-----Original Message----- To: ninemooncorp <ninemooncorp@aol.com> Sent: Fri, Jul 16, 2010 7:49 am Subject: You're Alive
Mr. Shadix, Hollywood isn't the only place that thinks you are dead. I drove by the empty lot the other day and was lamenting that you haven't rebuilt that gorgeous house yet when I was informed by several of my officers that you were deceased. Several citizens I spoke with thought so too! My heart broke. ImDb didn't list you're death but one of my officers "remembered" reading about it in The News last year. I was so HAPPY to see as of the 27th of April 2010 you're alive and still going after roles! Here's to your health, good luck on your continuing career, and wishing you the best!
To quote Mark Twain,"Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated!" After the devastating blaze on Dartmouth Ave I bought a lovely home at 2250 South Highland Ave between 22nd and 23rd streets south. I made a film in August and September of 2009 on the north shore of Maui (FINDING GAUGUIN, a period piece set in 1903) and have been doing a great deal of traveling since my tragic house fire of Dec 2008.
I worked with The Museum of Modern Art(MoMA) both at the opening (Nov. 2009) and closing (April 2010) of the tremendously successful career retrospective of Tim Burton. At Tim's request I helped open the show and then in April 2010 was brought to NYC at MoMA's request to speak at the museum, introduce the Museum's final screening of BEETLEJUICE and do a Q&A after the screening. It was a great reunion of all the artists who have worked with Tim Burton on the last 25 years. This magnificent museum installation moves on to Toronto and next year to The Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art before traveling on to London. Its been an exciting year.
I will be starting work with the USO later this year and in 2011 on The Wounded Warrior Project, and with the guidance of The USO begin visiting military hospitals throughout the USA to visit with the many men and women of the armed services who are dealing with appalling injuries sustained while in service to our great country. I will highlight this tour with a visit to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C.
In late 2011 or early in 2012 will be visiting active duty troops both in Iraq and Afghanistan. Alabama's young men and women have always been among the quickest in America to step up and serve our great country during times of threat. This is not about politics. This is about answering the call when our country needs our brave young men and women. I am so very proud of all our armed services and in particular the courageous people of my great home state of Alabama.
Thank you for your email Jacquline and once again, I can assure you I am very much alive. I will be updating my 13 year old website soon. Check it out and as I begin my work with The Wounded Warrior Project there will be regular updates.
I was honored to open for Wayne Besen (Author of "ANYTHING BUT STRAIGHT--Unlocking the Scandals and Lies behind the Ex Gay Myth") last night at UAB's Alumni Auditorium as he spoke on James Dobson's bizarre efforts to change Gay people into Straight people with his organization "FOCUS ON FAMILY" (and their sister act, EXODUS). I spoke first and briefly detailed my experience (at age 17) with "Aversion therapy" --a vain and painful attempt at turning ME into a heterosexual. Working with Wayne was a great experience and I was honored to be asked to speak. Wayne is articulate and informed and will be there tomorrow when we silently protest FOCUS ON FAMILY's invasion of Birmingham. Learn more about Wayne at his website: www.waynebesen.com and find out about the protest Sat Nov. 7th by going to Joe Openshaw's blog, www.bessemeropinion.com These people are so full of hate and so ignorant that it is tempting to ignore them, but so many people are fooled because they use religion and fool a lot of people. Please come join us tomorrow if you can. Wayne's group www.truthwinsout.com is full of great information on what gay people face from a segment of the religious right and specific hate groups.
Well, I finally hired a trainer. I know..big deal, who cares? I just had to make the commitment and chose my Blog to announce my fitness regimen ! There is an indoor pool and a full gym in the basement of my new digs and, after four orthopedic surgeries in as many years, I am back on track. "In training" means no drinking or smoking (of course) and at least a twenty minute swim before the trainer arrives and then a 45 minute weight room work out. This has got to be as much fun as I can make it or I will never stick to it. But...well that's about it. I PROMISE I will have a more entertaining Blog soon but had to proclaim my goal of getting fit. Have the weight under control and a good, nutritional diet, now all I need is consistancy. There. THANK YOU for this no news Blog. Started yesterday and will swim daily and work out Mon,Wed.&Fri. Wish me luck....Head for NYC Nov 16 and have a gym at the Hotel Metro Penthouse. If I do the work out while I'm there I am going to treat myself to small piece of art. Check out Tim Burton's re-vamped web site: www.timburton.com STAIN BOY is your host and it's fantastic!
Now, wasn't this a fun, illuminating and entertaining Blog entry!~!!!??? Your indulgence appreciated!--GS
Here is my brother's new baby--That's my sister Susan holding her. I scared her to death at first but now she's gotten used to this big guy with the booming voice. Gonna spoil this child if given half the chance.
My Youngest Brother Frank and Brooklyn
This is my youngest brother Frank coming to pick up Brooklyn at my sister's. We did not want to let him have her back! I plan to baby sit as often as I possibly can. Baby's are all magic and this little one is a treasure!
Gertrude Scott
The photo above is of my beloved Trudie ( Brooklyn's great grandmother) Trudie was quite the Flapper when this was taken around 1920. She knew Zelda Sayre who married F. Scott Fitzgerald and it was Trudie who introduced me to the work of Gertrude Stein and the book THE CHARMED CIRCLE about Stein and Toklas and their salon a 27 Rue de Fluers in Paris. Read this book in Jr. High and it eventually changed my life when Tim Burton saw me playing Gertrude Stein on stage and cast me in BEETLEJUICE. I was so glad Trudie lived long enough to see my film debut. Trudie also knew and told me many tales of another famous Alabamian of her generation, Tallulah Bankhead. I owe more than I can ever say to my grandmother, Trudie.
Taking every chance I get to spend with my 6 month old niece Brooklyn Marie Scott. Pure joy here...
Having just returned from The Tennessee Williams' Festival in Provincetown, Ma. and ten plays in 4 days, I thought I was sated with live theater for at least a week or two but, no. Ran into to Artist, Jean Cecil--She and her husband Bill Foster (CEO of The Birmingham Zoo) are relatively new to Birmingham and Jean had an installation of her paintings last week and during our conversation invited me to see "RENT" with her husband and his delightful mother visiting Birmingham from St. Augustine.
Last night was ,indeed, memorable. It reminded me of the truly exceptional Theatrical community Birmingham has and has had since it's earliest days. This exceptional theatrical community gave me a place to work and I mean ADVENTUROUS work way back it the early 70's---long before 90% of the performer's I saw last night at RED MOUNTAIN THEATER COMPANY's production of "RENT" were born!
