Brush with Greatness

I’m not quite as famous today as I anticipate in the future, but I am gaining ground daily. I hope to impress you folks with my ever increasing brush (brushes) with greatness list. Please check back often!

Brush with Greatness
When I was a kid, I used to walk around Pacific Beach in San Diego, California, and go door to door asking for autographs for my autograph book. I got a lady to sign my book, who just so happened to star as an extra in the mid 50’s movie, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” The fact that I cannot decipher her signature in my autograph book is immaterial.

Brush with Greatness
I swear this is true… while waiting at a train station in El Paso, Texas in the late 50’s … Elvis Presley walked through the lobby. I was gushing with adoration, knowing it was ELVIS in the flesh and as he walked past me, he winked!

Brush with Greatness
Walt Disney waved at me while at Disneyland when I was 11. Does it still count if I don’t share the year?

Brush with Greatness
I went to grade school and junior high with Marianna Bompenserio, and rumor had it that her dad was gunned down in a telephone booth by none other than… the mafia.  Is there such a thing as the mafia — or have I watched way too many movies? Either way, another brush, right?

Brush with Greatness
I had a neighbor who was a local San Diego, California, television sportscaster in the late 50’s and 60’s named Al Coupe. I sometimes played with his daughter, but to this day, I cannot for the ife of me remember her name.

Brush with Greatness
I went to junior high in Pacific Beach, CA, with Dee Dee Jenkins, the granddaughter of retail store founder, J.C. Penney. No wonder her wardrobe was the envy of her classmates.

Brush with Greatness
When I was a senior in high school, I lived in a suburb, just north of Los Angeles. While driving back home on the freeway from the Los Angeles area, my boyfriend and I decided to take the Mulhulland Drive off ramp to take the scenic route back home to Canoga Park.  At the end of the off ramp sitting on a large boulder, was Jan Michael Vincent, hitchhiking. The year was 1969. From a distance, he looked like my sister Linda’s boyfriend, so we pulled over to offer him a ride. Lo and behold, as we got closer, we discovered the guy was NOT my sister’s boyfriend  Don.  The fellow looked at us with a bewildered expression as we drove off hollering “Whoops! We thought you were someone ELSE!!!!” I bet Jan Michael Vincent thought that we thought he was Jan Michael Vincent and we had second thoughts about it being him!!! We just didn’t realize WHO he was till later — when it was too late to turn back!

Brush with Greatness
I went to high school (Canoga Park High) with Little Peggy March of the 60’s song, “I love him” (I love him, and where he goes I’ll follow, I’ll follow, I will follow him) fame. Of course, it matters not that I did not know her personally, but my boyfriend did… and I married him, thus my brush!

Brush with Greatness
I went to high school with a terribly stuck up redheaded girl, and I can’t even remember her name to this day… but she was the girl “who danced on stage with the Planter’s Peanut man of the Planter’s Peanut commercial fame. (late 50’s or very early 60’s) I remember she was one of the only kids in school driving a late model Mustang. Hmmmm, the commercial paid off I guess.

Brush with Greatness
In high school, I once worked a factory job making tachometers for auto parts stores for racing car driver, Mario Andretti. He came for a factory tour and waved at me.

Brush with Greatness
I went to high school with a girl named Sue B. (last named omitted to protect the innocent), who had gotten quite involved with the hippy scene and drugs. She used to invite some of our school group out to a ranch in Chatsworth, CA on weekends, although we never went with her. Come to find out, I read in the newspaper a year after graduation, that she was wanted for questioning in the Tate/LaBianca murders of the Charles Manson fame. Yikes! I am not tacky enough to ordinarily include murder in a brush with greatness list, but since she was never arrested or charged, the “brush” here is okay, since I knew someone who just knew a notorious murderer.

Brush with Greatness
In high school, a popular place to park with your boy/girl friends was by the Chatsworth Cemetary. I used to park with my boyfriend on a nearby undeveloped street because the cemetary gave me the heebeejeebee’s. The street was named Trigger Lane, which was right across the street from Roy Rogers and Dale Evans old house.

Brush with Greatness
The morning after high school graduation, my boyfriend and I went to see a taping of the Jack Paar show. The camera panned across the audience and displayed my face on the overhead screen. I froze!! I couldn’t think of a thing to do, so without changing my expression, I continued chewing my gum in typical dizzy valley girl fashion and never bothered to smile! Thank goodness there are no reruns to look forward to.

Brush with Greatness
As a young adult (before children) I used to shop at an exclusive clothier in Santa Monica, CA. While getting some clothes measured for alteration, a kid named Beau Bridges, aged 10 or 12 at the time, showed up at the store. Apparently, he was the kid of a personal family friend of the shop owner, and was introduced to me.  My idol growing up was the kid’s father, Lloyd Bridges of “Sea Hunt” television fame.

Brush with Greatness
While shopping in another Santa Monica, California store called, “The Corral.” actor, Lee Marvin was standing behind me in the checkout line. I was trying my best to ignore him and to pretend that I didn’t notice that a real live movie star was standing right behind me. His lady friend, the woman who sued him for palimony years later, was with him. She made a remark, “Doesn’t she have a cute figure” to which he replied, “yes she does.” There were no other women in the store… so it HAD to be me!! When we got to the front of the line to pay for our purchases, my husband stated, “We’ll be paying with cash. I just got paid for playing the horse in “Cat Balou.” ( which was the movie Lee Marvin had just filmed) We all got quite a laugh out of that!

