Every time I see a certain movie star on the screen, I remember when he gave me a really good kiss on the lips.
He’s been on the screen quite a bit lately so that memory keeps popping up. He’s a little older, a little grayer, yet still the bad boy. And still sexy.
I can’t say who he is. Even though it’s been over 20 years since that kiss, I wouldn’t want to be public about it. Besides I’m sure he doesn’t even remember it, or me. Yes, I was much younger and good looking, but what do movie stars even remember? I wasn’t a fan, I was writing one of my columns, so I wasn’t fawning over him, just being my professional charming self!
There was a movie star who I met doing another What’s a Girl to Do? column who I had a big crush on; Christopher McDonald (Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore). I can write about him because during the break of the event, we talked. He told me of his wife being pregnant with their fourth child and was a genuine person who seemed down to earth – and still good looking even now.
When I was a kid, I read magazines that featured movie stars. I remember the sexy antics of blonde bombshell, Jayne Mansfield that were photographed, and that sometime in my high school years, I remembered the sad story of her tragic death. I mistakenly thought her long scarf got caught in her car’s wheel and that was the cause of her death. I purposefully never wore a scarf in a convertible because of that, no matter how erroneous that memory was.
I lived with my mom and my stepfather but on certain weekends I would go to my dad’s house and that’s where I saw the movie magazines. Those weren’t reading material at my mom’s. National Geographic and newspapers were, along with biographies, Nancy Drew books and the Hardy Boys books.
“Some Like it Hot” was my favorite movie. My grandma took me to see it the first time, when I was 11 years old. I can’t remember who took me the other 13 times that I saw it. I was in love with Tony Curtis’s character and wowed by Marilyn Monroe. To this day I still remember almost every scene in that movie.
Being an 11-year-old when I first saw it, I was amazed at Marilyn’s sexiness and the clothes she wore, wondering if I would grow boobs like hers! That diaphanous dress that Marilyn wore in the yacht – wow!
In my 40s, a dear friend who was in the movie industry said he could arrange a lunch with Billy Wilder, the producer of “Some Like it Hot.” I said “No way.” I would have been a blubbering mess, not knowing what to say except how much I loved the movie. Now I regret it, as it would have been an exciting experience.
I once was assigned to write an article about David Crosby. I’d read everything I could about him and when I had the chance to talk to him at a party after a Crosby, Stills, Nash concert, I froze. I couldn’t speak to Crosby. On the other hand, Graham Nash was chatty as hell.
What I learned later was that all I’d have to do was ask one question of a celebrity and they’d be off and running talking about themselves, giving advice and sharing anecdotes.
What’s a girl to do?…always be brave, be courageous and don’t turn down exciting opportunities.
Lucy Llewellyn Byard welcomes comments at lucywgtd@gmail.com
