Barbara Payton's Biographer John O'Dowd
A True Hollywood Story

A Pizzazz Magazine Exclusive

Publisher Don Lemmon

Pizzazz Magazine: First of all, what is a day in your life like? What do you do from waking to hitting the hay each day?

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: I wake up anytime from 3:30 a.m to about 7 a.m., depends on how badly I've slept the night before… unfortunately, I'm a real "problem sleeper". First thing I do is have is two cups of coffee (a must, or else I might not fully wake up until the afternoon!), and a bowl of Total cereal or a protein shake. I am a vitamin freak so after a while, I take my first handful of nutritional supplements for the day (which includes some brain nutrients to help me with my focus and my writing). Once I am sufficiently conscious I go to my office to check my business email. I immediately answer anything that's important and then I begin my work for the day.

This might entail proofreading and editing the previous day's work, or adding new material. I try to work for several hours before heading out to lunch at around 1:30, with a hard copy of whatever new work I have done that morning. I then proofread and edit the copy until it reads as tight as a drum (I admit, I am obsessive about this), and go over it several times to be sure I like both the rhythm of what I've written, and its overall content. I am back home by 3:00 and I continue working for another two hours or so. During this time, I also return any business phone calls I may have had that day. By 5 PM I usually take an hour-long siesta as I am always pretty shot by then (especially if I have gotten up extra early that day). Dinner with my family is usually around 7 PM and later I'll watch some television. I like A & E a lot, and I usually watch Larry King (whom I find very amusing and whose interview style reminds me a lot of Merv Griffin). Bedtime is always by 11:00.

Pizzazz Magazine: What drew you to Barbara Payton?

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: Besides her phenomenal beauty, it was the fact that she was gutsy and fearless and did as she pleased…consequences be damned. I love that about Barbara. Obviously, it proved in the end to be not in her best interest, but the woman had balls, which I'm not sure many women were necessarily allowed to have in the 1940s and 50s. Later on, as I got to know Barbara better through my research, I became even more fascinated with her. What really hooked me, in part, was the sense that she hadn't fulfilled her promise---both as a performer and as a person (wife/mother, etc.) I found that so sad…and haunting. Without question, Barbara had acting talent---just watch the nuance and skill she shows in Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye or Murder Is My Beat, or Bride Of The Gorilla, for that matter (bad as it is).

Barbara was given a lot of opportunities in Hollywood and she basically threw most of them away, so obviously she had a lot of self-doubt. For whatever reason, I can really identify with that. Sadly, I too have thrown a lot of good opportunities away, and it is one of my biggest regrets. I've never understood how most people will say that they have no regrets and that if given the chance they wouldn't change a thing in their lives. Man, if I could, I would change a lot! For years I made a damn good mess of my life (partly by hanging out with some very bad people I had absolutely no business being around). If I could go back in time and be a better son to my parents, a better brother to my sisters, and a better person overall, believe me, I would. I could have tried a hell of a lot harder than I did…I know that now. Hindsight is bliss.

Pizzazz Magazine: Who was the first person to tell you writing a Barbara Payton bio was a crazy idea? At what point did you agree (even if it was momentarily)?

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: Ha, everyone I knew looked at me kind of askance when I said I wanted to write Barbara's biography. I remember being at my local library one time, early on in the project, when I was making photocopies of some of Barbara's pictures; a woman who looked to be in her 70s came up to me and very sweetly asked me what I was doing. I told her I was a writer and that I was working on a celebrity biography. She looked at the photos and said, "Is that the celebrity? She's lovely. She looks familiar to me…who is she?" When I said, "Barbara Payton", you should have seen the look that came over her face. She squeezed her eyes into this nasty-looking squint, curled her lips and gave me the "once over" and then said, "Why on earth would you want to write a book about that tramp? She was nothing but a damn slut!" I try to never indulge ignorance so I just smiled and said something like, "Because she had an interesting and fascinating life," and then I returned to what I was doing.

