It was a magical day, a day I will never forget... I've had a lot of pain & suffering since I got a concussion on April 24, 2024 and I really appreciate the normal/good days more than ever... Life is short & I treasure the good patches....
I recently had a great visit with my good friend Daniel Selznick. It's always fun to hear Daniel reminisce about the Golden years of Hollywood.... Not only is he the son of Gone with The Wind producer David O. Selznick, his grandfather was none other than MGM head Louis B Mayer and Mom Irene was a major producer on Broadway. Many people seek fame & fortune but Daniel was just born into it and really didn't want it though he enjoys the perks. He tells great stories of his childhood neighbors Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard, roaming around the MGM Backlot as a child and being driven with Grandpa in a beautiful limousine adorned with the famous MGM lion on it.... his loving stories about his Mom, Grandmother and his step mother Jennifer Jones are legendary as are his tales about Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland, Greta Garbo , Ingrid Bergman, Sir Lawrence Olivier etc. etc... his book should be coming out soon & will be a must read for all classic Hollywood lovers...
After this very pleasant visit I headed over to Amazon Studios in Culver City. I was invited by Musicares to their reception and panel about women in Hip Hop... When I received the invite I thought "This isn't my regular beat but I want to go to it !" and I'm so happy I did... I was also basking in the warmth of my name on the cover of Joss Gomez's beautiful Magic Image Hollywood Magazine. which had just come out. I'm listed under Madonna and opposite Taylor Swift and Zendeya which is very very cool!
The Musicares reception was held outside on a patio and the warm California weather was beautiful. Everyone was in a good upbeat mood and Musicares put out a nice spread. After a while I realized that the cutting edge Amazon Studios is on the former historic Culver City Backlot where my friend Daniel grew up... I could see the iconic Gone With The Wind mansion in the background... it was all so golden and surreal . The historic past and the cutting edge present had "collided " in a very pleasant way!
Riding up in the elevator I became fast friends with a very nice couple... Ty and Carol Moss who head the non profit nilesproject.com. Ty is a lifetime Grammy Academy voting member who was joyfully celebrating his 77th birthday... While in high-school he and his friends had a hit record which was then recorded by the legendary artist Santana and released as Everybody's Everything in 1971...
Around 1988 I was an intern at Columbia A&R and loved it... The walls were flooded with gold and platinum records and I was like a kid in a candy store ... One day Carlos Santana came to visit and Ron Oberman the senior VP of Columbia A&R west coast said "Harrison, would you please get Mr. Santana a cup of coffee?" I happily did! I made music history ha ha.
The Musicares women of hip hop panel was very interesting....Well being and good mental health were key elements discussed. Says Ty "It was our pleasure to attend ... the event and open mic discussion on career challenges and preserving health-care... the Artists were engaging and very appreciative having the opportunity to share their journey with a new generation of "Humans of Hip Hop"... Thank you Musicares for another very cool event!
A few days later I was back in Culver City to see Contemporary Hollywood super star Taraji P Henson read excerpts of her terrific kid's book called "You Can Be A Good Friend (No Matter What)" Children of all ages including myself were enthralled by Taraji's reading. It seemed like 1000s of fans had turned out to Fox Hills Mall for this fun feel good family event. I loved the new The Color Purple musical movie directed by Blitz Bazawule and Taraji was excellent as the new Shug Avery. All the cast were great!
Before Taraji's event I attended the grand opening ribbon cutting of Acura Los Angeles Westside which was another feel good family event. Guests dined on delicious Pete's Smashburgers & the music was provided by K-Love radio station. I sent a photo of some of the Uforia swag they gave out to beautiful Euphoria star Maude Apatow which she thought was very cool. She and her talented co stars Sydney Sweeney & Zendaya are the nicest. Sydney's blockbuster hit Anyone But You co starring Glenn Powell struck the right chord at the box office as did Zendaya 's big hit Challengers. Previews for Glen's new movie Twisters look great and Maude shone as Sally Bowles in the hit London production of Cabaret...
Getting back to the Acura opening, each guest received a coupon for a free oil change and I talked with several nice people including Culver City Council member Freddy Puza and a cool dude named Richard Avery, a relative of the beautiful and talented Margaret Avery who was the original Shug Avery in Steven Spielberg 's The Color Purple...Thank you to Acura's Carolyn Olavarria and team for the nice celebration. Thank you to Tia Bennett, Jessica Carmona & everyone at MusiCares for the great event!
May you enjoy all your days and have happy, healthy adventures.... HH