- [Mark Lait] All right, Fillmore Slim, Fillmore, where did you grow up? Where are you from originally? - [Fillmore Slim] Louisiana. - [Mark Laita] What city? - [Fillmore Slim] Baton Rouge - [Mark Lait] Baton
Rouge. And tell me about your childhood, you had both your parents when you were a kid? - [Fillmore Slim] Oh, when I was a kid, I'd come up to Louisiana, you know and both my parents, you know they hard worker. My daddy worked on the train, my mama worked at the bank. And in Louisiana, come up as just a little kid in Louisiana, enjoying life, you know? Had to work, you know? - [Mark Lait] Good childhood then? - [Fillmore Slim] Well yeah I was working for these drug stores, and liquor stores. - [Mark Lait] So, did you have role-models that kinda lead you down this path that your life took? - [Fillmore Slim] Oh, yeah I've got a lot of role-models, all over the world, yeah you know I'm, I'm
the godfather, you know? Even the hip-hop people, you know? Snoop, Ice-T, all them, you know they, they honor me. - [Mark Lait] Yeah you're recognized as the, the godfather of this game. What age were you when you first got started as a pimp? - [Fillmore Slim] Oh, see pimping wasn't my thing, music was my thing, see? I started off wanting to be a entertainer, you know I watched big big stars on the stage like B.B. King and all those type of people, you know Lloyd Price and all them. So, and all the woman screaming and hollering and everything, so I didn't know about no pimping. So, that's what I wanted to be, I said well, I'm gonna be an entertainer and all that and I'll have all the woman screaming and hollering at me, looking at me on stage. That was my goal, but the pimping, that wasn't my thing you know I didn't know I was gonna be no pimp man, you know? - [Mark Lait] So, how
did that happen then? - [Fillmore Slim] Well I
happened to be traveling on the road playing music, living in Los Angeles, on this tour and we stopped in a little town called Midland Texas, and when we stopped in this town called Midland Texas, we was making about $10 a night. - [Mark Lait] What year was this? - [Fillmore Slim] Oh we
would say in the 50's, say '54, '55. - [Mark Lait] You're 80, how old are you? - [Fillmore Slim] I'm 85. - [Mark Lait] You're 85? - [Fillmore Slim] Yeah, so at this time we were performing and right next to this club, there was a hotel and the name of this crib was
called a White Front, and it was right there in Midland Texas. So, as I'm playing, I'm playing the blues and I'm playing piano, and like I said we're making $10 a night and I noticed this chick right, had her own setup and she keeps going out, coming back, going out and coming back. So, I didn't know what was going on, so in about five days, I was sitting on the piano and she comes up and she says, "Here." I say, "What is this?" She says, "That's for you." So, I thought it was
like a big tip, right? So, I put the money in my pocket, and she kept doing this, right? So, the fellas in the band say, "Man, that's a prostitute." And they said, "You know, we don't need to be associating with her." I said, "Man, she gave me a little money every night, we only making about $10 a night, I'm going to take the money." So, we did this about, she did this about, maybe about a week. And I looked up, I had about, oh man close to about $125, and that was a bank roll done in about '55, '56. So, we're all ready to back to L.A. They told me, no, first I asked I said, "What you do?" She said, "I go to bed
with men for money." I said, "Well what is that?" She said, "They pay me money, I go to bed with them." So, I still didn't know, then she explained it to me about what it was, she was selling sex, okay? So, me being green, you know not knowing what's going on, all I was doing was playing music, singing the blues. So, when we got ready to go back to L.A. she had a little suitcase packed. She said, "I wanna go with you." I said, "Why?" I said, "What's your husband gonna say?" She said, "I ain't got no husband." So, the fellas in band said, "Man, that's a prostitute, we ain't gonna take her back to L.A. you know? I said, "Man, check this out, I'm getting $10 a night." Looking at my little bank roll. I said, "She going with me." I said, "Matter of fact, it's my van, so if y'all don't wanna go, y'all catch the bus." So, I brought her back to Los Angeles, right there on Vernon and Central, you know? And stayed at a, right above a fast food restaurant called Coney Island. So, she said "Well, show me where the girls work." I said, "Right there on the corner." They had a big record store there, the same one that Rudy Ray Moore used to work in called Dolphin's Of Hollywood. So, I told her where the girls work at and she went out there and she came back, the second night she came back, she had another girl with her. I said, "Well, who is that? She said, "That's our wife in-law." I said, "I ain't married." She say, "But in the game, she's with us." So, now I got two girls. So now, I'm playing guitar there and I put the guitar in the corner, and now they start calling me for jobs around L.A. and I told them that somebody else must play in my place. I had two girls on the corner, so I was getting paid, you know? - [Mark Lait] What kind of girls? Black girls, white girls, Hispanics? - [Fillmore Slim] Well, I had different. - [Mark Lait] Different ones? - [Fillmore Slim] Different girls. - [Mark Lait] Then, you would have sex with the girls? - [Fillmore Slim] Huh? - [Mark Lait] You would
have sex with the girls? - [Fillmore Slim] Well, you couldn't have too much sex with
the girls, you know? You see with girls, the game is a mind thing, you know? And if the girls go out and turn dates and things like that and they come in, they tired, you know? So, you know you didn't have to have too much sex. And then if you had a girl, she would have to be with you at least six months before you even went to bed with her. - [Mark Lait] Were drugs part of the game back there? - [Fillmore Slim] Drugs was in the game but I wouldn't buy, I wouldn't buy drugs. - [Mark Lait] Your girls would use drugs sometimes but you,
