Down at Our Rendezvous…
Friday, August 31st, 2007
An ode to Three’s Company…It was December 10, 1985 when my flirtation with collecting autographs from the cast members of Three’s Company first began. When sending requests through the mail, I generally steered clear of most ‘high-caliber’ stars of the current day. They were generally met with one form of rejection or another. However, John Ritter did not disappoint me. He signed both the photo that I sent him along with two notecards, even adding a humorous inscription on one. These were returned in an extremely timely fashion as well: on December 23, just two days before Christmas. Read the rest of this entry »
The centerpiece around which the whole weekend celebration in Los Angeles took place was the Way Out West Tent’s 40th Anniversary Banquet which occurred Saturday evening, July 28, 2007 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel. Following our bus tour of Culver City, there was just a dab of time to check into our room and relax a bit. It was decided just hours before that I would be splitting a room at the Westin with my pal David so we got into our room, changed into our dress garb, and prepared for an exciting night with our Sons of the Desert friends. 
I first met Gary Owens at the Hollywood Collectors Show during the Summer of 1995. He wasn’t there selling his autograph, he was just browsing the stalls. Bob pointed him out to me and I approached him and asked him to sign two blank 3 x 5 notecards. He was very friendly, but I still recall to this day that after he signed my autographs he turned to walk away and made some odd face, as if saying “now get the hell away from me.” I only mention this because it sticks with me so vividly, but I have always assumed that maybe I misinterpreted his expression. 
Okay, I was young and uneducated at the time. I hadn’t seen many of the silent Our Gang films at that point. They just really weren’t very available for viewing in 1980. So at the time I scarcely knew who Mary Kornman was, much less her little sister Mildred. And the clincher was that the Kornman Mom – Verna Kornman – was also on hand for the Our Gang reunion. Mary, who had passed away from cancer in 1973, was THE leading lady of the silent Our Gang – as much as Darla was the leading lady of the sound Little Rascal films. 
Cubby O’Brien was one of only nine children to star as Mousketeers for the entire run (three seasons – plus a fourth which consisted of all reruns) of The Mickey Mouse Club from 1955-59. Cubby was also distinctive as being the only musical Mouseketeer who was permitted by Disney to be shown on screen playing his instrument. Closely associated with his drums, Cubby actually went on to be a professional drummer later in life.