The Day I Didn't Meet Dave Grusin

© Variety

I knew I could do it. 

In the early seventies I’d arrived in California. I tired of working a steady job, and I knew I could do advertising work. I made a list of local advertising agencies and owners, then wrote to them.

“I’m nineteen years old, I have no experience, but I’m willing to work for a low wage, and learn.”

I wanted to learn how ads were produced first, then move on to creative work.

I heard from three agencies, and took the offer from the one that was offering exactly what I wanted.

So I did learn how ads were created, and within six months I was responsible for producing ads running weekly in nine newspapers in seven cities across California and Texas, and monthly in Car and Driver, and Road & Track.

After a year and a half, I moved on to an account executive position at an agency that specialized in promoting consumer products, mostly food and automotive.

By the early nineties I’d returned to the East. I was in my early thirties, I decided that I wanted to do entertainment advertising. In fact, I knew I could do entertainment work. I now had a home in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and two young children, and ran a small ad agency. It was small, but it was mine.

So once again I made a list of film production companies, and record labels, and set out making calls.

I was a modern jazz fan, so I first called on GRP Records, 555 W. 57th Street, New York. It was great! This was well before 9/11, so I walked into their reception area. There were all their Gold Records on the wall. Lee Ritenour, Yellow Jackets, Jerry Mulligan, and many more. I had some of those albums. But then none other than the great Dave Grusin! You see at the time GRP meant Grusin Rosen Productions. This was where Dave Grusin came to work!

Since I was there unannounced, I made my pitch, dropped off my promo sheet, thanked the receptionist, and left.

They didn’t hire me, but it really didn’t matter. I had taken the first step towards entertainment work.

Years later, I had become a film publicist, and I heard about the Dave Grusin documentary Not Enough Time.

Now PBS has it available to the public here, and here it is.

Enjoy it, and let me know what you think!

Steve Thompson

sct2391@outlook.com

#davegrusin #modernjazz #grprecords #moviesoundtracks 

MAGA Cruelty Comes Full Circle

For my mother’s final years, I was her caregiver. She suffered with dementia, which is a little bit better understood now.

In the end it’s nothing but sad to see a loved one gradually deteriorate.

I saw her go from a fully functioning rational person, to a confused, even angry person.

One day, in a calm moment though, she said; “Steve, I’ve seen what I do to you, but I don’t know why. I’m sorry.”

Now we see this former President talking about sharks, and how he would have dated Nancy Pelosi, and establishing a migrant fighting league.

Donald Trump’s dementia has progressed substantially, but he’s nowhere near done yet.

He’ll continue to deteriorate until his very last day, there’s no cure.

And his MAGA* base will continue to cruelly encourage him to make a fool of himself, and in the end inflict his cruelty on themselves.

* MAGA isn’t even an original idea, Ronald Reagan said; “Make America Great Again.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_America_Great_Again

My Seventies

 June 19, 2024

My foremost concern is my health. The first week in January I had my third stroke.

The first was due to me letting my blood pressure and blood sugar get too high. The second and third were, well, “causes uncertain.”

There are plenty of doctors who can explain the clinical info on types, causes, and treatments available.

I’ll try to briefly explain what it’s like to experience it.

My right side was affected from all three strokes, so my right arm always feels like I slept funny on it. I received physical, occupational, and speech therapies.

My entire right side is now weak, I use a wheelchair most of the time, I can’t walk unassisted, I can’t button an Oxford shirt.

But my sense of self has always remained strong. I know who I am, and who I’m not. Recently I’ve learned that if I accept my present condition, life is far more pleasant. And if I look for the good, I find it!

So don’t try to help me, just leave me alone. Please.

Steve Thompson

June 19, 2024

My Next Chapter: My Seventies

June 19, 2024

Man, I'm really out of practice, so please excuse me for a while!

I enter a new chapter of my life: I recently turned seventy, I fully retired from the film publicity business, and I survived my third stroke.

So where does that leave me? I learned to invest. Warren Buffet has some simple guidelines: Invest in what you know, buy low, sell high, and be in for the long run. Well that works!

Do I want to start another ad agency? No. Do I want to work in the film business? No.

I’ve decided that no one can be a better me than me. I’ve decided to write about the various aspects of me, so that’s where I'm going to start!

Here’s to being seventy!

