Hollywood

by Ed Nelson

  After all with these deadly weapons I didn’t want to put the high school kids in danger. I left him laughing hysterically.

  I headed back to the apartment and added to my weekly letter. I then took another shower and headed out to drive around and find someplace to eat. I ended up eating at a little taco stand. I was getting addicted to Mexican food.

  After that I drove around learning the area. I stopped at a gas station and bought a Beverly Hills map for a quarter. I was amazed that they charged for maps, at home they were free. The attendant pointed out this one marked all the movie stars houses. It still seemed like a lot of money for a map.

  I drove aimlessly around, going ever higher up the hills and further into Bel Air, I passed Holmby Hill’s housing but didn’t go down any side streets. I was afraid Nina might see me and think I was following her. When it was too dark to see I used the map to return home. I thought I would see some houses but most of them had gates and you could only see a portion of them from the street. This would give privacy and prevent people from grabbing you at your door.

  That evening I read a translation of a French novel. If I were Vladimir I would have given up waiting very quickly. It was obvious the guy was going to be a no show.

  Chapter 39

  Friday was another beautiful day. As I was running I realized that I hadn’t touched a golf club in months. I instantly had the urge. I mentioned this to Dick and that I didn’t know any golf courses. Also sad to say I was getting to be a golf snob. I didn’t want to play on a poorly kept public course.

  Dick didn’t play, but did have a suggestion.

  “See your studio rep, Don Pearson, part of his job is to take care of setting things like this up.”

  That was a good idea. I left a note for Mr. Pearson at the studio office, when we went to work, to the effect that I could use his help in finding a decent golf course to play. That also meant that I had to buy a set of golf clubs, and hit the driving range my first opportunity.

  The set was busy this morning. We worked hard with multiple takes. It felt like we were making progress on the movie, but I had seen this before. The Director may decide this doesn’t fit where he is taking the story and it may all end up on the cutting room floor.

  I wasn’t ever invited to see the daily rushes, film developed overnight of the previous day’s work, since I wouldn’t have much influence on the outcome of the movie, it didn’t matter to me.

  Lunch time arrived in no time at all. That is the nice thing about being busy. After lunch at the studio cafeteria I headed over to Sheik Territory, that is Hollywood High. When I pulled into the parking lot one guy standing there told me I had a nice car. We talked about the T-Bird for a few minutes, we introduced ourselves. His name is Dick Perle. He seemed to be a decent sort and presented himself well.

  Nina was already in our lab classroom, a friend of hers, Linda Evans had stopped by. Linda really checked me out but I wasn’t introduced as she left quickly. I wondered what that was all about.

  Before Miss Powell showed up we reconfirmed surfing on Saturday. Nina told me she had a surf board and wet suit lined up for me. She gave me her telephone number and address.

  I asked her if her Dad had any restrictions on when she could use the phone.

  She told me, “Silly, this is the number of the phone in my room.”

  I had never met any kid that had their own phone before. This is really a different world. It did occur to me that I had my own phone, apartment and car so maybe I was fitting in.

  I enjoyed being taught by Miss Powell, she kept things moving. Since there were only two of us it moved quickly. I didn’t intend to become a Biologist of any type, but she turned a dry course into something that was enjoyable. Just her happy outlook on life made it fun.

  She told me stories about Nina and two of her friends, Tuesday Weld and Stefane Powers. It sounded like they spent more time in detention than class.

  In the movie Sir Nicklaus was in trouble for one goat, they had set nine piglets loose in school. Sir Nick got sent to America, they got sent to detention. I guess the moral is don’t upset the Queen.

  Miss Powell lamented that they weren’t like that nice Cathy Share who was never in trouble and always had her work in on time, unlike some people she knew.

  The class was fun, but I couldn’t help wondering what the gang in Bellefontaine was up to.

  When I returned to the lot those crazy stunt men were trying to drive a full size car on two wheels. They had set up a ramp which tilted the car until the wheels on the driver’s side were completely off the ground. When the car would get to the end of the adjustable ramp, it would crash back down, either flat on the driver’s side, or once on an early trial, tipping over on its roof.

  They were discussing alterations they could make to the car. I thought about it and ventured a comment. “You are trying to balance the car on a very narrow point formed by the tires. Why don’t you decrease the air pressure in the tires so they are soft? Instead of balancing on a point it would be a wider flat.”

  Then I had another thought, “Having a water tank inside might help, when the car tips the water would go to the downside of the tank leaving more weight on the tires to keep it in place.”

  The lead mechanic said, “The kids right, let’s try the easy one first, take the air in the tires down to ten pounds on the passenger side.”

  It only took a few minutes to set up the beaten wreck for one more trial. The car was a lot sturdier than its first appearance. It had a roll bar, the driver had an aircraft pilot seatbelt, and of course the driver had a helmet. The studio fire department was on standby along with an ambulance.

  This time the car actually stayed on two wheels for twenty feet or so, which was twenty feet more than before. When I left to do my sword practice they were sketching what the water tank setup should be like. The lead mechanic did yell.

  “Hey kid, you should be an inventor or something.”

  That brought a small hidden smile to my face.

