Howdy Doody, NBC and Me

My parents drove me to the airport. My father barely spoke and my mother cried...beginning to notice the pattern here? Those were the days of everybody walking up to the gate and standing around until the last minute before the traveler got on board. I was anxious to be on my way. As we said goodbye for the tenth time my mother put a piece of paper in my hand and said,"Go have dinner with the Watermans". The Watermans were old family friends. Sam Waterman worked in televsion in "the city" and had been Stage Manager on the Howdy Doody Show during my youth. A favorite picture is me sitting on the lap of Gabby Hayes with my childhood nemesis, Marki Smithson. Marki and I had attended a show and saw Howdy, Princess Summerfallwinterspring, Clarabelle the Clown and Buffalo Bob's cousin right up close. In fact I sat in the seat right next to Bob's cousin (think Buffalo Bob was in rehab - no, seriously, no) and in front of me was a package of Twinkies. I thought they were for me...I took a bite out of one. There was quite the scrambling for a new package when they went to commercial break and realized the "prop" had been opened and eaten. My first show business experience.

The Waterman family had moved to Los Angeles a couple of years earlier when Sam was given a pretty high job at NBC. On some level their being in the same city had helped my mother help me move to L.A. As I flew back, smoking a cigarette and sipping a cocktail, I thought I might as well give them a call.

Settling back into my routine was simple. One of the "Gold Diggers" and I went to the Smoke House for dinner - the best cheese garlic bread in the world. One order and a glass of wine = dinner. She really was from Kansas, a few years older than I, and told wonderful tales about working at NBC on the Dean Martin Show. He really was a nice man, not a drinker at all - those glasses always held apple juice and was about to marry an under 30 year old.

Dinner at the Watermans was fun, I must admit. Hearing more about NBC made me think that my time at the Television Code should come to an end. Did Mr. Waterman think I should apply for a job there? Well, why not? He would make a call to personnel.

Two months and three interviews later I was to start as a sales assistant at KNBC - the NBC owned affiliate...in Beautiful Downtown Burbank.

I was on my way....to who knew where.