I met Paul Michael Glaser!
Exciting news -- m_lasha and I drove down to Ocean City, Maryland, yesterday and met Paul Michael Glaser, who was there at a car show signing his book and also autographing pictures and other items that fans brought.
I'd never seen him in person before and it was really a nice experience getting to see him.
First, we drove about two hours to get to Ocean City. I hadn't been there in quite a few years. It's a nice little vacation town on the coast of Maryland. Lots of high school and college students go there after graduation and families like to head there every summer. It has a typical board walk and tons of hotels and condos and old homes turned into bed and breakfasts. Old funky hotels mingle with big modern ones. There are restaurants and places to rent bikes and fishing equipment, shops to buy t-shirts and beach stuff and all the other types of places you'd expect to find in such a town.
Early October was a great time to visit. It wasn't over crowded with vacationers, though it was pretty busy and a lot of people seemed to be sitting either on their hotel balconies or in folding chairs along the street to watch the classic cars go by. There were street rods and restored antique cars, 50's sedans and a ton of muscle cars growling loudly as they passed by. Starsky would have loved it.
We found the convention center and parked, then found the place to pay for our tickets to the car show. We were informed it would be best to take the city bus down to the inlet where Paul was set up doing his signing. That was out by the beach where a bunch of cars were being displayed and there were vendors selling car stuff. We boarded the bus after a short wait and got to the end of the line at the boardwalk. It took awhile to find the entrance of the show; we had to keep walking past cars as we searched for an opening in the barrier set up to keep people out who hadn't paid. Finally we arrived and they checked our hand stamps. We asked where Paul was and they pointed vaguely saying, "he's in the middle somewhere." Finding the middle wasn't easy while inside a vast field of cars and tents.
Somehow m_lasha and I got briefly separated but I figured I'd find her if I found PMG. Finally, I spotted a striped Torino and thought he must be near there!
I was right. There was m_lasha, already speaking to him. We were in luck as there was no line, but while we stood there, several other people showed up to meet him. We'd heard he might be somewhere in the New York area, but I'd thought there would be less of a crowd in Ocean City.
You can see a big poster for Chrystallia behind him (I didn't try to get a good angle of this, just snapped it quickly without holding the camera up as he signed someone else's autograph.) He's written a novel, Chrystallia and the Source of Light, and is promoting it. He had some pictures from Starsky & Hutch on the table as well as a couple of copies of the book for purchase and signing. He was charging $20 for an autograph and picture or book and for $30 you could also get a picture with him.
He spoke about the book with pride and said he was "trying to get the word out." I bought a copy and he asked who to sign it to. He personalized it and wrote, "May you always find your way home." I think that has something to do with the story of two kids trying to find their way home from the magical kingdom of Chrystallia. He read the words back to me in a very intense, sincere voice. I briefly mentioned Elizabeth to him, saying I worked in HIV/AIDS and had recommended her book to my clients and that I'd once spoken to her when she was on Larry King Live on the radio. He smiled and acknowledged what I said, but didn't comment much. I'm not sure why I told him that but I was kind of compelled to at the moment; I hadn't planned to say it. I also mentioned that I'd been a fan since his days on "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" the soap he'd appeared on and he joked about how long ago that was. Then we got to pose with him for pictures by the Torino. Later, M_lasha got another autograph for a friend of hers, on a call sheet from "Ballad for a Blue Lady" that she'd brought. Paul looked it over and mused "Hmmm... Ballad for a Blue Lady. David didn't like that I cast that actress... what was her name?" "Jenny O'Hara," we supplied. "Yeah," Paul went on. He started to say something else, but I brought the subject back. "What didn't David like about her being cast?" I asked. Paul chuckled. "Oh, he wasn't attracted to her." I kind of laughed. "Well, it's called acting." And he said, "Yeah, acting, David."
He also signed the set of DVDs I'd brought along. I'd shown him that'd I'd brought them but then had bought the book. He asked if I wanted him to sign the DVDs too and I said, yes. So he signed those as well, without "charging" me for that autograph. I think he was pleased I'd bought his book.
Here's my pic with him:
Paul looked really good. Some of the pictures I've seen of him lately had him looking older than he does in person. He seemed to have some lines over his lips, but his hair was medium length and not too far from Starsky-ish, with lovely hints on gray. He looked fit and tan and when he put his arm around me as we posed for the pic, I slipped mine around his waist. He felt nice and fit!
After we left, we enjoyed some boardwalk fries and other goodies to eat. I took a short walk down the beach to look at the waves and walk a little in the water. We went back to the bus and rode back to our car and left, amid a ton of slow traffic, around five o'clock. I got back to my house around nine-thirty.
