In this writing process, I have started to think more
about my Grandmother, hereon referred to as Grammy. She died when I was 14 and
she was in her early almost mid-fifties.
She was an INCREDIBLE Grammy; she was a comedian;
impersonator, a professional Blues singer (Las Vegas in the 1950’s and 1960’s) and
she played the trumpet with some serious soul! She played with me and gave me all the attention an only child craves. We role played, we pretended all the time, we acted, we would read Star Magazine and talk trash about everyone! She was not one to hold back her opinion, she was a very strong Alpha woman.... hhhmmmmm, maybe I got some of that from her?!
MOST DEFINITLEY! :D
We would watch Carol Burnette and cry laughing. I would produce and act out shows for her and she always encouraged me and told me how beautiful and talented and smart I was. She was nothing what I knew of her raising my mom. Maybe she saw me as a "second chance" to get it right, hell she was the right age to have been my mom, she was with me more than my mom. My mom chose to be a "work-o-holic" instead of an alcoholic. She never drank. Clearly it skips a generation, cause I have had no problem drinking and consider myself an alcoholic who is under control. But really, my Grammy was my mom in my mind... She meant the world to me! We played dress up and let me tell ya something, when your young, still sexy Grammy is a lounge/nightclub singer and entertainer...you had the Mecca of dress up gear! She had GORGEOUS clothes, Dresses, shoes, costume jewelry, real jewelry that could fill a shoe box, obviously from her many admierers over the years, beautiful wigs and hair pieces. She would let me dress her up and do her make up! It was just a fairytale only child, childhood. Couldn't have been better.
Her career brought her to Washington D.C. in
the late 60’s where she was offered a few gigs at the Gold Rush and Blues
Alley. My Mom and she moved and started a new life, so much different than the
life in Vegas almost two decades before. My Mom literally grew up in Vegas,
living in the Hotels my Grammy performed, The infamous Sands Hotel and Casino (purported
to be a Mob supported casino, weren't they all back then?) The Sahara Hotel and The Star Dust to name a few.
She was usually an opening act for many more famous main acts such as Sammy
Davis Jr. whom sang at one of my Grammy’s six weddings, yes… I said 6! She was
Smokin’ Beautiful and so very talented. She was a Sex-Pot, she was a Diva, she
was the cat’s meow, and she was simply GLAMOROUS! So, no wonder so many men wanted to be with
her. Imagine if she married 6 times in her very short life; imagine how many
boyfriends and lovers there must have been. I have always speculated that many
of those men most likely “liked” my young mom as well…when Grammy was passed
out, if ya know what I mean. I’m sure if my Mom ever did tell
Grammy, my mom would have been in trouble for it, even being accused of trying
to “steal” her man. My Grammy was explosive and an alcoholic and at that time of her life very
self-centered and probably didn’t want to be “lugging” around a kid in the
lifestyle she loved so much. Certainly not an excuse for the way she raised my
Mom.
My Mom on the other hand, did not have such a “glamorous”
view of Vegas. She would have to carry my Grammy in to their hotel rooms when
she was passed out in the hall way or take care of her when she needed to emit
the poisons she had consumed that day and night…she could definitely drink and
she liked her pills too. I’m also sure she dabbled in other street drugs
popular at the time like cocaine.
My mom’s account of her life with Grammy in
Vegas was like the movie “Mommy Dearest” and to this day at 63 she cannot watch
that movie. She has serious mental issues that have been left undiagnosed or
even admitted. My mom told me a story of
when they actually lived in a small bungalow style home in Vegas just a mile or
so from the strip. So the story goes; my
Grammy had passed out in a chair with a lit cigarette, not an uncommon thing
for her to do…even up until she died. So, apparently the chair caught on fire
and Grammy was COLD HARD OUT! So, my mom picked her up (Mom was about 12 or 13
at the time) and carried her dead weight body out of the house and the house
burned pretty significantly. As the story goes… my Grammy woke up outside
before the Fire Department arrived and she hit and smacked my mom around,
blaming her for the fire. Let me make it perfectly clear, even though I truly
believe my mom has some real fucked up issues being able to tell the truth, I
do believe these stories, I know they had a tumultuous relationship their whole
lives… my mom still does and she’s been gone 24 years.
My mom does have cool memories of hanging out in a penthouse
room at the Sahara Hotel with Tina and Nancy Sinatra with some other younger
and older children, just hanging out in this penthouse while the parents
performed, partied and didn’t come back until late in the afternoon the next day.
My mom also loved the “job” she had when she was about 14;
she was a synchronized swimmer at one of the hotels my Grammy and she lived for
a few months. That’s how it went… she got a gig and they stayed at the hotel,
the gig would either renew or end, cancel whatever and they’d move on to the
next.
I can remember watching old 35mm films as a kid, My Grammy hosted a very
late night show on local Vegas television station, you know the show that was on right
before those color blocks came on and there was no more TV for a few hours. She sat a desk which showcased her STUNNING
legs and the guests would sit on chairs next to her and they would just
shoot the shit about Vegas, where to go, what to do and how to do it. It was
pretty cool what I remember. It had some comedy acts and my Grammy would either
sing or play the trumpet at some point. She had the show for about 6 months or
so, if I can remember correctly. Never watched all the films. Never had the opportunity to after she passed away, but that's another post intirely in itself!
My mom was truly robbed of her childhood, the only child of a Narcissistic, Gorgeous, Talented, Quasi-Famous, Alcohol and Drug addict. She was very abusive to my mom, she would tell her horrible things, she hit and smacked her around, and she played the child most of the time and my mom played the parent.
I have a headshot photograph of my Grammy; its black and
white late 60’s and she had died her hair from dark, dark brown hair to
Platinum Blonde… Someone was seeking MORE attention! The picture is of her
right side and she has feathers of some sort wrapped around her chest and a
HUGE Beehive of platinum hair and the inscription to me and my mom reads;
Side note: She
clearly gave this picture to us after I was born in 1973.
To my Darling Daughter and my Beautiful Loving Granddaughter Mona and
Jenna
Love Always ~ Your Swingin’ Singin’ Gram!
I don’t remember being “presented” this personally
autographed photo, but as narcissistic as she was it very well could have been
a Christmas present cause she wrote “Christmas 1978” on the left side under her
stage name; Marcy Lane.
There’s so much more… This I think is a foundation post for
more to come… some “history” to remember when other shit blows up and causes
scars… this post is a circumstance post. More Scars coming!
More Marcy Lane after this short break!
Stay Tuned!