And Still More
By noderel:
You probably never heard of Toby Brown, but he had an effect on millions of Americans. And on at least three neer-do-wells from southern California (names of Brian Brennan, Ron Ceridono, and Tex Smith).
You see, Toby lived right around the corner from Brennan, down there in Newport Beach, California. Which is just up on the hill from the Pacific and Balboa Island. And, Toby was a car nut. He worked in the Hollywood scene, so it was not amiss that one day the three of us wandered around to his house for a visit (actually to sneak a peek at a thing he was building), and over a cup of coffee I noticed a really familiar statue-ette on a shelf.
“What I think it is?”
“Yep”
So out in the garage I spied another one.
“What I think it is?”
“Yep”
And that went on both inside and outside the house and garage. Those Oscars (and quite a few of other less famous awards) seemed to be everywhere. Toby Brown was obviously a very talented cameraman. But we simply knew him as the guy around the corner who dug hot rods.
For Toby, those Oscars were just about as important as another car show trophy is to me. Ho hum, and a bottle of lemonade. But, on the plus side,an Oscar or a top trophy from Oakland or Detroit might mean a better year for the professional.
Somewhere in here, I got a call from him wondering if he could suggest my name to another camera dude who was working on the Today show, something about people who had chucked living in the big city and were making it while living in the country? So, that crew came to Driggs, Idaho, did their job and a news piece on me that probably no one ever saw, and then faded into the sunset.
I don’t think they were as famous as the unknown Toby Brown. Anyway, Toby ended up selling out in California and moving to Arkansas or Oklahoma or some such. And he died just a couple weeks ago. Sorry you never got to know him as the keen hot rodder he was.