All in all, a pretty fun day!
I'd never seen him in person before and it was really a nice experience getting to see him.
First, we drove about two hours to get to Ocean City. I hadn't been there in quite a few years. It's a nice little vacation town on the coast of Maryland. Lots of high school and college students go there after graduation and families like to head there every summer. It has a typical board walk and tons of hotels and condos and old homes turned into bed and breakfasts. Old funky hotels mingle with big modern ones. There are restaurants and places to rent bikes and fishing equipment, shops to buy t-shirts and beach stuff and all the other types of places you'd expect to find in such a town.
Early October was a great time to visit. It wasn't over crowded with vacationers, though it was pretty busy and a lot of people seemed to be sitting either on their hotel balconies or in folding chairs along the street to watch the classic cars go by. There were street rods and restored antique cars, 50's sedans and a ton of muscle cars growling loudly as they passed by. Starsky would have loved it.
We found the convention center and parked, then found the place to pay for our tickets to the car show. We were informed it would be best to take the city bus down to the inlet where Paul was set up doing his signing. That was out by the beach where a bunch of cars were being displayed and there were vendors selling car stuff. We boarded the bus after a short wait and got to the end of the line at the boardwalk. It took awhile to find the entrance of the show; we had to keep walking past cars as we searched for an opening in the barrier set up to keep people out who hadn't paid. Finally we arrived and they checked our hand stamps. We asked where Paul was and they pointed vaguely saying, "he's in the middle somewhere." Finding the middle wasn't easy while inside a vast field of cars and tents.
Somehow m_lasha and I got briefly separated but I figured I'd find her if I found PMG. Finally, I spotted a striped Torino and thought he must be near there!
I was right. There was m_lasha, already speaking to him. We were in luck as there was no line, but while we stood there, several other people showed up to meet him. We'd heard he might be somewhere in the New York area, but I'd thought there would be less of a crowd in Ocean City.
You can see a big poster for Chrystallia behind him (I didn't try to get a good angle of this, just snapped it quickly without holding the camera up as he signed someone else's autograph.) He's written a novel, Chrystallia and the Source of Light, and is promoting it. He had some pictures from Starsky & Hutch on the table as well as a couple of copies of the book for purchase and signing. He was charging $20 for an autograph and picture or book and for $30 you could also get a picture with him.
He spoke about the book with pride and said he was "trying to get the word out." I bought a copy and he asked who to sign it to. He personalized it and wrote, "May you always find your way home." I think that has something to do with the story of two kids trying to find their way home from the magical kingdom of Chrystallia. He read the words back to me in a very intense, sincere voice. I briefly mentioned Elizabeth to him, saying I worked in HIV/AIDS and had recommended her book to my clients and that I'd once spoken to her when she was on Larry King Live on the radio. He smiled and acknowledged what I said, but didn't comment much. I'm not sure why I told him that but I was kind of compelled to at the moment; I hadn't planned to say it. I also mentioned that I'd been a fan since his days on "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" the soap he'd appeared on and he joked about how long ago that was. Then we got to pose with him for pictures by the Torino. Later, M_lasha got another autograph for a friend of hers, on a call sheet from "Ballad for a Blue Lady" that she'd brought. Paul looked it over and mused "Hmmm... Ballad for a Blue Lady. David didn't like that I cast that actress... what was her name?" "Jenny O'Hara," we supplied. "Yeah," Paul went on. He started to say something else, but I brought the subject back. "What didn't David like about her being cast?" I asked. Paul chuckled. "Oh, he wasn't attracted to her." I kind of laughed. "Well, it's called acting." And he said, "Yeah, acting, David."
He also signed the set of DVDs I'd brought along. I'd shown him that'd I'd brought them but then had bought the book. He asked if I wanted him to sign the DVDs too and I said, yes. So he signed those as well, without "charging" me for that autograph. I think he was pleased I'd bought his book.
Here's my pic with him:
Paul looked really good. Some of the pictures I've seen of him lately had him looking older than he does in person. He seemed to have some lines over his lips, but his hair was medium length and not too far from Starsky-ish, with lovely hints on gray. He looked fit and tan and when he put his arm around me as we posed for the pic, I slipped mine around his waist. He felt nice and fit!
After we left, we enjoyed some boardwalk fries and other goodies to eat. I took a short walk down the beach to look at the waves and walk a little in the water. We went back to the bus and rode back to our car and left, amid a ton of slow traffic, around five o'clock. I got back to my house around nine-thirty.
All in all, a pretty fun day!