Thursday, October 9, 2008

Back to the Future

It was deju vu all over again as Tim and Tom stood outside the Laugh Factory on Sunset Boulevard, looking up at their names on the marquee before the first public appearance of their book tour in Los Angeles. So often during the years after their bitter breakup as a team they had polished their solo acts not far away at a similar club, the Comedy Store, that it was like a homecoming.
They had struggled so hard in those days and now they were here to reminisce before an audience of younger comedians, actors and writers and others in show business.
Tom couldn't help thinking of the days he had hitchhiked up and down Sunset Boulevard from his temporary home in an abandoned car in an alley just off the street. Or about the time he looked up at a billboard above Sunset and seen his name posted along with that of Sammy Davis Jr., heralding a performance at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. One day, he said, maybe he'd be looking up at another billboard--one advertising a movie made from their book, which has already received inquiries from several studios and producers.
Inside the club, they told many stories from the book, and some that aren't in it, about their experiences with Sammy Davis, Frank Sinatra, Jack Benny, Jonathan Winters and other show business greats.
"Sometimes, I feel like we're Forrest Gump," Tim said. "We didn't make history so much as we weaved through it."
Tim and Tom were delighted to be joined by Betty Garrett, the legendary star of stage and screen, who was soon to open in "Waiting in the Wings," Noel Coward's last play, at Theatre West just over the hill from the Laugh Factory.
"This book just blew me away," said Betty, who will become 90 years old next year and whose own show business career, which was filled with so many ups and downs, is chronicled in the book, "Betty Garrett and Other Songs."
Other appearances scheduled for Tim and Tom in Los Angeles are for "The Bonnie Hunt Show" and "The Tavis Smiley Show." Then it's off to Washington where on Oct. 18, they will be on the dais as Tom emcees the annual banquet of the National Italian American Foundation. Both Barack Obama and John McCain are scheduled to appear. What a photo-op that would be.



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