Golfing with Hollywood, (part 1)

We had a local "Summer-stock" theater company which was a great piece of business for the hotel for several years. Each summer there were five or six shows which followed each other in and out of our town's "Star Theater" every two weeks. The many actors and crews were in need of guest rooms so we would bid for their long term stays. Most of the shows had a "Head-Liner" as the star of the show. Some of the ones I remember were; Mitzi Gaynor, Bert Convey, Forrest Tucker, Debbie Reynolds, Imogene Cocoa and Sid Caesar. This all took place in the 80's, when these famous name stars were still very well known albeit somewhat at the twilight of their careers.

Imogene Cocoa was the sweetest little lady. She kept to herself and was nice to everyone. When she left her guest room, Miss Cocoa wore large dark glasses, a hat and a long coat.   Sid was determined to live a healthy life style and he needed a special diet. Each morning we loaded several large trays for Mr. Caesar and delivered them to his room. Every fruit we could find was provided, in quantity, along with whole grain breads and cereals, juices, and other items he listed for us. I had always thought of Sid Caesar as kind of a playboy type. He was the "Top Banana" from the early 50's television hit, Your Show of Shows.  A real comedian and Imogene was his sidekick. She was older than Sid by more than a decade and for her, it was beginning to show.  Here he was, however, in his sixties, eating and drinking a natural diet and obsessing over his daily exercise routine. We had to take all the furniture, from the room adjoining his guest room, and put it in storage when his fitness machines arrived. He looked great!  Sid turned 87 last September, has his own dot com and just had an interview video posted to YouTube a few days ago.

Once, when a new group of actors and crew members arrived, there seemed to be alot of vivacious young women among the group, (more than normal). Seemingly dozens of unusually tall, tanned girls with curvy figures were checking in at our front desk.  They all shared the big hair and heavy makeup, sometimes associated with "Vegas Style" show business, and drew much attention from hotel guests and employees alike.   When I looked at the name of the show, I realized that it was a "Burlesque" type of production.  The lead in on the program said that it might not be suitable for children.   The big talk among the hotel's staff, at the begining of those two weeks, was how those girls had been caught, by the "Old Man", laying out in the sun, behind the hotel, mostly nude! They couldn't have tan lines for the performance. I found them a place on the roof that was much more private.  This helped in at least two ways, the girls got their tans and the staff got their work done.