I Have a Dream
Martin Luther King, Jr.    August 28, 1963

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves, who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity. But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.

One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation’s Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.

Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.

Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.

Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all God’s children.

Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.

There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrong deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.

We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.

We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote, and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.

No, no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by storms of persecutions and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our modern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream.

It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day out on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the heat and injustice of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor’s lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.

With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning “My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!”

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California.

But not only that, let freedom, ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”

“Portrait of Gertrude Stein” by Pablo Picasso

IF I TOLD HIM: A Completed Portrait of Picasso

If I told him would he like it. Would he like it if I told him.
Would he like it would Napoleon would Napoleon would would he like it.
If Napoleon if I told him if I told him if Napoleon. Would he like it if I told him if I told him if Napoleon. Would he like it if Napoleon if
Napoleon if I told him. If I told him if Napoleon if Napoleon if I told him. If I told him would he like it would he like it if I told him.
Now.
Not now.
And now.
Now.
Exactly as as kings.
Feeling full for it.
Exactitude as kings.
So to beseech you as full as for it.
Exactly or as kings.
Shutters shut and open so do queens. Shutters shut and shutters and so shutters shut and shutters and so and so shutters and so shutters shut
and so shutters shut and shutters and so. And so shutters shut and so and also. And also and so and so and also.
Exact resemblance to exact resemblance the exact resemblance as exact as a resemblance, exactly as resembling, exactly resembling, exactly
in resemblance exactly a resemblance, exactly and resemblance. For this is so. Because.
Now actively repeat at all, now actively repeat at all, now actively repeat at all.
Have hold and hear, actively repeat at all.
I judge judge.
As a resemblance to him.
Who comes first. Napoleon the first.
Who comes too coming coming too, who goes there, as they go they share, who shares all, all is as all as as yet or as yet.
Now to date now to date. Now and now and date and the date.
Who came first Napoleon at first. Who came first Napoleon the first. Who came first, Napoleon first.
Presently.
Exactly as they do.
First exactly.
Exactly as they do too.
First exactly.
And first exactly.
Exactly as they do.
And first exactly and exactly.
And do they do.
At first exactly and first exactly and do they do.
The first exactly.
At first exactly.
First as exactly.
At first as exactly.
Presently.
As presently.
As as presently.
He he he he and he and he and and he and he and he and and as and as he and as he and he. He is and as he is, and as he is and he is, he is
and as he and he and as he is and he and he and and he and he.
Can curls rob can curls quote, quotable.
As presently.
As exactitude.
As trains.
Has trains.
Has trains.
As trains.
As trains.
Presently.
Proportions.
Presently.
As proportions as presently.
Father and farther.
Was the king or room.
Farther and whether.
Was there was there was there what was there was there what was there was there there was there.
Whether and in there.
As even say so.
One.
I land.
Two.
I land.
Three.
The land.
Three.
The land.
Two.
I land.
Two.
I land.
One.
I land.
Two.
I land.
As a so.
They cannot.
A note.
They cannot.
A float.
They cannot.
They dote.
They cannot.
They as denote.
Miracles play.
Play fairly.
Play fairly well.
A well.
As well.
As or as presently.
Let me recite what history teaches. History teaches.

Hear Gertrude Stein read this poem:
“Portrait of Picasso” (written & read by Gertrude Stein)

Gertrude Stein

Gertrude Stein has been the subject of many artistic works. In the 1998 Latin American literary classic “Yo-Yo Boing!”, novelist Giannina Braschi pays homage to Stein as an imaginary mentor. In 2005, playwright/actor Jade Esteban Estrada portrayed Stein in the solo musical ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 1 at Princeton University. “Loving Repeating” is a musical by Stephen Flaherty based on the writings of Gertrude Stein. Stein and Alice B. Toklas are both characters in the eight person show. Stein is a central character in Nick Bertozzi’s 2007 graphic novel The Salon. The posthumously-published Journals of Ayn Rand contain several highly hostile references to Gertrude Stein. From Rand’s working notes for her novel The Fountainhead, it is clear that the character Lois Cook in that book was intended as a caricature of Stein. Stein was also portrayed in the 2011 Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris by Kathy Bates. Her name is added to a list of great artists and notables in the popular Broadway musical “Rent” in the song “La Vie Boheme”. Also mentioned in the Astaire – Rogers 1935 film Top Hat.

Daybreak

In our dark house, we can barely see
dried rain spots on the glass. A favorite
poem says that they are all gone into

a world of light. But we are here.
Maybe mom rests between
the Meyer Lemon and the princess flower.

Light connects all things, even darkness,
doesn’t it? Time to turn off our day,
make a space for dreams to thicken

like hoya leaves. When we awaken,
the window will still be dark,
a few stems swelling with buds.

Kenneth Pobo has been called a zipinoid, a fairy, and a feeder of Marc Bolan’s ghost. Some poems he loves: Binsey Poplars by Hopkins Hum Bom by Ginsberg, After great pain by Emily D, and Schubertiana by Transtromer. He wrote the liner notes for a Tommy James CD.