\Well she muttered something and then walked away but I was amazed at how quickly her demeanor toward me had changed. It showed me that for people who are still familiar with Barbara's name, her bad reputation has more or less remained intact, all these years after her death! My motivating force throughout this project has always been---and will remain---bringing Barbara's many good qualities to light. This was a woman who was someone's mother and daughter and sister and friend, and she matters. She was not a throwaway or the world's biggest slut or a mass murderer. She was a human being with strengths AND flaws, but she never hurt anyone else more than she hurt herself.

Pizzazz Magazine: Have you made contacts using the Internet that you know you wouldn't have made if it weren't for the web being so accessible?

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: Sure. I found several of Barbara's relatives this way (some of whom I have been trying to locate since 1999). I am afraid I'm a hopeless technophobe so I shied away from the Internet for a long time. I believe that it wasn't until 2000 that I actually went online for the first time and began utilizing the web as other writers and researchers do. I will ALWAYS lag behind the rest of the pack in a lot of areas, but you know what? It no longer bothers me. I'm a late bloomer and a slow learner at times, but hey, I've got a fair degree of intelligence, good intentions, and a big heart, so I guess I'm doing okay.

Pizzazz Magazine: Funny how it usually works. We grow up wanting to be firefighters or nurses, then due to the glory of media, rock stars, actors, or millionaires and then reality sits in. We always end up being ourselves... Good or bad... What's your story?

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: I pretty much always wanted to be a writer. I started writing short stories as a very young child, probably by the age of seven or eight. The stories were usually horror-based, as I loved scary movies as a child. I've kept a lot of the short stories I wrote back then and am impressed today with the command of the English language I had at such a young age. That little boy was a lot smarter than I've ever given him credit for! I stopped writing for many, many years once I hit adolescence (the very time that I should have continued it) and I didn't pick it up again until about ten years ago. The reasons for this are varied; however, I must admit that my being something of an aimless and irresponsible "party boy" for years had a lot to do with it. I regret the time I wasted going out and carrying on like I did and I'm sure I destroyed a lot of good brain cells along the way. I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do now and I sometimes wonder if I will be able to do enough writing in whatever years I have left to one day be called "prolific". I hope so…that would be great, and it's definitely one of my goals.

Pizzazz Magazine: What is something about Barbara you have never told in the press before?

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: Probably that Barbara was, and remains, incredibly loved by her family and close friends. Contrary to what has always been said and written about her in the past, she was not a heartless barracuda who got some kind of sadistic pleasure making the men in her life suffer. She was extremely misguided in her thinking at times and made some horrendous life choices, but she was inherently a very loving person. For instance, you will find no two individuals more loyal to her memory than her son John Lee and her sister-in-law Jan. They are both A-1 people and they knew Barbara for who she really was (as opposed to what the 1950s and 60s press---self-righteous as it was---made her out to be). I will forever be grateful to John Lee and Jan for allowing me in to their lives and for giving me the privilege of coming to know Barbara as well as I do now. I respect Barbara (deeply) and nothing I've ever learned about her, or might ever learn in the future, will ever change that. I have a real kinship with her that others may never understand but that's okay. There's no doubt in my mind that she's guided me and kept me going countless times when I've wanted to give up (on the project), so I owe Barbara a lot.

Pizzazz Magazine: Tell me one of the negative aspects of writing this book you think everyone should know. Do not say there are none!

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: The biggest negative by far has been battling my (pretty severe) Attention Deficit Disorder on a daily basis, while attempting to stay productive. Writing this book has been the most daunting challenge of my entire life. The fact that I have chosen to deal with my ADD without medication has only made the entire process harder, I suppose, but unfortunately I never found any medication for it that either didn't turn me into a zombie or make me so wired I felt like I'd OD'd on coke.

I'm pretty certain that my central nervous system was severely compromised by my many years of abusing my body in various ways and I'm really paying the price for it now. Everyone should stay away from booze and drugs. They age and destroy your liver and they make you old looking, dumb and ugly! If we have been blessed with good health, we should honor our bodies and treat them with respect. In the past, I trashed my body and my mind and it was an idiotic thing to do. Whatever good times I had back then were fleeting and are now long gone; the damage, however, has endured. I just thank God that I woke up and changed my life around before it was too late.

