January, 1982
Dear Lázaro,
You're not the only one living out a dream. I have just fulfilled one of my childhood fantasies.
I am doing this movie called "One from the Heart" at Zoetrope Studios. Francis Ford Coppola owns this. You know, the guy who did "The Godfather?" Anyway, I'm part of their stock company. It is such a thrill to drive through those studio gates and give my name to the security guard. I feel like such a movie star.
I'm actually an extra. A glorified extra. I play a cop on the beat. Such an incredible thrill. Megan and I are in awe of the whole thing.
We were sitting down watching the rushes and in front of us were Warren Beatty and George Burns. And the movie stars Nastassja Kinski and Teri Garr. Oh and Raul Julia. He is so nice, let me tell you. I guess he noticed that I'm always trying to get into a shot as best I can, so he told Mr. Coppola that since he's madly in love with the lady in the shop, maybe he can get on top of those stone garbage cans on the street corner and do a little dance. Then the cop on the beat(that's me, in case you forgot) could come over, tap his nightstick on the can and ask him to get off. All of that to give me more camera time. What an incredible guy he is.
Come Oscar night, he’s the first one I thank.
They gave a party on Friday night and I'm dancing with Megan. I'm making sure that she stays vertical the whole time. You will never believe who approached us to tell us how well we danced? Gene Kelly! I thought I had died and gone to heaven. That man is my idol. I have watched "Anchors Aweigh" a zillion times. I mean he is dance. That's it! There's nobody else. And he's telling me I dance well. Wowee Wow wow! Then he tells me that he needs a couple of more dancers for the movie. Megan and I started on Monday.
I AM BEING CHOREOGRAPHED BY GENE KELLY! I cannot believe it! You know I could die right now and you could put that on my tombstone. My epitaph. THIS IS THE ONLY MOVE NOT CHOREOGRAPHED BY GENE KELLY!
The man who danced with
After one of the rehearsals this leggy blonde approaches me. She wants to know what Gene is like. (We’re on a first name basis now) I recognized her. She's a Roller Derby skater for the Los Angeles Cultists
She says to me, "Yes I'm with the Cults but don't say it too loudly 'cause people in the industry think that all Roller Derby women are lesbians."
Not Raquel Welch in "
Anyway she invited me to their training center in Pico-Rivera. That was another thrill. After all those pseudo derby games we would play in the courtyard. Skating around the green chains that encircled the patch of grass that stood for a lawn; I was now actually on the banked track. The same track we saw at all those championships at
Well guess what happened? They're in need of a filler skater and I got offered the job. I'm getting whupped up and down that track and loving every minute of it. Now I know how Raquel felt.
February, 1982
Dear Lázaro,
My non-existent romance with
At least I have work to get my mind off of him. I'm doing another extra bit with
I also got to do another movie. It's called "Night Shift." It stars Henry Winkler and is directed by Ron Howard. I’m actually in the same room with The Fonz and Richie Cunnnigham. There's also this very funny guy named Michael Keaton that I've never heard of.
Anyway it's a disco scene and I'm dancing with the dancers from Solid Gold. We're doing a bump and grind to Skyy's "
I was wearing gold shoes, white satin pants, a turquoise glitter shirt and a peach lamé vest. I was a disco peacock.
I loved it. I was partnered with Darcelle. You know the beautiful Black girl from the show with all the hair? It was real difficult to do because for recording purposes we had to dance without music. I mean they played the song so we could get the rhythm but when it came time to actually filming the scene we had to do it in silence so that the music wouldn't drown out the dialogue.
It was really neat. Mr. Winkler doesn't act like Fonzie at all. He's actually very nice and polite. And that new guy, Keaton, kept everybody in stitches. I think he's going to be real big one day.
Don took me to
And
We were at a bar in the Castro district (the gay neighborhood although in
He said to me, "My Lear jet is parked at
I was shocked. I didn't know if he was real or not. I politely refused. I mean can you imagine what he would demand from me after dinner? I couldn't. It would be like dating my grandfather.
Don's tour of The Emerald City continued. Next came this bar where the walls were full of metallic things that looked like car fenders. I noticed arms and legs coming out of those fenders. At the risk of incurring Don's wrath, I asked him what that was? He told me the walls were really full of cubicles for the guys to have sex in. It looked like something out of Dante's Inferno.
By the way, did the news get to you guys over there in
Anyway, people are speculating that it came from using poppers. Something I've never understood. I've been on the dance floor when some guys were opening those things and it smelled like ammonia. It was like being stuck in the bathroom after one of Mami's cleaning frenzies.
Other people say it's only affecting guys who sleep around a lot. It's weird, though. What's a lot? Look at that club with the holes in the walls. Is that considered a lot?