My Nikon Coolpix died just as Keith Cromwell ( Executive producer RMTC) had gathered all the cast together. So all I have is the lame shot during the standing ovation these performers received. Sorry Guys. Battery died. However there is really no one to single out, only because EVERYONE was outstanding.
Odd angle of RENT's standing ovation curtain call.
So I will simply list this extraordinary cast: Dawoyne Alexander, Benjamin Alicea, Lauren Bowing, Nicci Claspell, Doront'e Evans,Russ Hobbie, Dylan Hunter, Megan Elizabeth Lewis, Sethanie Mosley, Casey O'Farrell, Michael Seward, Kas Tillae, Cecil E. Washington Jr.. Michael Wright, and Pamela Williams.
The musical direction was exceptional thanks to the efforts of Kevin Francis Finn and the musicians were Kevin, Chase Cooper, Carlos Pino, Talor Propp and Maury Levine.
God Bless you Ron Kellum (director AND MORE) for your hard work and dedication in creating, so quickly, a fine reputation for RMTC. Returning to Birmingham after 32 years in Los Angeles and NYC and finding such a thriving creative community here has reinforced my re-location to Alabama. Just wrapped a feature on Maui called FINDING GAUGUIN and we are in pre-production for a feature (working title) "MARK" by writer/ producer Susan Oliver. I took a 3 year sabbatical and it is so good to be back doing what I love and doing it from a new home base in Birmingham!
Birmingham's somewhat Controversial 1973 production of THE BOYS IN THE BAND. The first totally gay themed play ever presented in Birmingham. I played Emory ( on the left in yellow with red bracelets! I was 19 at the time. Greg Robinson and the late Don Higdon completed the threesome out front lyp- syncing to Bette Midler's "Leader of The Pack" from her first album. Unfortunately the names of the other performers are lost to my poor documentation and my 2008 House Fire... We did sell-out and held over at BIRMINGHAM FESTIVAL THEATER and then we all moved to Atlanta! I am so proud (and lucky) to have made my theatrical debut in Birmingham, Alabama.
PS I aint dead yet and looking for the right part in a play as well as continuing my career in film. And YES, Keith, I can sing. Have a platinum CD for my songs in THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS!
Bless everyone from RMTC for a magical evening and I look forward to more! You have a company of Stars!
Artist Jean Cecil at her installation at David and Linda Wheeler Gallery at The Summit.
Artist statement:"Great things are done when men and mountains meet; this is not done by jostling in the street"---William Blake
Jean Cecil has met mountains and, as Blake imply's, accepted their challenges. A wife, a mother, a professional architect and financial consultant, Jean is now painting and studying--do artist ever stop studying? Her father, a Kentuckian, her mother from Alabama, Jean enjoys, in an obvious and deep sense, the nature around her which flows out of her work as an artist. She had a three month sabbatical in 2006 during which she spent time alone in Costa Rica. I relate. That was when I began a sabbatical and left Los Angeles for my home in Alabama. Her work is vibrant and varied. Her new studies of the human form show amazing potential.
Today her installation benefited 15% to The Alabama Ballet. Call David's Gallery for more information on future exhibitions and to contact Jean. 205-967-0480
Glenn Shadix with his precious niece, Brooklyn Marie Scott.
After Jean Cecil's show, I went by Apple at The Summit and got a much needed tutorial on my iPhone apps and then raced over to my sister's Susan Gagne to help baby sit my youngest brother's new baby, Brooklyn Marie Scott. It was a glorious time and home before dark to work on my new script and toss off this blog. I do believe I am as happy as I have ever been! Looking forward to seeing a local production of " RENT" this Saturday night. Leave for an appearance in Nashville on the 16th (see the Appearances page)
Love the changes in season after three decades in California! Love to All ----GS
Curator, David Kaplan hops his bike to hit rehearsals and a gay studies class at a local U
Glorious weekend on Cape Cod and Provincetown is hopping. Last night, Betty Buckley and the entire cast of GHOSTS FROM A SUMMER HOTEL wowed a sold-out perfomance of this Williams piece based on the F.Scott Fitgerald short story. The Festival has SOLD OUT ALL TEN SHOWS.
My friends from Boston that I met on Maui arrived this afternoon and we had a tour of the village, lunch by the shore and tons of shopping.
Stephen & Meredith Schulte
Stephen and Meredith brought along their delightful friend, Jessica Wolkiewicz. We are meeting at 7pm for the New Zealand production of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at Fisherman's Wharf. My favorite Williams play will be followed by a cocktail party for Betty Buckley who was such a marvelous Zelda Fitzgerald last night...
Jessica Wolkiewicz joined Stephen & Meredith. We will all be seeing STREETCAR tonight. Jessica was a wonderful surprise.
We are a foursome tonight, The Schulte's, Jessica and Me. Should be memorable.
Wonderful flight to Boston yesterday and a 90 minute ferry ride took me to the heart of Provincetown. Checked into The Waterford Inn and spent my first day exploring the village and greeting friends from all over. Attended the opening night party for the T.W. Festival and met the charming Betty Buckley, who I will see tonight in William's play (based on an F.Scott Fitzgerald short story), "CLOTHES FOR A SUMMER HOTEL" about Scott and Zelda--of course.. The picture above is David Kaplan, curator of The Festival. We are on the balcony of the cottage David keeps in Provincetown--it was, for many years, owned by Eugene O'neill. Today's plays start at 1pm so I am dashing off this blog and getting ready to being an audience until after 10pm with quick breaks!
