Gary'sGlimpses

Roy Payne does not get his due as a great Canadian songwriter. he wrote two truly great songs. 'I wouldn't take a million dollars for a single Maple Leaf' which he wrote when he was in the Canadian Army in Egypt. And 'There are no price tags on the doors of Newfoundland ' both of which can be considered anthems No question that he was a character I met him in Toronto in the summer of 75. The Horseshoe was still Country and Western. I had moved in across the street in June and the Horseshoe had become my local and by then I had set up an after-hours club. (booze can). It came to pass that Roy owed Morty Star (The manager of the Horseshoe) $3,000.00. so Morty hired Roy for the whole month of August. the idea that he could get his money back. He made strict rules that Roy could have no bar privileges and that he wasn't to drink. So I am sitting in a booth in the east half of the huge bar. Drinking jugs of drafts with a couple of friends Roy was just setting up fo...

I saw and met Dick Nolan and had a drink or two with him  when I was hanging out with Roy Payne at the horseshoe in Toronto. He had one of those great voices. CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR MUSIC

Me and Keenan Wynn Spent the afternoon chatting with him in between takes of the 'Littlest Hobo shoot at my parent's place. ( The Balloonist 1980) I wish I knew then what I know now. So many movies of 40s and fifties have Keenan in them that i watched on TCM. I had no idea he was so versatile and prolific. he did not give autographs because of Parkinsons I think. But had continuity girl take a Polaroid

I met Norman at the Club 22 at the Windsor Arms in Toronto sometime around 78 79 I forget exactly how we met but I think we were both drinking alone in a slow afternoon in the bar. It took me a few minutes but I remember his eyes lit up a bit when I recognized him. I was very young when he was the figurehead of CBC News. I knew both of his children David from Hippie days and Suzanne from the movie biz. He had seemed a little bit sad and a bit lost but brightened to have an avid listener. He had great stories and enlightened opinions. For about six months or so I would see him once a week or so and always happy to chat. One afternoon I happened to be sitting with a couple of CTV people when he came in I invited to our table and introduced him. I remember his smile as he received words of admiration. I was saddened to see some weeks later that he had been mugged and beaten badly. He died not long afterwards

I don't remember how or where I met Gerry but it was in 1967 at one of the many Art party openings etc. Somehow i became Gerry's poor struggling artist and he liked buying me a few drinks and a chat at occasional meetings we became good friends over the years and in the eighties when he had moved to Beaverton he usually looked for me at the Club 22 for an hour or so of drinks and talk. I was also friends with his wife Sheila and I even silkscreened some material for her fashion designs. I remember one night at the old pilot i came in a Gerry invited me to sit with his large party which included a renowned heart surgeon and Eric Nesterenko the hockey player. They were buying rounds which were fairly expensive so when it was my turn Gerry said I will pay for the poor artist. As it happened I had $6000 in my pocket for a group cannabis deal. So I couldn't help but bring out the roll and pay the round. Mostly we met at Art openings but later he would seek me out at the 22 and...

I was soon good friends with Jerry Santbergen who was at least a bit of a media star. He had moved to Toronto with his girlfriend Kaaren Blatchford. Jerry rented the former Bohemian Embassy as his studio. I worked with Jerry a lot of the time and we moved a little dope to pay the bills One of the more fun things was The Electro-Magnetic Spectrum Band also known as the silicon control or the Solid State Waste Removal Company orchestra and chorus. the rule was you weren't allowed to have ever played a musical instrument So Tom Sinew was kicked out and I took his place. Bart Scoales. Ziggy Blazer, Jerry Santbergen, Moses Smith, and me had an avant-garde band in 1967 We played Tape recorders, movie and slide projectors, and strobe lights and a wind machine and incense, etc. Sam The Record Man let Jerry and I use any of his records we wanted to tape. We had Philips 2 track tape recorders and taped different music on each track and blended it. We played one gig at McGill University in Ha...

RON BERKELEY Ron Berkeley, an Emmy-winning makeup artist who worked with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor on such films as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Taming of the Shrew, has died. He was 86. Ron and I became friends during the shooting of 'Circle of Two" He was Richard Burton's personal Makeup Man. Ron and I hung out together for most of the movie too and stayed in touch for some years. he had great stories and he wrote me great letters  He told me He first worked for his father who was also a make-up man when he was 15. His father gave him the job of shaving Marlene Detriche's legs I became Richard Burton's Drinking buddy during the shooting of Circle Of Two. (1979)I also became friends with Richard's make-up man Ron Berkely. They had a script Ron had been working on for a project they wanted to do. I made a few suggestions during one of the discussions and they asked me to write a scene for them The scene involved Billy Connelly in Paris. s...

I spent a couple of afternoons chatting with Kitty Wells. This was in the country heyday of the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto. She would have been in her fifties then. Her touring band was run like a tight ship. Everybody in the band or on the bus had like 3 jobs. It was eye-opening to watch an old pro in action. She had every money-making gimmick in the bag. The act was slick and tight, She had a thin voice and a bit off-key but she knew how to use it and people loved it. CLICK ON PHOTO FOR MUSIC

I went to a couple of parties at Footsies thanks to Cathy. I knew Gord well enough to have a couple of drinks. I met him on the street one day and we went to a bar. I ordered a beer and he ordered a pitcher of martinis. I had backstage passes to one of his shows at Massey hall. for some reason he always called me Mike. lol Time is catching up with all of so sad to see him go.