Gary'sGlimpses

  MacLean and MacLean The MacLean’s came to my club one night and we immediately became fast friends. I joined them in performing sing the second oldest recorded song in the English language. It is an old Scottish Ballad called the ‘Lobster’ and I was known as the Lobsterman. I couldn’t sing that well but mostly got through it. To begin with I took it very much in stride. But eventually I begin to care about how I did. That is when I ran into trouble and got stage fright and I actually used to sweat before I did my bit. Then one night I did it, I forgot the words. They waited through a chorus and then Gary Looked at me. “Did you forget the words?” I nodded my mind racing trying to find the words. “You Arsehole!” says the ever-helpful Gary. Somehow I found the words and finished the song and never really had much trouble again. One of my favorite memories of the boys is with Murray McLaughlin. Murray was a good friend and I used to drag him along when I sang. He didn’t like to go, n...

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 wern'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 differnt music on each track and blended it. We played one gig at McGill University in Hamilton...

Gary's Glimpses #1 Donnie Downchild I was one of the early habitues of Grossmans I became great friends with Al and he let me make and sell my Grossman's T Shirts (I made up to $300 a week off them) One of the first articles Richard Flohil wrote was for the Toronto Star Weekend. It was about Grossmans but he interviewed me so it ended up mostly about me and my T shirt etc. I don't really remember when Downchild showed up, It seems like they were always there. They were a fun band to know and hang with and Donnie would play anything you wanted for a shot of Jameson's Scotch. I organized a small baseball league Grossman's, Pilot, Paramount, Vagabonds and anybody else that would play us. I did this for fun and to sell T-shirts. This was the 60's and I umpired in a dashiki and wearing a Fez.I usually smoked quite a bit of reefer before the game to keep me calm and slow the ball down. I remember Donnie sitting in the outfield with a dixie cup full of Jameson's. ...

Lady Luck is a song by Murray McLauclan it begins. I remember shooting craps at Gary's Bar where the money disappeared on every roll. So I had a drink on someone else's paycheck and Lady Luck stayed with me no more. Murray showed up on Friday night with Jim McCarthy. Jim was an old friend and married then to Elizabeth Ashely. They were having so troubles and here I am on a busy Friday night. Murray says Jim is very depressed and I think a crap game would cheer him up. I didn't have crap games anymore. But what the hell find a room up stairs. I 'll find some guys and we will have one. So I round up a couple of rounders and we have it. Jimmy is on a lucky streak and soon it is down to the 3 of us. Murray has his weekend money. Jimmy makes 6 straight passes and cleans him out. I cover. 7 passes he cant do it again I run down to the bar and get a couple of hundred dollars more. He makes 8 straight passes. I quit. Jimmy must have taken us for about 2 thousand dollars. We ha...

I met Patrick in The 22 and asked him what he was doing? This was his answer. We chatted for a couple of hours. I think he had just finished Scanners. The Club 22 at the Windsor Arms was an amazing place in 70's & 80's. It was like the hub of movie business in Toronto. Every day there was an adventure of some kind. Robert Miller was a writer for McLean's Magazine and CTV and had recently turned to novels like Dreadlock and some movie biz with Bill Marshall. I had bravely written my first screenplay and had given a copy to Bill Marshall. So we are sitting at the producers table with a few cronies at the mostly empty Club 22 and Bobby says come here I want to talk to you. he leads me to the empty piano bar. He tells me he picked up my script at Bill's office and read it. He than told me I shouldn't be in the movie business and picked my script apart line by line. He was good, he had a photographic memory and a grounding in writing and English and literature that w...

This is me with Keenan Wynn during the shooting of 'The Ballonist' a "Littlest Hobo" episode shot in my parents home in Uxbridge Ontario in the Summer of 1980. It was directed by Allen Eastman (Alien) and Keenan enjoyed tormenting him a bit.  Keenan and I spent the breaks talking about movies like 'Dr. Strangelove' etc. it was a fun afternoon. Keenan had the shakes a bit and didn't want to sign autographs, he always had the continuity girl around to take poloroids and gave out pictures instead .