Here is the poem written and read at The United Methodist Church on Sunday (see previous blog entry). The author, Mohja Kahf, is a Palestinian Muslim who read this in support of Temple Shalom. It was so moving in it's delivery I am at a lost to transmit the emotional energy it held on this historic occaision. Here is the poem written and read by a magnificent lady who I was most honored to meet Sunday night: All Good by Mohja Kahf
In the end, it’s all okay, I would like to reassure those of you who may have been troubled by Hajar’s vicissitudes or the questionable actions and sometimes disturbing language in which they have manifested here
Out in the blue infinitude that reaches and touches us sometimes, Hajar and Sarah and Ibrahim work together to dismantle the house of fear, brick by back-breaking brick With a broom of their own weaving, they sweep away the last remains They sit down for a meal under the naked stars
Ismail and Isaac come around shyly, new and unlikely friends Hajar introduces them to her second and third husbands and a man from her pottery class who is just a friend There is no more possessiveness Later generations of girls and boys trammel over everyone’s lap, welcomed by more than one mother and father Massacring our children at the altars of our greed and pride is no longer acceptable practice
Sorrows furrow every face This, in the firelight, no one denies No one tries to brush it all away with saccharine lies or rushes into glib forgiveness, disrespecting the right of the oppressed to redress their suffering No one claims to corner the market of affliction
Everybody’s losses have been named in excruciating detail as they deserve to be, and mourned Cruelties on every side have been deeply and at length atoned allowing the old family drama finally to die
The grieving has gone on for untold ages, frenzied and rageful in our immature years, slowly becoming penitent and wise Despite the abject pain we have experienced, no one wishes they could change the past because of which we have arrived at this transforming time
Hagar pours a subtle, sweet and heretofore unheard of wine Sarah laughs again, more deeply It’s amazing how restored Abraham looks Everyone, this time around, can recognize in the eyes of every other, the flickering light of the Divine and it is like nothing we have ever known before yet it is what we have always known at core
I would like to reassure you all: In the very end, in the fourth, unseen dimension that has been here from the very beginning, unfolding just outside the limits of our perception, suffering, not in its rawest form, but distilled in temperate hearts, takes us to higher levels of cognition We break out of the cycle, Here, Now, to higher life, and it is fine
On Friday September 10th, my fiend Jason Maloy and I began our road trip to Arkansas to visit Little Rock (where I enjoyed a visit to President Clinton's Library). We then traveled on to Fayetteville Arkansas for the second annual Gala Benefit & Silent Auction benefiting The Building--A Dream Capital Campaign Fund for TEMPLE SHALOM of Northwest Arkansas held at Fayetteville's UNITED METODODIST CHURCH. The Jewish Community has been using the local Unitarian Church as their home and their dream of building a permanent home is becoming a reality due to Fadil Bayyari's tremendous act of generosity. Bayyari Construction services are being donated at cost to the project and Mr. Bayyari, himself, is donating his services as general contractor. NEVER BEFORE IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY HAVE CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTS DESIGNED A JEWISH TEMPLE THAT IS BEING BUILT BY A MUSLIM CONTRACTOR.
Glenn Shadix & Jason Maloy
This building partnership has also had the added benefit of creating a vision of understanding and respect for all viewpoints. Temple Shalom has established a FAITH TO FAITH Initiative that will provide people of all religions, ethnicities and cultures a safe forum in which to share and learn from each other.
To inquire about making a tax-deductible donation to the BUILDING OF A DREAM CAPITAL CAMPAIGN FUND please contact: Barry Brown, Capital Campaign Chairman at (479) 871-1457 (cell) or at his home: (479)750-4004 or email at bbrown@uark.edu
Barry gave me a personal tour of the Temple, now under construction and I was treated as an honored guest during my time in Arkansas. A highlight was a beautiful poem read by Mohja Kahf at the Gala benefit Sunday evening. What a wonderful example for all communities of Faith. It was certainly worth the 16 hours I spent in my car on the way up and then back to Birmingham!
Off with my dear friend, Jason Maloy, to Little Rock to join in the opening of a new Synagogue and a trip to The Clinton Library. Then after The BSC Starlight Supper on the 20th, it's P-Town Ma. for The Tennessee Williams festival and a gathering of old friends and ten T.W. plays, then appearances in Nashville, Cleveland and by Nov 15 I will be in Manhattan to honor Tim Burton at his M.O.M.A. Retrospective. Busy fall and then FRANCE, and, when weather warms, on to Austria and Berlin. I hope WORK does not disrupt my plans...The best laid plans of mice and men...well, you know what I mean. Will be in Birmingham between some of these trips! Love to all-GS Got my iPhone with me...
Had a delightful return to my old Liberal Arts College, Birmingham Southern College. I am pictured above with the current head of the drama department, Michael Flowers, in front of Birmingham Southern's outstanding theater---There are only two like it in the world. It was designed by the late Dr. Arnold Powell and John Kitchens and has a split-revolve turn table and was designed to have a proscenium as well as the ability to re-arrange the seating to have it become a Theater-in the-round. When The Olivier Theater in London was being designed, the architects of the Lawrence Olivier Theater in London came to Birmingham to confere with Dr. Arnold Powell and lighting designer, John Kitchens to create a similarly complex and versatile theater in England. This high maintenance venue on The BSC campus has been beautifully maintained and is celebrating it's fortieth year anniversary in 2009. This is a theater all of Alabama can be proud exists.
I had, yesterday, a long, productive and interesting meeting with Jessica Brooks Lane ( Major Gifts Officer at BSC) and Dan Britt, Assistant Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Birmingham Southern College. I, along with my dear friend and BSC graduate, Helen Palatia Hunt Childers will be attending Birmingham Southern's The Starlight Social fundraiser at The B&A Warehouse on September 20, 2009. It will be a chance to renew old friendships and meet the new generation of leadership at Birmingham Southern College. For more information on the amazing plans in development for this grand institution, please visit: www.bsc.edu
The photo above was taken last week during a visit with Louise, Del Shore and Jason Dottley. Louise produced Del's one man show in Birmingham last week. For more info on Dale and his book "Southern Baptist Sissies" please follow this link: http://www.jasondottley.com
Jason Dottley, Glenn Shadix & Del Shores
My time is being consumed with preparation on a number of projects including a proposed Biographical feature of Jonathan Winters. Along with laying the groundwork for this exciting project, I am writing, writing and writing: A short story, a memoir and several other pieces. I have some precious time to work before attending The Tennessee Williams' Festival in Provincetown Ma. September 24-28. Good to be home and great to be writing again! Love to all...
I was ten years old in 1962 when Walter Cronkite began anchoring The CBS Evening News. He was a steady voice throughout the turbulent 60's and on up until his retirement at the relative young age of 65 in 1981. By the time he retired I was living in Hollywood and actively pursuing a career in film. It is hard to over-estimate his impact on history and the America that I knew and loved as a child and it is sad to note his passing. Although delivering "straight news" was his goal, he would, on occasion, voice his opinion--always with a preface that this was his opinion, and America knew and trusted this man in a way that we will most likely never see again. Certainly not in my lifetime. He helped turn the nation against the disastrous war in Viet Nam and who can forget his reportage on the assassinations of JFK,RFK and Martin Luther King? For those of us who grew up with him, his influence was profound. There were only three television networks throughout all of my childhood and CBS was considered the very best in Television Journalism.
