Re: Classic American West Coast Boxing
Posted: 21 Mar 2009, 21:44

Rog, I taught my son how to defend himself early on. My goal was not to have my son kick anyone's ass but to keep from getting his ass kicked. There is a difference. A man should stand up for himself or his lady if the time comes. Sometimes a guy has to defend his mother's honor too. The following happened when my son was in the 6th grade.dagosd2000 wrote:RandyRandyman wrote:dagosd2000 wrote: Randy
I kind of get protective around the little ones now. I don't know. If he wants to get into fighting I'll back him 100%. If not,it's OK with me. Rog
I hear you Rog. I was just kidding. They grow up to do what they want to do. Whatever my kids wanted, I backed them.
Randy
Tomorrow my grandson Adam is in a karate tournament in Anaheim. I worry about him. I don't know. I never was that way with my son. Adam is not very aggressive. I know he wants to please his dad. His dad wants him to kick everyone's ass. I guess his dad is trying to live it through him. What the hell is there to prove? It's not knowing how to fight,but when.I remember when Amanda was born,my son in law wanted her to be a Marine so she could kick everyone's ass.
Gato told me an interesting story when he was over at my place to eat. He said that he lost his reading glasses down at the harbor in Oceanside one evening. He said he went back to look for them. It was pitch black by then. He was about to give up when someone from behind pushed him and knocked him down. Gato said that he wanted to get up and start throwing punches,but he felt his hand on something. It was his reading glasses. He got up,but no one was around.
There's a message there,but I can't put my finger on it right now. Peace my friend. Peace. :)
Rog, I taught my son how to defend himself early on. My goal was not to have my son kick anyone's ass but to keep from getting his ass kicked. There is a difference. A man should stand up for himself or his lady if the time comes. Sometimes a guy has to defend his mother's honor too. The following happened when my son was in the 6th grade.dagosd2000 wrote:Randy
Tomorrow my grandson Adam is in a karate tournament in Anaheim. I worry about him. I don't know. I never was that way with my son. Adam is not very aggressive. I know he wants to please his dad. His dad wants him to kick everyone's ass. I guess his dad is trying to live it through him. What the hell is there to prove? It's not knowing how to fight,but when.I remember when Amanda was born,my son in law wanted her to be a Marine so she could kick everyone's ass.
Gato told me an interesting story when he was over at my place to eat. He said that he lost his reading glasses down at the harbor in Oceanside one evening. He said he went back to look for them. It was pitch black by then. He was about to give up when someone from behind pushed him and knocked him down. Gato said that he wanted to get up and start throwing punches,but he felt his hand on something. It was his reading glasses. He got up,but no one was around.
There's a message there,but I can't put my finger on it right now. Peace my friend. Peace. :)





Ramon is a good son. He doesn't want to worry his mother. That's the way it should be. You did a good job with him.dagosd2000 wrote:Randy
i don't know if you were on the thread when I told this one. My son,Ramon, was coming out of a restaurant in Hollywood with a friend when these two gang bangers pulled a gun on them. They wanted to steal my son's car. The hoods put my son and his friend in the back seat and the guy on the passanger side was holding two.22 caliber pistols on my son and his friend.
My son tells them to take the car and leave them alone. But this was some sort of gang initiation and these two were going to kill my son and his friend.
Ramon snapped and grabbed the guy holding the gun and smashed his head against the passenger window. With his other arm ,Ramon grabbed the driver and smashed his head agaist the glass on the driver's side. However in the process,my son was shot 4 times. Twice in the stomach and twice in the legs.Meanwhile both thugs were knocked unconscious. The cops came and threw them in jail.
He never told us about this. When he didn't come down for Christmas we thought it was strange. He called and said he was busy at work. A month later he shows up and then tells us what happened. He said he didn't want to worry his mother.
RandyRandyman wrote:Today Jeri and I took a drive to the Gene Autry Museum. I'm glad we did. I love everything about the West and the Southwest and the Autry Museum covers a lot of territory. I was particularly glad to see that Mexican Americans are included in the history of the west at the museum. It's worth a look if you happen to be in the area.
