STARRDI'S WALL

 

                   

Anyone who's ever been to Sardi's, the definitive restaurant of Broadway, in the heart of the theatre district, in New York, doubtlessly remembers the thousands of caricatures that line the walls.  The actors, directors, playwrights and other noted entertainment industry professionals whose portraits fill their space, date from the 1940s through the present, so it's often hard to tell exactly who's who.  In our case, it's a bit easier. 

                       

The non-presidential portraits shown here, that were incorporated into the productions of  Starr's on Broadway, were done by Sophia Ziburtovicz.  Those who held the highest office had their pictures taken from clip art.  

                         

I've been to some restaurants in rural communities outside of New York that actually have summer camp pictures from their childhoods on their walls.  Still other establishments cover their plaster with pictures of celebrities that they've encountered.  However, when it comes to rubbing elbows with genuine camp celebrities from childhood, I think I have the market cornered.  These are just a few, who happened to have been around at the same time as a camera.

 

With my old friend, Grampa Al Lewis who, until the very end, still smoked cigars, still fought for political causes, could still keep me laughing out loud,, and still came over to say hello to me, every time I ran into him.  You're missed, Al.  In a city of eight million colorful characters, you certainly held your own, and left a void that can never quite be filled.

 

With my other old  friend, Ron Horshack Pallilo.  Hope you're still writing, directing and acting, Ronald.  It's been too long.

 

Including my beautiful, charming, enchanting and multi-talented friend, Barbara Feldon, with the Camp Celebrities doesn't quite feel right, but since she did play Agent 99 on one of the great high camp television programs of all time, I guess she kind of fits in.  This picture  was taken at a Families of Freedom Foundation benefit that I helped coordinate talent for and that I invited Barbara to, in November, 2002.

 

No, he's not sitting on my knee, and I'm not auditioning as Bob's replacement on his.  However, this truly brilliant ventriloquist was arguably the most gifted performer in the most talented ensemble cast ever assembled for the single best and most extraordinary situation comedy to hit the airwaves when I was a teenager, or any time before and after.  In case anyone is still wondering, that's Jay Johnson, the man who was never more than an inch or two behind the sardonic dummy (sorry; I think the politically correct term is Wooden American) on the classic television sitcom, SOAP.   If you haven't seen SOAP, or if it's been a while, you'll send me a grateful E-Mail, and understand all my high praise, when you get the DVD set.  I'm sorry I can't recommend Jay's rather brilliant one man, but multiple character Tony Winning Broadway show, THE TWO AND ONLY, but unfortunately, it closed long before it's time.  I think it still plays around the country though, so check Jay's website.

 

Another spectacular Broadway show that closed long before it's time was the 2009 Tony winning revival of James Rado's legendary and once truly revolutionary musical masterpiece, HAIR.  My old friend, Jim was around seventy seven, when this picture was taken, at the opening night party, and he still had all of his hair.   I guess that was his entitlement from the universe.

 

The familiar looking gentleman at the next table at Sardi's turned out to be yet another of my favorite television personalities from when I was growing up, Larry Corporal Agarn Storch.   Not all actors always work in the center of the limelight, and like Ron Pallilo, Larry probably has more of an extensive and diverse resume over the past twenty five years than even Robert De Niro.

 

Though the beautiful, enchanting and multi-talented Ashley Brown is certainly not a camp celebrity, and she wasn't even born when I was in camp much less when most of the other people on this page were at their peaks, MARY POPPINS certainly qualifies as someone that I've wanted to meet, when I was growing up.   Twenty four year old Ashley, of course, originated the title role in the new  Broadway version of MARY POPPINS.  This picture is from the 2006 opening night party. 

 

If you ever want to laugh, have your perspective forever altered and experience someone unlike anyone else that you've ever experienced, then I suggest you find a way to spend an afternoon with one of my true childhood heroes, Adam Batman West.  Of course, some of us might still prefer the company of the beautiful and charming Yvonne Batgirl Craig, but since they still frequent the same events, who says you can't spend a day with them both?

 

If that was Batgirl then this is That Girl.  Now you're going to ask me "who's that girl" and I'm going to say "it's that girl!"  And if you ask me again, we'll have the makings of a contemporary Abbott and Costello routine.   This is, of course, the forever beautiful and enchanting Marlo Thomas, who I had the privilege of meeting at a 2012 theater event.  So yes, it's That Girl.   Who?  I won't tell you how old she is, because then I'd have to tell you how old I am, but heads still turn when she walks by and people say "wow, who's that girl?"

 

 

Since the photographer didn't wait for me to smile or pose, I'll just pretend I was going for the mad supervillain look when I met yet another of my childhood heroes, Spiderman, at a WGA screening of his rather gripping and powerful new film, BROTHERS.   The humble, nice guy that Tobey Maguire always seems to be, on screen, is absolutely real and sincere.

