I have been receiving requests from many readers requesting that I relate some humorous anecdotes about some of Hollywood’s Celebs I’ve known or have interviewed.  This brought to mind several stories I believe that might interest those who enjoy tidbits of this sort. 

          In the late 70’s I was Editor in Chief of several national publications at Holloway House in Los Angeles. During that time, I hired Stanford graduate Gregory Abbott as a columnist. One day while in the office, he brought in Kalilah Ali, the ex-wife of Mohammad Ali.  It was obvious that she was quite taken with Abbott and was anxious to give him anything that he needed for his column.  It was also a time when Gregory had separated from singer Freda Payne of “Band of Gold” fame and found it necessary to move in my home with me.  I expected that he would be upset, even bitter about the split, but he wasn’t.  And within a few weeks of his move in, I soon found why, he was not be lonely for long.  On one rare rainy night, around 3 a.m. in the morning, I heard a noise outside my home, it sounded as if someone was trying to break into the house.  When I opened my bedroom curtains, what I saw was startling. There was Kalilah Ali climbing through Gregory’s bedroom window to spend the night with him.  However, Gregory quietly let her out of the house at six in the morning.  Later that day, he asked if I knew what had happened – and being the gossip that I am, I was overjoyed to admit that I had. A few years later, Abbott had a big hit with his “Shake You Down” CD earning him a Grammy nomination.

          The late actress Shelley Winters made quite an impression on my determination of being a good actor.  I was appearing with Oscar winner and TV (Hazel) star Shirley Booth in her Broadway hit “The Desk Set.”  The idea of working with a star of Ms. Booth’s magnitude was definitely overwhelming. As a result, I was extremely nervous when on stage with her, and I assume it shown through my performance.  After two weeks of performance, Shelley Winters came back stage to congratulate Ms. Booth and meet the rest of the cast.  Immediately, when meeting me, she smiled warmly and said, “You were wonderful, but you were also a bit nervous weren’t you?”  Completely, taken off guard, not expecting this kind of exchange, I stammered and admitted that I was quite nervous.  Shelley then took me aside and said: “Listen, kid, when you feel like you’re nervous, just think of the audience as a bunch of cabbage heads, and go for it.  Don’t allow anybody or anything shake you up.  Remember, they have paid to see you – so you’ve got to make it worth it for them!”         

          For years I had nearly worshiped and admired Ethel Merman as one of the First Ladies of the Broadway musical.  However, when I witnessed her attitude concerning Marilyn Monroe, the image I held sacred, cracked. My friend Dan Dailey invited me to watch a major scene from his film “There’s No Business Like Show Business” at 20th Century Fox. Along with Dailey, the film headlined Marilyn Monroe, Donald O’Connor, Mitzi Gaynor, Johnny Ray and Ethel Merman.  It also was one of those days when Monroe would be late reporting to the set, an action to some, especially Ethel Merman was unacceptable as well as unprofessional. This caused the “Merm” to exclaimed in her thunderous voice “I can’t believe that we are all kept waiting for some half witted dumb broad who dyes her pubic hairs blonde!”  Naturally, this caused a reaction of shock as well as laughter from the entire production staff.  There was no reaction from any of the other cast members. Moments after the outburst, Monroe finally entered the set and blew a kiss at Merman, as Broadway’s First Lady gave her a cold, icy stare.