I'm guessin' he had more fun standing between Laverne and Shirley than Dave and I. You remember him as "The Big Ragu!" (actor Eddie Mekka) in the old TV show "Laverne and Shirley"
Well Dave (my brother) and I ran into him backstage while we were playin' the Frankie Avalon/Bobby Rydell show in Las Vegas.
He was a lot of fun to meet and hang with in the Green Room. Those era of shows just seem to bring the 'nice' out in everyone - like Peanut butter 'n Jelly. It's just good stuff.The shows went over real well and without a hitch.
No one fell off the stage or anything..... Like last year when "Fabian" nose dived off the front of the stage. Ohhh it was hard to watch - but I had to. The 'back story" is that the day before the gig he gets into a car crash that flips his car 3 times. He and the other two passengers go to the hospital. The next night Fabian just leaves the hospital because he's got a gig. He shows up looking 'terrible' however feeling great. On 'his' side of it... he's feeling no pain, whatever they gave him was WORKIN' just great. However his body, though not feelin' it... was lookin' it.
Anyway Frankie tells him "Go back to the hospital, you need to recover". Well Fabian says, "Hey I'm here already!, I'm okay, I'll go on" and so he does. He tells the audience he's sorry he's still in street clothes, but his Tux was in the trunk of the car and the car was all smashed together and he couldn't get anything out of it. The audience cheers and is just happy he's okay and showed up.
He then goes to sing, walks to the edge of the stage (about 5 feet up) and .... thinks theirs more stage than there is... and over he goes. Face first on to the metal barrier that keeps the audience back. Ya hear an awful 'clunk' as his face and mic hit!!!!
Oh I tell ya, my face hurt just hearing it. I ran to the edge to see him. He was on his back lookin' up with the mic in his hand, looking like he was thinkin' "Am I still singing or did I just fall off the stage"... I tell ya that pain medication he was on was still working a 110%. Thank God no serious damage was done... and in true performer fashion as they lifted him up to the stretcher he insisted on standing first to 'wave' to the audience that he was okay.
Instant "standing ovation"... all in all, it made a great start to the show.
I later emailed him and he wrote back he was doin' just fine. I saw him later and.... he's good as new as well as the others in the car with him. Ah I love a happy ending.
Don