  Sword practice was finally getting to the point where I was starting to counter moves by reaction rather than thought. This was not fencing which was a highly stylized sport. This was beating each other to death with a sharpened iron bar. We didn’t use sharpened swords for practice. As a matter of fact they were wood with dull edges. It still hurt through the padding when you took a hit.

  The padding was two inch thick battening material, with frequent holes, which were edged with brass grommets. If there were no holes you would sweat to death in minutes. Sammy Dawson, my sword coach told me that if there was a need they would use me as an extra in a swordfight battle scene.

  “I can appear as an extra in another movie on the lot,” I asked?

  “Sure you are under contract but if you read the fine print they can ask you to work in a minor role in others. You will be paid the minimum day rate for any extra work, but it is on top of what you already receive so it will be gravy. You will only be called on if it doesn’t interfere with your shooting schedule.”

  I replied, “It sounds kind of cool.”

  “It is,” he replied.

  “I know my ex won’t go to any movies because she might see me in the background.”

  Not knowing how to reply to that I went over to do my weight lifting. I had been lifting weights for three weeks now. I could tell I was gaining strength, and my muscle groups were firming up, but hadn’t built up yet like I was told. It would take six weeks for me to notice a difference according to Dick Wyman.

  After the weights I went to boxing, after warming up on the speed and heavy bags I went into the ring with my gear on. This was not like my sword work. I had to think of my response counters. This took too long so I was beat around pretty good. Fortunately Coach wasn’t using full force on his body blows. It did feel like he was trying to take my head off. When I mentioned the force of his head hits, he asked me, “Are you still conscious?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Then I’m not u
sing full force.”

  Ouch!

  As I was getting ready to leave a runner from the front office, who looked like one of the kids I saw in the hall at Hollywood High, brought me a note. I had a tee time at the Calabasas Country Club at two o’clock Sunday afternoon. That meant I had better buy clubs and gear. The note included a map with directions and the name of the golf pro I was to ask for.

  I met Dick in the parking lot as I arrived back at the apartment. I told him of my good fortune in getting to play. He told me,

  “Wait till you see who is in your foursome. Pearson probably has just dumped you on the pro without finding out the level of players you will be with or telling him how you play.”

  “We’ll see.”

  I took a shower and put on clean clothes. Two showers a day were becoming the norm. After a hot sweaty day on the set around horses and cattle I needed it. I really don’t know how Ellen was able to stand hugging me in our last scene of the day. Nina and Miss Powell must wonder what I do on the set. They probably thought I shoveled bull crap all day. Come to think of it I was in a movie, so that wasn’t so far off.

  There was a store off Wilshire that specialized in golf equipment. I’m certain I made the salesman’s day. I spent a lot of money, but he spent a lot of time. He had me hitting balls into a net to make certain the length was correct and the shafts the right stiffness.

  He told me they were considering buying a television camera which would save the pictures to tape. It was still too expensive for them, but he predicted one day every golf shop would have one to check your swing.

  Tapes of golf swings made me think of transistors which had made my hairdryer possible. I wondered where they would take camera technology. Could they be made small enough to fit in a Dick Tracy type watch? I shook my head, of course not, it wouldn’t hold the film.

  After clubs, balls, shoes, tees, gloves, golf towels I was good to go. Loading everything in the trunk of the T-Bird, I looked for dinner. I ended up at the little restaurant across from my complex. They now knew me and called me, Movie Star, someone had noticed the Warner Brothers parking sticker on my windshield. I told them I did odd jobs on the lot.

  That night I called home for no particular reason, I just felt like hearing voices from home. Dad did have some good news. We were now thirty percent owners of Detroit Faucet. Mark Downing the new young owner liked the idea of trying new products. Dad apologized for not getting my buy in before doing the deal, but it was good and he didn’t want to let it go. I agreed with him and that I thought he did the right thing.

  I told Dad that I would get a camera and take pictures of the types of faucets I was talking about. He told me that Mark was looking for a design engineer. He preferred a recent female graduate, as she would have a better feel for what women liked. Since she was female he could pay her less, especially since she was a recent graduate.

  “Dad, do you want to be the one who explains Downing’s rationale to Mum?”

  “No!”

  “Then tell him we insist he pays the going rate for a man. You might want to contact an Engineering School or someone who might know what that rate should be. If we are going to be in business let’s do it right.”

  “I agree, I hadn’t really thought about what he was planning. By the way I talked to your Mother. She is flying home this coming Wednesday. She has had a wonderful visit. She even had afternoon tea with your godmother.”

  “Wow she saw the Queen, how cool is that!”

  “They were very friendly during the war. Your Mum even made it to London on VE day while I was still laid up in Germany. She helped her friend Bets sneak out of Buckingham Palace and they formed a Conga line right through downtown London. Bets even led them through the Ritz. I guess that was a snoot full for the old fuddy duddies.”

  I then talked to Eddy and Mary. Denny was at the movies with friends. Mary wanted to know when I was coming home as she missed me. I told her I missed her also. It was strange how my throat tighten up when I said that. I asked her to give the phone back to Dad.

