I was reading the Historical Western Romance page on FB, and looking at all the pictures posted of those sexy cowboys who played in the TV westerns most of us grew up on. Someone had posted a picture of Gil Favor from the long-running series, Rawhide. I always found him quite attractive, and like someone else had posted, Rowdy Yates, played by Clint Eastwood, at the time, was just too boyish for me. To be truthful, I haven't been a Clint Eastwood fan since I had the misfortune to meet him in person back in the late 70s.
I lived in a little college town in No. California, called Davis. Mr. Eastwood's dentist shared a duplex building with mine, so I always knew he was in town when the dental staff disappeared during one of my routine teeth-cleaning visits. My then-husband was a Sgt. with the UC Davis police department, and on one particular night, several from his shift gathered at a local eatery/pub, The Graduate. I received a phone call from him, all excited that Clint Eastwood was there and he wanted me to come down. Since I was with two other wives, we flipped a coin, and two of us went while the third (loser) stayed with the kids.
When we got to The Graduate, the guys were eager to approach the big star and offer to buy him a drink. After they hemmed and hawed about it and decided no one had the courage, I offered to do it. To me, movie stars are just people and I don't get all starry-eyed over them. I might salivate a little if they're really handsome, but since the Marlboro Man offered his autograph, I was a little turned off by people so taken with themselves.
Anyhow, I walked over to the bar, where Mr. Eastwood sat with a friend, and when I was sure they weren't in the middle of conversing, I tapped him on the shoulder. Instead of a friendly greeting, he turned around, gave me a dismissing wave, and said, "No autographs, please."
Really? I think I must have shook my head, but I do recall my exact words. "I don't want your autograph." At which time, he got a shocked look on his face. "I'm here for the big ol' cowards over in the corner. (I pointed) They're from the UC Police Dept, and they'd like to buy you a drink.
Okay, so now I expected him to at least be polite. He glared at me and said, "Why, so they can ticket me for drunk driving when I get in my car?" If he had smiled, I might have taken what he said as a joke, but he was just a rude bastard, in my opinion of course..either that or I injured his ego because I didn't want his autograph. I've never understood why people collect them. I could just as easily write his name on a piece of paper and tell people he signed it. How would they know?