Jeri at the entrance of the museum
Above and below: The beautiful Mexican actress Maria Felix. When I saw the painting below Rog, I immediately thought of you and wondered what your interpretation would look like.
Buffalo Bill Cody
Jeri in the Autry Museum
Thanks Rick. I forget that sometimes women have to deal with that crap too. I'm glad she enjoyed the story.Rick Farris wrote:I am a firm believer that when you look for trouble, you will usually get more than you bargained for. When you are in the wrong or just bullying, you really don't have a cause or a reason to fight. No legs to stand on. When you are defending yourself or someone else. you have right or God on your side. You have a cause. You are more driven to win. That's my take on it.
Randy
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Randy . . . This story hit home. Great, great writing. It should be posted on all the blogs, I think. I had to read it to Monica.
Like Andrew, she had dealt with the perils of bully behavior when she was a kid, and she learned to stand up. She appreciated the story, and so did I.
-Rick
I'm looking forward to seeing it. She was a true beauty wasn't she?dagosd2000 wrote:RandyRandyman wrote:Today Jeri and I took a drive to the Gene Autry Museum. I'm glad we did. I love everything about the West and the Southwest and the Autry Museum covers a lot of territory. I was particularly glad to see that Mexican Americans are included in the history of the west at the museum. It's worth a look if you happen to be in the area.
Jeri at the entrance of the museum
Above and below: The beautiful Mexican actress Maria Felix. When I saw the painting below Rog, I immediately thought of you and wondered what your interpretation would look like.
Buffalo Bill Cody
Jeri in the Autry Museum
I have a painting I did of Maria Felix in the library in Jiquilpan. I'll try to paint her again tomorrow. I've been meaning to get around to her again.
Randyman wrote:Today Jeri and I took a drive to the Gene Autry Museum. I'm glad we did. I love everything about the West and the Southwest and the Autry Museum covers a lot of territory. I was particularly glad to see that Mexican Americans are included in the history of the west at the museum. It's worth a look if you happen to be in the area.
Jeri at the entrance of the museum
Above and below: The beautiful Mexican actress Maria Felix. When I saw the painting below Rog, I immediately thought of you and wondered what your interpretation would look like.
Buffalo Bill Cody
Jeri in the Autry Museum
When you describe her, even with just a few choice words, I know that you are capturing her essence, just as you did Edith Piaf. Now I really want to see it.dagosd2000 wrote:Randy
When I was 12 years old my parents took me to the Rosarito Beach Hotel to watch Maria Felix perform. She sang and danced. She had every eye in the house on her. She was like Edith Piaf. Men were drawn to her.

Thanks Rick, that will just add to the perfect day that Jeri and I had. I think I mentioned to you before that, although I never new them except through their television shows, I have a soft spot in my heart for both Victor French and Michael Landon. Because of the types of television shows they were involved in, you just knew they were decent guys. All the TV shows had a sense of morality. I'm no prude or an angel but I always appreciated that. You just know that when they use the term "beloved actor" with either one of these two, there is no bullshit.Rick Farris wrote:Randyman wrote:Today Jeri and I took a drive to the Gene Autry Museum. I'm glad we did. I love everything about the West and the Southwest and the Autry Museum covers a lot of territory. I was particularly glad to see that Mexican Americans are included in the history of the west at the museum. It's worth a look if you happen to be in the area.
Jeri at the entrance of the museum
Above and below: The beautiful Mexican actress Maria Felix. When I saw the painting below Rog, I immediately thought of you and wondered what your interpretation would look like.
Buffalo Bill Cody
Jeri in the Autry Museum
Randy . . . When actor Victor French passed away in June, 1989, he did not have a conventional funeral. In fact, although I was friends with the actor, none of us but his family knows what happened to his body. He had an incredible Memorial Party that he actually devoted seven pages of his will to assure it be done "his way". It was thrown for his cast and crew from a variety of TV productions he was involved with thruout the years, such as "Gunsmoke", in which he both guest starred and directed. And, for his boxing friends, most noteably the Goossen Family, which Victor supported both professionally and financially as the fledgling San Fernando boxing club grew.