 

At last check, Jim Gomer Pyle Nabors, another actor who seemed as humble and amiable as his character,  was a gentlemen flower farmer in Hawaii.   He still found his way to New York, on occasion, like for the 1998 opening night party of Broadway's RAGTIME.  

 

Whoever said that Jan was the less attractive sister on THE BRADY BUNCH obviously never met the charming and talented Eve Plumb, now an accomplished painter who had her first art show in New York in February, 2010.   I guess you could tell how recent some of these pictures are by the amount of sun that reflects on my head.  

 

For someone whose wife was shot in the face by his underage lover, Joey Butafuoco has always struck me as a warm, gregarious, family oriented man.  Also seated at our table at a diner, after one of Howard Stern's birthday bashes, were Joey's former lawfully wedded spouse, Mary Jo, John Lennon's noted assistant, May Pang, and Eddie Brigati, of the sixties rock band, THE RASCALS.     

 

Wasn't it this man who said God Bless Us All, Everyone (or was that a different Tiny Tim)?  Tiny was truly one of the most original and unique people that you could ever imagine meeting, and I'm ready to believe that this multi-faced mad man was a reincarnate of George Washington (look closely at pictures of them both).  I'm proud to say that Tiny and I were starting to become good friends, before his unfortunate demise.  Besides the goodfellas down front, the other people in the pictures include artist and producer Sophia Ziburtovicz, and my very good friend, Tiny's second wife, Miss Jan Attweis Khaury.

 

Religion, for me, when I was five, meant never missing the Soupy Sales show on Saturday mornings.  Hearing about the death of this television and radio legend prompted me to dig out this picture and post it here.   It was a pleasure to spend some time with Soupy Sales, at a little independent film awards shindig in the East Village, sometime around 2002.

 

 

 

Yes, that's the staunch Conservative who ran against my favorite president, and those are two letters that he wrote to me, after our single encounter.  Who knows, maybe he got confused and thought he was getting friendly with the NRA member in the blue shirt, who's standing behind us, in the top picture.  Or else, maybe he'd been overusing his drug of choice, and thought I could help him meet some wild New York women (figure it out).   Believe it or not, this man actually won me over with  charm, wit and what seemed like genuine sincerity.  Of course, Abraham Lincoln, who was the first Republican, was also the last one I would have considered voting for, but if you're just looking for someone to have a few drinks and some laughs with, Bob seems like he'd be a worthy candidate.

 

With the still quite exquisite and enchanting definitive television mom of the seventies, Marion Cunningham Ross, at an event at the broadcaster's museum in New York, in early 2008.

 

I'm not sure I can get away with claiming that this is Matt Damon, even on a bad hair day.   However, it is, in fact, the arguably deranged, presumably medicated, but most absolutely wacky, brilliant and rather colorful Mark Whitakre, the title character that Matt portrays in the 2009 hit feature film, THE INFORMANT.   Matt was off in a corner, not wanting to break bread with humble commoners, at the film's premiere party.

 

 

If these two guys remind you of Uncle Fester and Lurch, it's because they're playing Uncle Fester and Lurch (respectively), in the new Broadway musical version of THE ADDAMS FAMILY.   That's Kevin Chamberlin and Zachary James, at the 2010 opening night party.

 

So Mr. Simon doesn't sue me for defaming his character, let me clarify that the rest of this page will not contain pictures of campy celebrities, but rather, serious superstars, like him.  This picture, that Paul reluctantly stood still for, was taken at the opening night party of his deservedly short lived Broadway musical, CAPEMAN.

 

I'm not sure I'd call any of these people camp either, at least not openly.  However, who's to say that future generations won't view THE SOPRANOS the way that we perceive The Brady Bunch.

 

If THE SOPRANOS can be considered the third millennium's answer to FATHER KNOWS BEST, then the crypt keeping Fishers were definitely this generation's ADDAMS FAMILY.   Backstage at Madison Square Garden, after a 2002 WHO concert, with Michael C. Hall, the humble and charismatic star of musical theater,  the HBO mega-smash,  SIX FEET UNDER, and the Showtime sensation that gets my vote for the all time best writing in a television drama, DEXTER .

What the beautiful people in these pictures have in common is that they were all nominated for Academy Awards in 2011 (except your humble narrator, of course).   On the top are the beautiful, enchanting young fourteen year old actress, Hallee Steinberg, and the equally charming, if a bit older and more crotchety actor, Jeff Bridges, at the premiers party of the far superior 2010 version of TRUE GRIT.  And of course, that's Amy Adams and Oscar winner Chistian Bale, at an industry screening of THE FIGHTER, on the bottom.

