When I was invited to be a guest on the podcast, This Week in Charles Bronson, I thought it might be a hoax. Instead, it became an unexpected gift.
Eric Todd, creator of the show, reached out to me online. I didn’t respond immediately. Sharing the message with my sister, we googled the podcast and it was real. I listened to a few episodes to learn more.
As stated in his e-message, Eric, and his podcast partner, Brad Cain, talked about my Uncle Charlie and his wife, my aunt, Jill Ireland, with great respect. I think reverence might be more accurate. I was intrigued by the idea that they wanted to keep Uncle Charlie’s memory and movie legacy alive. The more I listened the more I understood, that they used their forum to share their knowledge and love of “old time” Hollywood.
The invitation came at a chaotic time for me, but it gave me something positive and personal to focus on. Preparing for the podcast helped me connect to the past in a way that became healing. Uncle Charlie was a huge movie star and I hadn’t seen any of his films. How could I go on this fan podcast without understanding what had made him so famous? To better acquaint myself with his work, I binge-watched some films.
It was fun! It was escapism. It was wonderfully surreal. I felt proud and soothed as I heard and watched a man who had made me feel loved and protected as a child and young adult.
Why had I not seen The Great Escape, The Dirty Dozen, The Magnificent Seven, Death Wish and Murphy’s Law before? Some of these motion pictures were filmed before I was born, also, as a young girl I was into rom-coms and musicals. It was my aunt and uncle who took me to see Grease, my favourite movie of all time. I associated them with going to the movies not being IN movies.
For their research, Eric and Brad read my memoir, Why Not Me. They did so hoping for tidbits about their idol. Each of them privately told me that the book ended up meaning much more to them. They talked about this openly on the show. The book had accomplished what I hoped when writing it; a feeling of connection, understanding and empathy.
I couldn’t help thinking that the past had become a present for all three of us, in more ways than one.
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