Victor's "Party" was unbelieveable and cost the actor mega dollars. There were several varieties of food, bars everywhere, high end hookers for his close friends gratis, the Les Brown Band for the older guys and some hot top ten band for the rock lovers. There was free limo service if you drank too much, which was one of his demands, everybody get wasted on him. And we had to oblige. My soon-to-be Ex drove me home, making sure not to leave me where I really wish she had.
We had the Museum open and toured it's history, of which both Michael Landon and Victor were. Vic's dad had been a Western B-movie actor/stunt man in the days of Republic Studios. Victor grew up a Hollywood brat and knew the history, he lived it. So much of that is at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum.
I'm going to dig up the invitation for Victor French's funeral (At Gene Autry's), as well as Michael Landon's. I'll post them both, but Vic's is going to make you laugh. On the first page of the invitation card, is an etching of Victor's head . . . above it the caption reads . . . "You Better Show Up at My Damn Party!" And then the rest inside is classic. I'll post it tomorrow.
-Rick Farris
I can see the pitiful grief, suffering anguish and agony in her eyes.dagosd2000 wrote:
Edith Piaf
Thanks Rick, that will just add to the perfect day that Jeri and I had. I think I mentioned to you before that, although I never new them except through their television shows, I have a soft spot in my heart for both Victor French and Michael Landon. Because of the types of television shows they were involved in, you just knew they were decent guys. All the TV shows had a sense of morality. I'm no prude or an angel but I always appreciated that. You just know that when they use the term "beloved actor" with either one of these two, there is no bullshit.Randyman wrote:Rick Farris wrote:Randyman wrote:Today Jeri and I took a drive to the Gene Autry Museum. I'm glad we did. I love everything about the West and the Southwest and the Autry Museum covers a lot of territory. I was particularly glad to see that Mexican Americans are included in the history of the west at the museum. It's worth a look if you happen to be in the area.
Jeri at the entrance of the museum
Above and below: The beautiful Mexican actress Maria Felix. When I saw the painting below Rog, I immediately thought of you and wondered what your interpretation would look like.
Buffalo Bill Cody
Jeri in the Autry Museum
Randy . . . When actor Victor French passed away in June, 1989, he did not have a conventional funeral. In fact, although I was friends with the actor, none of us but his family knows what happened to his body. He had an incredible Memorial Party that he actually devoted seven pages of his will to assure it be done "his way". It was thrown for his cast and crew from a variety of TV productions he was involved with thruout the years, such as "Gunsmoke", in which he both guest starred and directed. And, for his boxing friends, most noteably the Goossen Family, which Victor supported both professionally and financially as the fledgling San Fernando boxing club grew.
Victor's "Party" was unbelieveable and cost the actor mega dollars. There were several varieties of food, bars everywhere, high end hookers for his close friends gratis, the Les Brown Band for the older guys and some hot top ten band for the rock lovers. There was free limo service if you drank too much, which was one of his demands, everybody get wasted on him. And we had to oblige. My soon-to-be Ex drove me home, making sure not to leave me where I really wish she had.
We had the Museum open and toured it's history, of which both Michael Landon and Victor were. Vic's dad had been a Western B-movie actor/stunt man in the days of Republic Studios. Victor grew up a Hollywood brat and knew the history, he lived it. So much of that is at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum.
I'm going to dig up the invitation for Victor French's funeral (At Gene Autry's), as well as Michael Landon's. I'll post them both, but Vic's is going to make you laugh. On the first page of the invitation card, is an etching of Victor's head . . . above it the caption reads . . . "You Better Show Up at My Damn Party!" And then the rest inside is classic. I'll post it tomorrow.
