Tallulah and Me

Tony Grillo has a site about this strange woman. It's a little early in this blog to get into the people I crossed paths with at the Mt. Tom Playhouse, or as it was known then as the Casino in the park, but this was a unique experience I had trying to impress some big movie star on a hot Sunday morning so I could save the day. If you're a fan, here's Tonys site http://home.earthlink.net/~tgrillo/index.html I sent him the following in 1999, and it's still on his site.


July 1964, and I was 16 years old. I had always loved the theater and having begged a Mr. Carlton Guild several times for the chance, I was granted permission to work as an apprentice for the summer at the Mt. Tom Playhouse in Holyoke, Mass. My father was rather upset that I had had to pay $30.00 (union fees) to work there, but after much ballyhoo, I convinced him that I would be in a learning place and not out somewhere on the town. Some shows had come and gone already that season, and as we headed into the month of July, great anticipation was prevalent as the Queen herself was on the way. My Gawd, ...Tallulah Bankhead!!..., coming to Holyoke.
That week arrived and naturally all shows were sold out; the sets were up and ready. The producer, a Mr. Hugh Fordin, was nervous, having heard that Ms. Bankhead was somewhat difficult. Everything must be as perfect as possible. She arrived at Holyoke on a Sunday, and went directly to her lodgings, a mere cabin hidden in the woods of Mt. Tom. It was en route to this cabin that my one on one with Bankhead transpired.
Mid-afternoon on Monday, July 13th, a limousine pulled up next to the theater. The driver got out and stood to the right rear of the car. I was watching from the outside rear of the theater...as he just stood there in the July heat. We watched and waited for about 15 minutes; another car pulled up, some people got out, went to the limo with the driver, and they all just stood there together. Finally, the driver opened the door... . And there she was!, dressed in a long flimsy/frilly sort of gown/lingerie looking thing, flowered if I remember correctly. My first impression was that she hadn't slept in two days or had been taking the Holy Water for most of that day. She had a sharp temper, and at times swore like a sailor, but she was Tallulah and she could and would do as she wished, when and how she wished it. Hugh Fordin warned us that whatever she needed, whenever she needed it... we were to "JUST GET IT!"
The show that week was "Glad Tidings," a comedy written by Edward Mabley, and although I watched it eight times, I cannot, for the life of me remember anything about it. The only other actor I remember in the production was Evelyn Russell, who was a real gem to most of us, and pushed us in the right direction when it came to performing services for La Bankhead. The show went very well that week, and she was loved by all who came to see her. Ticket prices had been raised from an average $3.50 to $4.50, but the audience had gladly paid even that exorbitant fee! There was the definite impression, and rightly so, that she was usually pretty much half in the bag all of the time, but this condition did not as I recall, affect her stage performance at all. There were many demands that week, and we adhered to them as much as possible. The theater was very hot and not air conditioned, a major bone of contention at all times! And, the one thing, above all else... she demanded to have her newspapers, as many different ones as possible, delivered to her cabin every morning.
As the week went on, we all towed the line. She had remarked several times that I had beautiful hair, somewhat of an embarrassment for me, as she would always muss up my then full head of red hair. On Sunday, July 19,1964: I arrived at the theater early that day; as this was strike day, after the final performance of the current show, the old set came down and the new one would be erected overnight. Van Johnson was scheduled to act in the play,"A Thousand Clowns." I was with the others outside the theater, busily painting flats, when a frantic Hugh Fordin came tearing down the hill, looking like a grizzly bear was after him. "Did anybody remember to get her papers?" Apparently, the answer was no, so Fordin handed me a $10.00 bill and yelled,"GO GO GO, hurry up and get 'em (before she wakes up and creates another row)!!"
