A Night With Johnny Grant - Part Four (Final Part)

The guy who was sitting in my seat got up after just a few minutes. I learned that I shouldn't take it personally and even OE lost his spot a few times during the night when he would get up and wander. He would not actually lower himself to the point where he would make a point to go visit someone at another table, but if he were walking to or from the restroom and someone called him over that he liked or found interesting or could help him he would go slightly out of his way to shake their hand or say a few words. No lingering though. This was OE's version of make everyone come to your office. I noticed that RP didn't have that issue. He was happy to go wit with other people and seemed to get a big thrill of being the big shot at a table which he definitely was when seated with almost anyone other than OE. It was when he was seated with others that he smoked. Most of the time when he lit up near OE, he would get a look. OE smoked, but for some reason RP was shamed for doing so.

The most fun OE seemed to have all night other than when some teenage girls asked him for his autograph and weren't doing it for their parents was when this at the time B+ list mostly television actor and hiatus movie actor came by to say hello. OE actually got up and came out and gave the actor a hug. The actor, who we will call LM, was all smiles and laughs but then OE had to go and ruin it by asking LM to do a little comedy bit and LM said it wasn't really the time and place and the two went back and forth and it became really awkward until Johnny intervened and told OE that one of the waitresses wanted to show OE something. Apparently there was no waitress who wanted to show OE anything, but I didn't know that until later. It was code for OE and one of his many escorts or side pieces to head up to a room that was next door to the restaurant. A little attic space that is now a club was the place OE would take women for 30 minutes when he was in town. At the time there was a side door and he never had to go out front or in the back and no one ever knew what he was doing. Apparently it was supposed to happen later in the night, but Johnny decided it would be best to mention it right then so OE could save some face and there would be less of a chance for things to be said that could not be taken back. As it was, I don't think OE and LM ever really got along after that incident.

OE carried a lot of money, but I never saw him pay for anything. He would tip people all the time, but never actually pay for anything. I'm not sure how he handled the whole escort thing. From what Johnny told me, there were others who would pay for him, and the women he slept with who were not escorts were all hoping for a favor or were paying off a debt.

I think I went into the limo that night hoping for lots of stories and learning more about what happened in Old Hollywood. I got stories, but they seemed to be the same stories the same group of people had been telling for years and although they were excited about the stories, it involved people that were only specific to them and not all that exciting. What that night did give me was something that a lot of people never get the chance to do. I got to spend a night with some legends and see them in a mostly unguarded way and that is something I will never forget. When I did see OE a few months later, he continued to be unguarded. Because I had been introduced by a friend he assumed I wouldn't go talking to the press or write a book about the guy. He was right. I kept my mouth quiet. I would tell bits and pieces to friends, but it was not like any of it was revolutionary or demanding to be told. A few months later when we spoke, some of that began to change.