Harr 7

Comb through’ the back lots of Hollywood and I

promise that you won't find a single rock with.a star’s
name on it that hasn’t got a wounded director lying

‘under it.

. Check out the New York .
‘playground and try to find an editor who hasn't had his.
-teeter tottered by a wrangling writer. Spina few discs.
‘in Nashville and I'll lay you twenty to one that there
isn’t a platter in the top ten that didn’t leave a stain of. . &

publishers’

blood on some producer’s jacket.

_ ‘The facts that people who
sell themselves for a livin

under the name of art don’t.

always appreciate the
ckage us
astard who .winds up
flogging their egos to the
pe c, After all, who's ever
heard of: a well-liked
promoter or an agent who
got embarrassed by too
many kudos.
of which brings me to
‘the case of me and Harry

‘-Tremain, Harry started out .

asa bit part in one of my
early ‘stories, The story
never ot off the ground, but
that I filed him: away in
back of my mind and
‘promised myself that I'd
pall him out of storage when
e time was tight,
'- Harry's big chance finally
eame almost three years
ago. .- I'd. spent. a week
scrounging for a character
to fill the part of a detective
‘jn a.magazine piece I was
‘throwing together. .I was
looking for kind of guy
who would take the rap for
his - mother but wouldn't
flinch over double-crossing
his best friend - someone
“who could give a game a
-Slap in the kisser without it
seem sentimental, Then |
remembered Harry. He had
a kind of sleazy charm that
made him just.perfect for
‘the part. So I dressed him
real good - trench coat,
pin-striped suit, spats, the
whole bit - and we were on

our way.
‘The first story went so

well that Iwas asked to put .
‘Harry in a novel, then

another; and another and

_ goon Harry Tremain was

becoming apart of

' America. Each story was

different but’ Harry was

always the same. He had a -

_ twisted, sardonic wit that

--eut through emotion like a~

- machete. (

_. watermelon. He didn’t take

, answer. - .
a ‘T SATURDAY MOVIE -

he broke more hearts in an ["*Vovacer’ . :

‘- afternoon that there are in a.

through
‘no’ ‘for . an
especially from a dame, and

deck: of cards. - -
_The public loved him and

"Harry. Tremain fan clubs ;

started springing up all over
~ the. country.

had bourbon,
He should have been very

happy. ‘Yet I sensed that

something was wrong.

« The first sign that things }——————
- were turning sour came in

“the middle of Harry's fourth
episode. He had staked out
r]

“own office and had.

his “ secretary’ —
information to the
COPS. ;
You'll just have to.kannek ;
“She. |
< knows too. much and. she
~ ant’ be trusted onrscre.”

- Normally,. Harry would .
. have ed.

caught.
_ pass:

her off,” I told him.

ollow

by the poor ©

Harry well. enough.
e

“It would -bé out of
character Harry, I could

never make it stick. The.

fans would never iall for a
gag like that.”

“T don’t care about them
anymore. Be an artist.
Write for yourself. Ive
otta live ya know.”

“And I've gotta eat. Sorry
Harry, them’s the breaks.”

by

Herald fiction
“Andrew Petter

second though, but this time
he Played for time. .
"But she’s heen with me
from the beginning,”.
“Tt dont’ make any
difference Harry. You've
‘got te go through with it.

The fans expects you to put ©
‘ yacation, a motorcycle and
He even tried

her away and you can’t let
them down,”

- Harry went through with
the caper, but things were
different between us. By the
time he was into the seventh
-episode, he was fighting
oyer every turn in the plot
every line of dialogue an
evéry question of syntax
right - down ©

" punctuation marks. He just
wasn’t the same boy Ha

anymore. 7
“Pm tired of jilting every

dame that comes along,” he

complained.
some depth. . Give me
“something Permanent to
. on 0.” a”

“What's wrong with your ”

mother?" i
“Ma is Ma.- 1 want my
own set of tomatoes.”

.’ make

-@.eane, °

- he said one
‘been doing some thinking of
to the my

“Give me.

