By the way, I just have to add that I always knew that sweater looked soft!
This story was published in the April 1977 issue of "With a Little Help from my friends" and was written by Char Bass.
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| George and Charlene, take for Charlene by Sue Canty |
George
By Char Bass
November 15, 1976
I got up on time, but I had left too much to do and so was
late getting off. I got into Chicago
about 2:30 (their time) and went to the motel to change and get settled
in. I finally got to the Ambassador,
found my friend Sharon and got the car parked by about 4:30. I had decided to wear my vested navy suit
with my OM necklace. We met up with
another friend and had some dinner in the little restaurant in the basement and
then went back up to the lobby to wait for another friend, Rita. We tried to explain to this dumb security
guard that we were waiting for Rita, but he told us to leave anyway. We didn’t though, and we just quietly stood
out of everyone’s way. We heard a rumor
that Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner were there and would be leaving soon, so we
were prepared when they came down and headed for the door. I got two pics and Sharon got one and an
autograph. Soon after that Rita came,
and so we went back downstairs to plan.
Rita took our coats up and checked them and then we decided to go over
to the West where the party was to be.
We separately went up to the restroom right by the Guild Hall, and we
could see that there were quite a few people there, but that George had not
arrived. We decided that one at a time,
we could wait until someone from the party came up and then follow them back
down and into the party. We put this
plan into effect after we were pretty sure that George had come. Sharon went first and I waited a b it and
started down. I could see Sharon on the
far side of the door, and realized that it hadn’t worked. So we stood there to wait for Rita to come
down and the security guard was back telling us we couldn’t stay there, so we
were off to a door that Sharon thought might get us in. We went through and followed a hall, turning
right, then left, then right again, and then was faced with the possibilities
of two stairways. So we chose one and at
the top we just looked at these people in the small room saying that we thought
we were lost, and they pointed to a door to our right, so we started for it
thinking that we had failed. But then,
just like in A Hard Day’s Night, when the boys went through the fire escape
door ---“We’re out!”—we went through the door and we were IN!
We decided to get a drink quick, so we looked like we
belonged, and got our cameras out and found George. I tried to take pics with the drink in hand,
but soon realized that wouldn’t work and so went to set it down, and came back
and madly began taking pics. I was
beside George Tebbins then, saying hi as we both took pics of George posing
with a lot of people. I ran out of film
and went to sit down to change it as I wasn’t doing a real good and was taking
more time with them then. I was very
glad that I had seen the “Billboard” pic of him before I had seen him for real,
because he looked so different to me without his mustache. His hair looked different than last time I
saw him too, Chicago had been pretty far along on the ’74 tour, and his hair
had grown out more by then making the curl a bit looser. His complexion was very pale and his eyes,
just as gorgeous as ever. I moved with
him in the crowd and took pics. I asked
a friend of Sharon’s Sue, if she would take a pic of me with George, and she
said she would, asking for my camera. So
I walked over, so of in back of him, while she took the pic. Some man got my attention just about then
saying something about having George pose with me. He introduced himself as Russ and was holding
his hand out to be shook, and so I shook it and thanked him, telling him that
my name was Charlene. Then he touched
George on the shoulder and asked him if he would pose with me for a pic, and
George mumble something like “Oh, sure.”
As he looked at me I smiled. I
could see from the way he turned around that I needed to move my purse. I didn’t want it in between me and
George! So I guess I saw him start to
put his arm out to put around me, so I just slipped my purse off my right
shoulder and into my left hand, and as George turned around and put his arm
around my should, I slipped my arm around his waist. His sweater was VERY soft. We smiled for the cameras and then as we
began to move apart, George asked me, “Where are you from?” I hesitated because I couldn’t remember, and
then finally said, “Indianapolis.” He then made a couple comments about the 500
race and I agreed that he had the right place in mind. Then he said something else I couldn’t’
understand and I thought if I just waited a minute that it would come to me,
but it didn’t so I asked, “What?” He
repeated it and I am not sure that I understood even then, because I can’t remember
what it was, but I know I gave him some sort of answer that seemed to make
sense to him. It is all so vague to that
point and parts are just gone, but I had calmed down enough by then, and I got
myself together to finally ask him a question.
‘When is the new album coming out – what is the release date?” And he said “Friday the 15th.” I must have looked puzzled at him and then
said, “Today is the 15th” (I had been waiting for the 15th
to see him and so I knew what day it was).
And so he said, very slowly in that special little accent, “Well…Friday,”
and sort of shrugged. Then someone else
started talking to him and his attention was gone. I moved toward my camera, and took it,
thanking Sue, I think. I knew that I
must look rather dazed and that I had better straighten myself out or I could
be getting thrown out. So I went over
and took a couple big drinks of my Screwdriver, thinking about how the 7 &7
that Pete had given me before had helped, and went back to taking pics.