Pizzazz Magazine: What are your 5 favorite websites?

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: IMDB (which is useful for research purposes), eBay, THE BLACKBOARD (a fascinating and very informative film noir message board), STACY'S MUSIC ROW REPORT and of course, Barbara's website: www.hollywoodstarletbarbarapayton.com which I put together with a very talented web designer named Lynn Powell Dougherty (whose website is www.lynnpdesign.com), as a tribute to Barbara. It has been a great outreach tool for being able to touch base with many of Barbara's fans (of which she has many). There are about 70 photos of her on the website (I have obtained nearly 500, in all) so as you might guess I am totally mesmerized by Barbara's beauty.

Her face---her gorgeous eyes and her beautiful smile, in particular---are just magical to me. As far as I'm concerned, no current female on the entertainment scene even comes close to matching Barbara's appeal. A lot of them might have the current concept of sexiness down (although I don't find monstrous, rock-hard breast implants and rubbery looking lips that have been pumped full of collagen particularly sexy) but they don't have the innocence, too…which, contrary to popular belief, Barbara absolutely had. She was both wild and innocent, and that is a dynamite combination!

Pizzazz Magazine: Tell me something people do not realize about you, maybe it's not a secret, maybe it's not anything special, but it could be something no one else has ever asked you about until now. What's boring to you is news to everyone else...

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: I have a deep and abiding respect for children and for the animal kingdom. I have always felt a very strong connection to animals, in particular, and it has only grown stronger through the years. I believe they are here to teach us about co-existing with each other and about how important it is to try to understand each other's differences. Animals and children don't have hidden agendas like adults do, and I can better relate to their openness and their sense of wonderment about the world. I still have those qualities myself, and whether they have been a blessing or a curse is up for debate, I suppose. I do know that I have nothing in common with the Type A's of the world and I guess I have more of a hippie mindset about life. I am extraordinarily happy when I am in the presence of either a child or one of my companion animals and I'm not sure what this says about me but there you have it!

Pizzazz Magazine: What's the craziest thing you have experienced in your Payton work? Maybe it's something you witnessed and didn't participate in, but what would shock us, make us laugh or show us another side to things besides the obvious...

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: Well, something weird just happened recently, as a matter of fact. I was in Arizona to attend a family wedding at a beautiful resort hotel that goes way back and has played host to many Hollywood celebrities over the years. The place is literally full of old, b & w candid shots of people like Elizabeth Taylor and John Wayne et al., partying at the resort. Well, a relative of mine and I went into the bathroom to use the facilities and as I'm standing there I happened to look up and there's a b & w photo on the wall of a beautiful platinum blonde in a white one-piece bathing suit sitting on a diving board at the hotel's pool.

I immediately did a double take when I realized it was HER…it was Barbara! Now, is that bizarre, or what? I mean, of all the many BIG stars whose photos are featured prominently throughout this huge resort, why was Barbara there, at the very place I stood? I took it as meaning that she's never very far away from me; I believe in synchronicity and I also don't believe there are any mistakes or coincidences in life. I was really blown away by this. I later spoke to the concierge who gave me the name of the general manager at the resort and I have just written to him to ask if I can get a copy of the picture for Barbara's book. The photo is too good (and too rare) not to pursue it, and I have to believe that Barbara wants me to have it for the book, too.

Pizzazz Magazine: Anything embarrassing happen when YOU were putting this together? What? Embarrassing and crazy are different things!

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: Oh yeah, I'm constantly embarrassed to admit I know so little about the computer. Other than my word processor and my email and a little bit of the Internet, I don't venture very far into it. I have kind of a mental block to the technical side of anything…including computers. So, that has been a detriment, definitely, and has probably made this project more difficult for me than it should have been!

Pizzazz Magazine: The biggest lie about the film industry ever is (this is not necessarily a negative):

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: The biggest lie, I think, is that talent always will out. So many truly deserving writers and directors and performers never find an adequate forum for their work and I think that stinks! There is a lot of luck involved in making it in the industry and a lot of times it comes down to whether you accidentally meet up with someone who believes in what you're doing enough to want to help you. No wonder so many people in the business are insecure! So much of what happens to us is completely out of our hands. It's that way with life, too, though, isn't it?

