How did this happen? Well, we have followed Marlo's
career for quite a long time. A number of years ago, Dave
decided to "give back" to the people who have made a big
impression on his life. We first met Marlo after her
appearance in the play "Six Degrees of Separation" in
Philadelphia in the early 90s. He had contacted her office
saying that we had tickets to the play and we would love to
be able to meet her. We were allowed to go backstage to
visit with her for a few minutes. Dave gave her some video
tapes containing various TV shows that she appeared in
before "That Girl" came on the air in 1966. Needless to say,
she was very surprised & happy.
Since that time, we see her every few years either after
a play, book signing or talk show appearance. Dave has
increased her video collection tremendously plus we have
given her copies of rare photos & memorabilia of her or
her father, Danny Thomas. She is always very gracious &
warm and gives as much time as she can to visit with
us.
This past August, we went to see her in a 2-person play
called "The Guys" in NYC - a very heart-breaking play about
the events of 9/11. Afterwards, there were a number of her
friends waiting for her to take her out to dinner. She saw
us and apologized that she had to rush - there was no time
to visit. "Can you come back another night," she asked.
Unfortunately, the play had a very short run plus Dave was
going on a trip to California around that time.
I wrote to her to see when she would be available. Her
assistant, Gail, called to me say that Marlo had a very busy
schedule but she would keep us in mind when Marlo was back
in the area. On Monday, Sept. 30, Gail called to say that
Marlo would be around Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 3pm. I asked if
she was going to be making an appearance somewhere &
Gail said, "No, just you two. Marlo wants to meet with you
in a restaurant in the city. She's free between 3:00 &
3:30."
We managed to arrive at the restaurant at 2:30 (you
never know how New York traffic or parking is going to be.)
And, to our surprise, Marlo was already there. About 10
minutes later, Gail arrived too. So we spent a wonderful
hour with both of them.
Marlo is such a wonderful, giving
person.
This will be a memory that will stay with us
forever.
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