It is tempting to say that an era ends with his death but that era ended long ago and the final nail was certainly added the first time we heard FOX NEWS announce that they were "fair and balanced". Walter never had to tell you he was fair and balanced. You knew how he felt but his reportage was clean and factual. Not the frighteningly Orwellian mess we have in today's advocacy journalism on both the right and the left. It was no secret how disgusted he was with the state of Television News.
As we say goodbye, I do hope his death will give the News Business a moment to pause and reflect on where we have been and where we are going. How we get our news has forever changed with the onslaught of the Internet. I pray we will find our way and that we will not lose the integrity of the Fourth Estate. The Press. It is a vital ingredient in our democracy. Where is it headed? That is a question that concerns us all. Goodbye, Mr. Cronkite and thank you for your service to this great and troubled nation.
A day of rest today. The weather is unseasonably cool and beautiful and I am going for a nice long walk in the park near where I live. I am very grateful to finally be back in a home of my own and feel recovered from the emotional effects of the December 13, 2008 house fire. I have so very much to be thankful for--not the least of which is the joy of getting to baby sit my youngest brother's three month old daughter tomorrow. After all the years of living thousands of miles away I am so happy to be home. My family has been supportive of everything I have tried to do and it is an enormous blessing to be back among them.
Now I can leave again and GO HAWAIIAN!!!! A movie on Maui! Tough job but somebody has to do it !! Love to all !! Arrive on Maui July 28th.....Back in mid August. If the laptop holds I will certainly blog from the islands...
I have fallen into the oh-so-addictive world of FaceBook. Never liked Twitter much, but FaceBook has put me back in regular touch with friends from all over the world and especially all the folks I left after 30 years in L.A. I chat equally with local friends. It's like a shout out to a friend across town is the same as a friend in Berlin, or New Zealand or Tokyo or Nashville. I LOVE this, being a social creature by nature and from birth. I found myself, last week, FaceBooking someone I was on the phone with! Am I as sick as I think. Yet another addiction to consider it's repercussions.
Actually writing letters in long hand to offline friends. I think I am just addicted to communications in general. The older I get the more precious EVERYONE in my life becomes to me. I lost so many people in my thirties to AIDS that I hold on to all my dear ones and I hold tight!
Learning lines for FINDING GAUGUIN. The executive producer surprised me yesterday with a date for my arriving on Maui a week earlier than I had expected, so I am listening to French accents i Netflix movies, my Samuel French dialect CD and my French "coach", Kitty Urquhart. I will have the lines down with accent so solid that, hopefully, the accent will barely be noticeable. THAT is the goal. Make it effortless. Maurice Chevalier has the charm I want this evil art agent to have. I want people to really like my character at first and then slowly reveal my treacherousness! Must work every day for several hours to get where I want to be by the 28th of this month!
Having grown up in Bessemer (side track homes all over the south-east: my step-father traveled for Goodyear Tire & Rubber), I am very glad to see leadership arising in Bessemer's Gay community in the works of Joe Openshaw (http://www.examiner.com/x-17183-Birmingham-Gay-Community-Examiner) who was my neighbor in Bessemer when I first returned home after 30 years in Hollywood and travel around the world. We have stayed in close touch since I left Bessemer and moved to it's Big Sister City (Birmingham) after my house fire in Dec. 2008.
Joe has been a steady voice for all Bessemer residents as well as the emerging gay community on Bessemer's South Side. Always on top of events, nationally and locally, Joe is a fine representative and a great source for ANYONE concerned with their hometown and local political events. His Bessemer Opinions Blog (www.bessemeropinions.com) will now concentrate on all issues affecting all the people in Bessemer, and the new Examiner site will be a clearing house of info on the gay community in Jefferson County, Alabama and, of course, nationally.
Jefferson County was in the forefront, good and bad, during the civil rights movement in the 1950's and it is proper and fitting that the struggle for equality under the law for Gay men and women have a strong voice here. There are no more or less gay men and women living in Jefferson County than when I was growing up--the difference is that the younger generation of Gay people are no longer willing to lower their heads in anonymous shame. There is less shame and more people willing to step forward and be counted. Martin Luther King said, and I loosely quote him, "The arc of justice for all humanity is slow, but moves slowly forward" Joe Openshaw should be acknowledged for what he is: a pioneer for Gay Rights in the heart of the heart of Dixie, Jefferson County, Alabama. We are, indeed, lucky such dedicated journalists are at work because the American and world-wide press is in a time of great change and needs solid, trustworthy investigative journalism. We have that in Joe Openshaw. Please do check out his sites.
I’m working on my French accent. Kitty Urquhart in Mountain Brook has been an angel and really helped me get a deeper understanding of the French people. She studied in France as a young woman and now splits her time between Alabama and a farm in the French countryside outside Paris. She has been an incredible resource during my research before shooting FINDING GAUGUIN. I am meeting so many wonderful folks in my hometown!
Everyone stay Cool. It's the 16th of July and the real heat (for Alabamians in particular) is yet to come!
Here's the link to the site that tells about my appearance in Nashville in October.
Okay, some can easily say and be understood when they complain about the amount of coverage the death of Michael Jackson has and is still receiving today. I never met the man. I worked in an adjoining sound stage at Culver studios for six weeks in 1987 and his trailer was about twenty feet from mine although it was completely surrounded by a wooden structure erected to keep a sense of privacy even on a security tight Hollywood sound stage. Never saw hide nor hair of the man. Dick Cavett was convinced he'd had a tunnel dug from his compound to the sound stage south of us to shoot the "BAD" videos. I knew many who knew him and I just want to say this. I was 35 years old before the bright glaze of attention brushed by me briefly and I lived and worked and still am working after 35 years as a professional actor on stage, television and most prominently,film. I would have been cold in my grave two decades ago if I had had four #1 hit records and appeared on the Ed Sullivan show at age ten. Trust me, and I loosely quote Madonna here, fortune beats the hell out of FAME and leaves it bleeding in a ditch. The memorial to this entertainer and humanitarian is over and it is time we move on,but just know how little we, any of us, know, what it was like to live in that man's skin, no matter what color it was. Enough. RIP M. J. and Thank You.
Rented "Lets Make Love" to study Yve Montand's french accent in that hideous film he did with the magnificent Marilyn Monroe. What we do for love, money and attention. I'm zonked out from 3 hours of CNN and must sign off to get my beauty rest. Leaving for Maui in a few weeks it seems... Love to all.
What a long hot June In Alabama!I have not fallen off the planet--Just been busy healing from ankle surgery, and closing on one property and buying and moving into a new wonderful location in Birmingham.The new place is on the south side of Birmingham in an old Birmingham landmark and there is an indoor pool, a cabana for entertaining and a fabulous rooftop terrace with the very best view of the city. My webmaster is here helping me with the monumental task of replacing everything I lost in last December's house fire and buying and setting up a state of the art computer office and receiving deliveries from EVERYWHERE and hanging all the art--you get the picture.Finally I am back on line and catching up on a gadzillion emails.