Pizzazz Magazine: The biggest PLUS FACTOR about your industry is:

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: The biggest plus factor about the industry is probably that those in its upper echelon have the means to help the disenfranchised and less fortunate of our society. That's a wonderful privilege that I think the rest of us wish we had. I mean, I would be immensely happy and grateful if I could drop a couple million bucks every once in a while to help children with AIDS, or the homeless, or to build a state of the art animal shelter. I really do aspire to being in that kind of financial position someday. Until then, I donate what money I can afford to a wide range of charitable organizations and I strongly encourage every one else out there to do the same, if they can. It's important and it makes a difference.

Pizzazz Magazine: Did the people around you change when you went out looking to succeed in this field? Sometimes those who weren't so supportive in the beginning suddenly become supportive or possibly vice versa; they became thorns in your side....

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: I don't see myself as having succeeded yet, so I can't answer that. In fact, I'm sure a lot of people believe I won't succeed in my endeavors, so I'm going to have to try even harder to see that I eventually prove them wrong. There are some people (even some relatives) who are not exactly my strongest advocates and I know that. I don't think they would necessarily be happy for me if I succeeded but I'm trying not to give in to their energy because people like that can really sap the shit out of you. If someone doesn't like me or isn't receptive to me for some reason, I move on and I don't bother them anymore. A friend of mine, actress Yvette Vickers (a lovely and soulful woman, by the way) taught me this outlook. She told me it works…and it really does!

Pizzazz Magazine: What is your most frequently asked question and/or what question makes you crazy whenever asked but you somehow remain composed enough to answer?

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: Hands down, it's: "When will the book be finished?" I hate this question because I get the feeling sometimes that whoever's asking it is implying that they think I'm taking too long to write the book. Well, I probably am taking an inordinately long time to finish it but all I can say is it's certainly not my choice, or the way I want things to be. I wish more people would educate themselves about ADD because it really does impair a person's life. The constant distractibility of an ADD sufferer's mind is the absolute pits! ADD is my life's biggest struggle and I fight it every waking moment of every day. Trust me, at times it ain't pretty! Nor has it been easy writing a book with it. I don't want anyone's pity; I'm simply trying to promote a better understanding of the disorder. It's a lot more prevalent in today's society than most people realize.

Pizzazz Magazine: Who do you see on TV or hear on the radio that just makes you wonder how in the hell they got where they are today or who in the hell does that person know?

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: Lots of people I won't mention but the ones I have no problem naming are those whom I see as inordinately cruel and/or self-satisfied. Simon Cowell is one. I think he's a haughty and preening bitch (that's right; not a bastard…a bitch). Eminem's another one whose appeal escapes me. He has cold eyes and he seems so full of hatred. I can't stand Howard Stern or any of his ass-kissing sidekicks. They are boring and sophomoric and just seem like a very sick bunch of people. What they do everyday is so ugly (on every level) I wonder, "Why?? WHO out there could possibly enjoy this shit?" I don't get what they do, but obviously there's an audience for it. I also dislike most Reality TV (especially "The Apprentice" and "Fear Factor", which I think is asinine). All those super-aggressive, Type A's stabbing each other in the backs…it's sickening.

Pizzazz Magazine: Tell me a joke!

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier. Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the following day.

The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his wife.

However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and without realizing his error, sent the email.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston, a widow had just returned home from her husband's funeral. He was a minister who was called home to glory following a heart attack. The widow decided to check her email expecting messages from relatives and friends. After reading the first message, she screamed and fainted.

The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:

To: My Loving Wife
Subject: I've arrived
Date: October 16, 2004

I know you're surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones. I've just arrived and have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then! Hope your journey is as uneventfulas mine was.

P.S. Sure is hot down here!!!

Pizzazz Magazine: What is your favorite music album of all time and what music group do you listen to most often?

