Skip E Lowe Looks at Hollywood

[Music] Oh well Oh [Music] but I heard [Music] Goti Bowers 88 years old sitting there telling me you're 88 89 89 I'm almost 90 I'm a programmer I want to grow up in the farm that you're from a farm of Illinois right grew up in Illinois yes and wrote this book of Hollywood care of a guy from Illinois a young boy coming to us but you joined the Marines wait did you join the Marines in 1818 really at the very beginning of World War two the beginning of 1942 so you let the other know and say goodbye and on my way to see the world yes I see okay that's good idea so tell me Scotty about the life of the Marines you know I used to work hi Stuart and entertain the troops and there's not a marine I have never met that you can't turn over oh that's right well I'm not Scotty no I don't know in the Murray during a Marine Corps in World War two right if you're going to do something you better do it while you're in town not while you're in the Marine Corps Noreen yeah totally there in a second yeah the army you get by with that but not in the Marine Corps uh-huh why the army because the army hey remember if you were fat and wore glasses you could get in the army if you were fat more glasses you couldn't get in the Marine Corps you're a good-looking though I'll tell you something you're a handsome guy look at you man I want to show my audience if acute this Marine I was 18 years old that's you're a hot guy tell me something station and Okinawa no not stationed in Okinawa the war was over when Okinawa came oh really absolutely Okinawa was the end of the war they dropped a bomb and that was the end of them okay the six division was in Okinawa the six Marines the six the Marine Corps had six divisions the six division went okinawa in April of 1945 and then the war was over and you came here in the 40s I came here in 1940 in 42 42 from Chicago to San Diego in the Marine Corps I see and you stayed how did you as a young marine they all come to Hollywood young marine why huh well if you're stationed in San Diego and you have the weekend off in a weekend of Saturday night basically you go to Los Angeles or Hollywood Holly that's why during World War two Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood between Highland and either between the brothers vine and La Brea there'd be three and four thousand guys in uniform Army Navy Marine Corps right and Sunset Boulevard was the same way just packed solid but we had a us so there - well it was a night it wasn't the USO that did it is that you SR was on Sunset Boulevard but it wasn't the USO did it as much as people just being in Hollywood and young man was 18 how did you get involved with all these stars I got involved with most of them some when I got out of the Marine is doing the service I mean you're doing gas that right copy yeah and I spent most of my time overseas not in Hollywood or not in San Diego right in a Marine Corps you train and you train in your train and as a matter of fact they make it so difficult on your goddamn glad big overseas that's a nice thing about the Marine Corps or the clever thing about the Marine Corps okay but how did you get involved with this by Muhammad stop I just meeting different people and where were you at the time you were pumping gas and a place on Hollywood Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard in Venice and s at a Richfield gas station just after World War two right were like all Richville Richfield yeah Richfield spelled out in big letters Richfield I remember that and that's where I really got in the business and the business in the basement which you're talking about in the business getting to know getting it to know you getting to know you know all the stars in the moon they always to come in there from Randolph Scott and do a you meet one and you meet the other a few came in and a few heard about it and came in so the word got around very rapidly were you pimping at the time or you can be for somebody well you could call it pimping I mean some people some might call it procuring some might call it being a nice guy helping out some might call it fixing people up with people right there's different yeah well yes yes I agree I agree who's the first star very very first star you met you remember the very first time I met the gas station was Walter Pidgeon but prior to I met Cary Cary Grant and Randolph Scott they were lovers were they yes Randolph Scott they had a house and they had one they had the one at the beach and Santa Monica beach it was Barbara Hutton's house and they had one just behind the Chateau Marmont I'm my mouth lane or Avenue ah Randolph Scott was a masculine cowboy a real sweetheart of a guy you would tell anyone that he was gay you would they would say no how did he hide what are some remember there's a lot of people that aren't gay that do gay things but they really aren't gay I don't know what you mean by the end of what I mean by that no I get a lot of straight people never trust an ache but they aren't gay in other words in a parent anything there's a lot of straight acting people and there are other people who look at a key yes yes do you know what I'm talking about I have to be careful here because I'm over taping in Hollywood in Beverly Hills High already have to edit that one that word that's okay full-service that's you wrote a book about this full service I said it like as I mentioned original titles are going to be a gas station on Hollywood Boulevard after