Cielo Drive

 

10050 Cielo Drive, Los Angeles, California

Photo Property of cielodrive.com Photo Archives -- All Rights Reserved

On the night of August 8, 1969, members of Charles Manson’s cult, known as his “Family,” drove to 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, California. The occupants of the house that evening were actress Sharon Tate, who was eight and a half months pregnant and the wife of film director Roman Polanski; well known hair stylist Jay Sebring; Polanski's friend Wojciech Frykowski; and Frykowski's girlfriend Abigail Folger, heiress to the Folgers coffee fortune.  Also present on the property were William Garretson, the caretaker, and his friend Steven Earl Parent. Sharon Tate’s husband, Roman Polanski, was out of the country at the time.

Sharon Tate

The Manson cult members then proceeded to torture, then kill all of the home’s occupants, and Steven Parent as he was leaving. The following night, Manson and selected cult members drove to 3301 Waverly Drive in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles, where they murdered Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary. The cases quickly became media sensations, first because of the viciousness of the crimes, then because of the shocking testimonies of the murderers. Young female cult members testified under oath that they believed Charles Manson was Jesus Christ reincarnated. They testified that they believed they were actually helping their victims, and committing the murders was pleasurable for them.

*   *   *   *

In the early 70s I was able to move from Pennsylvania to Laguna Beach, California. My friend Wayne Gravelle invited me to stay with him for a few weeks while I got settled.

After getting my own apartment on North Coast Highway, I got into the habit of walking along the beach early every morning. One morning I was in front of two women who were walking their dogs and talking. “Yes, we got her (her own dog) for protection while we were still living in Los Angeles. We lived down the street from the LaBiancas. We eventually decided to move down here to Laguna.”

I had never before been around anyone who had actually been directly affected by the Tate/LaBianca murders.

This summer Leslie Van Houghten was released on parole.

Vincent Bugliosi

That got me interested in relearning the details of the case, so I read Vincent Bugliosi's Helter Skelter. Interestingly, Mr. Bugliosi noted that the only person he worked so hard to convict who might possibly be granted parole some time in the future was Leslie Van Houghten.

Personally, I don’t believe that Leslie Van Houghten should have been granted parole. But I respect the decision of California’s Governor, and the Parole Board.

Helter Skelter is the name of a Beatles song on their album entitled The Beatles, commonly known as The White Album. But it’s also the name of Manson’s plan, hence Bugliosi’s book’s title.

Manson believed that the murders would be blamed on black people, which would start a race war, that black people would win. But the black people would soon learn that running America was more complicated than they could imagine. So they would then turn to the Manson Family to run America. Manson believed this so much that at one time, because he respected Bugliosi’s skills as a lawyer, he asked Bugliosi to be his Vice President when he became President. Bugliosi declined.

Although I lived through the events, there were quite a few things that I did not know. 10050 Cielo Drive, the rented Polanski/Tate home, was owned by Rudi Altobelli. He had hired a caretaker named William Garretson, who lived in a guest house at the back of the property.

Steven Parent's Rambler parked next to the cut phone lines in the driveway of the Polanski/Tate residence. Jay Sebring's black Porsche is parked next to Abigail Folger's Firebird.

Photo Property of cielodrive.com Photo Archives –

All Rights Reserved

Steven Parent had visited William Garretson to show Garretson a clock radio Garretson was interested in buying. Garretson passed, so Parent was leaving the property just as Charles “Tex” Watson was arriving with the three women Manson had sent to the property. Watson stopped Parent’s car, then lunged at him with a knife, cutting him. Watson then shot Parent three times, killing him. Parent had absolutely nothing to do with anyone in the main house, he essentially was just in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Leno LaBianca owned a chain of grocery stores, and nine thoroughbred racehorses, but at the time of his death he also had some $230,000 in horse race related gambling debts. However, if they had wanted to, his wife Rosemary could have easily paid off his debt as she had approximately $2,600,000 in investments. Abigail Folger, one of the victims at the Tate home, and heiress to the Folgers Coffee fortune, actually had less than one fifth of that.

On the day that the Los Angeles Times published a story on the LaBianca murder victims receiving their last rights, the paper also published a story: Police Arrest 26 Suspects in Auto Theft Ring, but it would be months before police realized both the murderers and the people arrested in connection with the auto theft ring were the Manson Family.

Manson Family members drove the same borrowed Ford to both of the homes where they committed the murders.

The actual borrowed vehicle that the Manson Family drove from the Spahn Ranch to both of the homes where they committed the murders.

Photo Property of cielodrive.com Photo Archives –

All Rights Reserved

Vincent Bugliosi did not feel that the convictions of Manson and his Family members would be easy. In fact he had to be extremely careful about how he proceeded with the prosecutions, because the defense counsel was constantly making motions for dismissal and retrial, so at any time those motions might have been granted.

