Happy Turkey Day

A few years ago I was working on a picture called Choices of the Heart about the life of Margaret Sanger the extraordinary woman who founded Planned Parenthood. She lived in a time when you could go to jail for talking about birth control. And she did.

Her part was played by Dana Delaney.

I was the assistant bad guy and the real heavy was played by Rod Steiger.


We were between shots just hanging out on Queen St, east of Victoria and he was talking about the time he was driving through Switzerland with his wife Clare Bloom. They were on the way to visit Charlie Chaplin and his wife Oona, a friend of Clare's. Chaplin took to Steiger that night and they had a wonderful time.

And I'm sitting there thinking, six degrees of separation. I'm having dinner with a guy who had dinner with Charlie Chaplin.

It was a blustery kind of night, not terribly cold but there was a wind and there we were out on the street sitting on a couple of director's chairs.

And it was American Thanksgiving.

Rod was missing his family and really wanted some turkey.

His driver was there having a smoke and Rod called him over. "Go across the street to that restaurant" he said,
"and give 'em that living legend shit. See if they'll do me a turkey."

No happy ending. The restaurant was duly impressed with the "living legend shit" but didn't have a turkey on hand.

We made do from the craft table.

I didn't make the cover, but at least I got billing.