By the ninth episode,
things had gone from bad to
ratten.
it through a
paragraph without breaking

character. Now he not only ©

wanted his own dame, he
demanded a six week

pushing for a bowler hat. I
tried to tell him that none of
these things would work, but
he didn’t take my word
anymore.

“I’m no sap, you know,”
rnoon, “I’ve

own,”
“Why ‘do you mean

- “TPs me the fans love, not
you. Most of them can’t
even remember your name. -

Harry Tremain is the one

they care about.”
“Without me,

nothing Harry.”
“It works both ways.”

you’re

~ “Just what are you.

driving at,” I demanded. .
“Well, the way I see it, if I

386.

Harry couldn't

SATURDAY |

Everything : :
“was going Harry’s way. He ‘LExPERENee Youno _
roads and ;

billiards - fame and fortune. ©

instructions “without a

2

THE TOWNSMAN, Thursday, July 7, 1977, PAGE 3

was to take a dive you’d be
out of business for good.
Besides which, the fans
would pin the rap on you for
getting rid of me.”

“You wouldn't do that to

me Harry.” -

. “Ya wantta bet? I'd do
anything to bust out of this
stereotype. The way things
are now, I’m into a

cliche and I don’t like it. I

don’t like it one bit.”
Harry knew that he had
me over abarrel. I had just
signed a contract to turn out
eight more books. Without
Harry, they'd sue the shirt
Ot boy Hai call th
“Ikay Harry, you c e
shot. What is it you want?’
“Now your talking," he
said with a leer. “I thought
you’d begin to see things my

way.” ;

“Never mind that Harry,
just give it to me straight.
What's the seam?” -

_“Alright sucker, here it is,
nice and painless. By the
end of this, episode I want
my own dame. Next.time
around I get the vacation -
and not one of them half-
assed working vacations
either. The time after that
it's the motorcycle. Each
new episode, I get to-pick
one new thing. I just want
my fair share, that’s all.
You play along with me and
Tl play along with you. It's
as simple as that.'

“It’s extortion Harry.”

“Call it what you like,

-that’s the deal. Take it or

leave it.” - os

So that was the way Harry
wanted it. He was Aladdin
and I got to fill in for the
Genie. With each new
episode he got another wish.

At first I tried to play
along, but each new demand

4

Tremain. ..Star? |

was more difficult than the
one before - a yacht, a forty
acre farm, a pistol-shaped

i pool. It got so

that Icouldn’t kee Harry in
character more Than ive .

minutes at a time and I
began to fall behind on my
work.
Final]
wouldn’t stooge for Harry.
anymore, It just wasn’t my
style. So I started hitting

the bottle, not just one or —

twice a day, but every
minute from dawn to dusk.

It helped me to forget about
Harry, but it didn’t keep the
publishers away. Soon I had
not only lost my shirt, but
the only suits I had left were
legal ones. I was finished.

Washed up. Notaneraserto —

my name, — *
ares for Har’ 1 forall I
ow he’s probably hap
milking cows on his far
Maybe he’s even gota

‘family by now. Sure, I could
have fingered him on my -

the point.

The way I see it, Harry
was just another star who
didn’t like the way he was
being packaged by his

way down, but I didn’t see

producer. And, likeIsaidat — .

the beginning, there isn’t an

agent around who hasn’t ©
had his fingers burned at —

one time or another. I
should have known better,

that’s all. I just should have ..

known ‘better.

THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS
This sto
who with thelr baby In tow, lead
Texas Police on a stormy and
perilous cross-country chase Is

based on an actual event. Stars. ~
Goldie Hawn, William Atherton, | -.
Ben Johnson. and Michael a

Sacks. «. i:

9

I decided that I -

of a young couple, -—

SPEED BUGGY:

"| .XIDPIES ON KAMERA,

MONSTER SQUAD

“SESAME STREET.

of KEDSTUFF

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SIG JOHN, LITFLE ‘JOHN

DOUBLE DECKER ~

LETS Go

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NBC MAJOR LEAGUE
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