MAKICHUK: A tribute: Lessons from my brother Jim, Part II
He recalled that Jimmy Hoffa, fresh out of prison, was not one to be trifled with
Having a brother who worked for CKLW was awesome!
He would come home with stacks of 45s, rejected by Rosalie Trombley, the influential music director.
If she liked the song, and played it. Man, you had it made. Due to its 50,000-watt signal, the Big 8’s broadcast reach extended well into the Detroit market and across much of North America.
And the stories, my God.
I was so jealous when he got to fly on the media flight of the first Delta Airlines 747. But he did bring me some cool colour brochures, which I treasured.
One evening, he was sent to cover Jane Fonda, a Vietnam war activist, who was speaking at an anti-war event.
Jane took one look at Jimbo and said. “He can come in, nobody else.”
All the big networks, were shut out! LOL!
Jim snapped a whole roll of film on Jane (see photo). And he was damn proud of those images.
Prior to working for CKLW, I should mention, Jim studied Political Science at Henry Ford University.
He would campaign for Bobby Kennedy in the Indiana primary, and got to meet RFK.
He told me that he couldn’t shake hands with him, because he had Kentucky Fried Chicken all over his hands! LOL!
And he would never forget the kindness extended to him and other volunteers, in the poorest neighbourhoods.
He brought me home a bunch of campaign buttons, stickers and posters.
He would also be carded by the FBI, who stopped him at a protest, asked him questions and took his photo.
I also remember the day RFK was killed.
Jim came home despondent. He just said these words to me.
“America can’t have a good president.” He shut his door, and did not come out.
Our hearts were broken. Politically, he was a huge influence, as you can imagine.
Ironically, he would also meet and shake hands with Jimmy Hoffa, RFK’s fierce rival, when he got pardoned by President Nixon.
Jim said, one of the media guys asked, “Hey Jimmy, I heard you got soft in jail.”
Hoffa looked at him, and said: “You wanna try me?”
Everyone went silent, LOL!
Jim said Hoffa had big shoulders. The shoulders of a big man. You would not want to fuck with him.
Jim would marry a beautiful young English lady from Toronto named Brenda, and they would have several good years together.
The best time of their lives, was a summer in Banff, where Jim would attend the film school. It was there he would meet Phil Borsos, the great Canadian director.
They would become strong friends. More on that, in Part III. Jim and Phil would almost garner an Oscar nomination!
But, the marriage didn’t last. All that was left was a cat, that my parents adopted.
Jim would work in television in Toronto, Vancouver and Regina. Eventually landing in Calgary, working for CFCN as a producer.
There, he would meet producers Harry Cole and Doug Macleod, and write and direct Ghostkeeper, a low-budget horror movie shot in the depths of winter in Lake Louise.
The movie was based on the legend of the Windigo — a flesh eating creature or spirit in Native American folklore.
Jim and Doug spent an entire day in the basement archives in the Whyte Museum, to research the film, which Jim wrote in a week.
I actually worked on the film as a production assistant, but I decided the film business was not for me. Being a gopher at -25C was not a fun job, let me tell you.
While the film did not do well at the box office, it is now a cult film, with a big fan base in England. It was also recently featured in the Calgary Underground Film Festival, and a new BluRay DVD is coming out soon, via a Toronto distributor.
A French film company also hopes to create a French language version.
Jim would enter the US visa lottery, and get a green card with no expiry date. He headed south, and never looked back.
Finding a cool apartment in Sherman Oaks. For a while, Kramer from Seinfeld, lived across the street from him.
Feel free to check out his IMDB.com. He did many movies and television shows.
One that he is most proud of, was Hallmark’s The Town That Christmas Forgot.
Based on a true story, with his friend Carol and her kids.
Over the years, Jim would become the master of hidden LA.
If you visited, you got a real taste of LA, not the tourist shit.
The best Manhattans and oysters on the half shell on the pier at Santa Barbara.
The best blackened snapper at the Reel Inn in Pacific Palisades.
Vazquez Rocks state park, where the Star Trek Gorn episode was filmed.
The annual Pancho Barnes party on the dry lake bed at Edwards Air Force Base.
The Alabama Hills where tons of movies were filmed, including Gunga Din.
Marilyn Monroe’s home (that was eery), and her resting spot in Westwood Cemetery, along with many other stars.
The best chili at Chili John’s. Steak and beer at Chez Jays, where the Rat Pack hung out. French dip sandwiches at Philippe’s.
The famous Stooge Steps, from the ice box episode! Both of us were huge Three Stooges fans, and also made a pilgrimage to Curly’s grave.
Jim’s neighbors in Sherman Oaks were a Hollywood who’s who. Sightings included people like Marlon Brando, Clint Eastwood and Warren Beatty.
He would also get to know Robert Culp and Jack Palance.
The best magazine stand was a 2 minute walk from his apartment.
One would often see Jay Leno there, or Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. One time, Jim pulled out of the alley, barely stopping as Wilson staggered across the street with magazines in his arms, on a red light!
Jimbo and I also toured the great American southwest, visiting place such as Area 51, White Sands and Roswell, while I did UFO research.
Perhaps the coolest thing was interviewing Glenn Denis, the Roswell undertaker, who broke the greatest story in UFO history.
During that time, Jim had terrible back issues, all caused by a high school football injury. The first two operations failed, and Jim begged me to come to LA to look after him, while he waited for a third.
Thank God, he had the great Dr. Watkins in Los Angeles to do Operation No. 3. Watkins had done Wayne Gretzky, Joe Montana and Peyton Manning. Every one a success.
God was on our side, and … well, Watkins saved Jim.
From there on, Jim never had another back issue.
I have to say, one of the greatest experiences, that we shared together as brothers, was touring the Acoma Pueblo.
Jim took one of the most amazing photos there, and would sell many copies of it.
There was a church there, with huge thick walls, that dated back to Spanish times. They also held a special Christmas mass, that was by invite only.
Jim and I vowed to come back and take it in, but it never happened.
Then, we bought a couple hot apple fritters, cooked in an oven that was probably hundreds of years old. My God, the best apple fritter in our lives.
We never forgot it.
Jimbo loved travel. And, he passed that onto me, and, I have passed that onto my daughter Rica.
A truly great thing.
But that was the America we knew and loved. It’s not like that anymore.
One more story, and it’s a funny one. Jim was working on a film with a French crew in Luxembourg.
They were having dinner, when suddenly, one fellow said. “You know Jim, we send you guys the shit wine, and we keep the best for ourselves here in France.”
It got a laugh.
Jim smiled, “Yes, but we gave you McDonalds.”
A bigger laugh ensued.
And when Jim was leaving to return to LA, the hottest French girl on the set, turned aside all other men, and asked to have a last supper, with Jimbo! LOL!
Stay tuned for Part III. Jimbo’s big adventure with German actress, Elke Sommer in Jasper.
(Jim Makichuk is in memory care and being looked after by the fine folks at the Bethany in Calgary.)