Tim Burton is having an incredible installation of his work both in film and in all mediums of graphic art brought together in a grand retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in N.Y.C.It opens November 22, 2009 and I will, through Tim's arrangement, be on hand for all the festivities surrounding the opening.Three of the major films I did with Tim will be shown as well as STAIN BOY, the internet series in which I did a majority of the voices will be in two theaters within the Museum as well as the major art installation.Very great honor for Burton that I am proud to have a small part in....
Doing a wonderful film called FINDING GAUGUIN with an exciting cast of, mostly ,European actors that will begin filming in early August on Maui. The Taicher Brothers are behind this venture.Robert Taicher will executive produce the film which will be directed by his brother Don Taicher.More news on the cast and details as they become available.It is based on real events and set in the South Seas in 1903.Very pleased to be back at work on a feature film with wonderful artists all around.
Preparing for glennshadix.com to present the first major exhibition of Daddy Chuck Hall, a southern gothic primitive artist who does construction art as well as paintings and various collages in several mediums.It will be up before I leave for Maui and should be an exciting addition to the site.I photographed over forty pieces of his work last week and Gary and I are hard at work preparing for this major talent to be brought into the light of the internet.
Thanks to everyone who has emailed me at ninemooncorp@aol.com.Your love, support and encouragement has been a real comfort during this high stress time between homes.
The site will be backwith new goodies very shortly!
Monday, if all goes well, I should be in an "orthopedic boot" and be able to say aloha to these blasted crutches! I will be more than pleased. This Tuesday I drive to Tuscaloosa and have lunch with an English professor from Emory who is at The University of Alabama for a lecture and some research. Grace Zabriskie hooked us up and assures me the two of us will"hit" it off.
Friday I close on my new apartment at Highland Plaza. It will be heaven to have my own place again! Big howdy to all my friends!
Today is Doctor Day and I have my two major docs (orthopedic and internist both at St. Vincent’s) and hoping the times are close enough without a timing collision. My orthopedic Doc, Angus McBryde, is one of the busiest surgeons cutting and sometimes the wait is a bit LONG. I had it in my mind that today would be quick because I thought they would leave the two week old hard cast on and I would just get an X-Ray and a quick chat about how the healing was coming and then be OUT and up to the 5th floor to see my internist Dr. James Crenshaw at 1:30 pm. I’m at my 11am in the waiting room as I write and it’s gotta be close to noon( appointment was for 11am) and I have not yet been x-rayed and there are a lot of broken bones in the chairs in this waiting room. Exchanged surgery stories with a lady who had an enviable bent knee-stand up scooter that looked like fun. I could see myself zooming around the Galleria without crutches and upright. X-Ray Girl called my name and in two minutes I was moved to Cast Lady and my black cast was buzz cut and in less than 5 minutes I was led to a private room. On the way I passed Dr. McBride and told him I had a 1:30 appointment with Dr. Crenshaw on the 5th and he quickly looked at my x-rays and said if I was careful I could go see Crenshaw and then return for stitches to be removed and a new cast applied.
Dr. Crenshaw on the 5th floor was a breeze, chilly but a breeze and I left some blood and zoomed back to Cast Lady on 1st and she had read my web site, and in some Bio tale discovered her husband’s family, The Wright’s lived across the street from The Livingston’s—my birthplace and the old family home. Memories bloomed and distracted me from her snipping and pulling out tons of stitches. The she rolled and slapped on a bright new purple cast. I was done. FREE! I swung through the halls with my crutches to the valet and my beautiful little boxy Scion, hit the pharmacies, bank, two antique stores, a Chinese take-out and home by 7pm. I LOVE the iPod plug in which I can control volume and song selection by buttons on the steering wheel which also has a mode button to change to radio or CD. Gee I love the future.
Rug Shopping at Milton's
As I drove all over town I talked to Milton at Birmingham Wholesale Furniture and my real estate agent and arranged for the three of us to meet tomorrow at 2pm to measure the new lair and get some smart tips from the elegant Mr. Milton G. Jernigan, a real interior decorator. I only played one in the movies----Now, I can put a house together. I do pretty damn good, BUT I need someone who can help me make a lot of choices regarding space and color and do it quick. I was honored he asked to come see my new place—I did not actually engage him as a decorator but he knows and I know I’m gonna drop a ton of “contents replacement cash” at Milton’s massive, upscale furniture store. The rug collection alone swallowed my first visit. He came highly recommended by both my real estate agent, Wanda Abney, and The Queen of Hannah’s Antiques, Bonnie Hannah. I discovered today that I have dropped below 200lbs for the first time in 25 years. Dr. Crenshaw’s fancy scale read 199!!! A victory and I KNOW too much blog for one day so I’ll shut up. Goodnight Ya’ll.
After a house fire you have to shop until you drop but it has been fun--on-line and hitting every estate sale, furniture store locally and making sure your mom approves! Or NOT. Soothing in a way to have everything different. A total fresh environment. Bought a great place in a dream location and ole broke bones has an indoor pool. My business mgr. has even been cool about my major purchases but she sure as hell pulls in the reins when I get out of line.
Went to a wonderful birthday party for my cousin Roy who is my age and I met a great group of new folks. After 30 years in Hollywood it's been an adventure finding new friends in my old home town of Birmingham.
I guess Obama is expected to appoint a half black,half Hispanic lesbian to the Supreme Court. I just hope he finds a fair minded person, fully qualified and who has some concept of what living in the real world is like and preserves our hardy constitution which has been under quite an attack since 2001. Let's hope he gets lucky cause these guys stay on the bench until death or get sick and tired of the stress. Could be voting for 45 years so let's hope it's an inspired choice.
Three weeks and I am off crutches and get a walking boot. Healing seems solid and Dr. Angus McBryde fixed Michael Jordon's ankle so I have faith this one will give me a pain free ambulatory life. Keep a positive thought. Bye Ya'll
DNJ Gallery at 1541/2 N. La Brea had an opening last Saturday and I purchased a Jane O'Neal photograph titled BIG BIRD OF PARADISE just before the opening. It's going in my new digs atop Red Mountain in Birmingham. DNJ will ship it to my local framer,David Wheeler (who has done all the restoration work from my fire in DEC '08.) The show runs into June and has a group of accomplished artist's work beautifully installed. My "Bird" may be gone soon (only 7 in this printing) but if you are on the ball there is superb installation of Jane's work as well as a host of other fine artist's. I would not dawdle if I were you and are able to get to DNJ in L.A in the next month OR go to the website and reserve a prize like I did. Website is www.dnjgallery.com Pictured below is my prize I bought ahead of the opening.