you weren't involved? - [Fillmore Slim] Huh? - [Mark Lait] Your girls would use drugs sometimes? - [Fillmore Slim] Oh, I had one girl who was using drugs, you know but- - [Mark Lait] It's not your thing? - [Fillmore Slim] She got a way with men. - [Mark Lait] Yeah? - [Fillmore Slim] Yeah. - [Mark Lait] Have you done prison time? - [Fillmore Slim] Huh? - [Mark Lait] Have you done prison time? - [Fillmore Slim] Oh yeah, yeah I did. I bought a United States passport, I did five years. - [Mark Lait] Yeah? Have you been married? - [Fillmore Slim] Huh? - [Mark Lait] Have you been married? - [Fillmore Slim] I've
been married three times. They said, "Three strikes, you're out." - [Mark Lait] It's hard to do this and be married at the same time, I would think. - [Fillmore Slim] Yeah. - [Mark Lait] And then, do you have kids? - [Fillmore Slim] Oh yeah, I've got 17 kids, 15 grandkids, eight or nine, ten, twelve great-grandkids - [Mark Lait] So, what is the origin of pimping? You know they say its the oldest profession, or prostitution is the oldest- - [Fillmore Slim] Yeah, in
the bible, from the bible. - [Mark Lait] What do you think the origin of this pimping thing was? - [Fillmore Slim] Well, for me it was fascinating, you know? It was fashion, you know? And you get all this money every night, you know fresh money every night, you know? And I thought I was the king of sunset. Let's say I did all mine on Sunset down in Los Angeles. - [Mark Lait] Oh, is that right? - [Fillmore Slim] That's where I got all my fame from, L.A. - [Mark Lait] Now, there's a story that goes around L.A. that the first time you came to L.A- - [Fillmore Slim] I
sent my game down there. - [Mark Lait] Yeah and they- - [Fillmore Slim] And the girls, sent them right there and- - [Mark Lait] And then the cops gave you a hard time? - [Fillmore Slim] Yeah, oh yeah. - [Mark Lait] And they
arrested all your girls? - [Fillmore Slim] Yeah,
arrested all my girls. - [Mark Lait] And what
happened after that? - [Fillmore Slim] Now the story was, when I first went to L.A. the pimp, this pimp took all my girls. - [Mark Lait] Oh, is that what happened? - [Fillmore Slim] Yeah it
was a pimp, not the cops. - [Mark Lait] Okay, the story gets changed over the years? - [Fillmore Slim] Yeah, so the pimp took all my girls and by me being fresh down there, you know? And they getting in the cars and they drove
up to me on Sunset, I'll never forget that, right across we sitting there buying this chicken. Okay, they drove up sunset, he said, "These your girls?" I said, "Yeah, they're my girls." They said, "Not no more." He said, "They gave me your money so they with me now." So, what they did, they said, "Well, I guess you done lost all your game so you may as well go
home back to Frisco." You know? I said, "No I'm going to the telephone." So, I went to the telephone and I called them troopers, you know what I'm saying? Then they must turn out. Call the troopers in and they came in. I said, "Y'all." And then I told them I said what to do, I said "Fly to LAX, rent a limousine and come down here and represent me." I told them where I was,
and when the limousine came up and the dogs stepped out, So all the pimps said, "Man, who's all them women?" I said, "They mine." I said, "If you kiss
them, I'll leave town." - [Mark Lait] So, the
girls that they stole were you second stringers? - [Fillmore Slim] Oh yeah. - [Mark Lait] And the ones you flew down were your first stringers? - [Fillmore Slim] Oh, when I send in them troopers? - [Mark Lait] Yeah? - [Fillmore Slim] Yeah. - [Mark Lait] (laughs)
That's a great story. So, how has the game changed since you were doing it? Because
the game has changed- - [Fillmore Slim] Well,
the game changed now, there's no respect, you know? We were like gentleman
of leisure, you know? We didn't beat our women, you know? And make them go out there, you know that starts in prison. My thing I'll meet a lady and if she was interested in my proposition, then we went with it, but no force, none of that, you know? The woman love me today and the people love me today, you know I go around to schools, I talk to young
people in the schools. I go to churches, I
talk with young people. I've been to a couple
of colleges, you know a couple of young people, and this is what I explain to them, what we did in our day, we having our folks parents, our grandmothers and things. You know we live in the projects, so what we did in our day, that's
what we were about. But now they've got to have young people, you've got computers, you've got a black president and all that's been done. But in our time, I wouldn't have an electrical type-writer, you know I wouldn't buy computers
or nothing like this. So, I tell them, "You've got a better opportunity than what we had, I don't condone youngin's going into the game. I've got a daughter graduating from U.S.C. I've got a son who is a paramedic. I've got another son who's
going to Chico State. We did what we had to do. - [Mark Lait] What's
more important to you, love or money? - [Fillmore Slim] Well,
money. I was growing up with money and I was in the game so, I love money. But
what's so good about it, that I like about it, I could always fall back on my music. You see when I got out that life, I cleaned my life for a minute there. I was able to pick up my guitar and play the blues. You know I put a record out there now, that's number five in the world. And then I got all kinds
of awards, inducted in the blues hall of
fame, B.B. King, you know? So, I was successful in
the game 150 trophies as the godfather in the game and in the hall of fame in the music. So, that's why my book says, "Blues man, Michael G. Fillmore Slim, high-talk of the stage and the streets." - [Mark Lait] What personality trait helped you most as a pimp? - [Fillmore Slim] What personality? Well, I've always been
a ladies man, you know I always was a charmer.