Daniele Serra is a professional illustrator. His work has been published in Europe, Australia, United States and Japan, and displayed at various exhibits across the U.S. and Europe. He has worked for DC Comics, Image Comics, Cemetery Dance, Weird Tales magazine, PS Publishing and other publications.Winner of the British Fantasy Award. For more of his work please see: http://www.multigrade.it/

Sharon Rogers is best known for her appearances in Playboy.  She was on the cover in November 1963 and Playmate of the month in January 1964 (The Tenth Anniversary Issue). Sharon has appeared in over 20 Playboy publications to date. She moved into the ChicagoPlayboyMansion in 1962 where she lived until January 1964.  She worked and trained bunnies at the Playboy Club in Chicago before moving to Hollywood where she helped hire and train bunnies for the opening of the L.A. Playboy Club.  She spent a year doing pre-publicity interviews on TV and in newspapers to promote the new Club.  She also worked in the New York Playboy Club before leaving the organization in 1969. She also appeared in a few TV Series and a couple of movies. Sharon went on to retire in 2009 after working for the Washington State Department of Transportation for 22 years. It was an honor to sit down with her to learn more of her fascinating life.

Sharon Rogers in 1972

Can you tell us a little about your early days? Do you remember your mother having a stroke when you were 5? How did that affect you personally? What was it like at boarding schools after that?

I do remember that day. I wasn’t quite 5 yet but my mother had a stroke while we were sitting at the breakfast table. She had her back to the refrigerator and I thought she had hit her head on the refrigerator and got knocked out. She was taken to the hospital and I didn’t see her again for quite some time (months). There were 4 of us children and our father got custody after our mother’s stroke because she could no longer care for us. She was 34. My brother Jim was 16, my sister Beverly was 10 and my brother Bill was 9. We were put in foster homes while my father tried to figure out what to do next. He was a traveling salesman and didn’t have a permanent residence. He tried hiring a nanny and renting a house, but that didn’t work. It was too much responsibility for her and she quit. Jim ran away and joined the Air Force (lied about his age). He was sent to Korea during the war. Beverly and I were put in a Catholic Convent Boarding School and Bill was put in Military School.

We never did have a “home” to go to. On Holidays, we stayed in Hotels or Motels with our Father and sometimes with our Aunt who lived nearby. In the summers, we would spend three months in summer camps. We would arrive before the other campers and stay after they left. We very rarely would visit our mother in Seattle. She never recovered from the stroke and couldn’t talk or use her right arm or leg. It was hardest on Bill because he was alone in Military school. Beverly and I were in the same boarding school so we had each other. I was in three different boarding schools. The first one was in Lakewood, Washington (first through fifth grade); the second in Spokane, WA (sixth through ninth grade) and finally in Evanston, Illinois (tenth grade to graduation).

As someone who was raised by nuns do you consider yourself religious? What are your feelings on the subject?

I always questioned the nuns because many things we were taught had no logical explanation….we had to “take it on faith”. My sister is still very religious to this day, but I left the church right after I graduated from high school. I became a Bunny at the Playboy Club not long after graduating. You only had to be 18 to be a Bunny in Chicago. In my opinion, religion is a personal thing inside of you. I have never felt a need to attend a church or groups in order to be “religious”.

10th Anniversary Playmate

As someone who wanted to be a star, did you develop your love for film early on? Who were some of your influences? 

Absolutely! Being in Boarding Schools and Summer Camps were all I ever saw of the “real world”. When I went to movies…to me that represented what the world was really like and I wanted to be part of it. To be in movies, was my life long dream. When I was young, my idols were Sandra Dee, Natalie Wood, Mitzi Gaynor, Judy Garland, Leslie Caron, Elizabeth Taylor, Brigitte Bardot and mainly….Marilyn Monroe. When I was in high school, we all tried to look like Brigitte Bardot…her hair, make-up and the way she dressed. It was always a goal of mine to meet all of them. I did see Elizabeth Taylor from about 10 feet away (but didn’t meet her), and I was fortunate enough to meet Judy Garland…. and even talked to her for quite awhile. She actually mailed me an autographed picture of herself! I was supposed to meet Marilyn Monroe in August of 1962 which is the month she died. She was scheduled to pose for the December 1962 issue of Playboy and I was going to meet her when she came to Chicago for the photo shoot. I was totally devastated when she died…still haven’t gotten over it. I started copying the way different stars did their make-up every time I had a chance. My entire life, I believed Hollywood was the only place to be! I planned on moving there since I was about 10 years old. In preparation, I took dance lessons for many years and I went to modeling school for a year to learn how to carry myself. Being in movies was my lifelong dream. I absolutely adored Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor. Loved all the dancers…a list too long to write.

What was it like to come from your background to working at the Playboy Club? What was going through your mind your first day on the job? Were you nervous?