Shopping on line and on site for the furnishings of my new home. Found a bed in Dallas that suits me nicely. Strongly encourage wise collectors to hot-foot it to DNJ or view the pieces on site. Great folks to deal with and so much to view and choose your present/investment. Wait until you SEE Jane's work. Be sure to read her artist statement on the DNJ site. Got no horse in this race, just a heads up to friends...
Otherwise just another perfect spring day down south with one more Democrat to re-build our last administration's messes.
Real Estate is a relatively new area for me. In 2007 I bought my first house, a beautiful Queen Ann Victorian with turrets, a wrap-a-round porch, 12 columns and, even though built in 1887, (magnificent gardens sitting on 3 lots ) it had been beautifully restored and maintained. I had a deal set and it was mine within three days. Then, after moving all my earthly belongings in and making it a home a furnace malfunction caused it to go up in flames Saturday morning Dec.13,2008.
After three months living with family I decided to give my family and myself a break and amicably moved into a nice residential Hotel, I did a massive search with the help of my first real estate agent, (Wanda Abney at Realty South) It's, granted, a buyer's market. That being said I had narrowed the search and still had to look at a dozen prospects in person as well as hundreds on line. Last Tuesday,April 26 I found my new home. It had everything I needed and wanted and the perfect location. From a quarter of a million four years ago Wanda hard balled $100,00 off the price and set the deal and made me the happiest home buyer in Birmingham! With my orthopedic problems, the year round indoor pool will a big plus. All the other amenities are just wonderful bonus' and I look forward to my June 1st move in date!
Still on the look out for a space in Los Angeles but have to have my home here furnished, and, since the fire I have to purchase everything needed to set up housekeeping. Lots of shopping ahead. Digs in Ca. will have to wait.
Here's hoping 2009 will be a much better year for Nine Moon Productions!
Had a great weekend working on the site with Gary. I am considering a producer's offer concerning a Home and Gardens Channel show I might co-host with a two time Super bowl Ring pro footballer. Now that would be quite a contrast to moi. Worked on a Bio Tale that is featured starting NOW on the main page. Off to see Dr. Angus McBryde this morning to X-ray the ankle and change the splint. Thinking about putting earnest money down Wednesday on a beautifully renovated Mountain Brook Townhouse built in 1925. Spectacular real estate deal and a gorgeous place to live atop Red Mountain with a view of Birmingham below. (Still have the California considerations and a real estate agent there.) We shall see.
Now to Madonna. I don't publicly speak often of my relationship to Ms Ciccone. We first met through a certain wonderful caustic lady comic whose name escapes me (it'll come to me soon) and Warren Beatty when Club Louie (a late night private dance club that the famous, late Herb Ritts rented for invited guests the first Friday of each month) back in 1989. I later worked with Warren and then Deb Mazar ----both close to M---- and we exchanged emails and I visited her Los Feliz home several times. When she married Guy Richie I was seduced into adopting Conchita, Rosita and Evita, Madonna's three Chihuahuas.
Miss M wanted to assure me that Evita was not rabid!
I do love the woman, but if she reads this (she's at the Paltrow's in NYC recovering from her SECOND fall from a horse) I hope LISTENS to what I have to say:
I grew up with horses. Trained in English equestrian (preferred western trail riding to showing but did both), owned two horses growing up and had my last ride in 2004, against my better judgement (and I paid a price). It was with friends on Shades Mountain at an upscale Appaloosa breeding ranch and both my horses (Bama and Apache) were Appaloosas. Had a nice trail ride through mountain trails on a frisky young mare and all went well until we were returning and Starburst saw the barn and surprised me--the experienced horseman (I thought, and WAS)-- and broke into a run up the hill at an angle and I held on until she jumped a small knoll and off I went soundly to the ground with a thud. I still have nerve damage in two fingers on my right hand and I was very lucky. In the South, Ladies traditionally put up the saddle at 50. Bones break so much easier and we must remember Chris Reeves. SAVE your daring for the stage---hell, in your case, THATS dangerous enough. Anyway, this is your second fall and I want you causing major trouble for decades to come. I KNOW you'll listen to me about as much as you would a teenage Manhattan cabbie, but I feel better for suggesting enjoying Lola, Rocco, and David and other kids mount the horses. And for God's sake, don't blame the paparazzi when you get thrown. No, not even if it's God's truth. Missed the tour, but look forward to seeing it when whoever you deal it out to gives it a showing. Just don't go breaking that tough but vulnerable neck of yours. Enough of that. I do adore you still!
Four more weeks and I get my walking boot! Ah, to be able put away these crutches forever. Orthopedic surgery (I've had SEVEN in my life) is no damn fun. (It's a damn miracle I'm ambulatory at all come to think of it.)
On a political note. GIVE OBAMA , angry folks, a break or at least keep the protest civil and not full of the ugly racial posters and names used by the Fox Network sponsored "Tea Party" over the weekend. We are hardly facing taxation without representation. I seem to remember an, uh..ELECTION recently. But do have a nice Monday all !
Should I twitter? I am about to have ankle surgery April 7. I have four email addresses, two myspace locations ( I only made one but somebody else put up another. I use neither. I did see the fun in facebook after being invited by a friend and finding a huge group from all over the world of folks I know and love. I have this blog and the website where it rests somewhat sluggishly at the moment. Do I dare go twitter? Just the fact that Billy Bush is a twitterer ought to be enough to keep me off but I AM going to be in bed with a laptop for six weeks. I have not even been to its homepage for fear of being engulfed by the Trendy Monster. I will go take a peek after my nap but I do have some trepidations.....
Deep, heartfelt love and sympathy goes out to all of Natasha Richardson's family. It truly is an amazing family and she was so loved and had so much more to give. Her death strikes hard for many reasons--her two young sons, her great artistic potential, her youth. It just somehow, in all its peculiar circumstances, pulls back the curtain again on how fragile is existence. It should have been just the bump on the bunny trail she joked about. Instead it was the end and hundreds of people are in deep mourning, thousands very saddened and millions made aware how random are our lives and deaths. I have, as an actor, been aware of her and her family most of my life. I have seen her mother on stage many times in the West End and in countless films. I know Vanessa Redgrave is experiencing one of life's cruelest twists: the death of one's child. Having seen her work and having been so interested in her as an artist, I know that this extremely sensitive and intelligent woman is experiencing a pain I will never know. I single out her grief only because I feel closer to her. I pray for Vanessa and Liam and those young boys as well as Natasha's brother Michael. There is incredible strength and power in that bloodline and they will hold together with great dignity. I feel awkward making a "celebrity" death seem more or worst than the constant circle of life and death that goes on all around us everyday. It's just that her death brings into such sharp focus how vulnerable we all are.
