BoxRec

THEHAMMER321 wrote:I can hear the coffee perking.

Had 3 cups already!! Paul.....

Leslie Nielson's gag . . .

One thing film crews know about Leslie Nielson is his little gag, which is one of those little sqeeze toys that makes the sound of a fart.
On Highway To Heaven, we filmed a number of scenes on the street during the episode that featured Nielson.
During our production, fans would wave to the actor and he was very gracious when it came to signing autographs.
I recall watching one lady sticking out her arm to shake Nielson's. He extended his right hand to the lady, with his left hand resting in his pocket.
As the woman shook the actors hand, he sqeezed the little fart machine and when heard the sound she gasped.
Leslie apologized to the woman and explained, "I have the most terrible case of gas", and he then sqeezed it again.
The horrified fan attempted to get herself together, "You poor man", she said.

From that point on, Landon's co-star Victor French, began packing the fart gag which also shocked fans who'd approach him.
R.I.P. Leslie Nielson, and you too Vic.

Rick Farris wrote:Leslie Nielson's gag . . .

One thing film crews know about Leslie Nielson is his little gag, which is one of those little sqeeze toys that makes the sound of a fart.
On Highway To Heaven, we filmed a number of scenes on the street during the episode that featured Nielson.
During our production, fans would wave to the actor and he was very gracious when it came to signing autographs.
I recall watching one lady sticking out her arm to shake Nielson's. He extended his right hand to the lady, with his left hand resting in his pocket. As the woman shook the actors hand, he sqeezed the little fart machine and when heard the sound she gasped. Leslie apologized to the woman and explained, "I have the most terrible case of gas", and he then sqeezed it again. The horrified fan attempted to get herself together, "You poor man", she said.

Michael Landon, Victor French, Leslie Neilson & Nancy Reagan . . .


It's the late 80's, we are filming "Highway To Heaven" on the streets of Culver City.
Leslie Nielson is the episodes guest star, and like all of Landon's guest stars (i.e. Dick Van Dyke, Eli Wallach, etc.) we'd shoot every scene in one take.
On this day, we have a limozine in the scene, riding in the back of the limo is Landon's charactor, Victor French's charactor and Leslie Neilson.

Sitting in the seats across from the three actors are myself (holding a soft light for their faces) and a camera operator hand holding the Panavision 35mm.
As I sat across from the three legends, I listened to them talk, joke, some hilarious cold blooded private exchanges that had us all in laughter.
We are ready to drive off and roll the camera that was covering the actors in a driving shot.
In those days cell phones were non-existant, but the production had a mobile phone set-up attached to a battery about the size of a lunch box.
An assistant director handed the phone to Landon. "Hey Mike, it's Nancy Reagen . . ."
The actor smiled and took the telephone receiver. At the time, the First Lady was involved with her "Just say No" to drugs program.

Landon and the First Lady discussed his doing an episode that would relate to her campaign.
As we sat quietly, we listened to our boss, the biggest actor in televsion history, speaking with the wife of the President of the United States.
They spoke maybe five minutes. When Mike hung up, he smiled, and then handed the phone back to the AD.
"OK, let's go . .. " Landon tells the driver.

The car pulled away from the curb, as we circled the block, Mike (who also directed) says, "OK, let's roll . . . speed . . . Action . . .
The three men exchanged about one an a half pages of dialougue, Landon says "cut". He looks at the camera operator and asks, "Was that OK for you?"
The cameraman said "It's good". Once again, ONE TAKE! Damn, they were pros, the best, all three.
Landon intructs the driver to driveback to our base camp.
As we driveback, I recall looking out the window of the car. I saw a couple of motorcycle cops escorting our caravan as we moved down the street.
I was just sitting across from these three great actors, one talking to the President's wife.

Wow! that's all I can say.

May you all Rest in Peace!
I can only imagine these three reunited in the after world.
They were great, a great chemistry.
It was very simple, and we all laughed a lot.
The best job in Hollywood. That was a fact about working with Michael Landon. Only the best.


-Rick Farris

Who said it doesn't get cold in the desert ?, 36 degrees out, I know Vegas is not known for cold weather, but for me anything below 50 degrees is freezing.

Hello Bennie, if my prediction is correct you will be on here in the next few minutes.

Frank I am up before the chickens today, better get that coffee brewing.