I was in high school in Evanston, Illinois which is a suburb of Chicago. I was very aware of Playboy Magazine and the opening of the first Playboy Club. To me, it would have been a dream come true to become a Bunny, but from the pictures I saw of them, I didn’t feel I was qualified. They all looked tall, with long legs, tiny waist lines and large boobs….(of which I had none). I got a job selling cosmetics in a large Department Store in Chicago (earning $53.28 per 40 hour week – after taxes). One day a man approached me and told me I should be a Bunny. He explained that the long legs, tiny waists, big boobs were ALL because of the Bunny costume! He said if I applied to be a Bunny, I would get to try on a Bunny costume….and I really liked that idea!! So, one day on my lunch hour, I went to the Club and applied. They put me in tight black stockings and three inch high heels. The costume’s legs were high cut almost to the waistline, and it fit like a tight corset. The boobs were stuffed with bunny tails. So, there I was! I couldn’t believe how the costume made me look! I was hired that day and started working that night…never to return to the Department Store. The first time I walked down the stairs into the club wearing my costume, I felt like a movie star!! My first night I made around $200 which was 4 weeks salary at the store!! I was hooked! Also my first night, I met Johnny Weissmuller! I served shrimp at a “shrimp bar” in the Playmate Bar, and later danced the “twist” at a late night twist party in one of the showrooms – where I danced with Mr. Weissmuller. I was on cloud nine for a long time. I was nervous…. but excited more than nervous.

I understand you used to help train the girls at the various clubs as well. What things must a girl have to know to be a good bunny back in the day?

There were so many things. Many girls only lasted a few weeks as a Bunny, because it was really, really hard work. The Bunnies worked long hours and rarely got a break. The costume and the three inch high heels were not comfortable at all! The costume was so tight it cut off the circulation in my legs and at the end of the night I could barely walk because my feet were so sore. Most Bunnies had horrible feet! We would get blisters that would bleed! The Club in Chicago was open from 11:00 am until 4:00 am! The first shift was from 11:00 am until 6:00 pm and the second shift was from 6:00 pm until 4:00 am. We didn’t get paid…..WE paid Playboy to work there! They took money from our checks (which were the tips the customers wrote on their bills) for costume rental, stockings ($5.00 a pair), and we paid the bartenders and the bus boys too. We also got “demerits” which cost $1.00 each (there were no “merits”). There was a long list of things we could get demerits for…such as one demerit for every minute you were late. There was also a very long list of “rules” that had to be followed. To explain everything in detail would take several pages.

I began training new Bunnies after I had been there about 6 months. There is a You Tube video that I am in.

I am the training bunny with the long hair wearing a bunny costume in the video. The video does explain some of the things the bunnies had to learn. The training took two weeks to learn it all. There were other jobs besides serving drinks too: some bunnies worked the “door” to greet members, check their key and tell them what was going on in the different rooms & showrooms; there were bunnies that checked hats and coats and sold things in the gift shop; there were camera bunnies that took Polaroid pictures; there were cigarette bunnies that sold cigarettes and lighters; and there was a bunny that played “bumper pool” with the members. I was the “bumper pool bunny” the last two years that I worked at Playboy.

When they planned on opening a Playboy Club in Hollywood, I was the first to volunteer to move there and help with the hiring and training of the new bunnies. The building of the club was delayed for a year because of various rules and City ordinances, so during that year I did all of the pre-publicity for the Club. I was interviewed for many newspapers and appeared on many TV shows. I was interviewed by Steve Allen and Regis Philbin amongst many others.

L.A Club Opening

Did you enjoy your time there? Any fond memories from then that you are at liberty to share? What do you think you learned from the whole Playboy experience?

This could be a very long interview indeed if I even attempted to talk about all the fond memories. I loved living at the Playboy Mansion in Chicago. It was an incredible place where celebrities would visit almost on a daily basis. I met countless numbers of celebrities and many times took them on a tour of the Mansion. After meeting and getting to know Pompeo Posar (one of the main Playboy Photographers), I knew I would feel comfortable posing nude for him. I watched him work and saw what an absolute professional he was. He viewed the world and everything in it as “art”…including the human body. He worked with his wife. She would carry an enormous bag of “flash bulbs” for him. Every shot took a new flashbulb!! He was more interested in the angle of your head or arm than the fact that you were nude. I felt very comfortable around him and highly doubt that I could have posed for any other photographer. I was asked by Hugh Hefner (Hef) to be on the Cover (November 1963) and in the centerfold (January 1964) so I agreed to pose…. as long as Pompeo was the photographer.

One memory that comes to mind is meeting Eddie Fisher. He visited the Mansion while his wife (Elizabeth Taylor) was filming “Cleopatra” in Italy. It was known all over the world that she was having an affair with Richard Burton and Eddie Fisher was a wreck! He was very upset and very sad.

Another memory was when I took Sammy Davis Jr. on a tour of the Mansion. I showed him the swimming pool, steam room, underwater bar and explained how to use the tanning bed. His reaction was so funny….he said: “Seriously? Do you really think I need to use the tanning bed?”

There were always things happening at the Mansion. Shel Silverstein was there a lot and he made everyone laugh…he was so talented and so funny!! He was a joy to be around.