I will be, I am told by my surgeon Dr.Angus McBryde at SPORTS MEDICINE, that I will be travel worthy by late June. Now seems as good a time as any to say that my sabbatical is coming to an end. I will be purchasing a new vehicle in the weeks ahead and around June 25th I will be returning to California. It has been a very eventful three years but I am ready to come home and am already shopping for real estate. Life is quite an adventure and I am ready for the next chapter!
After all the operations I have had (both wrists broken twice), this upcoming (third!) operation on my right ankle has had me in a state of fear mixed with hope. I have the best ankle surgeon available and he assures me the ankle can be corrected. I trust Dr. McBride and Dr. Andrews and so do all these sports figures with multi-million dollar contracts on the line. I know half of my current anxiety is just dark apprehension and waiting . Once he's cut me open, stuck in the hardware and permenent bone healing stimulator and sewn me back together it will just be six weeks of extreme care with no weight bearing on the joint------then the rehab and by midsummer I plan to treat myself to a trip somewhere far, far away and do some career reevaluation. Swimming every day has truly helped my mental and physical state and the good Lord knows I'm a tough old bird. My webmaster and I have re-designed the website and its time to do away with self pity and get creative in the moment, Last I heard the moment is all we have anyway. I see people enduring true suffering everyday on the street as well as the 24 hour news horrors on the HD plasma television were the blood is red and death quite real. So I promise to cheer up and remember Spring is almost here! Hold a prayer for me next Wednesday March 4th! There. Now I feel much better!!!!
Had a fine time watching the Oscars and was on the money with all my predictions except Best Foreign Language film. I predicted and voted for WALTZ WITH BASHIR but the Japanese film won---still it was the closest I've ever come to a perfect set of predictions. Watched the ceremonies at my friends Joe and Bobby's grand old Victorian a block from where my old jewel stood. Joe has a great blog and I suggest you check it out: http://www.bessemeropinions.com/
Was particularly moved by the exception speech that Dustin Lance Black gave when he accepted his Best Original Screenplay Oscar for MILK. Wish I had heard an Oscar acceptance speech like that when I was a kid. Joe uploaded Dustin's acceptance and you can see it on Joe's blog today. Wasn't Hugh Jackman a fun host for the Oscars?! I Love when Ellen hosts but it was fun to have a real song and dance man with the orchestra on stage. It reminded me of the old musicals from that "other" Depression. Good to liven things up. Funny how movies do their biggest business during hard times. Something perfectly escapist to sit in a dark room full of strangers watching magic on the really BIG SCREEN! Hope this era produces some really fun as well as thoughtful movies...
Off to the gym for my 45 minute swim and then I've got my eye on some trout almandine and fresh vegetables at The Bright Star.
A day of rest indeed. Watch the CBS morning show and bits of the other Sunday morning "Depression Shows" Always catch the late re-run of MEET THE PRESS but tonight its The Oscars. Check in Monday and see if my instincts were right or not....
Had my 45 minute swim and then hit the BRIGHT STAR. Watched a Netflix documentary on Haskell Wexler done by his son and a classic Bette Davis/Miriam Hopkins movie called "OLD AQUANTANCE". On the computer half the day and finishing my night with SNL...........Laid back Saturday. Going to a small Oscar party tomorrow.
Up early and worked on The Never Ending Clock Series and then had a good hour-long aerobic swim. After the pool I went to THE BRIGHT STAR (Bessemer's 102 year old Resturant that I have been going to since they had to put me in a high chair or hold me in somebody's arms. Great comfort and the food is still tops
After lunch I drove by where my old Victorian stood until the December fire. It's completely gone and I will be sewing wild flowers seeds oner the fresh dirt and hay they have put where the house stood.
The rest of today is watching old Dick Cavett Shows from Netflicks and working on the computer. What a Glamourous Life.
Getting ready for my 6 weeks off my feet (while my ankle heals) Have an electric wheelchair,new crutches, a great bedtray for my laptop and it adjusts into a dinner tray. I'm gonna be ready when they cut me open....
Doing my 45 minutes in the pool everyday and I'm sore from head to toe because, although I've been dropping pounds, I have not done aerobic work in many months. Off cigarettes for two weeks---used a drug called Chantix to get me past the nicotine withdrawal and now I am feeling a surge of energy. Hope I have freed myself from the nicotine demon for good. Having to go outside in the cold to puff on a Basic menthol was making me feel like a stupid relic. Only us old ex-hippy baby boomers have hung on to this disgusting habit..I never smoked inside my own house because I hated the lingering smell and now I can drink a cup of coffee inside where it's warm!
Had a morning writing and then went for a nice long swim. I'm getting the blood flowing for my upcoming surgery. Good solid workout. Had a meeting in Birmingham concerning my house fire and came home and went through a ton of photos--some destroyed some heavily damaged and many just slightly smoked or in perfect condition. I saved more than I lost but the ones framed and hanging on the wall...well it makes me ill to think of the art that went up in flames. Just happy about what survived...including ME. Found and put up my friend Sandy Martin's 1985 CLOCK portrait. She is also in the 1990 Series. The picture was slightly water damaged but looks cool. Getting to bed early tonight. Off to Jasper (home of the late Tallulah Bankhead) tomorrow. Having a nice long day with my sister, Susan. Ciao All.
Hello all. Want to lighten your life's load and go to a place of pure magic? Go see what my friend Allee Willis has created with the help of a 91 year old lady drummer named Jerrie on Youtube. Send it to everyone you know because it is pure joy and potent inspiration.
House hunting on the net today but may just hit the road with my laptop once my ankle mends. Have a big kiss for the people you love and have a slurpy wallow in the spirit of St. Valentine.........
Its Lincoln's 200th birthday. I turn 57 on April 15th and change is in the air.
I came home to Alabama to heal from a broken left wrist and take a break from Hollywood (and show business in general). I had to have my wrist re-broken surgically and just as it was healing, an old ankle injury caused a fall that broke my right wrist! Then I found the house of my dreams and I bought it the day I saw it.
