Sept.20,2002
Thank you for giving
me the opportunity to share my experience with you. I apologize this is a little lengthy, but it’s worth reading
nonetheless. I have to tell you it was
such a delight to finally meet Bobby. As
I told you my brother is also with the San Bernadino County Sheriff’s
department, and between he and Sergeant Wagner I was able to have a more
private meeting with Bobby versus the typical PR event.
Back at his peak of
popularity I was only 8 years old and probably one of his younger
admirers. I’m glad that I met him when
I was older because there is so much more to him than just being a former teen
idol. It wasn’t until I met him, and
subsequently read his autobiography that I realized we actually have a great
deal in common; child psychology, police work, and emergency training. Before the Marshals and Sheriff’s merged,
the Marshals worked in the courtrooms like Bobby does now. I was in training for that position when I
learned I was pregnant with my daughter.
Motherhood changed my priorities.
Now of course I’m too old for police work but it does run in the family;
David has been with the Sheriff’s dept. almost 5 years, my father is a retired
police captain from the city of Manhattan Beach, my aunt is a retired deputy
from North Carolina, and my cousin is a retired CHP officer.
When Bobby arrived at
the station I was almost nervous, something that rarely happens to me. I’ve done some performing myself and have
friends in the business so I don’t typically get nervous. What I kept wondering is what do you say to
someone you’ve waited 35 years to meet?
When we shook hands I finally understood the meaning of the word “inner
child.” The adult was calm and
collected but I was certain he could hear that 8 year-old inside me coming
unglued. I have to tell you he could
not have been more gracious. He was
very charming, charismatic, and at 59 he is still gorgeous. He had a wonderful sense of humor too (thank
goodness.) I told him I wasn’t even going
to pretend that this wasn’t a big deal because it was (I’m not that
cool.)
We went inside to the
briefing room where my brother proceeded to embarrass the heck out of me. David opened up my tote bag and said, “Do
you recognize this stuff? She’s got
everything you ever did in there” which, was true. The only thing I left home was the 45s, but I had all the albums
and pictures. Dave recalled how my
room, like thousands of others, was decorated in posters and pictures. Isn’t that just like a brother? I think he may have been flattered but Bobby
put me at ease saying, “You know when I die this stuff will be worth a
fortune.” I thought to myself e-Bay? No way.
He autographed my
copy of his first album and offered to sign the whole stack but I just couldn’t
monopolize his time signing the whole pile.
When Bobby was signing the album someone asked him how old he was in the
picture. I looked at him and said, “24
right?” He started doing the math and
said, “She’s right I was 24.” When they
asked his first show on TV I mouthed Shindig the same time he said
it. It was too funny.
Bobby autographed
some pictures I brought along, and he was kind enough to autograph his
autobiography and greatest hits CD as well as pose for several pictures. He
talked about performing with Peter Noone & Davy Jones. Unfortunately I missed the concert but I
told him about seeing the Monkees in Laughlin to kick off their 30-year
anniversary tour. I told Bobby Mickey
Dolenz said, “In the old days women threw panties on the stage and now they
throw depends.” Bobby said, “Hey! He stole my line!” We all laughed. You know
those moments in life when it feels surreal…like you’re dreaming the whole
thing? This was one of those
times. He puts people at ease so you
find yourself talking to him like you’d known him for years.
I told Bobby I had to
explain to my 13-year-old daughter who he was.
I compared his popularity to Hanson.
When she was 8 years old, Hanson was just “it” for her. I told her this man was my Hanson and suddenly
she understood mom’s excitement. He
seemed to get a chuckle out of that. I
asked Bobby if his sons realized how popular their dad was, and he said, “Not
when they were little, but now that they’re both older (23 & 24) and in the
music business they’re figuring it out.”
I never had a chance to tell Bobby about my son. In addition to my daughter Sarah, I also
have a 7 year-old son who is Autistic and he too loves Disneyland. The staff at Disneyland is so accommodating
to our son when we go there. It’s one
place Ryan can go and really enjoy himself.
We asked Bobby if he
still performed concerts and he said he does perform at a larger venue if the
opportunity presents itself. I was too
young to attend one of his concerts but his speaking voice is still the same so
I’m sure he can still sing beautifully.
