Beyond The Sea: Bobby Darin (and Charlie Manson) And Me
A different sort of post tonight"”a momentary diversion from politics to tell a story about Bobby Darin and me.
This is the time of the year when I catch up on the year's movies. As the Oscars and other Hollywood awards draw near, the studios want all voting constituencies to see their films. I'm not a member of the Academy but I do hold a membership card from the Writers Guild of America and that not only lets me cast a vote for the WGA screenwriting awards, but also (for the next handful of weeks) gets me and my wife into most movies for free.
Tonight, at the plush Arclight Theaters in the heart of Old Hollywood we saw Kevin Spacey's "Beyond The Sea" -- his stylish and highly fictionalized recounting of Bobby Darin's life .
Yahoo's review had rated this movie a C+ which — in the broad sweep of film history"”might be just about right. But in the short run, it was a thoroughly enjoyable two hours that showcased Spacey's awesome and multiple talents: actor, director, dancer and pretty damn good singer. The flick was also a reminder of Darin's own rich but short life (he died at age 37 in 1973). The second half of the movie's anti-war leitmotif also 
resonates fully with today's headlines out of Iraq.
I had one brush —so to speak with Bobby Darin"”and thought it might be fun to recount it here. The anecdote I'm about to tell has absolutely no greater significance. Yet, the web of intertwined connections it reveals, I think, is rather intriguing. It goes like this:
In the early 1960's, around 1963-64, I was a junior high student in Los Angeles. One of my older sisters was married to a jazz trumpeter named Willie Willits — an eerie dead ringer for James Dean. My brother-in-law Willie's day job was as a barber. Indeed, Willie was among maybe a half-dozen hair cutters who completely redefined what men's hair-cutting was and would become"¦ they as much as invented men's hair-styling.
The leader of this new wave was a very Hollywoodish figure named Jay Sebring. At a time when going to a man's barber meant walking into a dentist-like office where you were sheared and buzzed as if entering the Marines, Sebring had set up a stylish men's salon — the first ever in the world"”on north Fairfax Ave. in West Hollywood. Willie was one of his original barbers. 
Each cutter had his own room. The interior colors were soft and woodsy, the lighting indirect. Cool jazz tinkled over the speakers. Razor cutting replaced scissor-chops. Styling gel and hair spray pushed aside the Brylcreem. Sebring customers were told to use brushes not combs. Barbers back then were charging $1.75 per head. My brother-in-law Willie charged $10. Master barber Jay Sebring raked in $25 or $30 and counted Warren Beatty and others among his stable of customers. (photo on right: Jay Sebring and Sharon Tate)
Anyway, I think it was in 1964 — I was 13"”one day after school when Willie was cutting my hair. Instead of the usual Thelonious Monk or Miles Davis playing over the salon's sound system, someone had put on a Bobby Darin record. This was musical blasphemy. And as Willie worked on my haircut he was cursing the square music.
"Sit here a second," he said to me putting down the razor. "I'm gonna go into Jay's room and tell him to change that fucking music."
Willie walked out and came back a few minutes later looking shaken and visibly blushing. "I fucked up, " he said. "I walked into Jay's room and said "˜Jay"”would you take off that shit music and put on something good?' And then the guy who's sitting in Jay's chair turns around and says to me: "˜ What? You don't like my voice.' It was Bobby Darin who was sitting in the chair."
Apparently, Darin took no offense at what my brother-in-law said, or at least he didn't show it. The exchange, Willie said, ended in laughs all the way around. Willie certainly wasn't fired. But the Darin album did continue to play that afternoon.
That time was certainly a golden moment for Hollywood Cool when the Sunset Strip seemed the center of the world... and it was exciting as a teenager to at least have a brother-in-law with a toe —or in this case a finger"”in it all. Warren Beatty's lead role in Hal Ashby's masterpiece 1975 film "Shampoo" was at least loosely based on Jay Sebring's life and his salon where Willie worked.
That golden glow was to be short-lived. About a year after the Bobby Darin incident my brother-in-law died of a heroine overdose. In October 1969, Jay Sebring was murdered along with his gal-pal Sharon Tate by none other than Charlie Manson.
About 30 years later, through true serendipity, I would meet Warren Beatty and become somewhat of a friend of his. And tonight, when I finish writing this, I'll probably give it all one more mulling as I give Darin another chance and listen to his rendition of "Beyond the Sea."
December 20th, 2004 at 1:05 am
Nice musings.
For the record, Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring were killed by the Manson followers on August 9, 1969….the same summer as the first Apollo moon landing, the Rolling Stones free concert in Hyde Park where they introduced “Honky Tonk Woman” and released thousands of white butterflies to honor Brian Jones, “Easy Rider” was in the theaters…and there was that Woodstock thang too that summer…
December 20th, 2004 at 1:32 am
Ahhh.. yes.. Auguest not October 69… One more set of connections//// Steve Blauner who was Bobby Darin’s long time pal and producer also helped produced Easy Rider. 6 degrees, no more.
