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.
Now I’m sure of it. At the February 2007 Hollywood Collectors Show, I caught him while he was browsing again. This time I only asked him if I could get a picture with him. He politely obliged and then proceeded to stop and chat with me in his deep, instantly-recognizable voice, asking where I was from. When I told him Dayton, he then told me that one of his friends, Jonathan Winters, was from Dayton as well. They hang out quite often, it seems. I told him that I had not long ago returned from the funeral of a friend’s father (George’s Dad), and that the service was held in a former home of Jonathan Winters, now a funeral parlor. Gary said that he would ask Winters about it.
So after we finished our conversation, I watched him intently. Would he make the face or wouldn’t he? The answer: there was no sign of it. He was as genuine as could be.
Incidentally, neither time that I met Gary Owens did I have a photo for him to sign. However, during the early 2000’s, Bob attended a TV Land Convention and had three of the Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In ensemble performers sign a photo for me: Dick Martin, Andy Sues, and Gary Owens (pictured in glasses smack dab in the middle of the group).
Celebrity encounters and autographs of Hollywood ’95 will continue…
Celebrity encounters and autographs of Hollywood ’07 will continue…
I’ve met Gary Owens on three occasions–once in 1983 (when I came to his office at KPRZ radio and helped with the campaign to get The Three Stooges their star on the Walk of Fame), again in 1992 (when Gary hosted a program of old-time radio re-creations at Los Angeles City College) and again about two years ago (when he did a signing for his book on voice acting). Each time he recognized me instantly and said, “Hello, Randy!” despite the intervening years. He’s indeed a very warm and friendly guy. I can only imagine that his funny expression was caused by a sudden attack of insegreviousness or a case of the galloping fnorks. (If you had heard his daily radio show in the ’70s over KMPC in Los Angeles, you’d know what I’m talking about. Just typical silly Gary Owensisms.)
Randy Skretvedt
August 29th, 2007