He’s still a class act and a real gentleman. He said fans still recognize him but it’s not a mob scene like
before. I can only imagine how
difficult life was for him back them.
While we were in the briefing room my brother, who used to
do radio, conducted what sounded like a mini interview. With his dry sense of humor he asked Bobby
all sorts of questions. Fortunately his
technique was more like David Letterman than Howard Stern. Bobby has a marvelous sense of humor. Dave said, “I see you’re in pretty good
shape, still got your hair.” Bobby
said, “yes, I send it out once a week and they send it back.” He joked casually like we’d known him for
years. I couldn’t help laughing. He posed for more pictures and I felt sorry
for him having to stand next to me. I’m
5’ 11” and like an idiot I wore heels without thinking. He also took one with Dave who is 6’ 8 ½ “
tall. Bobby laughed and said, “Ah come
on, that’s not fair” and proceeded to act like he was climbing on the
chair. He posed for pictures with
“Lurch” nonetheless, and was really good-natured about the whole thing. You couldn’t meet a nicer, more down to earth
guy.
Bobby also went with
us to pay a visit to an injured officer.
Bobby rode up front with Dave and I rode in the back with his
associate. I don’t know if he was his
publicist or manager, but after seeing pictures in the autobiography I think it
was Ward (very nice man who also has a great sense of humor.) At the hospital Bobby actually recognized
the injured officer as they’ve both worked the same court in Twin Peaks.
He also paid a visit
to the extended care facility also located at the hospital. Most of the senior citizens were quietly
watching the television. Bobby
introduced himself and went around shaking hands. To be honest I don’t think they knew who he was but they were
happy they had a visitor to talk to.
One lady was 103 and I guess she thought she was the celebrity
and when introduced to Bobby asked him, “Well, what do you want know?” It was so cute. I have my 83 year-old grandma living with me, so to see his
kindness to the elderly was really quite touching. My grandma enjoyed my pictures of Bobby, as she was the one who
bought me all the fan magazines when I was little.
Before we parted
company that day Dave said, “Well you came all this way, at least give him a
hug good-bye.” We hugged and Bobby
thanked me for being such a big fan and said it’s the fans that have made it
all worthwhile for him. It was truly a
day I will never forget and I so appreciated his kindness to me that day.
Debbie Bliss
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Sue's Birthday Encounter with Bobby
Sue's story about when she went to Bobby's house on his BD.
"I went up to the gate and rang the bell. Patti answered the intercom and
asked who it was. I told her I came to give B a gift for his BD. She said he
wasn't home but would be happy to take it for him. To my surprise, the
automatic gate slowly opened to reveal his home. I waited by the gate but no
one came out of the house so I decided to walk up to the front door. Just as I
arrived there, Patti opened the door. We exchanged a few words and I handed her
the gift. Patti remembered that she had to check on his cake in the oven, and
invited me in. I stood inside the hall while she checked the cake, trying to
notice every detail. When she came back from the kitchen, Patti asked if I'd
like to take a look at the baby who was sleeping in the crib in his room. And I
did. I didn't want to overstay my welcome, so I decided to leave. I thanked
her and as I walked out the door, the automatic gate star! ted opening. I
couldn't believe my eyes when I saw B's Rolls Royce roll in. He got out with a
big smile on his face and Patti introduced me, telling him I had brought him a
gift. He opened it in front of me ( but I cannot remember what it was! Old age
sinking in), and he thanked me for remembering his BD. My only regret was that
I didn't bring a camera. So then we said goodbye,and he walked me to the gate
and gave me a kiss on the cheek."
