Movie Stars

Roger Moore's death brought out lots of affection and kind remembrances from his fellow actors and movie fans for his grace and good humor. A bevy of "Bond girls" sang his praises as a leading man. He was warm, funny, and humble too. A story about an airport encounter in 1983 with a seven-year-old boy went viral on Facebook, for good reason.

I had an encounter with a movie star the summer of 1966 when I was eight years old. Burt Lancaster was starring in The Swimmer, a movie based on John Cheever's New Yorker magazine short story.  It was filmed in Westport, Connecticut, with some scenes shot in my neighborhood in Greens Farms not far from the Sherwood Island Connector.

Lancaster was in a robe, sitting alone in a director's chair outside his trailer. I walked up to him and asked, "Mr. Lancaster, may I have your autograph?"

He stood up, looked me up and down twice, and said, "Get lost, kid."

Burt Lancaster ~ The Swimmer ~ Sherwood Island Connector