LeRoy Neiman also visited the Mansion a lot. He did a painting of the Cover that I was on and it hung in the Chicago Club for a long time. Later it was hung in the New Orleans Club and lastly in the London Playboy Club. On my 21^st birthday, he did some sketches of me because he was there that day. So did the artist that drew “Little Annie Fannie”. He was there and drew a beautiful picture of me… that I treasure.

What is Hugh Hefner like as an individual?

“Hef” is a very soft spoken, extremely intelligent, kind and gentle soul. He has been my friend for over 50 years. He has helped me and my family many times over the years. He is 86 now so naturally he has changed some over the years (as do we all). He prefers to be at home and wearing comfortable clothes and eating the foods he prefers and likes rather than going out on the town. He is close to his family. He is a person that has a lot and likes to share is good fortune with his friends and family. I consider him one of my best friends and I treasure his friendship. I always will.

You also dated Frank Sinatra briefly I understand? Can you tell us a little about that? What do you remember most about vividly about Frank?

I went to Las Vegas hoping to find a place to work after leaving Playboy. I checked into Caesar’s Palace, which was brand new at the time (1968). Mr. Sinatra spotted me when I went to see his show… where he was headlining… at Caesar’s. He sent one of his friends to ask me if I would like to meet him. Of course, I said yes I would. I ended up becoming his friend and “hanging out” with him and his friends for about 6 weeks. We would fly in his Lear Jet from Las Vegas to his Estate in Palm Springs on his days off.  It was a most exciting time for me. He was very attentive and kind to me. Day to day I didn’t know how long the relationship would last. He was always surrounded by his group of friends or “henchmen”. He liked to gamble in the Casino and especially favored the card game “Baccarat”.

He also loved to do crossword puzzles. When I was at his house in Palm Springs, he had been working on one of his crosswords when he put the newspaper down and went into another room. I picked it up to take a look at it. I noticed that he had almost completed the whole puzzle except for one word. The clue was “an Australian, wingless bird”. I knew it was a Kiwi, so I filled in the blanks on the puzzle. When he came back into the room, he noticed that someone had completed the puzzle and asked (very upset) who did it?! I confessed that it was me. I got shocked looks from all of his friends that were there. I didn’t realize that his crossword puzzles were “off limits” for anyone to touch! He was quite irritated with me….which I found interesting because to me it just wasn’t a big deal.

When we flew back to Caesar’s Palace, I was taken aside by one of his friends and informed that Mr. Sinatra had paid for my room and all the things I had charged to my room (many many things). He asked me if I had had a good time? I said yes…I had. He said good! “Now, it is time for you to go”. So that was that. I was sent on my way. I sub-sequentially drove to New York City with Tuesday Weld’s mother. I had met her in the Beauty Shop and she was driving there alone (with a little Dachshund dog). She said she would love to have a companion to drive along, so I decided to move to New York, where I ended up going back to work at the Playboy Club again.

How do you think you have changed most since those days?

 Inside, I am still the same person I have always been. Of course I am older and have changed physically because of that. Hopefully I am smarter. I made my share of mistakes in my lifetime and have learned many things since those days. I have become somewhat of a “loner”. I have lived alone since 1985. I didn’t like it at first, but I have become used to being alone. I am alone but not lonely. I have many things to keep me busy and I never feel bored. I have very few friends. I can count them on one hand.  My years with Playboy were most definitely the most exciting years of my life. My life is much more mundane now…. and has been for a long time.

What advice would you give the women of tomorrow in regards to their body image? And on life in general?

Accept yourself and love and appreciate the way you are. Our bodies change as we get older…that is just a fact of life. Be positive and try to enjoy each day as it comes. Each decade that we live is new and has different challenges. The world around us will never stop changing, so just try your best to “go with the flow”. We can’t go back… Try to do the things that make you feel good and make you feel happy. Life in general always has challenges or difficulties. No one gets to spend their entire life without challenges.  How we accept them, react to them and deal with them is what is important. Keeping busy (to me) is the key as you grow older. I’m retired, and if I didn’t keep busy every day…I think I would lose my will to live. I need busy stuff to do every day to keep me going…on a roll….

Your admiration for Marilyn Monroe led you to discover the work of John Gilmore. Why do you think the world has such an enduring love for her? What did you like most about his book Inside Marilyn Monroe? How would you describe one of the greatest authors of our time?

Wow…what questions!!  I could write a book to answer all 3 of those questions.

I fell in love with Marilyn Monroe when I was 10 years old…when I saw Monkey Business. Back then, I could only go to movies on times I was not at the Boarding School. I don’t remember how or when I saw Monkey Business but I do remember the theater. Something about her (unexplainable) just hit me. I felt a bond with her and she immediately became my favorite person in the world, the one I wanted to be like, and the person I wanted to meet more than anyone in the world. It was like an instant obsession. I decided that day that I wanted to be an actress (or movie star). I wanted to be like her. After that day, I made sure I saw every movie she was in. I loved her more every time I saw her. After I read things about her life….I realized that we were both “orphans” and ‘so to speak’ my connection to her became stronger. As soon as I was able to buy books, I started to read every morsel about Marilyn Monroe that I could find. I have probably read at least 25 books about her. Many I felt were not based on fact…and many I felt were based on “fantasies” different men had about her. I didn’t believe everything I read. Some books were biased and some were written by men… whom I could tell… just didn’t like her at all…

Why do I think the World has such an enduring love for her? For the same reason I have. Her vulnerability and her innocence shined through her façade as an actress. She had a quality that was loved by men and also by women. Everyone wanted to “take care of her” and make her feel better…We all felt her pain…

Then…a little more than a year ago, I was on Amazon.com. When I did a “Marilyn Monroe” search I found John Gilmore’s book Inside Marilyn Monroe. I read further and discovered that the book was written by someone who actually knew her! I hadn’t read the book, so I ordered it immediately! I couldn’t wait to get it!