the gas station and I said that's a little long for a title and uninteresting when I call it full service because there is such a thing as a full-service gas station right but Scotty tell me something about who encouraged you some of the people like come what's his name glorified L did he encourage you to do the book I want to know did he do some writing on this book I want to know that as several people encouraged me to do the book Gore was very instrumental in getting the book published I would say without gore the book would not have been published oh that's what I didn't watching that's it but he put that in for you did he add things in there telling you stars all the people that he hated and everything about he ate a lot of people you were yes he did he was a very vicious man he was not good I know he's your friend but he wasn't very nice to certain people well he was honest as all that the word you call being honest okay what you call thinking the right way I mean he was honest to himself and to about people rather than pretending did he liked him how do you need to know him I got to know him when World War two ended which was a win of 63 or 60 million years ago when he just got out of the army where he'd been up in Aleutian Islands and he came down here and he used to come in the gas station it was very popular with that bookie vote oh yeah it was a gay book yeah he's written quite a few books yes many I don't know just which ones he wrote at the time but the one that really made it for a star 18 years old Marines coming early Hollywood being mixed with these big superstars from Illinois come on look at me Scotty how do you feel about this well you got a book I'm not here 88 Oh God I've always felt good about everything meaning it that those I felt good about the people I know the people I dealt with the book I wrote I had something about Spencer Tracy you know Katharine Hepburn in the book yes is it really true about Spencer Tracy in the book I mean Katharine Hepburn I know she but Spencer Tracy that's the one that I'm hard to understand well Spencer Tracy the way he was and what he did he really didn't admit to himself even how he didn't even know well he knew with would never admit it and then it's miss yang he was always rather loaded rather drunk drunk yeah and then whatever happened what happens when you're drunk that I dealt with that what happens when you're drunk he doesn't want to remember the next day yes yes in detail letters yes yes you met a lot of them in Hollywood like that uh some some I don't think so I think this whole book is like that or you me didn't want people to know people to know I know a lot of them were not alcoholics or lushes and a lot of people in the book people knew about I mean people who knew him knew about it you mean like Tab Hunter and Jimmy Dean they knew the lives of most of those people Charlie Granger right Rock Hudson you knew it up very well right tell me about rockets Rock Hudson was a great guy yeah I met him way back in 1947 or 48 to backhoes days and at that time he was living in North Hollywood with a guy who was a carhop in a drive-in Dolores is driving know that drive-in it used to be right there across from Book Soup there's to be a drive-in where cattle regularly I mean there was a drive-in huh right on the corner of Holloway Drive and I sunset right and and the kid worked in there as a car happen and rocked live with him and they lived over in North Hollywood and they had a brand-new 1947 car and Irish Setter dog and that's when and how I met rock someone's trying to tell me something I'm not going to say nothing you know today things are open everything is going and you can get away with it but did you try to write this book about because the Kinsey Report opened the thing the Kinsey Report open the things a little bit a little bit is they opened it all so people feel more comfortable are people where they read your books Cuddy women especially you know I see they're very accepting they're accepting this book there are five ten years ago I don't think they would accept it why are they accepting this book I don't know I I would which met will tell you half the letters I got are from women who think the book was wonderful and everything about it is wonderful the fact that it's written that way aha so if you said people do kind of accept it and I'm sure there's some that don't but most people do who some of the people like Bob Hope didn't like him I was in Vietnam he was a mean man everybody loved Bob oh that's right everybody did not like Bob Hope was endorses the Lord you like that I like Bob Hope he was a nice guy he was certainly a nicer guy than Bing Crosby was but Bing Crosby has problems yeah yeah Bob Hope was a very nice guy everyone liked him he loved hookers and all we know the hookers always fixed his army captain friends up with cookers who were in charge of entertainment right when they were in town as a matter of fact his favorite hooker Barbara Payton married one of those army captains terrible life brother Payton ready back up she died sweet what is she was like an instrument late she died is a complete loser loser yeah I knew her very well she better Thorens she Dennis and weak yeah she used to go into coaching horses there that's right coaching horses and and live right on the corner and she got the word gorgeous she got to she got to a point where she'd leave you lay you if you bought her a beer and there's really what he calls a