I was real busy last night with my auctions, and am just now seeing this. Obviously, I am both greatly complimented and embarrassed by this sweet reply from Marty, and he knows I enjoy time with him just as much (or more) than he enjoys spending time with me (we clearly have a mutual admiration society).
Funny true Marty Davis story. I was passing through Cleveland like 20 years ago, and someone had told me of this *MAJOR* collector I should meet named Marty Davis, and I called him up and he gave me directions to his house. He said hello when I got there, and said, "I am sorry, but I can only talk for a few minutes because" (if I remember correctly) he said "I am getting married tomorrow and my wedding rehersal is very soon". Well, Marty saw I loved posters just as much as he did, and we ended up talking for a couple of hours, and he showed me lots of great items from his collection, and I bet he got in all kinds of trouble over being so late for his wedding rehersal, but it showed he had his priorities in order! The last time I was in Columbus I spent a couple more hours talking to Marty (even though we both were exhausted) and in a more perfect world he would live down the block from me, and we would see each other frequently! Speaking of celebrities, and meeting them or having dinner with them, I have had my fair share of encounters over the years, and I have found the ones where I am meeting them as a star struck fan very awkward, and I have learned to avoid such encounters (for example, I have a close friend who runs a comedy club where Jay Leno appears once a week, and every time I go there when Jay is there, he comes over to me and says the same few pleasant sentences, and I am certain he has no clue he has met me before, for he must go through the same process with 100 people every day!). I would say my nicest celebrity encounter was with Debbie Reynolds. It was around 18 years ago, and she was getting ready to open her museum in Vegas, and she had heard of my posters and wanted to get me to display them in the museum for no fee (but that kind of made sense, because it would give me great free publicity). So she wanted something from me, which is the best way to ever meet a celebrity. She called me and invited me to her house, and I went to this little house in North Hollywood, and I knock on the door, and this little old lady answers the door, and she has a scarf around her head and zero make-up on, and I truly thought it was "the maid" and it took me a minute to realize that it was actually Debbie! I went in and talked with her for an hour or so about the museum idea, and then she said she had to go, and invited me to see her again the next day where she was taping some kind of show. I went to some studio she gave me an address to, and when I got there she was all made up, and looked exactly like the person I had seen so many times (an amazing transformation from the day before), but now that she was surrounded by people she had little time to talk, but she kept introducing me to everyone there as the "king of movie posters" (I get that sort of thing a lot!). Rip Taylor was there jhovering about, and he said "Give me your camera and I'll take a picture of you and Debbie", and he was amazed I didn't have a camera. A year or so went by, and one day Debbie called me, and said she had the financing in place for the museum, and wanted to talk again. I had gotten married and thought my wife would get a big kick out of "lunch with Debbie" and so I suggested we meet in public, and Debbie told me to be in some fancy hotel lobby at some time, and we were there. She came in all decked out, and lots of people were staring and pointing at her. She walked over to the hotel restaurant and said "I want a table for three" and the restaurant guy said I am sorry but I have nothing for an hour, and she said, "Look, you know who I am, I bet anything you can find me a table if you really try", and of course he did! It was a pleasant meal, and I ended up lending her a couple of six sheets, and when the museum closed they were carefully returned to me. One meal I won't forget is one that I didn't get to have! Last year, there was a special AFI showing of ten movies in L.A. with intros by top stars, and one was Star Wars with Lucas, and one was Cuckoo's Nest with Nicholson. My oldest son (then 14) loved Cuckoo's Nest, and two of my best employees are Star Wars freaks, and I wanted to take them to see those movies, but had no clue how to do so. I posted right here on MoPo about it, and Richard Del Belso (a MoPo member and poster collector) contacted me and told me he could get tickets. He came to the event, as did my old friend John Sawyer and HIS son, plus I called collector/multiple Oscar winner John Myhre (another old friend), and he came too. We were all supposed to have dinner together before the movie, but the AFI pulled a scurvy trick. They had announced that the first 100 people in each movie would get a special program book, and my son and my employees wanted to be sure to get it, so they said they would skip dinner, and wait in line, and I reluctantly stayed with them, so they wouldn't be alone, and missed the dinner. I am really sorry to have done so, for Richard worked for the studios for years, and John works on top movies, and I am certain I missed a zillion great stories! To make matters worse, it turned out the "special program book" was just the regular crappy program book everyone got, and it didn't matter if you were one of the first 100 people (it was just a trick to try to get people to arrive on time). The worst part of living in a tiny town is *NOT* the lack of fine dining or top entertainment, but rather not getting to share the company of fine people (like the ones I mentioned above, plus many other MoPo members). One of the absolute best dining companions I have ever had was Nelson Lyon, a semi-celebrity (and great lover of lobby cards). I had a series of dinners with Nelson, and I think he could easily hold his own with Orson Welles or Chaplin, or any of the other celebrities mentioned on this list. I wish I could magically join together the highlights of my dinners with Nelson, and I think it would be a far more entertaining movie than "My Dinner With Andre" (those of you who know Nelson know what I mean, and those of you who don't, do not know what you are missing!). Enough rambling down Memory Lane! Bruce On Tue, Jul 1, 2008 at 2:25 PM, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > In a message dated 7/1/2008 9:43:14 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > if you could have dinner and then chat for hours with any hollywood/movie > person, past of present, who would it be? > > I will extend the definition of "hollywood/movie person" to include those > people professionally selling movie memorabilia. And I would choose Bruce > Hershenson, because he has consistently shown me over the past 20 years that > he has more fascinating stories, accurate information, and understanding > about the film poster world, and auction machinations that anyone else. > Time with Bruce just flies by! > > Marty Davis > Vintage Film Posters > 38732 N. 10th Street > Desert Hills, AZ 85086 > > 623/551-6655 tel > 623/551-6622 fax > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > OneSheet (eBay Screen Name) > www.vintagefilmposters.com > > > > ------------------------------ > Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used > cars<http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007> > . > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > ___________________________________________________________________ How to > UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF > MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
