Dinner with Bacall
Way back in 1980 in NYC, I was on tour with Christopher Cross. We were in NYC to play Radio City Music Hall (another story!!) We had played the night before, on The Tomorrow Show, with Tom Snyder. The Warner Brothers Rep took us all in limos to Elaine’s, the storied and excellent restaurant in the middle of the theatre district. Elaine’s was a New York City institution since opening in 1963 and remained one until it closed in 2011. Popular with celebrities and the social set, fans and photographers would frequently crowd the sides of the yellow awning just to sneak a peak at who was entering and exiting those signature wooden doors.
We were all seated at tables. I spotted James Garner and Lauren Bacall, seated at a table in the corner, and suggested to Chris to send them a note. I don’t know what was in the note, but James Garner came over right away, and talking to Chris, said he’d seen us on TV the night before. He said he’d been a big investor in Warner Brothers (soon to be Warner Communications) since his “Maverick” TV show. He suggested we all eat together. Elaine’s pushed several tables together. I remember making a beeline to sit next to Lauren Bacall. We must have chatted for 45 minutes! She was so gracious, and asked me all about my career. I told her how much a fan I was of hers. After all, she was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute. She received an Academy Honorary Award in 2009 in recognition of her contribution to the Golden Age of motion pictures.
She and Garner were working on “The Fan”, a 1981 American psychological thriller film directed by Edward Bianchi, and starring Lauren Bacall, Michael Biehn, James Garner and Maureen Stapleton. They were eating before going to a Broadway show. They needed to get to the theatre, and I distinctly remember James Garner pulled a big roll of $100 dollar bills out of his pocket, wrapped in a rubber band. The Warner Brothers Rep grabbed the bill, but Garner tipped Elaine’s staff. I remember how he peeled off $100s like he was a professional gambler. Just steps outside the famous wooden doors and awning of Elaine’s was a limo waiting for Garner and Bacall, doorman holding the doors open. They whisked off and were gone. A super NYC memory!!
Born: September 16, 1924, The Bronx, New York, NY Died: August 12, 2014 (age 89 years), The Dakota, New York, NY