Gary'sGlimpses

Wilde said people shouldn't be judged on whether they are bad or good but whether they are charming or tedious. The CBC nickname for Peter was Saint peter and Peter was no saint but he was charming. I met Peter when he was doing his TV Show. I guess it put him under a lot of pressure. He would come to my bar a couple of times a week to unwind. We spent many a night just the 2 of us in my backroom playing pinball for 20 bucks a game. We talked about a lot of things. One morning for some reason we were both chasing the same lady and neither one of us would give in. We ended up back at his place, with the lady making breakfast or  At eight o clock in the morning we were sitting at his kitchen table on Yorkville Ave. with a bottle of wine on the go. We were very very drunk. Out of the blue he stops and says. "Want to know what is the most important thing I ever did in my life?" Of course, I said "Sure." he proceeded to tell me about a hockey game he had played. Some...

 I met Lee Majors at the 22 in Toronto in 1980. He came in with Chris Makepeace who was still a teenager. they sat at the producer's table with a bunch of us. (I was actually trying to produce a movie at that time) Lee and Chris had just finished shooting 'The Last Chase" and Lee was hanging around Toronto for a bit and dating Karen Kane. Daytime Don the waiter came over to take their orders. Lee ordered a drink and Don looked at the obviously underage Chris and not wanting to be a spoilsport said"You are an actor I guess you can act 21" and brought him a glass of milk. Lee was much cooler than I had thought. he was friendly, funny, and self-effacing and I immediately liked him. He hung around over the next couple of days shooting the breeze sometimes a bunch of us sometimes just the two of us. He showed up one night for dinner at the Courtyard and drinks in the 22 with Karen. Which was all the gossip of course. One afternoon he acted as an extra in one of the mo...

I met Howard Duff making Double Negative. I was the assistant producer and it was my job to look after Howard. I met him at the airport. "Hi I'm Howard Duff and if you don't think I'm tough, Remember I was married to Ida Lupino for twenty years". Howard and I became great friends and his girlfriend Judy. We spent many pleasant hours together over about 6 weeks. I showed them around Toronto and we had many lunches and dinners together. And far too many drinks. I took them to some clubs. One night he was a bit long in the washroom and I went to check. he was being hassled a bit by some punks (not too seriously) I come in and say Ready to go Mr.Duff and flashing my genuine RCMP key chain. The punks evaporated and Howard thought that very cool and subtle. If anything like Richard I found Howard a bit fragile. I was on Howard and Judys Xmas card list until they died and I feel really privileged  

  I used to hang out with Elizabeth Ashely when she came to town, sometimes she came to my club and sometimes I was free to just hang out. We were great friends. Eating at the underground railroad and drinking at the 22. She usually stayed at the Windsor Arms. We would ride around in her limousine supplied by the movie company smoking weed and snorting you know what. She was married to a buddy of mine so we were mainly friends came close a couple of times. She was passionate about everything. (I have to leave some blank spots) She got in trouble over a couple of late nights with me made her either late or no show at the movie set. I wasn't exactly heartbroken when she broke up with my buddy but I was when she got busted at the border and couldn't come to Canada anymore. Anyway, this is a good article she is a brainy broad and has a lot of good lines. we laughed a lot.

 Catherine was a good friend she loved the after-hours scene. Her brother Marcus ran the 505 an after-ours owned by Dan Ackroyd on Eastern queen Street. We spent many nights there long into the morning with her and Mary Margret. After this  she often came to my place and always brought interesting people. One night she brought the whole cast of the Second city. One of her first movies was double negative and I was Assistant Producer. So there I was at Club 22 at the Windsor Arms. With my then buddy Michael Ironside. Michael and I were trying to break our record of drinking about 80 margaritas. When Johnny Hart and Jack Caprio the cartoonists showed up and we were really throwing the drinks back and having a great time. When I saw Catherine waving at me. She had just come from the Courtyard Cafe where she had treated her parents to dinner. She waved me over and I gave her a peck and she says Gary I want you to meet my mother and father. 'Really How nice"I said trying to be poli...

I met Cannonball and Nat Adderley at the Colonial Tavern in 1969. Mickey Handy introduced me. Cannon and Nat became good friends and I was their Toronto buddy whenever they came to Toronto, we spent many days hanging out at the underground railroad, etc I once cooked a seafood chowder dinner for them at Grossman's Tavern. Al let me use the kitchen and was the special of the day. It sold out quickly. One night I took them to Gordon Rayner's Studio to watch an Artist's Jazzband rehearsal. they liked it but would not jam. This was very much a "Black power time and they got invited to all the Black after-hours clubs. But they would not go without me. I knew most of the black clubs and we had a lot of fun. I was on their permanent guest list at the Colonial and I got to listen to great jazz and meet their fabulous sidemen like  Louis Hayes, Ray Brown, Walter Booker, Bobby Timmons, Victor Feldman, Joe Zawinul. One night I was late getting to the Colonial, they were halfway t...

  This was in 1979 I had just quit the booze can biz and was transgressing into the Movie biz. Club 22 at the Windsor Arms was my principal milieu. I was at home there comfortable and confident. I came in one evening and not seeing any friends I got a drink at the bar. in a glance around the room There was Leonard sitting by himself and nursing a drink at a nearby table. my milieu what the hell, I walked over "hey Leonard I'm Gary leDrew, I am a friend of Lesley McDonells she talks a lot about you. Leonard's eyes lit up. "The beautiful Lesley. have you seen here lately" "Not much since she married that St. Nicholas guy,"I say. I sat down and after a mutual admiration of Lesley's conversation our talk drifted to other things. I was born in Montreal and gave my brief history there. He told me he was in town for an opening at an Art Gallery on Dundas St., and that the Artist had painted pictures of some of his released songs and he had to go. We drank ...

  A friend of mine Beau Chorney had this lawyer ( I am embarrassed i cant remember his name.)who I met on a deal we were working on.   So I ran into him in the 22 in Toronto, and after a drink, he invited me to join him for dinner at Fridays. he only said was meeting with his some of his clients. so I had no idea until we sat down with Yvan Cournoyer, Guy LaPointe, Henri Richard, and Frank Mahovlich. Peter Mavolich was late he had just bought a Rolls Royce and as he pulled up and we all went out to the street to see it. When he got out an empty Heineken bottle fell out which made us all laugh.  I was out of my league in the conversation, I was like the fifth wheel with this lot so I didn't say much just a few bon mots during dinner and mostly listened. I wish I remembered more but I guess I was a bit awed as it was such a surprise. meeting so many Hockey heroes at once is a bit much. I have always been a habs fan and peter was a favouite.