Heart
Charlotte, North Carolina
Larry and Maj Hagman generously donated a Ferrari to be raffled off for charity. It was an interesting scene. Two gorgeous cars were in front of the theater. These cars belong to an exotic car club, Privatus, that had a one year membership as one of the auction items at this event. There was a red carpet leading to the entrance of the theater. Greeters stood on either side of the red carpet: Girls dressed as Jeannie and guys in suits and cowboy hats! Nice touch!
Inside there was plenty of food and drinks, and a man playing music on a keyboard. Larry was mingling with the guests. There were several photographers, probably from local newspapers. One was following Larry around, taking photos of him with everyone who approached him. Larry's son Preston, was there, as well as his granddaughter Noel. Maj was not there, she had to go back to California for an emergency. She just turned 80, on May 13th.
There were two types of auctions, a silent auction, with some Larry Hagman memorabilia and a live auction, which had mostly items local to the Charlotte area. The Hagman items, autographed, where a six-pack of JR Beer, two posters of his TV Guide covers, a set of Dallas DVDs, and a first season Jeannie Bottle by Mario Della Casa.
The event organizer, Mark Erwin, introduced Larry, who did an abbreviated version of his show about his life and career. Boy, that man loves watching himself! At one point Noel got up and left. Larry pointed her out and asked her to turn around, then said something about "not walking out on your grandfather." Jokingly, of course! During the presentation, Larry put up a photo of himself making a face while holding bagpipes. He said he can play them!
The live auction followed, with Larry and Mark as the auctioneers. One of the items was a day of quail hunting. In the course of bidding, they threw Larry into the deal!
The organizers gave Larry a plaque of some sort, and proclaimed May 15th "Larry and Maj Hagman Day", and said some of the proceeds of the event will go towards a scholarship at CPCC for performing arts students in Larry and Maj's name. A homeless shelter, Harvest House, is also benefitting.
Next, the Ferrari raffle. I glanced at my ticket: 549, part of my childhood phone number. Good luck? It soon became apparent why they had roped off several rows of seats in front. The car rose from the orchestra pit - very cool! It was a beauty! They told a story of two teenagers pulling up next to Maj in the ferrari, looking at her, with her white hair, and asking her "Can you drive that?" She raced them, and won! Larry chose an envelope, opened it, and read: 5....4....6! The lucky guy was an investment banker.
