Recently, I've been watching Trust on the BBC about the Getty family and it rekindled memories from the 70s. In 1976, I had a girlfriend who managed comedians and was working at the Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip. I seemed to be spending a lot of time there and someone had the idea that I might like to manage the main room--a 'Vegas-style showroom--where talent like Shelley Berman, Dick Gregory and Mort Sahl were appearing. It was not a very glamorous assignment and had as much to do with making certain the waitresses prepared the room before the crowds were allowed entrance as it did with coordinating back stage activities like curtain time and making sure that Shelley had his preferred Anchor Steam Beer and Mort Sahl his current copy of the L.A. Times from which he affected to find stories that were, in fact, his prepared material ("I find the apostle Paul appealing and the apostle Peale appalling" quoting Adlai Stevenson). At some point, people involved with making an A.F.I. film presented themselves and asked for permission to shoot part of their film in the main room and were given permission. I was given the job of riding herd on them, which I was happy to do. The unit manager/assistant director was John Paul Getty III. The producer was his mother Gail Harris and the director may have been Gail's boyfriend, if memory serves, and I believe his name was Gordon though I am not certain of this. Photo: AP Images. (Continued in comments) #johnpaulgettyiii #comedystore #sunsetstrip #shelleyberman #dickgregory #mortsahl https://www.instagram.com/p/BogHIk-HQJD/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1c075n5b0wovj
