Not too long ago, it was my HONOR to sit down with Robert Osborne as a Guest Programmer on Turner Classic Movies (TCM).
Talk about a class act. He was in a class of his own. The nervousness, which you come to realize is—in truth—over-energized excitement when he walks into the room, that giddy smile you beam just by looking over at him has NOTHING on the feeling you get when he begins to make his way towards you ... "I don't know what to do with my hands." Yep. You go limp. And the same goes for seeing those red chairs, him sitting there, waiting for you to come on set, take your seat, and get mic'd up. You are still in shock. Utter awe. Is this happening? How did I get here? — No, no. Don't ask. Just live. But before you can begin to think about what to do next, what to say, what to do with your hands, he has engaged you in a conversation, not movies in particular, but, if he has been to the state where you live, the people he has known there, the last time he has visited, some places you may know, and so on, putting you at ease ... without you ever catching on until it is over. Well played, Mr. Osborne. Well played. See what I mean ... a class act. To showcase the kind of person he was, at least in my eyes, I was in the green room, after my segment of taping was completed, in a whirlwind of emotions in excitement, trying (impossibly) to come off the cloud nine experience I just had sitting down talking films and WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957) (starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, and Elsa Lanchester) with Robert Osborne, then ... I looked up ... and Mr. Osborne so happened to be walking past the door. In that moment, he looked over at me and I was beaming from ear to ear, impatiently waiting to call my mom and dad, as I was nervously trying to get to my phone while trying to figure out if I was settled enough to eat the breakfast TCM provided that morning, staring at my plate. Before I knew it, Mr. Osborne was crossing back, coming towards the green room to tell me what a joy it was to chat with me, and *took the time to talk* (not rushing insincerely ... at all) to tell me what a good job I had done, how I carried myself, and how my parents should be proud of me as a young lady ... From Robert Osborne??!! I was in shock. He furthered my shock when he shared those same words with my dad while I was on the phone with my parents later that evening to tell them how things were going so far. My mom, who up until that moment had been on the phone extension (every time I called them, or they called me), was upset, because she had just left the phone, leaving only my dad to chat with Robert Osborne. It was something we joked about for some time after. Having recently lost my mom, the Earth, and the world just does not seem like the place I once knew anymore. So, to try to help me get by day-by-day, I am constantly posting, writing, tagging, and tweeting about all the movies my mom and I shared (#ForMyMom), actors/actresses, quotes, and so on, of which there were many. From childhood and beyond. And most of those came from "Hi ... I'm Robert Osborne." Which, in return, in front of my television at home, I would always respond to the screen, out loud, "Hi Robbie!"—as if we were old friends--and my mom and dad would just laugh. I've said over and over again, that almost instantaneously after TCM launched, it became a daily tradition in the house, I grew up with TCM, it was a fixture, and to watch Robert Osborne on TCM every night in primetime, on weekends, The Essentials, on holidays, or, in short, any time he was on. Period. He was like family. He was family. I have come to realize over the past several months when looking over all the TCM films I have recorded through the years, I have accumulated nearly 500 films, with the majority (if not all) recorded with the intro and outro of Robert Osborne ... Then the day comes, and your parents see you in that chair ... across from Robert Osborne. There is not a word that could define the excitement. The pure sheer excitement of a dream come true. A day I would happily relive every day of my life. TCM and Robert Osborne were/are a huge part of the family. And not just mine, I'm sure. I will eternally miss awaiting his arrival after the FADE IN FROM BLACK when the film finishes. Or waiting to hear his voice as soon as the "FEATURE PRESENTATION with Robert Osborne" graphics roll. So #ForMyMom and for #RobertOsborne ...
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(For all the photos and footage on the entire experience, from arrival to departure read my piece FILMING AT TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES.)
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