I could charm any chick. I could stop any chick. I'll tell you a story, I remember I went
by the Chinese theater, I just came back and I
seen this Caucasian lady all dressed in white,
walking down sunset, okay? No, Hollywood Boulevard
right by the Chinese, and I stopped the car and went around this little alley right there, you know before you get to the Chinese theater, so I came around just so she crossed that alley, I pull up, I blocked her I said, "Baby." She said, "What?" I said, "Here's your
car, this is your car." She said, "What you mean?" I said, "It's all white, red inside, this car came for you." And
she was so fascinated. I said, "Get in." Spin around, she got in the car, come to find out we rode and talk, come to find out she was O.J. Reynolds. Tobacco king, it was his granddaughter. You know and we talked and when I find that out, you know I told her to have a good day. - [Mark Lait] What do you think the core of the pimp and
prostitute relationship is? Do you think the
girls are looking for a man in their life, a
boyfriend, a father figure? - [Fillmore Slim] Well I think- - [Mark Lait] They call you guys daddy? - [Fillmore Slim] Some of the girls I had, I think, I was like a father figure to them, I would say,
yeah I would say that. - [Mark Lait] What's the craziest thing you've seen in all your years of doing it? - [Fillmore Slim] The
craziest things I've seen? I've seen a pimp running a hoe down Sunset Boulevard and the cops behind them. (laughs) Yeah, started off at Wilcox and they chased them all the
way down to (indistinct) from the city to the county. - [Mark Lait] And what's
the most important lesson you learned, in your life? - [Fillmore Slim] Well the most important lesson I've learned in my life is if you play, you're gonna pay. It ain't always light at
the end of the tunnel. So we was having fun, fancy clothes, fancy jewelry, fancy cars. But you know at the end, you going. Let's just say you might
get the wrong female, the law says it takes two. You get the wrong female and there's the one that they scare, you gone. Look what they do in Vegas. The guys sent all them players and put them in penitentiary. But see we stayed out the penitentiary, see I had good lawyers,
I had William Brown. You know he was the house speaker and he was my lawyer. - [Mark Lait] He kept you out of jail? kept you out of prison? - [Fillmore Slim] That's right. - [Mark Lait] So, how
many girls did you have at the peak? - [Fillmore Slim] I had 23 girls walking up and down Sunset all the way from Hobart to Beverly Hills, the Beverly Hills Hotel. - [Mark Lait] 23 girls? So how much money did you make from having- - [Fillmore Slim] Well
it varies, some come in and may have five, you
know 500, some had 250. When you add it all up,
it was a lot of money. - [Mark Lait] Yeah. - [Fillmore Slim] But
I wanna say this here, I wasn't no gold digger
pimp, I was a gentleman, I would call myself
gentleman of leisure and that's why the woman love me today. I walked down the street, they wanna take a picture with me, I
walk down the street by UC Berkeley, all the students came out wanted to take a picture with me. And the police rode by and looked, I say eat your heart out. All right. - [Mark Lait] All right
Fillmore Slim, thank you so much for talking with me. - [Fillmore Slim] All right then. - [Mark Lait] Thank you. - [Fillmore Slim] And I
wanna say one more thing. - [Mark Lait] Oh sure, let's hear it. - [Fillmore Slim] Okay
now, me, we on the Roger team now, me, Divine
Brown and Gangsta Brown and Kenny Red, we are artists. Bishop is church, we are artists.
