# 387 "Flying with Johnny Mathis" & Bonus "Johnny Mathis in the Field" 

Santa Ynez, California 1972 

Before there was a "Purple Rain" there was "Chances Are" and the man who brought that iconic song to our ears was none other than the "Wonderful Wonderful" Johnny Mathis. I was lucky enough to produce & direct two of his Music Videos, one in 1970 and the second in 1972. We flew by private plane courtesy of CBS/Columbia Records up to Santa Ynez just north of Santa Barbara to Johnny's sprawling ranch. We stayed as his guests while his father Clem made us incredible chili. It's strange how my memory forgets things that happened yesterday but not something from 46 years ago. Johnny is still singing but we lost touch. One of my most vivid memories was when he was driving me down Sunset Boulevard in his convertible Rolls Royce when he started to sing "Chances Are", one of my most favorite songs of all time. A nicer or more humble man is hard to find. 

Picture of the Week # 386 "Helmut Newton" St. Tropez 1981 & Bonus "June & Helmut Newton"  Montecito, California 1984 Signed & Stamped

Helmut Newton had a home in Ramatuelle in the South of France. At the end of the road was my close friend Arthur Janov's beach front villa. Arthur wrote the definitive psychological book of it's time, "Primal Scream". We all hung out together in the summers as I had a home in Grimaud the next town above them in the hills. St. Tropez was our stomping grounds. Arthur had a boat and we would periodically hop over to "Club 55" for lunch. Anybody who was anybody was seen at Club 55. I had my table there next to Helmut. We continued to see each other on his yearly stays at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. One weekend we drove up to my then girl friends in Montecito. That's where I took the picture of June & Helmut in one of the gardens of her magnificent 26 acre estate. I remember telling Helmut "you'll want to photograph her." He said  he didn't bring a camera. But when he met her and her sister the next thing I know I see them running naked through the gardens dragging fur coats as the constant click of an automatic shutter was capturing their images. He borrowed her camera and the pictures ended up in one of his books. We had dinner with Helmut & June and France & Arthur Janov two weeks before Helmut's untimely passing. He died at the wheel of a his rented Cadillac in the garage of the Chateau Marmont. A sad way to end a brilliant life of one of the great pioneers of photography. He will surely be missed, but his images will live on.

Picture of the Week #385 "Liza" New York City 1972 Signed & Stamped

These photos of Liza Minelli are from my days producing & directing Music Videos. Yes, I am credited with having created the modern day Music Video as I started with The Beatles in 1964. That was 19 years BEFORE MTV. When Clive Davis was President of CBS/Columbia Records I produced & directed all of their videos that were shown at their annual record convention. In the beginning I had total control and ownership of the visuals. The recording artist and their publishers owned the soundtracks. But in 1972 CBS declared that I was an employee and no longer owned the visual rights. I had to go along with them as they paid me very well and that was how I was able to finance my first feature film "The Lords of Flatbush". The rest is history.

Picture of the Week #384  "SEK: As If The Oppressor Was Never A Child As If Heroin Was Never A Flower"

SEK or Luis is an incredible artist that I was lucky enough to meet and photograph for my portraits of Down Town Artists a few months ago. We went to see him and the other artists last Saturday at the Container Yard downtown Los Angeles. He is so angelic and beautiful that I always have to take a photo. He's shy and doesn't like to have his picture taken. He never said that but his body language always showed me his discomfort. The words painted above him were actually on a small wall that was on the balcony looking down on the vast space beneath his studio. The writing caught my eye and I was drawn into what he was saying and the power of his poetry. SEK is now 23. He was in jail at 12 and a junkie. He's cleaned up his act and his paintings are not only poetry but are brilliant in their observations. And Yes, I know he misspelled Oppressor. He works very quickly and loosely and I am sure his thoughts were faster than his hand and he left out the "R". But he is definitely an artist to watch.