Well, dear readers, this month is the tenth anniversary of my meeting the wonderful Susan Gordon. After jokingly asking where she was mere weeks after this site came into existence, dear reader Jane just happened upon us, read my query and contacted Susan, who then IMd me one night. We began a wonderful friendship. In fact, mere weeks after we’d connected here we were meeting in Las Vegas, where we spent a fun couple of days getting to know each other. She was the second person I let read Benjamin Kritzer (the first was obviously muse Margaret), which she truly loved. One of the reasons she truly loved it is because I so modeled the character of the young Susan Pomeroy on her, at least my memory of her from when I first saw The Five Pennies. It’s why I named the character Susan. The character was, of course, based on a real gal I knew, but in fleshing out that particular story, I had Susan Gordon in my head. From that point on, she always called me Nimajneb and signed her notes Nasus.
I got her to do her first autograph show – the Ray Courts Hollywood Collector’s Show when it was still at the Beverly Garland Hotel. We spoke often, and she helped proof and edit all three Kritzer books. She was a regular member of this here site, until some guy she’d met, who had a very unhealthy obsession with her, found her here and began to stalk her and me online. That was the sole reason for the creation of this message board, to protect her. It gave me the ability to ban people who were causing trouble, which he was doing constantly on our old board. But she felt uncomfortable and eventually stopped posting, which I know made everyone here a little sad. But she was at our New York hainsies/kimlets get-togethers, and she made good friends here. I saw her for dinner on most of my New York trips. The stalker thing always made her uncomfortable, which is why I never mentioned seeing her on those trips, and I’m only sorry that she let someone like that have an effect on her. We talked about it often and I guess she did what she could do.
She spoke often about her six children, whom she clearly adored. I had her and her mom do a commentary track for her dad’s film Beginning Of The End. And then I finally met the great Bert I. Gordon, and we became fast friends, and I badgered him so much that he finally agreed to do a Ray Courts show – in fact, we sat next to each other for several of them. When Susan was in town, she’d do the show, too, and then we’d all go to Genghis Cohen, which she and Bert (and Bert’s daughter Christina) loved.
When we did Jeeper’s Creepers: Great Songs from the Horror Films, we had Susan do the song from the film that was her motion picture debut – Attack Of The Puppet People. She sang You’re A Dolly at the New York session and it was just so much fun. The person whose idea the album was, the late Richard Valley, and his boyfriend Tom were like little kids watching her. She became a staple at the various autograph shows and loved meeting her fans. When we were going to do the Meltz and Ernest mockumentary, she was going to play the wife of one of them. She was always warm and fun. In the last few years we didn’t talk as much, but she’d call every now and then, and I sent her all my books and some CDs.
We spoke the last time I was in New York and tried to get together, but she wasn’t feeling well and it just didn’t work out. She called a few weeks after that and we had a nice chat. She asked me to send her the latest Hofstetter book and I said I would, but hadn’t gotten around to it because everything was so busy. (Actually, I do think it was sent.)
And yesterday she died.
Sixty-two years old. Cancer. She’d alluded to being ill but was fighting the good fight. I don’t think she ever actually admitted she had cancer. I am so heartily sick of this stupid, sickening disease. I’ve watched my friends die of it (Susan, Laurie Beechman, Michelle Nicastro and others), and I’ve watched my friends fight valiantly to rid themselves of it. I’m watching the fight now with two people and I’m praying they stay well. Susan was a very special soul – a warm, inviting light, whose AOL screen name began with Aura – and she had one of the most beautiful I’ve ever known. So, rest in peace, Nasus. You were loved by many and I know that wherever you’ve gone you will light the jernt up but good.
Well, let’s all click on the Unseemly Button shall we, because for once I don’t have anything else to say right now. I’ll finish these here notes just before I post them, but I had to write this section early.
I had a productive day yesterday. I had weird dreams and then I was awakened by the rain at about 5:45. I got up, watched a bit of a movie on DVD, worked on liner notes, then went back to bed at eight and slept till almost eleven. So, somewhere in there I got seven hours of sleep, although it sure doesn’t feel like it. I then got up again, answered e-mails and couldn’t jog due to the heavy rainfall. I then went and had a sandwich and onion rings, then did some banking. After that, I picked up a couple of packages, then came back home. Then I had a work session with a singer and Mr. Lanny Meyers. Each day we’re looking at a different show of hers. I watched the show, took notes, and had a lot of thoughts and suggestions, which I rattled off with the reasons for them. The singer seemed to think they were all reasonable and was very willing to do the work to change up the show, focus it, and make it as good as it can be. So, we’ll be working on that over the next few weeks via e-mail, and then she’ll come back in January and we’ll spend a week assembling the new version and getting it ready. After that, I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I finished watching a motion picture on DVD, one of those homegrown Warner Archive things – this one entitled Night Watch, another film I’ve wanted to see for many years. It’s based on a play from the early 1970s called Night Watch by Lucille Fletcher. I’ve always been a fan of Miss Fletcher since discovering her story The Hitchhiker, as done on The Twilight Zone. I then became enamored of her radio play Sorry, Wrong Number. Add to that, she’d been married to my favorite film composer, Bernard Herrmann. The acting edition of Night Watch touts that the play was a Broadway success. Not quite. It played only a little over 100 performances, so not a Broadway success. I wished I’d seen it, though – it starred Joan Hackett. I don’t know how close the film version is, although I gather it loses several supporting characters in the transition. Apparently the ending is very hard to see coming in the play. And frankly, it wasn’t that easy to see coming in the film, either. However, the film is clumsily directed by Brian G. Hutton, and it’s been transplanted to the UK. Miss Taylor is not at her best here, although towards the end she gets better. She plays a woman who sees a murder through her window at the abandoned house next door. Then she sees a second body, but no one will believe her. Not her husband, not her best friend, not the detectives. Is it a Gaslight thing? Is it her imagination? I shall not spoil the fun here in these notes, so if the film interests you it’s not a bad way to spend ninety-eight minutes. The supporting cast includes Laurence Harvey and Billie Whitelaw. Mr. Harvey died at forty-five years of age only a few months after this film’s release. The transfer is fine.
Today, I shall do the four-mile jog if it’s not raining. I then have to finish the second set of liner notes and that’s that for the year, liner notes-wise. This second set should be a bit easier than the set I finished yesterday – finding my way into those notes was elusive but they came out well, I think. Then I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, then we’ll have our second of four work sessions, after which we’ll sup and then I’ll probably accompany them to the Gardenia open mic night.
Tomorrow, I’m hopeful of hearing our new masters, or at least one of them, and I’m also hopeful that The People In The Picture will be in by Friday for shipping. On Saturday night I’m being taken for a birthday dinner by Melody and her folks, so that should be fun.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the four-mile jog (weather permitting), write liner notes, hopefully pick up some packages, have a work session, sup, and maybe attend an open mic night, but only for a little while. Today’s topic of discussion: Certainly any Susan Gordon memories would be appreciated. Otherwise, what are your favorite films of Elizabeth Taylor? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall hopefully dream sweet dreams, and if Susan Gordon happened to be in them, that would be a beautiful thing.