Jon Perdue
san Francisco
13 Aug 2015 |
I met Arthur in 1976 in Provincetown, and was hired as his dresser at the Post Office Cabaret. This evolved into personal assistant, chauffeur, and confidante. I was with him during his East Coast tour culminating at Trudy Heller's in the Village, then on to the Riviera in Palm Springs. I was also with him when he appeared at the Mocambo on Polk Street in SF. He was so much fun to be around, always full of hilarious show business stories. We worked on his autobiography together evenings in his home in P-town, me typing while he circled the room dictating. He worked with, and knew, many celebrities including Jayne Mansfield, Tyrone Power, Jose Ferrer, Yul Brynner, Tallulah Bankhead, Marjorie Main, Liberace, among others. Bette Davis often called him for recipes! He introduced me to Kaye Ballard, Rip Taylor, Mabel Mercer. His lifelong partner, Irving Cohen, was a vocal coach who worked with Richard Burton at one point. Arthur was full of fun, enjoyed gardening and painting and, of course, entertaining. I miss him very much. He made my summer of '76 very special. |