lot of the barrel bit yeah she went to Russian workers it was very sad to see her go down here like she was married to Frank Sean town wasn't she she married a French shot toned won one of the I gene Wallis yeah and she was oh married a couple three times huh who some of your favorite people that you got to really know because later in life you know you start doing catering catering how did you come into Gator easily looking oh yeah even even when I was fixing people up you could call that catering to cut you yes yes yes okay I just continued my catering business in the food went from people to food certainly did good but you paid her great and care all the best people in Beverly Hills here in LA Beverly Ennis I worked for Bel Air I worked for a lot of nice people who I got to know over the year work for them continually who some of the favorites you have that you work for you must have some favorites one of my favorites is John sites John sizes one who owns a Beverly Hills courier writes the paper - Beverly Hills courier and John lives in Bel Air and John is a real sweetheart of a guy and I'm very fond of John and course le Valley who I work at sweetie valleys white fur and Rudy years ago leather and still work for I had a nice house I would I could sit here for hours a name of all the nice people I work for and no one like everybody loves Scotty Bowers you know why they love you so much and they'd buy in your book in your book is sofa because you just use the word nice guy you're you you're a nice guy you don't want to put anyone down you wrote a book about them but that's that's nothing bad about them no you're just saying what they like right my god I enjoy in life I have another book coming up I'm writing about Matt turn our ah okay about the sex life of Matt turn our now who is he he's a well-known person around town he's a name actor and everything I met turn our okay everybody knows him or heard about him we read in the book about him yeah 88 keep writing I'm 89 CAD 89 Scottie please I tell you them who gave you the title of sex lives of the Hollywood stars that's kind of an interesting title that they just threw that in I think the publishing at least it was the writer helped do it uh lionel Friedberg English yes in clinking he's kinky I used the word kinky because that's a kinky word English Oh oh yeah that's the English king he's very businesslike Emily yeah very businesslike and he is a writer he's a studio writer and has written a lot of things he has two or three Emmys for writing but the basic one is gore Vidal he is the man that got Scouty going away taken away well here's one I hear you're selling more books you sold over a million copies here in America right anyway a million you're sitting there Scotty look at me what are you going to do with all that money 89 what am I going to do with it yes I'm going to donate it to the mat turn our foundation now I don't know who this man is you keep winning Oh so go ahead I'll tell you a little while matter of fact I may even move him in with you move in with me okay go ahead okay Matt yes you're that just wonderful money you're having all those George's they gave you a big big sum you're making more money than and your books are being how did you get on the 10th best selling list yet buy buy the books that were sold and buy all the good advertisement did on the book that's what put said the publishing you really push that duck the publishing company pushed it right into position with all the advertisement maybe that helps that that did help you bet it is and you've been appearing everywhere in this town all over New York's excess you've done Vanity Fair tell me about Vanity Fair what articles you're getting tell me about it well there have been 15 different pictures they've given the biggest one was 7 minutes on CBS they did a Thank You on CBS 7 minutes on CBS 7 minutes of course the New York Times with their big pitch and the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times and the People magazine and on the view they had on the view to tell me how do you getting all these Greek great great publicity and talking about your sky I would say that was all done by having a good agent the agent of the book that's in Moore who's a sweetheart of a guy - you got to have an agent and he's the one that does he has all those good connections I'm sure well yeah publishing companies doing what the company company that's a combination of the agent and publisher coming together who are friends and knowing and Lionel is a great writer he helped you with this give you some ideas or did you know he just I did the writing bit but ideas I I have to talk to him I had the ideas yeah gore Vidal did he really come on did he use your friend did he have anything to do with the writing of this gore or he talked about the Duke of Windsor is that his idea about the Duke of Windows that's why I do is it you met them I knew them you knew didn't tell me about them please well Wally and Edward the family called him David I don't know where that came in that was a family name David and and Wally of course if you knew them and got to know them you'd realize he was kind of a shy bashful guy I shine he was shy and bashful I mean she was a ball buster Korea's she she yeah he was the ball buster of the operation of the outfit how about Errol Flynn I knew him too he was great at a nice looking guy and a nice guy who died when he was 50 which was ashamed yes Errol Flynn was Jake