Spooky

This morning I woke up early and decided to use the time productively. With the wonders of modern science you can check out the whereabouts and well being of friends, old and new, on the Internet with the greatest of ease.

I eased my shiny and lovely MacBook Air onto my lap and hit the Google button. Next I entered the name of a friend I hadn’t seen in many years, a man who once served with me on the Board of Directors of our company in America, and when I was starting out in the film business and he was the big boss of Cinerama Distribution gave my first little movie, The Festival Game, its release. His name is Joe Sugar and I thought I could ring him once I found out where he was to say hi, wish him well for the festive season but sadly I was too late, he had died in the last weeks.

I was saddened and disconcerted, I wish I had spoken with my old friend and we'd shared some chuckles about the wonderful Friars Club lunches we had enjoyed together in Beverly Hills; swapping jokes and anecdotes, but it was not to be.

Now I was even more motivated to look up another old friend who I had heard was sick with that cruel illness, Alzheimer’s, his name is Sandy Howard. This guy was one of the funniest and most charming of men, handsome and talented, a born raconteur and a producer of sometimes-manic energy if sometimes less wisdom. He made films, good and not so great, but always with a smile and a smashing story. I once met him with another friend at a local Chinese restaurant, and they were relieved to see my father and I arrive as they clearly couldn’t afford the meal they’d eaten, they agreed that they “had momentum, but unfortunately it was downward momentum!” Sadly the downward momentum has continued because Sandy had also just died.

Life is the poorer for the passing of such men, hugely entertaining and knowledgeable, old school entertainment people that define the word, Hollywood, for the rest of the world.

Now I was getting very worried because I had checked out two friends and they had both gone to meet their maker, so I thought I would check out someone I didn’t like so much. I clicked on the name of John Daly, someone who I had good reason to dislike after once being friends and having done deals together. Up came his name, guess what, he had also recently died. However much I didn’t care for John I don’t wish anyone dead, but now I felt like I’d killed him.

I was beginning to think that I had better put the computer away for the day and not open it again. But time passes and logic took hold hence I’m writing this blog, but don’t worry, I won’t be checking any friends out on Google for a while.