Nothing that happened is in any kind of order in my mind,
but once I remember that one of the photographers told George to put his arms around
the people he was posing with, and George didn’t like being told what to do,
and so he folded his arms in front of him and looked very defiant – so cute!! A bit
later I was waiting for a chance to get a nice shot and realized while I was
focusing that I was standing there sort of alone. No one was crowded around close like before,
and that George was surveying me. I just
stood still and took the pic. Soon after
that someone told George that there were people waiting outside to see him and
so he went over to the window. Then
someone came up to me and told me that the press would have to leave and I just
nodded. So I didn’t take any more pics,
but when a group of guys surrounded George and started asking him a lot of questions,
I just got close and listened. They
asked him about the tour and he said that he was planning one for the fall, but
it got delayed because he was sick for 2 months, so he wants to get one planned
for next June – do “Japan, Australia, and some dates in the U.S.” They were asking him about the Beatles
getting back together too, and he said that they might just for something
special sometime, but it would be hard, “like trying to go back with your
ex-wife.” There were a bunch more
questions and answers but I can’t remember.
I was looking over someone’s shoulder, but was really close – you have
to, to be able to hear what he is saying.
I was looking at him profile and we really weren’t standing there that
long, but while he talked and answered these people’s questions, at least 4
times he looked me straight in the eye – not missing a word- just like before –
except that I wasn’t so frightened by that look this time. Still spellbound, but not frightened. Then he was called to dinner and I wandered
into the dining area, to see where he was going to sit. I saw George Tebbens and talked to him a
minute before I left. I went to find
Sharon and Rita then, and we talked just passing the time until it would be
time for him to leave the party, but somehow we missed him. WE heard that he was staying at the Whitehall
though, and so we went over there and found George Tebbens, Kay, Tempy, Barb
and some other friends. We talked a
minute and they said that they didn’t know what time George planned to leave
for the airport the next day, so we left and all went to get some sleep.
November 16, 1976
I was supposed to call George Tebbens at 8, but no one
answered. So I consulted my Tarot cards
and they said that George would leave before noon and that I should give him
the OM pillow I made for him, and so I got moving and left there, all checked
out at 9 with my OM overalls on. I got
to the Whitehall, all parked, pillow and camera in hand, by quarter of 10. Kay, Tempy and Barb were there already, and
they said that nothing had happened so far.
There were a few other people there too.
Luggage came out and other people went in and out – it was hard to see
who was coming out because of the reflection on the glass door. Some guys came out and got in one limo and
the big MO came out and got in the first car too, so we figured George had to
be coming down. We got the license plate
number of the second limo – 7151. Kay
said that they might be going to the airport, they had found out that he came
on a private jet at Midway, so I asked if I could go with them - I couldn’t have gotten my car out of the
parking quick enough, and I told them that if they didn’t have to come back to
down then I’d get a bus back to my car.
Then Kay had to put more money in the parking meter, and the guy who was
George’s chauffeur asked which one was her car, and later we heard them take the
license plate number. Someone asked why
we’d stand out in the cold for George, and we all told how far we’d come and he
was amazed. When he got to Tempy, he
told her she should have stayed home because George was headed for Boston. So George came out and I got one shot then
tried to get his attention to give him the pillow as he passed me, but he didn’t
hear me. Someone asked if he’d give them
an autograph and he said “Uh…ok….” And got
into the car first and then signed some stuff.
I didn’t’ get the pillow in because of the crowd so when they said “ok,
that’s enough” and starting pushing us back, I wouldn’t be pushed and held the
pillow in to him. He was looking the
other way and so I said, “Hey George!”
He turned and saw it, and put his
hand out like he didn’t know what I wanted for him to autograph it, take
it, look at it or what, but he finally took it and I got out of the way. Just as I turned around back toward the car,
I heard his gorgeous voice say, “Thank you.”
So I said, “You’re welcome.” Barb
said he was looking to see who had given it to him as he said it. I couldn’t see his face, but I could see the
pillow in his hands and he looked at the front and then back and then front
again, and he was still looking at it when the limo pulled away. We decided to follow and got stopped by a
long light at first, but Kay caught up to the limo on the highway. We think they might have let us, but we
followed the rest of the way there and through the gate and then the limo
stopped at a closed gate and the driver got out to open it. They sent me over to ask if George would pose
for a few pics, but as I got close to the limo the driver got in and drove through
the gate. I stopped there and took a pic
of the limo, thinking I couldn’t get any farther, but I didn’t see anyone to
stop me and the gate didn’t say Keep Out or anything, so I ran in and toward
George’s jet. I saw him get out of the
car and got there in time to take one pic of him on the stairway, and he looked
straight at me and had a funny little look on his face and he was carrying the
pillow on the plane himself! He didn’t
ditch it or give it to anyone else, so I
guess he really liked it. I got another
pic of his back as he got in the plane.
Then we got out of the way and watched the plane leave. We went back to a place close to the
Whitehall and had some lunch and planned to go to New York for the Saturday Night
Live show, but we found out that he was going to tape it and by the time we
would have gotten there, he would have been in Bombay. Anyway, I can’t wait until the tour!
Wow, great story! Thanks for typing that out!!
ReplyDeleteHere again, is what separates THIS blog from all the others. This isn't a copy and paste job, people, this is typing it up, manually, looking at an old fanzine, probably small type, I've done stuff like this myself and it's time consuming and headache inducing.
Thanks for the effort, thanks for archiving this - and all other - fan accounts.