Brush with Greatness
I am related in some far distant way to Merle Haggard of Country Western music fame. I know this because my dad told me so!! It matters not that I’ve never met Merle, but I’m sure he’ll remember me in his will.

Brush with Greatness
I have a third cousin, Billie Talbert, who not only was a famous tennis star many years ago, but… get this, he was the PRESIDENT of the National Tennis Association at one time too!

Brush with Greatness
My first cousin, Dan Gorden, used to play pro baseball for the Toronto Bluejays, until an injury forced him to retire. He then became a model for a while.

Brush with Greatness
My oldest daughter went to the same high school in Glendale, Arizona as Jennie Garth, of “Beverly Hills, 90210″ television fame.

Brush with Greatness
I named my son Clint after the actor, Clint Eastwood.

Brush with Greatness
My brother, Bruce, was once hitchhiking in Pacific Beach, California as a teen back in the mid-60’s and was picked up by Skip Frye, a famous surfer. Of course, it was a no risk effort on Skip’s part to pick my brother up anyway, since he went to the same church as we did.

Brush with Greatness
My brother also used to shoot pool with Butch VanArtsdalen, another famous surfer.

Brush with Greatness
My same brother, as family counselor, had an associate by the name of Kathy. She was an impressive and talented writer. At my brother’s encouragement, she marketed herself to TV and as a result, became one of the writer’s for the famed, Cagney & Lacey show.

Brush with Greatness
My mother once worked for an insurance company who had a famous basketball (Lakers) client named Lou Alsinder, who changed his name to Kareem Abdul Jabaar. When he came in to the office once, my mother asked him if he was really as tall as everyone said… it was his pet peeve… and he glared at her.

Brush with Greatness
My mother stopped her car at a La Jolla, California intersection so John Wayne could cross the street. He winked at her as he crossed the street.

Brush with Greatness
My step-dad used to date Terry Moore, of “Shack Out on 101″ and “Mighty Joe Young” movie star fame. They both attended the same high school as me, Canoga Park High, in Canoga Park, CA. Terry was in many “B” movies in her prime. It’s also been reported that she was once married to Howard Hughes.

Brush with Greatness
My step-dad used to repair TV’s for RCA and Zsa Zsa Gabor offered him a glass of wine when he fixed her TV… plus, she also called him “Dollink”.

Brush with Greatness
My Uncle Doyle Baird (cousin Joyce’s father) invented the pop up drain plugs on bathtubs.

Brush with Greatness
Raquel Welch went to the same high school as my brother, although not at the same time … she’s much older. In fact, Raquel Welch went to the same high school as my mother, although not at the same time… my mother is much older. Ok then, Raquel Welch went to high school with my dad’s boss’ son, Curt Holder. With THREE brushes on this one, I really qualify for greatness, right???

Brush with Greatness
I used to work at Cummins Southwest, a distributor and service center for Cummins Engine Company products. John G. Erskine worked there too. He was the nephew of Barry Goldwater. Can you wager a guess at what the “G” stood for as John’s middle name??

Brush with Greatness
My (former) husband used to install cable television back in the early 70’s. He installed cable for Bing Crosby and Marlo Thomas.

Brush with Greatness
My former best friend in Los Angeles, used to be married to the late pop entertainer, Marvin Gaye’s brother Frankie.

Brush with Greatness
My friend Bill Rowe (of Phoenix, AZ) and his (former) wife Linda had their picture taken backstage with Debbie Reynolds who was a friend of Bill’s brother’s wife’s mother.

Brush with Greatness
I used to attend motorcyle races at Indian Dunes, north of Los Angeles. Jerry Mathers, the star of the 50’s show fame, “Leave it to Beaver”, used to participate in many of the races.

Brush with Greatness
I once shook hands with Ray “Windmill” White, the California Light Heavyweight boxing champion in the early 70’s. The promoters referred to him as the fighting carpenter. He was a humorous fighter. He’d enter the ring and act like a kangaroo, jumping all over the ring. He had a hammer punch that always threw his opponents off guard, thus his nickname “Windmill”.

Brush with Greatness
I was sitting in a front row seat at an exhibition boxing bout between then boxing unknown Mike Nixon and boxing great Sugar Ray Robinson.

Brush with Greatness
I once visited “Church on the Way”, a Foursquare church in Van Nuys, California. I looked up during our opening hymn and lo and behold, there was Pat Boone standing right in front of the church. He was one of the church elders. Jack Hayford was the preacher, and to this day, preaches on TV!

Brush with Greatness
My personal website was featured as part of a study at Georgetown University on the psychological aspects of webpage design. Actually, the study in its entirety is rather uncomplimentary, and I happen to be the first reference. I’m first!! Errr, should I be proud? Incidentally, the link from the study page is to my first homepage originally created in 1996.  Although my site has changed considerably since then, the points of the study remain the same. Scarey!

Brush with Greatness
My friend Bruce Wilkison is an avid golfer and plays violin for the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra for a living but I think he gets business and pleasure confused at times! His wife, Lenore, also plays violin for the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra and in 2000, she won the Halloween costume contest, dressed as a Christmas Tree. Last year, the Wilkisons invited me to a Pops concert conducted by Doc Severenson, formerly with The Tonight Show.

Brush with Greatness
This just in… my mother’s friend, Cleo, had her picture taken with our beloved-may-he-rest-in-peace former president, Ronald Reagan. What do you think about that? Pretty impressive, eh? Aside from the fact that the photo is a cut out of Ronald, it looks pretty authentic to me. Therefore, another brush, IMO, and that’s all that counts!

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