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: My musical tastes are all over the map so I'm not sure I can answer that. I can tell you what genres I like: classic rock, electric blues (with a strong rock edge), smooth jazz (but not free-form), country (up until the late 1990s or so but very little of what's being played now), pop oldies, big band, classical and some new age. What I dislike, intensely, is most of the rock that came with Nirvana's appearance on the scene in the early 90s. To my ears, anyway, strong melodies went out the window with all that dreary, angst-ridden shit and I happen to love melody. So I don't even listen to most modern rock. I liked it best when rock and roll was all about long guitar breaks and partying and having fun. For instance, I thought 80s hair bands were a blast! They were over-the-top and a bit "schlocky" but I loved them cause they were fun to listen to.

What's even worse to me than modern rock are rap, hip-hop and modern R & B. None of it sounds good to my ears so I don't listen to any of it. Rap music, in my opinion, is repugnant. It's ugly, repetitive, and not the least bit musical. As for contemporary pop, I don't know why R & B-styled singing is now considered pop singing. I hate all that running up and down the scales that so many of the female singers, in particular, do today. I want to say to them, "Sing the song the way it was written, damn it! Hit the note and STAY on it!" I get so irritated when I hear a singer take a decent song with good lyrics and a beautiful melody and then wring all the life out of the lyrics and the melody with those annoying runs and trills. They think it's impressive but it's not…it's irritating (at least to me). I still enjoy my old vinyl and my cassettes and my scratchy old 45s so I suppose I'm completely un-hip and a total anachronism when it comes to music. And you know what? That suits me just fine.

Pizzazz Magazine: Who should hang up their hat in your business? Why?

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: I would never publicly say that someone should hang up their hat because if they love what they're doing and there's even one other person out there who loves it, too, then they should be able to create whatever it is they're trying to create. That said, however, I will admit that there are people in the industry whose brand of entertainment I can't stand. But rather than diss any more people than those whom I have already dissed in one of my previous answers, I would rather keep any additional thoughts I have about this, to myself. I would much rather put good stuff out into the universe than bad because I know it makes a difference.

Pizzazz Magazine: Tell me your favorite movie genre, name a few titles too, and maybe the video or dvd you have watched the most:

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: I especially love old B-movies and B-movie actors (they interest me far more than the superstars who made it big in films, because they have often seen just as much and yet a lot of their stories have largely gone untold). I really enjoy old, black-and-white crime films and comedies and most anything from the 1960s to the 1980s (usually the more low-budget, the better). My favorite movies are "DAY OF THE LOCUST" (a film that focuses on the seamy and desperate lives of a group of 1930s fringe-types in Hollywood) and the original "ATTACK OF THE 50 FT. WOMAN" (I'm serious). I am so retro it's not even funny!

Pizzazz Magazine: When do you think Barbara "Jumped the Shark"?

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: Well, some might be inclined to say it was when she started seeing Tom Neal while she was engaged to Franchot Tone, but I believe it happened before that. Barbara jumped the shark soon after she first came to Hollywood and made the unconscious decision that her private life would take precedence over her career. Now that wouldn't have been so bad if her private life had been sedate and happy, but Barbara saw to it that that could never be. Whatever promise she showed in her career was quickly destroyed. Really, her decline was much swifter than any other Hollywood star's. Barbara jumped the shark right away and wound up swimming right beside it (before landing in its jaws).

Pizzazz Magazine: Ever had someone from your past try and track you down after realizing what you do for a living now and bug the tar out of you? I know this seems like the same questions as, "did people change" but it isn't meant to be....

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: Every once in a while I get these cryptic-sounding emails from people wanting to know if I'm the same John O'Dowd they "went to school with", but the weird thing is, they never sign the emails nor do they reply to my emails if I happen to write back to them. It's happened to me several times actually, which is just too strange. As for people from my past ever tracking me down to ask me for a monetary loan or a similar favor, it hasn't happened to me yet but if it ever did, I would have to say to them, "Sorry, but I can't help ya!"