Strange as it may seem, my sons saw me reading the book and both said “why are you reading a book about Marilyn Monroe…don’t you already know everything there is to know about her?” They knew how much I had read over the years… ever since they were born. Well, to my utter surprise, I actually did find out things about her that I never knew before (especially her childhood). I also found out things about what she was like as an adult that I never knew.

I looked to see if the Author was on Wikipedia so I could find out more about him. To my surprise, I also discovered that he had a personal Website! I read everything on his website and then discovered that he had a “contact” link!  I felt like I had to tell him how moving his book was to me!

Never did I expect to hear back from him…but…the very next day; I got an email back from him! I was astounded! I replied, and John Gilmore and I have been friends ever since. That was on 8/2/2012…so we have been friends now ever since then (7 months). He knew the true Marilyn.  He witnessed her weaknesses, her vulnerability and her flaws. I so envy that he knew her.

After I read that book by John Gilmore, I wanted to read all of his books…which I have done. He is not only an amazing author, but he has been close and personal with many stars that we only see in films and read about in fan magazines. He is a “no holds barred” author who does not sugar-coat the truth. His honesty has more than likely caused animosity with some of his readers…but I appreciate and love… honesty. He has had the most amazing life and has known the most amazing people. He is most definitely “one of a kind”. I have a deep respect for him and consider it an honor to be his friend. I am very fortunate indeed just to know him. I just wish he would have written more books!  He has a new one coming out soon (On the Run with Bonnie & Clyde) and hopefully a couple more after that. He is a genius…and so is his son, Carson.

Are there any little known facts about yourself that you’d not mind sharing with our readers?

I used Amphetamines for 8 years (Dexedrine) and when I couldn’t get anymore, I had a mental breakdown (from withdrawal), and ended up in the Montana State Mental Hospital for six months (Warm Springs).  A horrible experience indeed… I have had some extremely rough times in my life and somehow lived through them all. I just keep on trying. I went back to school when I was 27 and then again when I was 40. I think it is great that women have places to turn to now when they are abused. I didn’t have that opportunity. You are never too old to improve and work on yourself.

Bunny Sharon Trading Card

What do you love most about life these days?

I am in the “Twilight” of my years. I am retired. I love being free to do whatever I want to do every day. I am blessed that I worked for the government for 22 years so that I have a solid retirement…something many do not have. I live on a serene and peaceful lake, and enjoy my children and grandchildren and my freedom. Planning for your future is one thing I would advocate for everyone. Plan…so you don’t have to work until you die.

Is there anything you would like to say before you go?

Being an author puts you in control of each day of your life. To me it is the best occupation. I am currently trying to write my own “memoirs” and only hope I complete writing them. Life is what you make of it. Also, I might add….please be kind. Treat people the way you would want to be treated…always…

Sharon Rogers, Hugh Hefner, and John Gilmore

Sondra Farrell was surrounded by stars from an early age. Her father was a pharmacist at the legendary Schwab’s Drugstore in L.A. She was influenced early on by the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Jack Nicholson, to name just a few. She gained notice as an actress herself while still in high school for her appearance on Groucho Marx’s You Bet Your Life, where she recited lines from Romeo and Juliet.

That appearance led to a contract with 20th Century Fox. She went on to appear in the movie Monkey Business in which she shared a scene with Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant. She later appeared in Meet Danny Wilson with Frank Sinatra, released by Universal, and The Ring, which was Rita Moreno’s first picture. As sometimes happens in Hollywood, Monkey Business was too long and the Director Howard Hawks had to take an hour out of the film. Sondra’s scene may not have made the final cut but she appears in photos with Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant as proof.

Sondra gave up acting at the age of 19 to marry, then resumed her career a decade later when she was divorced. While visiting her father at Schwab’s, she was asked by Blake Edwards — whom she had never met — before to appear as a Sicilian prostitute in Edwards’ What Did You Do In The War Daddy? which featured James Coburn and Carroll O’Connor. She went on to appear in a TV series with Red Buttons in which she played his girlfriend. Farrell went on to perform in several plays and television shows before becoming a writer in 1980.

After working for KFI Radio in L.A for 7 years, and an extensive stint at L.A Times and other publications as a free lance author, she’s resumed her one true passion: acting. Her YouTube series The Nurse Exorcist features Sondra as the lead character who works to solve some rather unconventional problems. (The current episode concerns a housewife who believes her dogs have been communicating with aliens).