December 20th, 2004 at 7:01 am
Fascinating tale, Marc. “Beyond the Sea” is the only song that I have been brave enough (well fortified with alcohol) to sing at a karaoke bar.
December 20th, 2004 at 7:07 am
Randy, you are braver than I, fortified with Alcohol or not.
But, my rememberances of Bobby Daren are intertwined with a lot of other memories, graduating from college, getting married, first professional job, getting drafted and deciding to join instead (I would rather have done pretty much 3 years of my choice in the service than 2 years of what Uncle Sam chose for me). All in the summer of ‘69.
Thanks for this post Marc; ahhh, the memories it stirs…….
December 20th, 2004 at 9:53 am
Liked the story, Marc. Wish Randy would finish his, as in; What happened with the onlookers during your brief sing career?
December 20th, 2004 at 10:10 am
Jim,
Fortunately no dogs were around to howl, but I dated a few singers and one of the things they learn early on is how to use their breathing to come to the ends of those phrases. Unfortunately for me, those held notes at the end of phrases sounded like they were crawling off somewhere to die.
As for the audience, to quote Jim Morrison on the Doors Absolutely Live album, “Grown men were weeping. Policemen were turning in their badges.”
December 20th, 2004 at 11:12 am
Bobby Darin is interesting for his ability to span the entire repertoire of American popular music from the vaudville/Al Jolson era to the late ’60s in one relatively short career. He sang antiquated vaudville stuff like “Bill Bailey” and “That Lonesome Road” in his Copa show, did his Sinatra turn on Cole Porter and other “standard” fare, had his first hits with teen-market rock & roll like “Splish Splash” and “Dream Lover”, covered Ray Charles without totally embarrassing himself (on the Atlantic R&B label no less), had an almost-bizarre fluke of a huge hit from musical theater (”Mack the Knife” originated in Weimar cabaret theatre, co-written by three Communists if you count the English adaptor, Marc Blitztein, along with German lyricist Bertold Brecht and composer Kurt Weill), covered more conventional Broadway show tunes, and in the wake of the ’60s counter-culture ended up doing credible folk-rock “protest” songs.
Darin was undoubtedly as notable for his ambition as his talent and he had that “Sammy Davis” quality of needing his audience a lot more than they needed him. But I’m glad to see him getting a bit of a comeback, even if he’s not around for it and the movie sort of sucks. Saw one of Darin’s last performances recently on a cheesy PBS fundraising marathon, and whatever else you might say about him, he was a natural entertainer, a better singer than I’d remembered and he was able to span generations and genres of music with an ease that I was too young to appreciate when he was alive.
December 20th, 2004 at 4:31 pm
My god your hair resembles Warren Beatty’s in Shampoo. ROFL!
December 20th, 2004 at 4:42 pm
Man, that was low….funny, but low.
December 20th, 2004 at 5:54 pm
I wish… Looks more like Kevin Spacey playing Bobby Darin!
December 20th, 2004 at 8:44 pm
“Unfortunately for me, those held notes at the end of phrases sounded like they were crawling off somewhere to die.”
Excellent line, Randy! I want to steal it immediately. (But I sense it’s going to be tough to work into conversations as often as it deserves.)
December 21st, 2004 at 10:08 am
Marc….What times, what memories! Had to tell Neil all about it this morning!
Remember Sal Orifice? Gene Stone, Don Randi, etc.?
December 21st, 2004 at 10:09 am
Marc….What times, what memories! Had to tell Neil all about it this morning!
Remember Sal Orifice? Gene Stone, Don Randi, etc.?
December 21st, 2004 at 11:07 am
Don Randi.. appearing nightly at The Baked Potato!
December 21st, 2004 at 6:37 pm
Don Randi.. appearing nightly at The Baked Potato! Anyone remember Seawind, played Monday nights at TBP? (As long as we are (s)trolling down memory lane!
December 24th, 2004 at 6:59 pm
Listening to an NPR interview Terri Gross did with Darin’s producer about 5 years ago, it is obvious that if Darin were alive today he’d be trashed thoroughly by FOX News and Clear Channel personalities as a leftist anti-war celebrity sticking his nose into politics where it doesn’t belong.
The interview is excellent, highly recommend it…
December 25th, 2004 at 11:40 am
Carrie… oops.. whats TBP?
December 25th, 2004 at 12:50 pm
The Terri Gross interview I mentioned:
rtsp://real.npr.na-central.speedera.net:80/real.npr.na-central/fa/20041224_fa_02.rm
December 26th, 2004 at 7:42 am
TBP = The Barking Pig (0lde English Pub)
December 29th, 2004 at 7:30 pm
TBP, as posted above, The Baked Potato.