Went to the premiere of Scanners with Michael Ironside and Alberta Watson, I brownbagged a bottle of Mum's champagne to celebrate Mike's first big movie. We drank it in the men's washroom and it was hilarious how many guys couldn't pee with Alberta in the room.

The Club 22 at the Windsor arms used to be a fabulous place and every night was an adventure. So I am sitting with a few of the gang at the producer's table when in walks this girl with really strange make up and very exotic dress. We look as she slinks to the bar. Wow she IS interesting "I wonder what her story is " somebody says. "Let's find out" I say and head for the bar. I drift on to the stool beside her and throw out a line. "Care for a champagne cocktail with me." A few drinks later I know she is an exotic dancer and her gig got cancelled. A few drinks later she tells me that she has entered photos of her pussy in Penthouse's beaver contest and if I go home with her she will show me the photos. This does sound interesting. (If her eyes are any indication) So I agree until she tells me that she lives like in Mississauga and boondocks. Hmm I say a little too casually "That is kinda far couldn't you give me a little peek here....

Larry Zolf  (July 19, 1934 – March 14, 2011) was a Canadian journalist and commentator. Zolf was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba Larry introduced me to Moses Znaimer." Do you know Ledrew I got him out of jail" Larry wrote a letter to the parole board when I was busted and never let me forget it.  I met Larry at the Old Pilot back in the 60's. We used to have a few drinks occasionaly and had many late dinners at Kwong Chows. The barbs were obligatory. You had to have thick skin to dine with Larry but what a treat. He knew politics inside and out and he had all the real stories. I last talked to him just after Peter Czowski died.I called to find out if knew anything about the funeral. "LeDrew where the fuck you been? "Czowski! whatta calling me for I never hung out with those guys."  "So you Ok?good, Keeping out of jail, good. I gotta go I'm writing. Larry Zolf  (July 19, 1934 – March 14, 2011) [1]  was a  Canadian  journalist and commentator. L ARRY ZOLF...

  I`m a little foggy on the the time frame but I think your bar`s era was around 76/77.  Not the best time for my career as a blues musician.  Disco had taken out a number of live music clubs, punk and new wave were gaining a foot hold. Looking back, I think I was floundering with not much direction or creativity.  My music of choice was blues but I couldn`t get a good gig to save my life and I was burned out from being the band leader of Dollars through 74/75.  Making money was a challenge and hanging out in an after hours bar wasn`t a wise choice for a guy with a family.  When I did get a gig, I`d spend a good chunk of my pay drinking at your place. I guess that bar offered something more interesting then some of the places I`d play during regular bar hours.  The cast of characters was a pretty interesting mix of rounders, actors and musicians, some of whom had happening careers and others who like me were waiting for something good to fall out of th...

Bernie Fieldler brought her to the club one night and she couldn't have been nicer.We sat and talked for awhile and then  she asked if I would like to hear her new record and She borrowed Roy's guitar and got up and sang a whole set to my patrons. what a treat. She broke 2 strings on Roy's guitar and I bet he is still complaining about it.

Cathy Smith I liked Cathy from the first time I met her in 1965 she was Paul  Donnelly's  girlfriend. We were social friends always glad to see each other. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Cathy Evelyn Smith  (born 1948 in  Hamilton ,  Ontario [1] ) is a former  backup singer  and  rock  star  girlfriend ,  groupie  and  drug dealer , who served time in the  California state prison  system for the manslaughter of  John Belushi  in 1982. Smith had been paid for a front page headline story in the  Hollywood   tabloid  the  National Enquirer , [2]  where she stated she was the person who injected the actor with a fatal drug overdose. In 1984, Smith co-authored a book entitled  Chasing the Dragon [3]  which told her life story. The title is an allusion to Smith's heroin addiction. Smith appeared prominently in the  Bob Woodward  book  Wired: T...