What was it like moving from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles? Did you experience any culture shock?

My father had always wanted to move to Los Angeles and we did so because of my mother’s health, but the year before I had visited my Mother’s brother and sister in Los Angeles with my mother, so I knew about the city which I loved from the first moment I visited there. I just love being at the beach and looking at the ocean, even when I’m not in it.

What were you like as a child? How do you think you have changed most since then?

I’m an only child and was never considered spoiled but my parents and even grandparents encouraged me when I played the piano, created paintings and appeared in school plays. My mother became a paraplegic after surgery to remove a blood clot in her spinal cord and was in a wheelchair the rest of her life, so by the age of ten I could do a lot of things on my own and, if necessary, have always been able to take care of matters myself.

As a child I would make up stories before I fell asleep and pretend I was one of the characters, so that was the beginning of acting for me.

What was it like growing up surrounded by movie stars? Can you tell us a little about some of your fondest memories from that time?

 I always wanted to be like Ava Gardner who I thought was very beautiful and, like most of the stars, would go into the prescription department at the back of the drugstore to talk with my father whom so many stars would confide in. Late at night Al Jolson would sing to my father while he filled prescriptions. While I was at home doing my homework my father would call me and put Jolson on the phone to sing the Anniversary song to me because the movie The Jolson Story was very popular at the time, and made Jolson famous again. There was a very popular radio program called Sam Spade Detective played by Howard Duff whom all the girls at school had a crush on, so my father would also have him call me when Duff was in the store at night and I was the envy of all  my friends at school.

Of course, when I was in the drugstore during the day I saw many actors and actresses who were already famous and some just starting out. Susan Hayward was beautiful and already famous, as was Shelley Winters with whom I had been in the Frank Sinatra movie, Meet Danny Wilson, when I was 16. However, through all the years I saw Shelley in the drugstore, even when I was much older than 16, she would always say, “Oh my goodness, you’ve grown up!” And I would answer, “I grew up a long time ago and have 2 children.” She would say, “Well, I still think of you as a teenager in Meet Danny Wilson.” In addition to movie stars, there were famous directors, cameramen, and writers in the drugstore every day. I met James Wong Howe, one of the most famous cameramen in the history of Hollywood and, when I was a teenager, he said, “You will be the next Hedy Lamarr and you have the perfect face for the camera.” I was very happy to hear that.

I’ve heard a brief story of an encounter with Jack Nicholson at Schwab’s. Can you recount that story for our readers?

Actually this is from one of the wonderful and funny waitresses at the drugstore, named Loma, whom everyone loved. When the drugstore was remodeled around 1956 there was a coffee shop with booths as part of the store. In the old store there was just the fountain where everyone sat. When Jack Nicholson was not yet famous he would spend time in the coffee shop with his friends, one of whom was Robert Towne who later wrote the film China Town which starred Jack. People would be lined up waiting for a booth so Loma had to ask Jack to leave. He then put his arms around her and said, “You mark my words, Loma. I’m going to be a star, and no one will ever ask me to leave again.” Loma also taught Dennis Hopper to dance.

Is it true your father was one of Marilyn Monroe’s favorite pharmacists? What was he like?

It is true that Marilyn liked my father very much and, before she was a star and so famous, she would come into the drugstore and talk with him and ask him questions about drugs and his recommendations about vitamins. Eventually she would have her prescriptions delivered but still talked with my father on the phone. My father was very handsome and had a very good personality and many other stars and regular people confided in him, because they knew he would not repeat what they told him.

My father also had many inventions and products like an excellent face cream that some stars such as Ida Lupino loved. When he was young he developed a clock that could talk and tell the time. This was long before such things were created. He also developed a wafer that stopped people from smoking after they ate it and it worked very well but was not able to be marketed because of all the testing needed to get it approved by the FDA. He also developed a spray that would make adhesive tape come right off without hurting the skin. He sent this to a major company that made pharmaceutical products, hoping they would produce the product with him, but they stole his idea.

Sondra Farrell and her father Samuel Bazrod

Is it true he declined a contract offered you by Howard Hughes? Do you feel lucky to have had such a protective father?

This is true. Howard Hughes’ assistant Walter Kane was always in the drugstore and very friendly with my father and often confided in him. I had met Walter several times and one day he asked  my father if I could go to the photographer Howard Hughes liked and have pictures taken that Howard could see because he thought Howard would put me in some of the films he produced at RKO. My father said okay. Then later Walter said Howard Hughes liked the pictures and would like to put me under contract and I could come over to RKO, where they had an office, without my father bringing me there. I did not yet have a driver’s license. Well, my father did not like that idea at all and that was the end of my contract with Mr. Hughes. Of course, my father knew of all the women Hughes had in apartments around the drugstore, including some famous actresses as well as some unknowns. I am lucky to have had such a protective father, which I’m sure many women who did, and did not have a career, wished they had.

What about your mother? How did she encourage you to become who you are today?

