Sunshine Sammy 1980
Saturday, September 22nd, 2007
Even if I had never seen a silent Our Gang film at that point, I could never forget the infectious smile and genuine friendliness that radiated from Ernest “Sunshine Sammy” Morrison when I first encountered him at the Our Gang reunion autograph session at Hollywood ’80. One of the kindest and most sincere men who I have ever met, Sunshine Sammy holds the distinction of being the first black actor ever signed to a long-term movie contract. His producer Hal Roach signed him to his own comedy series in 1919, which led to his eventual starring in the Our Gang series. Read the rest of this entry »
I could go on lamenting from now until doomsday about how few photos I had taken of me with various celebrities who attended the same Hollywood Collectors Shows as I did in both 1995 and 1997 – but it wouldn’t change the fact that it remains exceptionally difficult to conjure up the facts of exactly who I met and when. Especially considering that I had obtained so many of their autographs before the shows that I often I would simply walk by them without acknowledging them, lest they attempt to sell me an autograph that I already owned. When it comes to some of the cast members from the TV show My Three Sons, I’m fairly certain that it went down like this: 
There were three occasions when I met Miss December 1968 Cynthia Myers, the Toledo, Ohio native whose Playmate appearance was titled “Wholly Toledo!” The first was at the Hollywood Collectors Show during the Summer of 1995. On this occasion, I purchased a Playboy Magazine from her to get Hugh Hefner to sign as detailed 
I had had some cake the night before at The Smoke House courtesy of my friends, but other than that, I pretty much forgot that Sunday, October 2, 2005 was even my birthday. The day was packed with things to do so there wasn’t time to think of such things. We kicked off the morning with a nice hearty breakfast at the Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel & Convention Center where we had stayed the night. We had a great buffet, but best of all, we dined with two former Our Gang members Patsy Barry and Joy Wurgaft Lane, whose husbands treated us. 
It was the during the Hollywood Collectors Show during the Summer of 1995 that I got to meet Russell Johnson, better known as the Professor from Gilligan’s Island. In fact, author Stephen Cox had escorted him to the show and it was here that I first met Steve. And if Russell was the Professor, then I was the class dunce. Today I question both why I didn’t get him to sign a photo from the well-known Gilligan’s Island, and more importantly, why I would not think to get my photo taken with him.