I sometimes think I’ve seen Midnight Cowboy more times, or more often, than anybody. But there was a long period in which I hadn’t, and I, too, then found I’d forgotten or greatly confused things in my mind. But what a freakin’ masterpiece.
DR Elmore, please say something more about Bernard Hughes. He was such an amazing presence in those days.
I actually met Barney's wife, Helen Stenborg, first. I had fallen in love with her in the play
Fifth of July, where she played old Aunt Sally Tally. She reminded me of m,y feisty Aunt Dorothy, my mother's oldest sister, and we became Drama Book Shop buddies. Then Barney came in one day to pick you a copy of
You Can't Take It With You - I think that was the play - because he was going to Dublin to play the Grandfather with the Abbey Theatre. Then, while he was playing Mayam Bialick;s grandfather on the TV series
Blossom, I called him and asked if he'd be interested in playing the Toymaker for the Houston Grand Opera's
Babes in Toyland. He wanted to, but he was committed to
Blossom.
He lived on West 95th Street, I think, and I used to see him on his daily walk down to 72nd Street and back up. When he startewd dialysis, I even volunteered to take him if he needed me to. I used to see Helen occasionally at Barnes and Noble when I worked there. I really loved them both, and I miss them.
