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HOLLYWOOD ... Neighbors I have known through the years
who were and are connected to showbiz are quite numerous. Growing up in
New Orleans, I lived near the glamorous Dottie Lamour, so I got to say
"hello" quite often. Then when I made my annual visits to Hollywood,
staying at the famed Garden of Allah, my "villa" was next to Thelma
Ritter and her brood of kids. Jonathan Winters, who loved a little nip,
also lived there and many times cavorted tipsy in the swimming pool.
Ralph Meeker could be seen paying visits to friends and enjoying sun
bathing while doing so.
To hark back to New Orleans, how could I not lead off with Tennessee
Williams? He and his grandfather Dakin had a suite in the hotel where I
lived and were often "drop-ins" for a drink. Tenn loved the color
aquamarine blue. I had a lovely strapless evening dress in that color,
and wherever we went, he asked me to wear it, and of course, you know I
did.
I had an interview show in New Orleans, and one of my favorite guests
was district attorney Harry Connick Sr. Whenever he came, he brought his
little 6-year-old, Harry Connick Jr. We would go into the broadcast
studio (this was radio) to do the interview and send little Harry into
the adjoining studio, where there was a piano. This little tyke sat down
and played that piano, and played that piano and played that piano. ...
Today he is still playing that piano, singing songs and composing tunes.
He is one of our top entertainers.
When I left New Orleans for Hollywood, I stayed at the Chateau Marmont,
that great old hotel on the Sunset Strip. There I met Hermione Baddeley,
and we became fast friends. Of course you remember her as Mrs. Naugatuck
in the "Maude" series.
Moving from there to the La Ronda, a 1920s courtyard apartment building
in what is now West Hollywood, I was surrounded by celebs such as
English actress Hermione Gingold, the great screen writer Frances Marion
("The Champ," "The Big House," etc.), actor Harry Ellerbe, director
Robert Ellis Miller and his wife, producer and actress Pola. Bette Davis
arrived there after I moved to the building where I am now. Burl Ives
lived here, as has actress Lake Bell. And now, my friends, on to an
anecdote I have been yearning to tell.
When I was first starting out as a movie commentator, or whatever you
want to call it, I traveled from New Orleans to Hollywood twice a year
to gather news on tape (that's how we did it then). So, I'm sitting in
my seat and the two little ladies in the seats just ahead were
twittering like crazed birds when their nests are invaded. Finally, one
turned around, leaned over and said, "Can we have your autograph?" MY
AUTOGRAPH! HALLELUHAH! SOMEBODY IS RECOGNIZING ME! So, I signed "Jill
Jackson." "Oh," they said, "we thought you were Dinah Shore." Well, I
did look like her, but I wasn't her. So, that ended that moment of
glory! As you know, Dinah is gone now, and sadly missed by all her fans.
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