonus: he actually appeared in the M-G-M Our Gang short Melodies Old and New (1942 – his first credited film appearance). So it was a special treat to meet Dwayne Hickman at the Hollywood Collectors Show during my Hollywood trip of 1995.