THEHAMMER321 wrote:Frank I am up before the chickens today, better get that coffee brewing.

What the hell is going on with you Paul??, why up so early??, are you sick??....hope not.... ....coffee is getting done....

THEHAMMER321 wrote:Frank I am up before the chickens today, better get that coffee brewing.

I'm up too. Had one cup of coffee, I'll have another at work.
I know Randy is up, and Frank. I guess we are the "4am Coffee Club".
Of course, most of us are going to work. Frank is working to stay a "kept man".
Good morning, Paul.

No not sick, it has been pretty cold here and got up to put the heat on.

Good morning Rick

THEHAMMER321 wrote:Good morning Rick

Good morning, Paul. Stay warm.

Anyone remember Eddie Simms, fought the Brown Bomber, he used to play poker in the Union Plaza in the late 1990s, I just looked online it has his birthday but no death date, anyone know anything about him

Postscript to a Bad Night in Vegas: Javier Ayala's Final Fight

Ted "The Bull" Sares is back again tonight (or this morning, I guess) with his final piece of 2010.



Javier Ayala battled the likes of Roberto Duran and Esteban de Jesus, but it was his 1980 loss to Bruce Finch that retired him and left a mark on those in attendance.

Javier Ayala battled the likes of Roberto Duran and Esteban de Jesus, but it was his 1980 loss to Bruce Finch that retired him and left a mark on those in attendance.

In no other sport is the connection between performer and observer so intimate, so frequently painful, so unresolved.
- Joyce Carol Oates

Every man's memory is his private literature.
- Aldous Huxley

His name was Javier Ayala and he lived in Los Angeles by way of Tijuana. He had gone ten rounds with both Nicolino Locche and the great Roberto Duran and also went the distance with Leroy Haley and Estaban De Jesus. His career highlight likely came in Brisbane in 1974 when he shocked Aussie Hector Thompson (49-3-2 coming in). He also retired Angel Mayoral (51-7-2) with a points win in 1976. But on this night at the Silver Slipper in Las Vegas, his main event opponent was Bruce Finch whose legacy would be that after his 3rd round TKO loss to Sugar Ray Leonard in1982 in Reno, Leonard would have surgery to repair a detached retina.

Coming into the Finch fight, Javier had lost six straight including bouts to the very capable Jerry "Schoolboy" Cheatham, Dujuan Johnson, and rugged Lou Bizzarro. He had become a gate through which prospects must get through before going to the next level.

I was visiting my brother at the time (I had been on assignment in nearby Phoenix and flew in for some R and R), but on this particular July night in 1980 I was alone. After several hours of Black Jack at Bally's and a soulful dinner at Kathy's Southern Cooking restaurant, I pursued my real interest of the evening which was to watch a young lightweight prospect out of Youngstown, Ohio by the name of Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini. He had won ten in a row and was on the undercard in a eight-rounder against one Leon Smith who he blew away in the first round with several unanswered body shots to Smith's liver that you could hear throughout the hall. I was on the aisle near ringside and they sounded like muffled bombs. I was most impressed and anything else on this particular boxing night would be icing on the cake.

Chris Schwenke fought his first pro fight and won a four-round UD over Bill Fallow. This would be the start of a 14 fight win streak. There was an uneventful 6-rounder between Danny Sanders and Irish Pat Coffey which Danny won by TKO in the last round. At that point, there was a brief intermission and I remember this young boy of about 9 or 10 years old who then appeared and was standing just to the rear of my seat. I asked him his name and he said he was Javier Ayala's son. He was very shy and humble. We had a nice exchange (in Spanish) and I said I hoped his father would do well. As the fighters walked to the ring, I noticed Javier reach over to pat his son on the shoulder and give him a smile and a wink. The fighters were then introduced amidst the usual fanfare and the crowd readied for the main event.

Finch, a welterweight from Milwaukee, had lost only three fights coming in and these were to top level opponents Tommy Hearns, Larry Bonds, and Pete Ranzany. He had won 21 and was touted as having lots of pop in his punches. The much younger Finch looked to be in excellent welterweight shape, while the tattooed Ayala looked every bit his age of 37.

As I torched up my Cuesta Rey -- thankfully, there were no smoking restrictions back in 1980, particularly in a gambling casino -- the fighters received their instructions touched gloves, the bell rang and the fight began.

