My Favorite Year Part IV
Feb. 22nd, 2010 11:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bunchofgrapesI realized today that it's probably a good thing I'm blogging all this because I think I lost the notes I took. Either that or I can't find them.
Also, I downloaded ad blocker for Firefox and now I can't seem to post to LJ via Firefox. I also can't leave a review on FF.net. Have to go through IE. I hate IE.
The next trip we took to L.A. wasn't even a month later. We went back in August for the sole purpose of meeting with Diana and gathering more info for the biography. Diana was so gracious too. I think we spent most of this trip with Diana, either dining with her in Santa Barbara or spending time over at her house, sitting on Richard's bed, looking at pics and documents. Diana brought out box and after box and was enjoying going back through stuff as much as we were. One of the items she handed me was Richard's wallet, still complete with credit cards and his driver's license. I pulled out the license and nearly died laughing because here was this usually stoic guy flashing but biggest, cheesiest grin ever! It was hilarious and adorable and kind of sad because hearing all these stories and meeting all these people who knew him, it was like we knew him too. Only he'd been dead for 19 years.
But the best part of this trip? Having lunch with Terry Becker and Warren Stevens at Diana's house. Terry played Chief Sharkey on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. It's funny because when I first met Warren Stevens, I had to walk up to him, introduce myself and then bring him over to our table. I wasn't the least bit nervous. Terry made me nervous at first but I'm not sure why. Maybe because he was on a TV show and was good friends with an actor I crushed on? Not sure. However, while Diana was showing Terry and Warren around the house, I said something that made Terry laugh (I think it was about cats) and that broke the ice. He said I was okay and I loved him immediately. Terry has a wicked sense of humor that's often not politically correct but hilarious. He also tells some really great stories. Most were about Richard but some were not. And many I cannot repeat. To say the guy is charismatic is an understatement. You meet him and you want to hang around him all the time. He's just a really awesome guy.
Funny story about the lunch. Diana and Gayla are vegetarians so the spread Diana laid out for lunch was all vegetarian. Terry and Warren are not vegetarians. Terry said later that after they left Diana's, they went directly to a Denny's to eat again. They never said anything to Diana and ate like they enjoyed it. They are actors after all.
Before Terry and Warren left, I got a great picture of the two guys with Diana. They hadn't seen each other for years and years so they were all grateful to Steph for getting them together. They promised to do it again, although I don't know if they ever have. I saw Terry and Warren one more time. The biography on Richard that Steph was researching came to a halt when the writer unexpectedly passed away a few years ago. Steph hasn't given up on it though.
Did I mention that Steph almost ran over that guy from NYPD Blue--Dennis Franz? I can't remember what the circumstances were but he was in the crosswalk and she almost didn't stop. We were on our way to meet Diana and some of her friends at Sojourner Cafe in Santa Barbara. That place was full of actors and a couple of them were at our table. One of Diana's friends was Michael Bell. If you've ever watched television, you've heard his voice. His wife, Victoria, is also an actor. However, I will always remember that restaurant for the best vegan carrot cake ever! The avocado sandwich I had was pretty good too.
A note about Bubble Toes. At night the waters offshore of Santa Barbara are lit up with oil rigs. Balls of tar from the drilling washes onto the beaches. To unsuspecting people, these look like black/gray rocks. Until they step on them. And the tar bubbles through their toes. Steph's daughter met us in Santa Barbara back in July and for this August trip. She was walking barefoot on the beach and yup, she got the bubble toes. Every time I hear that Jack Johnson song (he went to UCSB, btw), I think of Santa Barbara. Oh, and the only way to get the tar off is to soak your feet in nail polish remover.
Also, I downloaded ad blocker for Firefox and now I can't seem to post to LJ via Firefox. I also can't leave a review on FF.net. Have to go through IE. I hate IE.
The next trip we took to L.A. wasn't even a month later. We went back in August for the sole purpose of meeting with Diana and gathering more info for the biography. Diana was so gracious too. I think we spent most of this trip with Diana, either dining with her in Santa Barbara or spending time over at her house, sitting on Richard's bed, looking at pics and documents. Diana brought out box and after box and was enjoying going back through stuff as much as we were. One of the items she handed me was Richard's wallet, still complete with credit cards and his driver's license. I pulled out the license and nearly died laughing because here was this usually stoic guy flashing but biggest, cheesiest grin ever! It was hilarious and adorable and kind of sad because hearing all these stories and meeting all these people who knew him, it was like we knew him too. Only he'd been dead for 19 years.
But the best part of this trip? Having lunch with Terry Becker and Warren Stevens at Diana's house. Terry played Chief Sharkey on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. It's funny because when I first met Warren Stevens, I had to walk up to him, introduce myself and then bring him over to our table. I wasn't the least bit nervous. Terry made me nervous at first but I'm not sure why. Maybe because he was on a TV show and was good friends with an actor I crushed on? Not sure. However, while Diana was showing Terry and Warren around the house, I said something that made Terry laugh (I think it was about cats) and that broke the ice. He said I was okay and I loved him immediately. Terry has a wicked sense of humor that's often not politically correct but hilarious. He also tells some really great stories. Most were about Richard but some were not. And many I cannot repeat. To say the guy is charismatic is an understatement. You meet him and you want to hang around him all the time. He's just a really awesome guy.
Funny story about the lunch. Diana and Gayla are vegetarians so the spread Diana laid out for lunch was all vegetarian. Terry and Warren are not vegetarians. Terry said later that after they left Diana's, they went directly to a Denny's to eat again. They never said anything to Diana and ate like they enjoyed it. They are actors after all.
Before Terry and Warren left, I got a great picture of the two guys with Diana. They hadn't seen each other for years and years so they were all grateful to Steph for getting them together. They promised to do it again, although I don't know if they ever have. I saw Terry and Warren one more time. The biography on Richard that Steph was researching came to a halt when the writer unexpectedly passed away a few years ago. Steph hasn't given up on it though.
Did I mention that Steph almost ran over that guy from NYPD Blue--Dennis Franz? I can't remember what the circumstances were but he was in the crosswalk and she almost didn't stop. We were on our way to meet Diana and some of her friends at Sojourner Cafe in Santa Barbara. That place was full of actors and a couple of them were at our table. One of Diana's friends was Michael Bell. If you've ever watched television, you've heard his voice. His wife, Victoria, is also an actor. However, I will always remember that restaurant for the best vegan carrot cake ever! The avocado sandwich I had was pretty good too.
A note about Bubble Toes. At night the waters offshore of Santa Barbara are lit up with oil rigs. Balls of tar from the drilling washes onto the beaches. To unsuspecting people, these look like black/gray rocks. Until they step on them. And the tar bubbles through their toes. Steph's daughter met us in Santa Barbara back in July and for this August trip. She was walking barefoot on the beach and yup, she got the bubble toes. Every time I hear that Jack Johnson song (he went to UCSB, btw), I think of Santa Barbara. Oh, and the only way to get the tar off is to soak your feet in nail polish remover.
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Date: 2010-02-23 04:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-24 02:07 am (UTC)I thought maybe it was blocking pop-ups but I told it not to block these sites. Still nothing. Everything definitely worked fine before ad blocker so I'm pointing the finger at it.
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Date: 2010-02-24 02:15 am (UTC)