The theater car was a brand new Rambler convertible, white with a red interior, on loan from Konner Rambler in Holyoke. It had about 600 miles on it. Now I was Batman, jumping into the Batmobile, taking off to save the reputation of the Mt. Tom Playhouse and all of the people involved with it. With unequaled speed, I raced down the access road from the playhouse to Route 5 and into the city, to the little candy and soda shop on Hampden Street in Holyoke; leapt out of the car, raced to the door to find the shop "Closed. On Vacation,"... damn!! Back in the car, racing up to the drugstore at the other end of town, I stopped to take a sample of every newspaper, that city paper, this local paper, that other one, The Racing Sheet; I didn't even know what she wanted, so I took them all. The guy at the counter just stared at me as I ran out of the store with an armful of newspapers, jumped into the Batmobile, emblazoned with the words "CAR OF THE STARS" on either side, and sped off into the sun.
The bottom of the dirt access road that lead to her cabin had a sign planted there that read "SPEED LIMIT 5 mph." I had never seen a 5 mph sign before as a speed limit, but quickly found out the reason for this, as I tore up the road at 40mph, straight up on one side, straight down on the other, Gallahad on his quest! I don't remember seeing the hill and the big dip right after it. But, I do remember being airborne and the nose of the new convertible smashing into the ground on the other side of the dip [and the brakes that didn't work while the car was airborne]. The explosion I heard was the front right tire. I got out, muttered a few words like "Golly Gee!" or words to that effect, grabbed the newspapers, and like a marathon runner, raced another half-a-mile uphill in the July sun.
I remember distinctly knocking on that screen door, and peering inside for movement. A lone figure came to the door, and I thought, "Oh man, please don't let her yell at me." The woman who came to the door was a black heavyset lady, and I informed her I had Ms. Bankhead's newspapers, as I stood there, shaken, soaked, and out of breath. Then the unmistakable voice echoed from somewhere deep in the cabin,"Who's there, Molly?" Molly may not have been the name called out, but I will use it here. Molly asked what happened to me, I told her, and she said please come in. I entered with the sweat-soaked papers, and Molly again asked, "Can I get you something?" And, before I could answer, I heard THE VOICE say, "How about a drink, Dahling?" [In the back of my mind I thought, wow, she really does say that.] At 16, I opted for ice water and was told to sit down, a few feet away from Tallulah Bankhead!! She was wearing a light blue colored nightgown and her hair was pulled back; she had a drink in one hand and may have had a cigarette (or 10) in the other. She looked at me while playing with her hair and said, "So, what do you do?" "I work at the theater," I answered. She said,"A MOOOVV-ieee theater?" I said: "No ma'am, the theater where you are performing." She put on her glasses and said, "Oh, I know you, you have beautiful red hair... ," then followed with," I HATE THAT GODDAMNED THEATER!"
I excused myself, announcing that I had to go back down the mountain and change the tire. She then abruptly asked me why I had come up there in the first place. I quickly said "To deliver your papers, m'am." She waved her hand, " Oh, that." I then did something I have never done again in my whole life, I impulsively reached to kiss her hand and thank her for the water, overhearing again the magical voice, dismissing me this time: "Anytime, Dahling! Anytime." Molly asked if I wanted to call anybody for help, I said no and started trotting down the mountain to the car.
I fixed the flat, and then proceeded back up the mountain, as you can only go one way, and that is the one and only way to turn around, up at the cabin. When I got there, Tallulah was outside, sitting at a table under a yard umbrella; she looked up at me. I waved, and she yelled out,"Back already, are we?" I explained to her that I was just turning around, and she waved at me like I was one of the neighbors. I went back to the theater and told them of my accident; the damage to the car was passed off as minor, as long as she had gotten her newspapers. The matinee and the evening performances that day went well ... . And , then, it was a wrap! I made sure to stand at the actors exit when she was to leave. She approached me, smiled, and without a word, walked by as I mumbled good-bye. (At least, I think she may have smiled; I really don't remember, though I do recall the delicious scent of her obviously expensive perfume, like an exquisite blue cloud that wafted around and trailed after her). I watched the slight stagger in her walk as she approached the limo... crushed out a cigarette and got into the car; then, she was gone.
I picked up the cigarette butt and put it away in a small paper bag with a note on the bag so as not to forget. Stupid, I guess, and now long lost somewhere forever, but I will never forget the Lady nor the time a 16-year-old kid had the distinct honor of sitting down (albeit, momentarily) with an immortal and hearing her call me: "DAHHHHHHLING!!!!"