  “Dad, I think I just got hit by a bad case of home sickness.”

  “I’m not surprised. You are pretty self-contained but you have always got along with your siblings so I can see you missing them.”

  “It includes you and Mum.”

  “That is nice to hear Rick, we also miss you.”

  “When Mum gets home would you talk to her about a possible trip out here at Easter break? If we have a break in our schedule I will fly home even if it is only for a long weekend. Also I need your opinion on me buying a house out here for security reasons. After last week I can see that I’m too open at this apartment.”

  “That’s a lot to discuss, Rick it may not be till next week.”

  “That’s okay, homesickness and the need for a different place to live just came up.”

  We said our goodnights. I felt better than I had all day.

  I reread an old favorite. Mr. Angelo sold a Martian animal to Castor and Pollux. What a mess but lots of fun.

  Chapter 40

  Saturday morning my usual exercise routine had more zest. I was getting to play today! I hadn’t done anything fun with kids my age for what seemed forever. I headed to Nina’s house and arrived at the agreed upon eight o’clock. They actually had a gate across their driveway and it was manned. Nina had left my name so I was allowed right in.

  She was ready to go. She suggested that I drive the family station wagon. Her older brother used it for hauling his surf boards around. It was a pretty beat up 1937 Ford Deluxe Station Wagon. Before we could leave I had to be introduced to her Dad. I had seen Mr. Monroe at the studio but didn’t know who he was at the time.

  He was a pleasant late forties medium sized guy with dark hair. He had a pencil thin mustache like you saw in the movies. Oh yeah he made the movies, not in them, made them. He knew who I was. Nina had told him about me and he knew I was working with Mr. Wayne.

  He told me, “John likes you. He says you have a good work ethic and true grit. I’m not sure what he means by that but I know it is a compliment.”

  “Thank you sir, I enjoy working with Mr. Wayne and Warner Brothers.”

  “Okay that’s enough of the chit chat, you kids have fun today.”

  On the way out to the car Nina told me, “Daddy usually gives my boyfriends a hard time, he must like you.”

  Stop the presses, boyfriend? I accepted her comment and went with the flow. The car drove fairly well, not as good a ride as my T-Bird, but then I wouldn’t want the mess of a day’s surfing in it.

  I wish I could tell the world that I was a natural on the surf board and soon would be a world champion. I didn’t drown. I had a lot of fun. The waves at Santa Monica were okay I was told, but not really great. I did manage several nice rides and even made it all the way in once. All in all I would do it again. Higher more frequent waves would be better. It seemed like we spent most of the day waiting for the right waves.

  We had started our surfing at ten o’clock. Nina had their cook pack us a lunch which we ate on the hood of the car. We gave up at two o’clock because the tide had turned and the waves were very low. We showered the salt off at the fresh water showers the city had along the beach. We changed into street clothes using some fancy maneuvers in the car.

  I accidentally got a flash of a breast. At least I think it was an accident. It was only for a second but I would think about it for days.

  We strolled up on the Santa Monica pier. The amusement park was open so we spent some time there. We even rode on the Ferris wheel which was at the end of the pier. That was cool, riding a Ferris wheel over the Pacific Ocean.

  Even though it was February it was a warm day so I was wearing a golf shirt and shorts along with tennis shoes. I didn’t even have on socks; try that in Ohio in February!

  We were eating cotton candy on our way back to the car when a small kid, maybe four years old like Mary came running past us. His parents were chasing right behind. “Stop B
illy,” yelled his Mom. Billy was enjoying the game so he ran faster. Looking over his shoulder to see his pursuit he veered to the right, right off the edge of the pier into the Ocean.

  As Dad had told me there was a time to think, and a time to act. I certainly didn’t think. At least not linear thought, I dropped my wallet on the wooden deck and followed Billy into the water. He had run under the railing, I jumped over it.

  On the way down I was able to grab my nose as taught in Boy Scout Life Guard training so I wouldn’t break it when I hit the water. Holding my privates I managed to hit feet first, legs together, fairly straight in so I plunged down. I mean I plunged down like fifteen or twenty feet under the water. It was a good thing because just as my downward motion had stopped and I was starting back up I ran into Billy. I grabbed him and kicked for the surface.

  When we broke the surface I put him in the standard life saving grip with my arm around his chest and under the chin. I oriented myself and headed for the shore. Billy was coughing so I knew he was going to be okay. He hung on to me like he was drowning. Then it occurred to me he had good reason to cling to me!

  By the time I had him up to dry land his parents were waiting. His mom grabbed him and held him. There were the tears that one would expect from both of them. Nina was also waiting. She had the presence of mind to pick up my wallet. The parents introduced themselves and thanked me profusely. Their last name was Gates. I didn’t catch their first names.

  A lifeguard was there and got all the details from us. He had to record all problems in his beach sector. He wanted to know where we lived, and if we worked, where and telephone number if they had to contact us.. He looked up at me when I said I worked at Warner Brothers Studio.

  “Are you an intern there?”

  “He is starring in a movie with John Wayne,” Nina proudly told him.

  “Wow that is cool. I would love to break into movies.”

  “Are you registered with Central Casting?” I asked.