Everyone who knows me know I am not easily star struck. Okay, I lied. I was star struck by two icons! Lambchop and Gregory Peck. But that's it. No one has ever been able to wither and buckle my knees since my meeting with those two on separate occasions.
However, I can easily be impressed by humility and humbleness in people. My neighbor is one such person. A tall unassuming man, John is always happy to see you. Always happy to greet you. Always cheery and matter of fact about any subject he talks about. He makes no judgement about anyone or anything.
John came to Hollywood to become an actor from humble beginnings in Tennessee. Movies transported him when he was a child and he thought it would do the same if he worked in them. He worked hard to stay in Hollywood including cleaning out garbage cans that others wouldn't touch. This allowed him to take acting lessons which soon paid off. He took all the money he was happy to make as an actor and bought up property in the Hollywood hills. He even stayed in a cheap room rental back in the 1950's just so he could save the money while buying property.
When acting jobs became far and few between, he took his savings and built or remodeled houses, giving him independence. O and I live in one of the many he amassed over the decades.
John told us he was an actor in the early days but he never boasted or anything remotely like that. His wife is equally as wonderful. It took me a while to dig out the films and TV shows he worked on because I didn't know that he used a stage name of Compton. He took it from an English woman he met while visiting New York when he was very young. He is grateful for his time in the TV and film business and knows he's been lucky ever since.
We're lucky to have the star of Jack Webb's The D.A.'s Man as our neighbor and friend.
BTW, in the video clip, John is the man on the right without the hat. Pretty cool dude.
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