Love Letters, Florida
Not long after meeting Larry for the first time, I found out he was going to be in a play, Love Letters, with Barbara Eden, in Clearwater, Florida in February, 2006. I had missed out on Larry's stage career - most of it was before I was born! The opportunity to see a live performance was too much to pass up. On a Dallas internet forum, I mentioned that I planned on going to the show. I got an e-mail from one of Larry's biggest fans, Maria, asking if I would be willing to drive down to Florida with her. We met to see if we were compatible, and talked non-stop for hours. About Larry, of course! I agreed to make the trip with her. Later, two more shows were added, in Ft. Pierce, Florida, the two days before the Clearwater show. Why not attend all three?
Of course, I didn't just want to just attend the performance, I wanted some photos! With a new digital camera, I would be able to silently photograph the show. Even though I was not using a flash, I didn't want to be too obvious about it. My friend Toni designed an amazing stealth camera bag. Looking like a designer handbag, it had openings for the lens and for my hand so I could operate the camera while it was in the bag! The camera had a screen on top, so I simply had to look into the bag to compose the shots.
On the drive to Florida, Maria mentioned that she had won an eBay auction to have dinner with Larry and his wife Maj at their home! I had seen this auction, and thought it was a joke or a scam. I ignored it. Well, it was the real deal, and I was envious, but extremely happy for Maria. We got down to Ft. Pierce and found the theater. We walked around, hoping to figure out which door was the stage door so we could catch them coming or going. There were too many doors! We would need a team with walkie-talkies to get this right! On line for the first of the two Ft. Pierce shows, we looked around and started laughing. The playgoers arrived - in wheelchairs, or using walkers! We, in our 40s, were the youngest people there by far! The two stars of the show were both in their 70s, so I guess that made sense. The play was funny, but a bit of a cop-out as far acting was concerned. They had the script in front of them and were sitting at a desk the entire time. We hung around a bit after the show, but didn't catch them leaving. Wrong door, I guess!
It was a very rainy weekend. So much for Florida in February! We found Cocoa Beach, where I Dream of Jeannie took place (it was filmed in CA), and "I Dream of Jeannie Lane." Nothing much there. It seems the show is being ignored there.
Saturday night's show ended at 10pm. Sunday afternoon's show started at 2pm, and we had to drive across the state! We arrived in Clearwater at 2am, and found the hotel. Maria's friend Linda had flown in from Canada, and was waiting for us. She is a huge Barbara Eden fan, and she shares a birthday with me! We didn't get a whole lot of sleep, but made it to the show on time. Waiting to go in, we started talking to a nice man ahead of us. He turned out to be Hayden Rorke's (Dr. Bellows on I Dream of Jeannie) nephew! This show was much better than the other two, with Larry getting into it more. I silently took many nice photos, without a flash. Anyone buying tickets in the first seven rows got to meet the stars after the show. People lined up to have their picture taken with Larry Hagman and Barbara Eden. Linda talked with Barbara Eden's people and was told she could meet with her afterwards. As photos were being taken, I stood back and watched. There were times, between photos, when Larry Hagman was just standing there with a neutral expression on his face... until he spotted a camera pointed at him! It was like a switch was thrown. Larry suddenly just lit up, smiled and posed! He's been in the spotlight for most of his life, so it's likely a reflex, but it is still fascinating to watch! The party was over, and Barbara Eden headed for the elevators, with Linda, Maria and I trailing behind. They let Linda and Maria on the elevator, but physically stopped me from getting on! I told them I was with my friends, and they said the same thing, but to no avail. I watched as Larry Hagman walked right past me and got on the elevator with the group. He had his poker face on again.
As soon as the elevator came back up, I and several other rejects took the ride down, where we found a door guarded by a man we recognized from Barbara Eden's group. I told him my sad story of being separated from my friends, and two others, including Hayden Rorke's nephew, pleaded their cases. Much to my surprise, the man relented and let us in! He took us to the green room, where my much relieved friends were waiting! Finally, we were led down a hall past Larry Hagman, who was simply standing around, not looking particularly happy. He was oblivious to our presence, and we didn't bother him. That was the last we saw of him that day, unfortunately. Barbara Eden came out and signed some items for us. I had a poster for the TV movie A Howling in the Woods, which starred both Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman. Barbara is a very nice woman, and Linda clearly had a great time chatting away with her! I was disappointed that I didn't get Larry's signature on the poster, but there would be other opportunities.
Maria explained that she was allowed to bring up to six people to the dinner with Larry Hagman, which would make the experience less likely to be awkward, and asked if I would join her! California was in my future!
For the complete story of this and other Larry Hagman events, see About This Site.