The first two rounds were mostly cat and mouse with both fighters feeling each other out and getting in a few decent shots. Finch threw some neat combinations and seemed to have taken control by the end of round two. It happened in the third round. Both fighters were coming out of a clinch and as they set themselves, Ayala moved forward to throw a telegraphed looping right. Finch got there first unleashing a short and vicious right uppercut which hit Ayala at the point of his chin.

You could hear the blow back in the gambling area. Ayala hit the canvas as if he had been hit with a ten gauge shotgun...and that's when what started out to be a pleasant evening of manly fun became something else. As he landed on his back, his body hit before his head which then whip sawed onto the canvas. He stayed down as his only handler hovered over him and as ringside officials and the referee quickly went to revive him. He was unconscious and stayed that way for some 10 to 15 minutes without so much as moving a limb. A stretcher was being readied, the crowd was hushed, and a genuine sense of concern permeated. Everyone feared the worse. Finch, while elated with his one punch victory, was visibly concerned as well. While this was all going on, I glanced over at his son standing in the rear area and I'll never forget the look on his face or the tears welling up in his eyes. I went over and put my arm around him and said "don't worry; your father will be fine." He was shaking all over and it was all I could do to keep myself composed.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Javier Ayala arose to scattered applause.

The relief was palpable. He left the ring under his own power, albeit unsteadily, and seemed okay. As he was heading for the dressing room, he stopped and took his son's hand in his own and they both disappeared from sight as they went into the room. The word that best describes what I witnessed at that moment was pathos....my overwhelming emotion was one of sympathy and pity.

I never found out exactly what happened to Javier but I do know that was his last fight. He finished with a record of 24-25-1. Where he is today or where his son might be remained mysteries that I never attempted to solve. Maybe I was afraid of what I might learn.

As for Bruce Finch, he would win eleven in a row before being stopped by Sugar Ray in 1982. He would then lose six of his next seven fights before retiring in 1985.

To this day, when I get giddy over some fight or engage in a heated argument over boxing in general and need a reality check, I always think back to that bad night in Vegas, one that would leave me with indelible, though mixed memories.

Postscript: Last week, some thirty years later, I received the following email from Gerardo Arroyo. "Hello, my father is good friends with Javier Ayala. Javier is doing fine and currently resides in Tijuana. He has good memories of his boxing career. I met him when I was a young kid. He has a peacock tattoo on one of his shoulders, is he the same person you are describing in your article?"

Rick Farris wrote:

THEHAMMER321 wrote:Frank I am up before the chickens today, better get that coffee brewing.

I'm up too. Had one cup of coffee, I'll have another at work.
I know Randy is up, and Frank. I guess we are the "4am Coffee Club".
Of course, most of us are going to work. Frank is working to stay a "kept man".
Good morning, Paul.

I wake up at 4:00 AM, get coffee ready for Connie & I, while she is getting ready for work I drink two cups of coffee, watch the news on TV, get on the computer, read the LA Times, when she is ready to leave I put everything down, walk her to the car, give her a kiss, THEN I go back to bed and enjoy the live of a "Kept Man"....

kikibalt wrote:Postscript to a Bad Night in Vegas: Javier Ayala's Final Fight

Ted "The Bull" Sares is back again tonight (or this morning, I guess) with his final piece of 2010.



Javier Ayala battled the likes of Roberto Duran and Esteban de Jesus, but it was his 1980 loss to Bruce Finch that retired him and left a mark on those in attendance.

Javier Ayala battled the likes of Roberto Duran and Esteban de Jesus, but it was his 1980 loss to Bruce Finch that retired him and left a mark on those in attendance.

In no other sport is the connection between performer and observer so intimate, so frequently painful, so unresolved.
- Joyce Carol Oates

Every man's memory is his private literature.
- Aldous Huxley

His name was Javier Ayala and he lived in Los Angeles by way of Tijuana. He had gone ten rounds with both Nicolino Locche and the great Roberto Duran and also went the distance with Leroy Haley and Estaban De Jesus. His career highlight likely came in Brisbane in 1974 when he shocked Aussie Hector Thompson (49-3-2 coming in). He also retired Angel Mayoral (51-7-2) with a points win in 1976. But on this night at the Silver Slipper in Las Vegas, his main event opponent was Bruce Finch whose legacy would be that after his 3rd round TKO loss to Sugar Ray Leonard in1982 in Reno, Leonard would have surgery to repair a detached retina.