 

It seemed like virtually everyone from the LAW & ORDER universe was at one of two Broadway opening night parties that I attended, over the course of a weekend in March of 2007.  Those who stood still long enough to be photographed with me include Sam Waterston, Stephanie March, Chris Noth, Richard Belzer and Eric Bogosian.  One of the parties was for Eric's compelling play, TALK RADIO, that co-starred Stephanie and Liev Schrieber, and the other was for PRELUDE TO A KISS, a rather intriguing play that no one in any of these pictures appeared in. 

 

What can you say about the exquisite, enchanting, mega-talented, generous, humble and gracious lady's lady, Joanne Woodward, or the prolific, benevolent, charismatic and brilliant music icon, James Taylor, except that they're the people that humble commoners like children's party clown, Magical Musical Marion, artiste extraordinaire and up and coming film producer, Sophia Ziburtovicz, and I should aspire to be.   I had the privilege of having long conversations with Joanne, and her husband, the modest and magnanimous  Paul Newman, at a Lincoln Center benefit for their Hole in the Wall camp, in the early nineties.  These pictures were from the recent 2009 camp benefit at Lincoln Center, that I once again had the privilege of attending.   That other woman, who normally only appears in my dreams, was there too, but as is the tale of my existence, I apparently wasn't the one she one she wanted to embrace.

 

Is this woman stalking me, or is it just another of my idle fantasies?  Of course, that's Joanne Woodward once again, at the 2010 Hole in the Wall camp benefit.   And of course, that's the rather brilliant Stevie Wonder, who might not be an easy man to get audience with, but who ultimately proved himself to be as charming and talkative as any speculation you might have heard.

 

It was truly a pleasure, and an honor, to spend time talking to the brilliantly talented Oscar winning actor, Kevin Spacey, at the 2007 opening night party for his Broadway production of MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN.   If you agree that Kevin, who is rather adept at playing a wide variety of comedic characters, would be ideal for the multiple roles of Kenneth Starr, LBJ, JFK and Harry Truman, please call him up and tell him.

 

Some of the principals from the original cast of the Tony winning Broadway musical sensation, JERSEY BOYS, include Daniel Reichard, Peter Gregus and Michael Longoria.

 

More than seventy award winning, talented A-List actresses filled the stage of Madison Square Garden for a once in a lifetime event that I had the privilege of attending:  The anti-violence benefit performance of Eve Ensler's comically gripping and deeply profound play, THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES.   Photographed with me at the aftershow party  were the mesmerizing young actress, Julia Styles, the brilliant and bewitching feminist icon, Gloria Steinam, the dazzling leading lady of television's DALLAS, Linda Gray, the enchanting Ms. Ensler herself, and of course, the woman who immediately developed a fatal attraction to me, and offered to put me up in her house, on Sunset Boulevard (ah, the dreams of an idle mind).   In case you don't follow Broadway, Glenn Close played Norma Desmond in the musical version of the classic film.

 

With my old friend, and grand patriarch of yet another royal entertainment industry family, Jerry Stiller, at the after party for Comedy Central's 2008 NIGHT OF TOO MANY STARS benefit for autistic children.   After many years, I'm still in awe, whenever I watch Jerry swim at my health club,  with a vigorous and enthusiastic energy that I couldn't have even imagined, when I was twenty.

 

Meeting Sir Bob Geldorf at a 2005 art opening was truly an honor.  This star of the film THE WALL, lead singer for the Boomtown Rats, and founder of the LIVE AID movement set out to use his art to make a difference in the world, and succeeded, beyond any imaginable expectation.  That's mygood  friend, Sharon Harrell, smiling through from the rear center.

 

The one thing I doubtlessly have in common with everyone on this page, and with virtually every other entertainer and artist on every level of the business in New York, is that we've all been interviewed by my friend, the legendary talk show host who hasn't been without his own radio or television program since the forties, the genuine definition of a New York personality, Joe Franklin.

 

 My friend, Colin Quinn's one man Broadway show, AN IRISH WAKE, should have played for longer than it's planned limited run, but then, should have is probably the most used and abused term in the entertainment industry.

 

My favorite bass player from my favorite rock band, and widely considered the most proficient and innovative bassist in the history of rock and roll, John Entwistle of THE WHO and I sat at a table together, on more than a dozen occasions.  John, we love you and you left us far too early.  The corner pieces aren't Peter, but are in fact brothers, Paul and Simon Townshend, then and now.  Oh, and Roger Daltrey, of course.  The gorgeous and radiant brunette in the middle row was John's life mate and my good friend, Lisa Pritchett-Johnson, whose warm and sparkling presence I still feel. 

To your sweet, unique and always room enlightening memory, Lisa, I dedicate this page.

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