-Rick Farris
Rick, the words that you have printed here on this thread are appreciated. You and the word you speak about Michael Landon are part of his legacy. In the end when we are stripped of everything, we still have out character, our dignity and integrity. That's who we are. It can't be bought, stolen or given away. it can only be earned. That's who he was. Thanks for sharing. By the way, I really enjoy all the "Hollywood" stories that you write. Keep them coming!Rick Farris wrote: Randy, I was very lucky to have been a part of Michael Landon Productions for nearly eight years. He and his best friend/producer Kent McCray were solid! We did everything on a handshake, he invested in his crew, their futures, he invested in me, and a medic who became a camera assistant, and an office worker he made an assistant director, who would go on to produce all of the Star Trek Series since "The Next Generation". When his name was on our resume, it worked against us. It was assumed we were too spoiled, used to making much more for less hours work, better conditions, actual professionalism, etc. You know, the best. They were right. The business lost it magic too me when Mike passed in '91. We were geared up for a . . . Uh, I'm sorry. Getting carried away with memories of positive energy. A real man, a man of honor, a true Hollywood TV legend. We loved Michael Landon, I always will. He was kind to me and my familiy.
-Rick
Randyman wrote:Rick, the words that you have printed here on this thread are appreciated. You and the word you speak about Michael Landon are part of his legacy. In the end when we are stripped of everything, we still have out character, our dignity and integrity. That's who we are. It can't be bought, stolen or given away. it can only be earned. That's who he was. Thanks for sharing. By the way, I really enjoy all the "Hollywood" stories that you write. Keep them coming!Rick Farris wrote: Randy, I was very lucky to have been a part of Michael Landon Productions for nearly eight years. He and his best friend/producer Kent McCray were solid! We did everything on a handshake, he invested in his crew, their futures, he invested in me, and a medic who became a camera assistant, and an office worker he made an assistant director, who would go on to produce all of the Star Trek Series since "The Next Generation". When his name was on our resume, it worked against us. It was assumed we were too spoiled, used to making much more for less hours work, better conditions, actual professionalism, etc. You know, the best. They were right. The business lost it magic too me when Mike passed in '91. We were geared up for a . . . Uh, I'm sorry. Getting carried away with memories of positive energy. A real man, a man of honor, a true Hollywood TV legend. We loved Michael Landon, I always will. He was kind to me and my familiy.
-Rick
Randy
I'm looking forward to the photos. This is just one the many reasons why this thread is so successful and special.Rick Farris wrote:Randyman wrote:Rick, the words that you have printed here on this thread are appreciated. You and the word you speak about Michael Landon are part of his legacy. In the end when we are stripped of everything, we still have out character, our dignity and integrity. That's who we are. It can't be bought, stolen or given away. it can only be earned. That's who he was. Thanks for sharing. By the way, I really enjoy all the "Hollywood" stories that you write. Keep them coming!Rick Farris wrote: Randy, I was very lucky to have been a part of Michael Landon Productions for nearly eight years. He and his best friend/producer Kent McCray were solid! We did everything on a handshake, he invested in his crew, their futures, he invested in me, and a medic who became a camera assistant, and an office worker he made an assistant director, who would go on to produce all of the Star Trek Series since "The Next Generation". When his name was on our resume, it worked against us. It was assumed we were too spoiled, used to making much more for less hours work, better conditions, actual professionalism, etc. You know, the best. They were right. The business lost it magic too me when Mike passed in '91. We were geared up for a . . . Uh, I'm sorry. Getting carried away with memories of positive energy. A real man, a man of honor, a true Hollywood TV legend. We loved Michael Landon, I always will. He was kind to me and my familiy.
-Rick
Randy
I'll post some pics. We were a crew of vets, and I was nearly the youngest, 30. MAny of the rest were beyond retirement age, but Micke loved them, and he made it easy and so did they. Mike made many a cinematographer or close production associate a millionaire. We had guys were in their mid 70's, two brilliant cameramen from his Bonanza days, the original lighting gaffer, who Mike put into a Camera Dept. We all had it made, we thought. Who'd have expected that cancer would claim Vic in '89 and then Landon two years later. Both were 54. We would still be making Tv. Mike was trying to adjust to a different audience. He would have. He could do the impossible, and did! He really was an Angel. He was our crew's Angel.
-Rick