My mother was a wonderful dancer and pianist. She won many contests related to dance and music. She also made up wonderful stories that she would tell me when I was a child, so she was certainly a person involved with the arts. I took piano lessons and was able to play very well.

I continued to play the piano until the last few years. My mother always encouraged my interest in art, music and acting because she had talent for the arts. As I mentioned, it was a tragedy that my mother was in a wheelchair from the time she was 32 until she died at 72. She could play the piano, even though in a wheelchair.

Do you think you would have developed such a love of acting if not for your early experiences at Schwab’s?

I had already developed a love for acting before we ever reached Los Angeles. Most actors know that’s the only thing they want to do from an early age but some don’t get a chance to pursue it. I wasn’t going to tell anyone about my plans to be an actress until I was discovered because there were so many people in the drugstore talking about their plans and hopes and dreams to make it in the business.  Lucky for me, I was discovered — twice, but walked away from it twice. A dear friend of mine from the drugstore, Dick Crokett, a famous movie stuntman and Blake Edwards’s best friend, used to say to me, “How could you grow up in Schwab’s drugstore and not want to be an actress?” Dick died during the making of the movie Ten and Blake Edwards dedicated it to him.

What do you think made it such an iconic hangout in those days?

 In the early days the drugstore was the only place on the sunset strip open for breakfast at 7 a.m. Many actors, writers and directors lived in the neighborhood and came in for breakfast. Then a newspaper and magazine columnist named Sidney Skolsky became a regular customer and, because he couldn’t drive, he would ask some customers to drive him to the various studios and then mention them in his columns. He then began calling his columns “From a Stool at Schwab’s” and a legend was born.

Do you think Hollywood will ever be able to reclaim some of the glory of times past?

No. Television changed everything and big companies bought the studios and their executives knew nothing about the business. Now everything is on the internet and actors are not treated as they were in the past.

Were you nervous when you had to recite lines from Romeo and Juliet for Groucho Marx?

No, because Groucho was so charming, funny, and friendly and I had already been in plays.

What was it like to share a scene with Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant?

 Marilyn seemed somewhat shy and didn’t talk much during the breaks during shooting and in the scene we were in with Cary Grant which was inside a record store she spent a long time running her hands up and down a window of a door that was part of the inside of the record store. Cary Grant was charming and played a piano that was nearby and sang and danced for us. He started his career in England as a song and dance man.

Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant & Sondra Farrell in “Monkey Business”

What was Marilyn like as a person? How do you think Marilyn the person differed most from Marilyn the star? What do you think she would think of the Hollywood scene of today?

Unless Marilyn knew the people she was with very well she did seem shy but really very sweet. However, she was certainly able to perform when necessary. I think Marilyn would not have liked anything about the Hollywood scene of today. She would have been hounded every minute by the paparazzi.

You worked with Ian Ayres on an upcoming documentary about her. What was it like working on that particular project?

It was wonderful to work with Ian on the documentary. He is so talented and can do everything. He is a writer, director and even cameraman. He is so enthusiastic about his project and I’m so happy he found me and his questions are so interesting. He has encouraged me to work on one of my own projects that I have not spent enough time on. I’m sure he could direct a feature film very well if he wanted to. As you can tell, I am an Ian fan.

More of Sondra on the set of “Monkey Business”

What was it like to be in films with Frank Sinatra and Rita Moreno?

Frank Sinatra was wonderful. I was a bobbysoxer who chased him around with an autograph book but in the main scene he is singing the song, “All of me, why not take all of me?” And I’m sitting in the audience of what is a theatre and there’s a nice closeup of me as I swoon, saying, “Anytime, Danny. Anytime at all.” He would sing for us between takes.

In the movie, The Ring, which was Rita Moreno’s first starring role, she was very nice and friendly. She played the girlfriend of the main character who was a young Mexican-American who became a fighter so he could make money for his family. I was the girlfriend of the fighter’s best friend and, in the film, we were at a party where we were dancing and having a good time.

What moments from your career stand out most in your mind?

Probably the screen test I had at 20the Century Fox. The makeup man was Allan “Whitey” Snyder who was always Marilyn’s makeup man. He told me he was sure I would make it as an actress and gave me pointers on makeup. Then the cameraman was also very encouraging and said what Whitey had said. When I was in What Did You Do In The War Daddy? Whitey was the makeup man and was very happy to see me but wondered what happened that I had stopped working. I told him. He then encouraged me to be sure to continue acting.

Did you ever regret giving up acting for the married life?

I did get the chance to appear in a number of plays while I was married and I was very happy to have my wonderful children. I always thought I would have the chance to do more work as an actress someday but I, of course, didn’t expect to become divorced.

What advice would you offer the women of tomorrow?

You must find a way to pursue your dream. If you don’t have a dream, then find one. Find something that you feel you must do.

What was it like filming What Did You Do In The War Daddy? Had you planned on resuming your acting career after your divorce?

It was wonderful because there was a set built that looked like Sicily in 1943. Going to work every day was like being in another world. I was there for over eight weeks, every day and often some nights. Many of the actors were Italian and in the film I only spoke in Sicilian dialect — which I used after that in Italian restaurants! And I did plan to resume my acting career after my divorce.