Mr. Bugliosi also believed the Manson Family was responsible for many other murders in California, Ohio, and even London.

After the murders, Rudi Altobelli sued Roman Polanksi and Life Magazine for $650,000 and Polanski alone for $198,000, including three months rent at $1500 per month that Altobelli claimed were due him. He charged that Polanski illegally gave Life Magazine permission to photograph the home following the murders. As a result, he said, resale value of the property was damaged. He also started litigation against Tate's parents when they refused to pay huge repair bills on his damaged investment. When that didn't work, he sued Tate's estate for almost a half-million dollars; he was awarded $4,350. Altobelli decided to just live in the home himself, which he did until 1988 when he sold it for $1.6 million.

10066 Cielo Drive, Los Angeles, California

Photo Property of cielodrive.com Photo Archives -- All Rights Reserved

10050 Cielo Drive was torn down in 1994 and replaced by an 18,000-square-foot Mediterranean-style spec house nicknamed “Villa Bella.” The 9-bedroom, 13-bathroom megamansion was an attempt to rid the property of stigma once and for all—the address was even changed to 10066 Cielo Drive for good measure.

It was finally purchased for $6,375,000 in January 2000, by Full House creator Jeff Franklin.

The property is now on the market for $54,995,000.

# # # #

cielodrive.com

Helter Skelter on Amazon

Tate/LaBianca Murders on Wikipedia

by Steve Thompson

Keywords: #charlesmanson #mansonfamily #helterskelter #vincentbugliosi #celiodrive #leslievanhoughten #tatelabianca #sharontate

The Story of God with Morgan Freeman

In The Story of God with Morgan Freeman, Morgan examines a series of spiritual questions and beliefs, shared by many different people from around the world.

Check it out, and it is likely that you will recognize some people, disagree with others, and eventually learn some things you probably didn't know.

He is intentionally non-conclusive, leaving the conclusions to those who he interviews, and we the viewers.

A constant around the world is faith. Faith is powerful in all of its forms.

I personally wonder why we can't apply the power of faith to simple acceptance. 

I'll never be a woman, a Hindu, probably not a Muslim. But what if my faith simply allowed everyone to practice their beliefs? Would that really be so hard? Because they are all going to practice their beliefs anyway, regardless of what I believe. 

Remember, our country was formed on the basis of religious freedom, which includes the freedom not to practice any religion.

Maybe an amoral person using military force against his own citizens, so he could pose for cameras holding a bible upside down, then being condemned by the pastor of the church he chose as a prop doesn't smell quite right to you.

Then why not let Morgan Freeman open up a whole world of beliefs to you, and maybe answer some of your own spiritual questions, and improve your own understanding of our neighbors around the world?

The Story of God with Morgan Freeman on Netflix

Bringing 2.4 Million Active, Enthusiastic People in to Your Audience

Steve Thompson
Thompson Communications

Stroke Survivors: A Very Large Underserved Community

According to the Internet Stroke Center, each year, approximately 795,000 people suffer a stroke. About 600,000 of these are first attacks, and 185,000 are recurrent attacks.

A stroke also affects the immediate family members, who have a direct stake in recovery. If every stroke survivor has only two immediate relatives, that means that approximately 2.4 million people are directly affected by strokes, and likely many more.

As with every other personal experience, when you see it portrayed onscreen it's typically a cliche of the condition, sometimes very inaccurate, immediately spotted by every single one of those 2.4 million people I just mentioned.

I'm currently watching Jack Taylor on Netflix, and the main character's mother suffered a stroke in the story. So yes, you see him helping her walk, but that's about it.

With the number of people directly affected by this condition, who are generally confronted with inaccurate information and the consequent cliched dramatic portrayals, a story that accurately, and sympathetically portrays the condition would be very well received and recommended by the survivor community.

I suffered a brain stem stroke, was hospitalized, then completed thirty-six days of rehab, then outpatient physical, occupational, and speech therapy, so I know what it's like, first hand.

And I now work every day. Fortunately writing press releases and getting them published has not been affected, some of my clients, and the journalists I work with, don't even know I'm a stroke survivor. One journalist I met recently didn't even know it after I met him in person!

So if you are developing a project, and you'd like to show investors how you might bring approximately 2.4 million or more more active, loyal people into your audience, get back to me, help me make lemonade out of my own personal lemons, and build your audience in the bargain!

Thanks!

Contact:

Steve Thompson

Thompson Communications

856-425-0743

(Google Voice line, for
quick voicemail and text.)

steve@thomcomm.net

About Me