himself together you can say that that's just about what happened yeah and not eating just drinking I interviewed his daughters and daughters and a very nice guy and I always liked Errol Flynn this is you Scotty with your brothers or something that's my brother and sister Maya your brother and your sisters so there's three of you in the family there were hi dear brothers and sisters sleeping no my brother was with me in the Marine Corps and was killed at Iwo Jima oh he wasn't yes he's young and about your sister she's still living in a little town in Illinois and no and I had issues does she know anything about this book no she doesn't ah see Illinois you get away did away with if you live in a little town that's right she'll probably never know if she does I'll say gee thank you for telling me I didn't even know about it ah I love it studying I loved I loved the high places you've been there are beautiful yeah Gary grant come on let's talk about Gary grant you knew Cary Grant yeah yes I knew him for many years I mean from World War two at the beginning until he died many years later I mean not too long ago he was by wasn't he yeah I mean he was really there are many people that are by what Monty Clift was by - but no no money cliff was gay gay there's a difference between being bi yeah you know what bad hunter you know how they're you know what by mean stone yes of course those both I mean by by the girls and hello boys but now okay definitely know they go for both prolly same as unit you know Tony did you know Tony Perkis Anthony Oh hero tell me about Anthony Perry he was a very lonely man very dark he was he was kind of a sad guy wasn't he yeah yeah no I know him and no not what you call buddy buddy real but I know when fixed him up and we knew each other he lives up in Laurel Canyon he did yeah had had a wife and kids and everything chari Johnny he'll give it to me Troy yeah years ago didn't know him too well but new Troy I'm gonna start throwing named shoes Tyrone Power let's turn poor beautiful man try my newest way I met him in 1942 and Newman till he died we were good friends yes he was Cesar Romero's friend they were yeah together if Cesar mara was a nice guy I liked him too very sweet guys matter of fact he never was always up a block from where you live is up at Alfredo's building on Crescent Heights fresh little Fontaine Department sir and he always ran around with Sybil brand Oh several possible lover yes of course I knew civil very well Sybil lived to be about a hundred and three years old he didn't peel off I'm really off yes Dietrich Inu Dietrich my lady no I did not know Marlena Dietrich I saw but no a lot of people I'd see but didn't really know them no you met the MetroCard oh just call me Samar doesn't mean you know them yeah i scotty power you are famous famous party Giver I mean he's PFI new well at the time because she came here and stayed here and her and I stayed together for a month they're more just about a month who used to make the menus up did you or your latest white men is menu for the catering if you want to be successful in catering and I'm not talking about big catering studio catering and things but now now little personal catering right let the person of the house make the menu up it's a matter of fact let them even buy the food the reason being is I learned long ago you buy good food whether it's meat whatever it is and the lady might say you know that was very expensive and the meat was tough I said you know what you buy the meat from now on I now come and cook it that way you can't complain about it being tough and I got on that kick let them buy the goddamn food they have nothing to do anyhow then they can know what they're getting what they've got and they never complained about the food was wrong or bad you follow full service Scottie Bauer the adventures in Hollywood the secrets sex lives and stars movie movie is it going to be a film well as a few people three or four people talked about I don't know just how they're going to do a film because in number one in many weeks many weeks anyway the new books have a title across a New York Times bestseller yes written right across the book you've been number one bestsellers everything you doing well you're making millions you're doing extreme hey you know I was talking to Grace Robbins you know Harold Robinson's wife right I know the girl Gracie very well of course you know Grace and she can't get her book done and it's hard you get a book yeah but she's been writing a book for the last 25 years you know why because she didn't put any sex in there and I told her to write meet Scotty Bowers book put sex in it and with that tell if she adds sex to it if she makes it maybe the main topic of it she should have written years ago well about about the things that her and Harold did did on the yacht and it did at home I've been that I've been it they carried on I've been their place when Harold has got she's upstairs with somebody in the bed he's downstairs having some girl boom on a table some girls do news absolutely manicure and no girl better her problems and this is Robyn's yep yeah they carried on they should have she should have put that all in the book Hughes yeah she was ashamed to put things like that nobody should put that the books because Jackie not ashamed of this book are you know because there's nothing that is upsetting about it people ask me that it's every that's what you call everyday living it is a matter of fact