Coming into the Finch fight, Javier had lost six straight including bouts to the very capable Jerry "Schoolboy" Cheatham, Dujuan Johnson, and rugged Lou Bizzarro. He had become a gate through which prospects must get through before going to the next level.

I was visiting my brother at the time (I had been on assignment in nearby Phoenix and flew in for some R and R), but on this particular July night in 1980 I was alone. After several hours of Black Jack at Bally's and a soulful dinner at Kathy's Southern Cooking restaurant, I pursued my real interest of the evening which was to watch a young lightweight prospect out of Youngstown, Ohio by the name of Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini. He had won ten in a row and was on the undercard in a eight-rounder against one Leon Smith who he blew away in the first round with several unanswered body shots to Smith's liver that you could hear throughout the hall. I was on the aisle near ringside and they sounded like muffled bombs. I was most impressed and anything else on this particular boxing night would be icing on the cake.

Chris Schwenke fought his first pro fight and won a four-round UD over Bill Fallow. This would be the start of a 14 fight win streak. There was an uneventful 6-rounder between Danny Sanders and Irish Pat Coffey which Danny won by TKO in the last round. At that point, there was a brief intermission and I remember this young boy of about 9 or 10 years old who then appeared and was standing just to the rear of my seat. I asked him his name and he said he was Javier Ayala's son. He was very shy and humble. We had a nice exchange (in Spanish) and I said I hoped his father would do well. As the fighters walked to the ring, I noticed Javier reach over to pat his son on the shoulder and give him a smile and a wink. The fighters were then introduced amidst the usual fanfare and the crowd readied for the main event.

Finch, a welterweight from Milwaukee, had lost only three fights coming in and these were to top level opponents Tommy Hearns, Larry Bonds, and Pete Ranzany. He had won 21 and was touted as having lots of pop in his punches. The much younger Finch looked to be in excellent welterweight shape, while the tattooed Ayala looked every bit his age of 37.

As I torched up my Cuesta Rey -- thankfully, there were no smoking restrictions back in 1980, particularly in a gambling casino -- the fighters received their instructions touched gloves, the bell rang and the fight began.

The first two rounds were mostly cat and mouse with both fighters feeling each other out and getting in a few decent shots. Finch threw some neat combinations and seemed to have taken control by the end of round two. It happened in the third round. Both fighters were coming out of a clinch and as they set themselves, Ayala moved forward to throw a telegraphed looping right. Finch got there first unleashing a short and vicious right uppercut which hit Ayala at the point of his chin.

You could hear the blow back in the gambling area. Ayala hit the canvas as if he had been hit with a ten gauge shotgun...and that's when what started out to be a pleasant evening of manly fun became something else. As he landed on his back, his body hit before his head which then whip sawed onto the canvas. He stayed down as his only handler hovered over him and as ringside officials and the referee quickly went to revive him. He was unconscious and stayed that way for some 10 to 15 minutes without so much as moving a limb. A stretcher was being readied, the crowd was hushed, and a genuine sense of concern permeated. Everyone feared the worse. Finch, while elated with his one punch victory, was visibly concerned as well. While this was all going on, I glanced over at his son standing in the rear area and I'll never forget the look on his face or the tears welling up in his eyes. I went over and put my arm around him and said "don't worry; your father will be fine." He was shaking all over and it was all I could do to keep myself composed.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Javier Ayala arose to scattered applause.

The relief was palpable. He left the ring under his own power, albeit unsteadily, and seemed okay. As he was heading for the dressing room, he stopped and took his son's hand in his own and they both disappeared from sight as they went into the room. The word that best describes what I witnessed at that moment was pathos....my overwhelming emotion was one of sympathy and pity.

I never found out exactly what happened to Javier but I do know that was his last fight. He finished with a record of 24-25-1. Where he is today or where his son might be remained mysteries that I never attempted to solve. Maybe I was afraid of what I might learn.

As for Bruce Finch, he would win eleven in a row before being stopped by Sugar Ray in 1982. He would then lose six of his next seven fights before retiring in 1985.

To this day, when I get giddy over some fight or engage in a heated argument over boxing in general and need a reality check, I always think back to that bad night in Vegas, one that would leave me with indelible, though mixed memories.