Although I had the good fortune as a child to be reared in a financially comfortable environment, I am now happily-and just as gratefully---ensconced in a far more middle class lifestyle. What can I say? In my 20s I blew a lot of the money I was given and I'm certain that if I had planned and managed my life better, I'd be a lot more financially secure today than I am. I've no major complaints, though; I'm very grateful for my good health and for what I have, as modest as it is, although it would be nice to have health insurance again. As a freelance writer with a house mortgage and a slew of monthly bills, I find I just can't afford it right now. Until then, I take loads of nutritional supplements and try to always pay close attention to what I eat…and I pray a lot. Seriously, I do. I think it is a travesty that there are 45 million people today in this great country of ours without health insurance. Of course, I feel the worst for our children and for the elderly (and for anyone else who is deprived, displaced or vulnerable). But I worry a lot about myself, too. It's a scary way to live!

Pizzazz Magazine: If you were anyone else besides yourself, who would you be (even for just a day, on a good day of course) and did you emulate them growing up?

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: My father. I idolized him as a child and I still do today. Even though he's gone now, I've yet to know a greater man. He was a hard-working family man of high morals and strong ethics and he had a very lighthearted and easygoing personality. Dad had the unique ability to make everyone around him feel good, and he gave my mother, my sisters and me a wonderful life of privilege and comfort. Dad operated a successful dairy business in our hometown and when one of his milk drivers was sick or had to be out of work for some reason he would buy groceries for the guy's family and deliver them to the house himself.

My father later became a very successful businessman in banking and real estate and he became known for closing all his business deals with a handshake (that's how much people trusted him, and he never had even one business deal go bad). The man got down on his knees next to his bed every night to say his prayers. That image is ingrained in my mind and at times it still makes me well up when I think about it. I still remember the many hours he spent pushing me in a swing in our backyard and how he always had so much patience with me. (I was always around a lot of adults as a child so I was very precocious). My father had such a calm and personable way about him---you just always felt good in his presence.

Dad would always tell me, "Always remember, John, you're just as good as everyone else but you're no better than anyone." And that's how he deported himself…always. I miss him and my mother (my loving and generous and wonderful, old-fashioned Italian mama) deeply. My sisters and I are blessed to have been with both of them when they passed on and while it was excruciating to let them go it was also the two most beautiful and transcendent experiences of my life. I have never stopped missing my parents and I don't expect I ever will.

Pizzazz Magazine: Who is the most intriguing person besides Barbara Payton? Why?

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: I suppose anyone who is a maverick and who follows their own path and goes against the grain of what's common practice or behavior, regardless of the consequences. I am also fascinated by that singular kind of mindset that puts some people down a very dark road (especially when they make no attempts to turn around and make their lives better). You know: what is it inside a person that makes them do that? Barbara did it and I have, too (in the past). So, I guess I've intrigued myself sometimes, too. Just kidding…

Pizzazz Magazine: What did we forget?

John O'Dowd on Barbara Payton: Just that people should always try to extend a hand of kindness to others, if they can. For some reason, I think a lot of people look at kindness as a personality flaw and as a weakness, rather than as a strength. I don't know how that belief ever got started. Take a look at any personality poll and people will always say that they look for monetary success, a good sense of humor and great looks in another person, but few ever mention warmth or kindness.

A sincere and genuinely kind person is my favorite type of person of all and I make a real effort to try to be that way myself, except toward those who are cruel, rude or otherwise negative. I have no problem criticizing or avoiding people like that because I'm certainly not going to pretend that I support what they do, especially when a lot of them are so-called "role models" and should know better! I admit I have a lot of work to do in that area, and I hope to be much more accepting of this type of person in the future. I mean, we all have a back story as to why we are the way we are, and I think I should try to be more open-minded when it comes to overtly negative people.

As for a person's financial status, I must say it means nothing to me. I am not impressed with great wealth or social stature and I know I never will be. I've known some very wealthy people in my life who were classy and down-to-earth and others who were shitty and condescending. On the flip side, I've also known people who were at the other end of the financial spectrum and some were of sterling character while others were as down and dirty as they could be! It all comes down to how much love and guidance a person was given as a child…I'm convinced of that.

If I had one wish it would be that every child in the world would be loved, respected and nurtured. I wear a T-shirt that says "Respect Your Fellow Earthlings" and I think that's a really good message.

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