January 10, 2018

"I said, 'Jackie, I want to stay home and eat lemon meringue pie in my pajamas, in front of the T.V. at the Beverly Hills Hotel.'"

Jackie was Jacqueline Susann, and the "I" there is Rex Reed, describing how he turned down a dinner invitation to Sharon Tate’s house the night of the Manson murders.

Quoted in "Rex Reed Bangs a Gong on the Mediocrity of Modern Life" by Alex Williams in the NYT.

Lots of great pictures and stories at the link, including life in the Dakota building, where he bought a place for $30,000 in 1969 and where John Lennon was shot in 1980:
He once signed a petition supporting John Lennon when the government was trying to deport Mr. Lennon because of his drug use and political activism. Mr. Lennon thanked him with a one-year subscription to TV Guide, Mr. Reed said, adding, “That was his bible. All he did was lie around stoned watching television.”

18 comments:

Rob said...

Lennon was an unstable genius.

Darrell said...

Better than banging a bong. Or a ficus.

Bilwick said...

Re Mrs. Lennon, I always think of comedienne Judy Tenuta's comment, "If that guy had just aimed a few inches to the right, he'd have been a hero."

Big Mike said...

If I missed out on being cut up like a side of beef by the narrow margin of wanting to stay in the hotel, I would never leave that hotel again!

Guildofcannonballs said...

Hitler farted a lot, why desire to eat with that smell in every bite?

Bill Peschel said...

Jerzy Kosinski was going to attend but missed a plane connection. He later wrote a novel about it.

Somehow, I find it hard to believe the guy who acted in "Myra Breckenridge" can have anything interesting to say about mediocrity.

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
buwaya said...

"Hitler farted a lot, why desire to eat with that smell in every bite?"

I gather, then, that you are not a devotee of the Durian fruit?

tcrosse said...

Now he's devoting himself to perfecting his Truman Capote impression.

rcocean said...

I've always like Rex Reed even though - as a movie reviewer - he's a one-note johnny.

MadisonMan said...

Finding something that is better than nothing to do is a high standard. Sometimes it saves your life!

Biff said...

"He eventually landing a job in the publicity department of 20th Century Fox..."

Editor! Editor!

madAsHell said...

Sharon Tate invited me to the fateful dinner as well.

Fortunately, there's no way to prove me wrong.

MikeD said...

Existential question, had John Lennon not been born could we not have "Imagined"?

AllenS said...

Once John hooked up with Yoko, it was pretty obvious that drugs were not good for you.

David said...

For a moment I though that banging a gong was going to get him in trouble. But apparently you can still bang gongs and nobody much cares.

Daniel Jackson said...

For immigrants like John, sitting about watching tv is the best way to learn the language and the culture. Given John's Left politics, I'd say sitting about watching tv stoned stoked his imagination quite well. That vision certainly reflects well the current culture of California, for example.

tim in vermont said...

Existential question, had John Lennon not been born could we not have "Imagined"?

It’s just The Internationale in other words.