Postscript: Last week, some thirty years later, I received the following email from Gerardo Arroyo. "Hello, my father is good friends with Javier Ayala. Javier is doing fine and currently resides in Tijuana. He has good memories of his boxing career. I met him when I was a young kid. He has a peacock tattoo on one of his shoulders, is he the same person you are describing in your article?"

Ayala was a good fighter. Without checking, I'm sure he licked Bruce Curry.

G' morning Bennie, or is it good after noon for you?

Frank thanks for posting that story on Javier Ayala, I never saw him fight, but I am very familiar with him having fought Roberto Duran as well as other top fighters of the day, but at the end of the day fighters are only human, people that are not familiar with the fight game hear about fighters making millions and think that all ''profesional fighters'' are rich, one fighter in the story my father new well, Bruce Finch worked as a casino porter in the Orbit Inn casino when he got his ''shot'' at Sugar Ray Leonard, the only big payday he ever got, Frank you know all to well, having managed your sons how painful and unforgiving the fight game can be, bad decisions, title shots going to less deserving fighters, and then worst of all being ''over the hill'' and losing to fighters who couldn't have shined your shoes a couple of years before.

THEHAMMER321 wrote:Frank thanks for posting that story on Javier Ayala, I never saw him fight, but I am very familiar with him having fought Roberto Duran as well as other top fighters of the day, but at the end of the day fighters are only human, people that are not familiar with the fight game hear about fighters making millions and think that all ''profesional fighters'' are rich, one fighter in the story my father new well, Bruce Finch worked as a casino porter in the Orbit Inn casino when he got his ''shot'' at Sugar Ray Leonard, the only big payday he ever got, Frank you know all to well, having managed your sons how painful and unforgiving the fight game can be, bad decisions, title shots going to less deserving fighters, and then worst of all being ''over the hill'' and losing to fighters who couldn't have shined your shoes a couple of years before.

You're right Paul, I know all of the above every well.....

Article courtesy of Rick Farris

kikibalt wrote:G' morning Bennie, or is it good after noon for you?

Yeah, we are well into the afternoon here. The snow is flying outside.

I'm thinking of Domingo Ayala as the man who beat Curry.

Man, I remember Ayala. He was one tough dude. Not to run him down, but that win over the very talented Hector Thompson was a fluke. Thompson had to retire in his corner with some knee/ligament damage, which actually required an operation. Thompson should have and would have won a 10 round decision, but still, a win is a win. I saw Ayala win a 10 rounder over Shinichi Kadota and I remember him getting the call for a 10 round non-title affair with Roberto Duran. He took a fight before the Duran gig against a fighter named Mundo Romero and I recall Jim Healy saying how Ayala expressed how he wanted to look impressive for the upcoming Duran fight, so he came out swinging. Man, he looked anything but impressive. He swung with abandon trying to take out Romero and kept getting clipped by Romero's counters. It looked like one of those very precise counters were going to stick until finally Ayala nailed him with one of those wild haymakers and took him out. Ayala also held a nice KO over Cesar Sinda, who looked brilliant in the two Felipe Torres fights and not much after that. But Ayala's most noteworthy fight was the Duran 10 rounder on the undercard to the Rodolfo Gonzalez-Ruben Navarro title fight. Duran has pretty much done what he wanted to after 9 rounds, but in the 10th drops Ayala so hard the 10 second lights (for the end of the round) activates and the bell rings prematurely. The gloves are cut off before the mistake is caught and they have to glove up again to finish out about one more minute of the fight. Again, Ayala was not slick, but he was tough.

Scartissue

kikibalt wrote:Article courtesy of Rick Farris

Back in the day, as if the fighters themselves didn't paint a pretty canvas
in the ring, you had guys like Jim Murray take it one step further.

"Dwight, an Los Angeles negro, had no chance.In Mexico, they don't give the bull the ears".

"Dwight doesn't mind. He'd fight a firing squad for a steak dinner".

Jim is what I call a "Soul" writer. Really gets beneath all the layers.
Thanks Rick, for sharing his stuff. You cannot ever tire from this kind of writing.

bennie wrote:

kikibalt wrote:G' morning Bennie, or is it good after noon for you?

Yeah, we are well into the afternoon here. The snow is flying outside.

Keep warm Bennie, here where I am at we don't get snow, just heavy frost/ice during the night, very cold mornings, for us anyway....