By the time my wrist healed I decided to have my right ankle (broken while a filming a scene -un-billed - in 1979's SkatetownU.S.A.) finally fused to relieve 30 years of pain. (Skatetown U.S.A. was a mess of a film and the injury was so severe that I had to give up my Hollywood apartment and go home to Alabama to heal for six months!)
Last year I had the fusion performed on the old ankle injury and wound up flat of my back for six weeks. After nine months of x-rays and constant pain, the operation had not been a success. I thought about my next move while decorating my beautiful 1887 Queen Anne Victorian House. It was the most beautiful home I have ever lived in, and although wearing an ankle brace and using an electronic bone stimulator from 8pm each night until 6am each morning, I was happy. Really happy.
Members of my production company (Nine Moon Productions) spent a month helping me organize my computer and communication system, photo collection and the house and grounds in general. It was a very charming, fun and productive time. I had agreed to appear in a production of THE HISTORY BOYS and was looking forward to getting back on the stage.
They left early on Saturday, December 13, a sunny but chilly winter morning. At 10:15 I turned up both thermostats in my Norrell heating system and went out on the porch to arrange my Christmas wreaths. I was in sweat pants and a short sleeve shirt, so I made it quick. I was on my porch a total of eight minutes max.
When I walked back into the house I could smell smoke and feel intense heat. I opened the door to my kitchen and coming from the rear of the house was what seemed a mountain of black smoke. The fire burned from under the house near the furnace in back below the master bedroom and moved so fast I was unable to pick up anything.
I ran outside and a lady in a passing car slowed to a stop. " Have you got a phone?" I screamed.
"I just called 911, man," she said. "You get the hell out of that house."
In what seemed like a second she had my hand holding me back. I never went back in to attempt to save any of my material treasures and it probably saved my life. I lost everything except the clothes on my back and flip flops. I had not even put on my glasses or my ankle brace. A dream went up and was gone before noon. Firefighters did an amazing job, but were delayed by a train and this old house, full of heart pine, went fast. I had to drop out of THE HISTORY BOYS and deal with all the repercussions of the fire.
Yesterday my insurance paid off my mortgage and is sending my business manager the money I put down and the equity I had earned. My coverage for contents will only cover about 1/3 of what was in the house. I salvaged what was not stolen by vandals, and today the remains of that Grand old house are on their way to the city landfill.
I found Dr. Angus McBride who works with Dr. Andrews at Sports Medicine in Birmingham. They are from all reports the very BEST. I am going to have the third operation on my right ankle this coming March 4th. After the results of that surgery are clear, I will have many options. If it works (Dr. McBride assures me the chances are 90%), I will have plenty of cash, a good income and no place to live. A fork in the road. Not my first fork in the road by any means, but a BIG FORK. I am a (almost) 57 year old man, in general good health, who has been a professional actor since 1973. Do I go back to work? Hollywood?, New York? or do I buy a sensible house in my home town and write and do the occasional local play?
I don't expect anyone to tell me what the best move for me might be. I just felt like my "Ruminations" page was the place to write down these feelings. I am not looking for sympathy. I know how lucky I am and how many people have problems that dwarf my latest dramas. So, there you go. Thanks for letting me share.
O! By the way I must acknowledge my friend and artist Howard Cruse (www.howardcruse.com) for doing the header for this page. Its me sitting on the swing on my late Victorian wrap-a-round porch eating a Moon Pie and an R-C Cola. Does anyone know if they still make R-C Colas? I could use one right now. Moonpies can be purchased anywhere in Alabama but R-C's may be no more....
I hope you visit Howard's website. He is one of the best cartoonist's around and full of opinions--quite political, my friend Howard. We met in 1972 and I have turned to him for support in good and bad times for almost four decades. God bless you Howard.
I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A LOVE-SOAKED VALENTINE'S DAY!!
Other than how far a dollar goes in London (won't get you a free dinner mint). I've been busy going through the rubble of my burned out 122 year old Victorian home. The emotional repair is proceeding and I have been dealing with salvage and demolition companies. My insurance company (Guide One) has been quite helpful during this entire horror.
Is anyone else sick of hearing about Sarah Palin?
Renewing my Netflix account at my new temp address. After the ankle operation March 4th I will be watching a lot of movies. Booked a personal appearance in Nashville Oct.17 and I sure hope my limp is gone by then....More details as the date approaches.
Sorry for the dirth of any good gossip or salty opinions. I'm sure when I am truly confined in bed with my laptop I will come up with more to discuss. Feel free to open up a subject if one comes to mind.
If you are interested, my first video short (shot in 1982 in Hollywood) has popped up on Youtube. I co-wrote and co-star in this VERY strange little piece (in 3 parts on youtube) called "THEY SAVED GIDGET's BRAIN" I saw for the first time in 25 years the other day and saw my old 1958 red and white Nash Metropolitan which is on screen for about three seconds but brought back a ton of Hollywood memories.........
2009 just has got to be a step up from the last month of 2008. Watching my beloved 1887 Victorian (with the wrap-a-round porch and the distinctive turrets) go up in flames with everything I owned was a true Nightmare Before Christmas. I am still dealing with the mountain of details you climb when this kind of horror occurs. My spirits are slowly improving, and although I can't yet claim to be fully back to my jolly old nature, I do feel much, much better than I did December 13th.. INSIDE EDITION called and wants to do a short piece about the fire. I'm sure it will be a tiny little story to let people know I, personally, am still standing.
On March 4th, I will undergo a second surgery on my right ankle. It was first broken while filming SKATETOWN USA---one of the worst movies ever released----back in 1979. I have had trouble with it ever since and last year tried an ankle fusion that did not prove successful. I now am under the care of Dr. Angus McBride. Dr. McBride has the reputation of being one of the very best ankle surgeons anywhere, and I am hopeful this will do the trick. I do, however, face 6 weeks flat of my back and then weeks of rehab. I am nevertheless optimistic.
Sorry to begin this blog with such a pile of dreary news... Hopefully future installments will be a lot more cheerful.
I want to thank everyone for the many kindnesses during the last five weeks, including letters and calls from family and friends as well as the hundreds of emails from fans from all over. These all meant a lot to me and I thank you for your thoughtfulness..
Let's all try and have a great 2009. Say a little prayer for our new President. America has been through a lot lately, and I have great hope that we have turned a corner. I see us as a nation of survivors and may God Bless us all!
Smile for no reason whenever you can!
Glenn
PS
When everything is looking bad, and you feel things can't get any worse. Just have a Moonpie and an RC Cola. You'll feel much better!