I should have titled a book every day living I love your weight problem thinking that's what you think make you live so long and so good and help it but there's nothing wrong with Scotty Bowers no all right look I'm walking around you're looking good look at that hair Withers and you're good-looking as ever there's three things I think but if you're on the list to live long right not to be a smoker number one right not to be as smoking is worse than drinking not to be a smoker not to be a drinker really and drink a lot of water and be a friend of Matt Turner's and you got it made you're right you're right you know so you served a lot of liquor to a lot of people there's a lot of people in your time I would drink it all the ice I licked a lot of people and served a lot of liquor to you don't drink uh-huh you don't drink it off no I mean if I go to someone's house and they bring me a drink I don't come on square and say I don't drink I take it nurse it along maybe the three quarters drink is still there four hours later but I don't come on that Square and say no I don't drink whatever you give me I'll take daddy thank you this interview today is true love's what does mean look who loves all about what's true love about yeah there are their true love's in life uh there are a few true love's in life yes did you have one uh no not many people been married not many people have you have been there yeah but a true love is a different thing a true love is when you see two people who've been together for 30 years and they go down the street look at each other holding hands and ever thing and everyone's well you see true love but there's not much of what you call true love right there are people who there's love involved but true love is a different thing preliminary I would I would venture to say true love is a person with a little puppy dog in a way they wag their tail okay and then you can tell that's true love because a dog's tail never lies you know the animals I see oh yeah Scotty Bowers you have a daughter I did have a daughter you did yes only one child yes I mean one child that I got I can talk about I mean have you been married I've had four children but they were business and wise okay business wise is when you see someone to make a child and never see them you have done that yes you really have yes I am helping people getting their card green card or what do you call our citizens emanation okay only real insemination there's a difference it's interesting uh Rock Hudson was a very very nice man I met him so many times you know he was always rough was always a gentleman you know yeah tell me about look at her Robert oh you do have proper hair she's beautiful what's the audience to see look his her drum Payton's nut Perkins has she's beautiful she's beautiful lady she the way she did in her life at the end is this am I seeing what I'm seeing right now what's her oh my god Mae West you knew maybe yeah kind of woman was she I've never met her she was sort and sweet and rather demanding my friend who live with her never got out much once he did with her he never got around much any really oh he did it just sat there and listened to the radio and things like that back years ago captain Mike there right would kept him right there if he'd come up to the gas station she'd call before you even got there wanting to come home I said progressing he left it near place it takes at the most 10 minutes to get up the gas station five minutes he's not here yet and you already want him to come home I mean it's she was rather possessive so your gas station in the 40s was very very popular in basically in the 50s late 40s and 50s very popular did everybody knew what it was all about them people knew well if you know skip the word gets around you could not advertise right if you had money you could advertise as well as they pass the word around about the gas station meaning in a matter of weeks everything was all over the goddamn not all over the world it was all over the world two friends who you know pass the word around us rather to meet someone were to see someone and the advertisement was done for me by people which is always nice so how do you feel about this book Scotty you didn't tell me about who's who want you you're one who's gonna play your life in the book in that movie well I thought of maybe you know not me I use my friend Matt Turner I think is going to play me uh-huh he's going to play me he's we're perfect for that I think this yeah the young boy was his name eat chatted boy won the Oscar woman his name can't take his name right now he's a wonderful guide I think he would be great to do you know Scott dark hair curly hair he did that gay movie and San Francisco or do Harvey Milk oh yeah that movie he did was the guy's name that one oh yeah I know who you mean yes I said that's it change ranks everybody bigger than ever he's got a new movie coming up several people so change very little is ideal for you I bet - I see you know James Franco several people said that you know great you know buddy he knows that he knows what to do effect no Danny thank you so much you're wonderful chatting with you this afternoon in my little studio was very nice oh yeah it's fun Thank You Scotty your world god bless you thank you you [Music]

Channel: KBEV 6

Views: 22,586

Rating: 4.7876105 out of 5

Keywords: KBEV, Romeo Carey, Skip E Lowe, Scotty Bowers

Id: o6uLCafdKP8

Length: 32min 2sec (1922 seconds)

Published: Thu May 04 2017