Is there any one role you enjoyed more than all others?

I enjoyed my role in What Did You Do In The War Daddy? But I also enjoyed certain roles plays, like Elvira the wife (who is a ghost) in Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward.

What led to you working as a freelance writer for L.A Times? Do you still enjoy writing?

After I was on radio, giving out information of all kinds to help people solve problems, I decided to write an article about it for Los Angeles Magazine and they had me do it. Then I found that the LA Times was starting a section called YOU with all kinds of articles, so I went to see the editor and he hired me to write diverse articles. One about funny groups that people can join was used by Johnny Carson for 20 minutes on his show. I have also written a screenplay and am finishing a play for the stage. That’s what I like to write. But acting is my main passion.

Does it feel good to return to acting? Why do you think you love it so much?

It is wonderful to return to acting. When I became a Theatre Arts Major at UCLA we had to write a long paper telling why we wanted to become an actor and my main reason, which is probably one of all actors, is that as long as you live you can only be one person but as an actor you can be many, many other people!

How did you come up with the idea of The Nurse Exorcist? How has the response to it been so far?

The response seems to be very good and people who have seen it have referred it to their friends. Working as a segment producer for George Schlatter on Real People, which was a huge hit on NBC from 1979 to 1984, I found and put on TV over 300 charming eccentric people and also heroic people. That’s how I came to know someone like the person with the dogs. The idea of The Nurse Exorcist came to me one day as I was driving, so I never wrote it down but then performed it as a monologue in the acting group I take part in. Then Leif Gantvoort, who is a member of the group and a master of sketch comedy, in addition to being a brilliant actor, suggested we do The Nurse Exorcist as a series for YouTube — which is what many actors are now doing so they can be seen performing. Leif directed The Nurse Exorcist, added dialogue, special effects and music and did an outstanding job of editing. I am so lucky that he became interested in this project. He has appeared in a variety of television shows and played a significant role in the Spider Man film that was out some months ago. I must give a thank you to Leif for making The Nurse Exorcist happen!

Sondra Farrell

In a recent episode a woman believes aliens are communicating with her dogs. Do you like working with such outlandish story lines? What can viewers expect from future episodes?

I love to work with the charming eccentrics of life-type stories and future episodes will have more of them. I don’t want to say much yet but I do think people will enjoy them and they will be different from what they have seen before in films or TV.

Is there anything I haven’t asked that you’d like to share?

I hope that everyone who reads this and has a dream will make every effort to make it come true. One of the directors of a play I was in said, “If you can conceive of it, you can achieve it.” He said this had been said by someone else, originally, but he believes it and so do I. I appreciate this opportunity to tell about my parents and my current projects and I do hope you will experience The Nurse Exorcist and share it with your friends.

As a child who grew up near a volcano and surrounded by forests, Washington native Shawn Speakman was…perhaps destined to work in the realm of fantasy. Over the course of his career he has worked closely with fantasy master, Terry Brooks. Shawn currently owns the online bookstore the Signed Page and manages websites for several authors. Speakman is a freelance author for Random House. His novel The  Dark Thorn, dealing with a war beneath the streets of Seattle and a quest to drive out the Tuatha de Dannan, has met with much praise from readers and peers alike. The sequel, The Everwinter Wraith is being penned as we speak.

To read more on Shawn please see: Shawn Speakman

Reproduction

 to Jean-Baptiste Chantoiseau

It was
as if
he had gone to sleep
for the last time
inside the painting, itself,
as if
he had pulled up
the misshapen hills for blankets–
blankets dripping with green muddied sorrow,
as if
he had succumbed
to the pull of Earth’s opaque forces,
painted himself under irresistible layers
of Cerulean blue
and laid himself
down in it.

Out of the swirling darkness–a shock of light:
golden, glorious, illuminating, sweeping–
a ladder reaching up and out of
the sagging, caving roof of his madness;
reaching beyond
the deaf ear
of its simple wooden frame.
Yes, that topped it off.

I read somewhere that thieves
used a ladder to reach the roof
of the Van Gogh Museum. Perhaps,
they wished to climb into one of his paintings.

“What’s the name of that one?” you asked.
“Hilltop,” I replied.
Surrender to the Earth, I thought.
It was
as if
it was.

( Originally published in Strangers in Paris—New Writing Inspired by the City of Light.)

Antonia Alexandra Klimenko trained as an actress at the American Conservatory Theater and was first introduced on the BBC and to the literary world by Tambimuttu of Poetry London–publisher of T.S.Eliot, Henry Miller and Allen Ginsberg, to name a few. Although her manuscript was orphaned upon his passing, her poems and correspondence are included in his Special Collections at Northwestern University. A former San Francisco Poetry Slam Champion, her work has appeared in Howl: San Francisco Poetry News, The Bastille, Strangers in Paris–New Writings Inspired by the City of Light, Maintenant 7: Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art archived in New York’s Museum of Modern Art; and will be featured in the forthcoming anthology Last Clean Dirty Shirt. She lives in Paris.