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Bev's "Gift" to Bobby
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Lisa's "Date" With Bobby
When I was eleven years old, I won a date with Bobby Sherman
through a contest that Karl Shoe Stores was featuring. Let me tell you, I
was MADLY in love with him at the time. . .My mother worked as a waitress at "Newberry's" in Santa Monica, CA at the time. Newberry"s was directly across the street from Karl Shoe Store and so when my mother would take me to work with her, I'd run to Karl's and grab BOOKLETS of the entry blanks (there was no restriction on the number of times you could enter!), and I'd go back to the employee lounge at Newberry's to fill the entries out - Due to a severe case of "writer's cramp" - I got smart real quick and started filling them out using carbons!!! I must've filled out somewhere between 300-400 entries (NO LIE!) I WANTED TO WIN -- In the worst way! Well, I remember coming home daily after the contest deadline & peering in the mailbox (we had a wall-mounted mail box as my mother and I were living in an apartment at the time and she had the only key) through the narrow slots to see if I could make out a Karl Shoestore letterhead. One day, what do you know. . . There it was! The letterhead I'd been waiting for! My heart was beating faster than you can imagine and I couldn't wait for my mother to get home from work so I could open the envelope!!! To my absolute delight, I had in fact WON THE DATE WITH BOBBY SHERMAN!!! I remember being only eleven years old at the time, kind of a "homely thing", and sadly, overweight -- I went with my mother to go shopping for "what I would wear to IMPRESS Bobby on our date!". You would die laughing. . . I do to recall it! I picked this chocolate-brown, A-line, accordion pleated dress (sleeveless). It had white polka dots and a white sash/ribbon belt that you tied (at the waist of course). I wore white, patent leather shoes and this outfit was going to knock his socks off!!! Another funny story to tell you before I get to the "date". . . My mother was ecstatic for me because she knew how "in love" I was with Bobby at the time and the contest required that date or not, you were to be "chaperoned" -- needless to say, she (my mother) would be my chaperone. Well, my mother and I were seated at dinner one night and she watched me as I was eating my meal - at some point I used my thumb to push food from my plate, onto my fork. At this point she said, "You know, you have this upcoming date and you should really mind your table manners and not do that!". I took her criticism as constructive and said that I would "mind my manners". Now, the letter stated that we would be picked up on a specified day and driven to the Burbank, CA Studios where we would have lunch with Bobby and join him for a taping of a television show that evening which would be aired at a later date (it wasn't to be a "live taping").
 ............. We met him and he was SO GOOD LOOKING!!! This was of course why I'd fallen in love with him as a girl initially!!! His manner was warm, caring, hospitable and he was very down-to-earth. Now I'd met the whole package for myself and I was very impressed by him I must say! You're always afraid to meet a celebrity or someone you think so highly of for fear that they will somehow turn out to be a real JERK in person -- most definitely NOT THE CASE here!!! I TRULY fell in love with the man!
 Shortly after our first meeting we went to lunch at the Burbank cafeteria - it's been so many years now that I forget what we had - I DO remember however, having a delightful conversation with him at the table and then watching Bobby PUSH HIS FOOD ONTO HIS FORK WITH HIS THUMB!!! At this point, I elbowed my mother (fairly hard I might add) to draw her attention to what he was doing (I was merely making a point with HER of course!). Well, at that point, both my mother and I were laughing - Bobby's face registered an "inquisitiveness" - He didn't know exactly WHY we were laughing, only that we were. I took the time to explain my mother's concern with my "table manners" and exactly what it was that she had corrected ME on then it became clear to him as to WHY we were laughing and at that point, ALL of us were!
 That evening we went to watch the taping and I thoughly enjoyed that! I enjoyed watching him in his element. The only aspect of "the date" that I must say I didn't care for was finding out only the DAY we met him that there were TWO winners - I guess the reason it bothered me at the time (yes part of it was "selfish" - afterall, you go on a date with only one person right? AND of course your chaperone.
 EVERYBODY knows that!! Ha! ha! ha!), was that the "other girl" was not a fan of Bobby's, she merely entered the contest as "something to do", in speaking to her, I found that she would actually make derrogatory comments - such as a reference to his "dog collar" - if you remember back in the 70's "chokers" were very much in style and while she may not have liked them, I would feel my blood boil just thinking "If only you knew how very much I wanted to win and how hard I tried to -- If you don't have any interest in him, WHY ON EARTH DID YOU ENTER?!!! I couldn't help but feel that at the very least, she should've left the opportunity for someone it genuinely mattered to! I would rather have been talking to someone who felt the same about him as I did I guess I want to say! Rather than someone like her who really didn't. Oh well.....
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