Booking Steven Spielberg...

Very few people outside the film industry knew who Steven Spielberg was in 1976. But everyone knew the film he directed, the blockbuster Jaws.


I was standing near the entrance to the Universal Studios Tour waiting to meet him to film a Kidworld interview, when it occurred to me I had no idea what he looked like. I guess it was the panicked look in my eyes and the clipboard that gave me away. I turned around and heard, ‘Are you Rusty?” It was Steven Spielberg.

What I think makes this story interesting is how I booked Steven Spielberg for the show, what happened after the interview…and later that night.

It’s hard to describe the impact that Jaws had in Hollywood. Everyone was talking about it. And there were ‘Steven Spielberg’ sightings all over town. The stories were amazing. There were actually people impersonating him all over town; trying to get seats at Chasens, pitch projects and other bizarre stories.

I got a call that Steven Spielberg wanted to be interviewed for the TV show I was working on at the time called KidsWorld. Stars loved the show. It was a kid’s version of 60 Minutes. Stars were interviewed by 10-12 year old kids, and we went to their homes or offices so it was convenient, fun and great exposure.

Getting Steven Spielberg for KidsWorld would be a great booking, but I was skeptical because of all the stories, so I called his office at Universal and sure enough it was a bogus request. But when I told his secretary about the show and how easy it would be she thought he might like doing it. Sure enough, she called back and said yes. I suggested we do it at the Jaws stage (which was being constructed as an attraction on the tour) and that we’d meet at the tour entrance. Booking confirmed. I called everyone with the good news.

We decided to shoot the interview on the Orca. Little did I know that it was one of the actual production boats used in the filming. It was the first time that he had been down to this area and had been on the boat.

He went inside the cabin, where he said the cast and crew had all signed their names - Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider and Steven Spielberg. The look in his eyes said it all.

Someone had painted over the inside of the cabin and all the signatures were erased. They spend endless hours on this small little boat and now this personal tribute was gone.

He was obviously upset. We shot right on the boat, and he was just great with the young girl doing the interview. They talked about what he was like as a kid, and how he started in the movie business. He answered all her questions about filming the shark, who I later found out he named Bruce, after his lawyer!

When we finished he got up and I am sure made a few phone calls.


A few hours later I went to the premiere of A Star is Born in Westwood. After the screening, we walked down a red carpet that was two city blocks, lined with over 100 Klieg lights, marking our way to the premiere party at Dillons, a hot new club in Westwood.

The place was packed. The Hollywood elite gathered to celebrate. Sitting at well guarded table in the VIP section on the 3rd floor was Steven Spielberg. He called me over and introduced me to the film’s star, Barbra Streisand. What a way to end the day, December 18, 1976.

I never knew who called pretending to be Steven Spielberg, but I am glad I had the chance to work with the real one.

PS. I booked Steven once more for the ABC Show Kids Are People Too. (I loved working on kid’s shows). He was a much bigger deal by then, and it wasn’t as easy to this time. But he remembered me and said yes. I met him at the gate at the ABC Prospect studios, and he was upset. His dog was sick and he really needed to get home. We pushed the segment, and as expected he was warm and inspiring talking with kids.

By that time, everyone knew who he was.

My encounter with The Great One!

Which Way Kid....

There is nothing like Broadway.

And I was working there.Everyday I left school early to catch the 2:36 train in Baldwin to get to my job as a page for The David Frost Show at The Little Theatre on 44th Street. I was like a sponge, absorbing everything I saw and everyone I met. I have so many memories and stories from those days...this is one of my favorites!

It was a typical day. Everyone was getting ready for another night. Tony, the doorman at Sardi's was enjoying his early afternoon dinner. The box offices were busy selling tickets, and the offices above the theatres were humming with activity. A few doors down was the loading dock of The Times. They were getting ready for the midnight load when the big trucks carrying these enormous rolls of newsprint would be lining up to drop off their loads for the midnight print run of tomorrow's New York Times.

I was backstage at The Little Theatre, home of The David Frost Show where I worked as a page and cue card writer, when word came down from upstairs that Jackie Gleason was coming in from Florida to be the only guest for the entire show.

Jackie Gleason. The Great One would soon be walking through the door. For only the second time I could remember, David was on time because he knew better than to keep the Great One waiting.

He was so much more in person than I had expected. It was like watching the cover of Life magazine jumping off the page. He wasn't a big man, but he was larger than life. He had such a command of the room that nothing else seemed to matter. He was dignified, elegant, and smart.. he was The Great One. I could just imagine someone coming up to him and calling him "Jackie" and then walking away headless.

This was the second time that David had interviewed him, and he seemed to really enjoy doing the show. He wore a three piece suit and had his cigar. He was accompanied by his girlfriend...and they made quite a couple.

So now the show is over and it started to rain. Mr. Gleason arrives in the lobby from backstage. They are going to see a show at the Royal Box on 45th. I am standing behind him and he turns around and says 'let's go'...looking straight at me. I look at my boss, Jim McDonough with a 'go I go?' look in my eye and just grabbed an umbrella. And I am now walking behind the Great One (and his girlfriend) as they walk into Shubert Alley. The street was full of people, but no one bothered him.

We reached 45th Street and it happened.

He stopped and turned around and looked at me and asked: "Which way kid?"

You know how sometimes it seems like everything freezes in slow motion. That was what I felt like.

Then I heard words come out of my mouth, "Left, Mr. Gleason". We walked another 30 feet, I closed the umbrella, he said 'thanks', and they disappeared into the theatre.

I walked back to the Little Theatre, just glad that I remembered that the Royal Box was to the left.

And I went to school the next day walking just a bit taller.