I Was Lofty's Bodyguard for a Night
By Judith-Aileen Osofsky
Having a love/hate relationship with money-making Manhattan is nothing unique. New York can kick your arse, but it can afford you glittery, only-in-NY delights.
Getting an up-close view of celebrity is a double-edged sword: it's a privilege to be able to interact with artists whose work has affected you, but it goes against human nature to only ever be the one bowing and scraping.
Back when living amongst celebrities was still a novelty for me, I was initiated into this uniquely NY/London (and I assume Hollywood) experience by none other than EastEnders.
A year out of college, after weighing the pluses and minuses of NY in my head, I decided to move here from Chicago. I started a job in the summer of 1988 at WNYC Communications Group, home of one AM and one FM public radio station, and a public television station, Channel 31, which aired EastEnders. And here's where I ideally become of some relevance to you all.
One of my first assignments was to work as part of the staff at a special event to benefit EastEnders. Such a fund-raiser is among the non-profit world's staples. When done right, it achieves more than financial goals. Contributors feel honoured, the station can earn media publicity.
In 1989 WNYC would be marking its 65th anniversary, and starting the previous fall it seemed there was an event to work on every month.
To me, it was a coup to be paid to enjoy some of the cultural life of New York I'd otherwise miss. Very cool, especially as I'd only been living in New York a matter of weeks. It was where I finally learned what crudités was (a refreshing appetizer of small pieces of raw vegetables such as carrots and cucumber eaten with a dip).
And it was where I'd get to "work with" an actual TV star, Tom Watt. These opportunities hadn't presented themselves to me back in Illinois.
True, I'd never actually heard of the TV show on which the actor played. (EastEnders wasn't on the air in Chicago to my knowledge.) But I quickly learned about the show's fervent following as the phone seemed to ring from 9-5 with EastEnders fans purchasing tickets to the upcoming event.
I was entertained by humorous character names such as "Dr Legg," and "Lofty." Years later, I would misremember Tom Watts' character's name as "Cocky," even though he was to be my charge for the evening.
Callers delighted in the news that "Angie" (I'd later find out the character was played by Anita Dobson) would be in attendance, among other EastEnders actors. Their enthusiasm was quite catching.
Raised in my household with Masterpiece Theater a Sunday night ritual, it was nice to see a public television audience clamoring over a British serial, other than the wonderful All Creatures Great & Small (and Doctor Who, which can't be called a traditional serial.)
Since then, of course, there's been AbFab and then The Office, but before that it was mainly Benny Hill, The Avengers or Monty Python's Flying Circus—all regularly viewed at my home (Benny Hill, much to my embarrassment, my mother's un-guilty pleasure, though I will gladly give eternal props to the Hawaii Five-O send-up).
On the day of the EastEnders event, I became rather nervous about my given assignment as Lofty's minder. Tales of the stars arriving in New York filtered into the office. Apparently, "Angie" was "sooo nice," very glamorous, not at all stuck-up. She even gave encouraging advice to a colleague who'd had a recent romantic disappointment. "It will all work out for you, dear," she was overheard as saying by an excited WNYC staffer.
What would Lofty be like? I wondered and worried. I was to meet him at the event venue, which I recall being a multi-storied old-fashioned fancy brick house—the exact location I can't recall for even a million pounds. (I'd take the dosh in pounds not dollars, ta very much.) I would not be discussing my love life with Tom Watt, even if he begged.
Indeed what's left of my recollection of this event, which took place almost 20 years ago, is less than I would like. I think this is partly due to how I was sort of baptised by the frenzied fire of this hugely popular EastEnders gathering into the world of events, celebrity and the bustling New York social scene.
I do recall Tom Watt being tall, cute, and kitted out in a tasteful, plaid, three-piece suit; but it could've been tweed, with no vest. Regardless, it was a very dapper suit, and Mr. Watt cleans up nicely.
He also had what was to my ear (not having travelled yet to England at the time), a posh accent, not like the clips of the show I had made a point of seeing in preparation for meeting the lad.
The event was so well attended that I don't think Mr. Watt got much of a break; he worked straight through, as I recall. There was an unending supply of fans there to meet, speak and have their pictures taken with him. Shades of Madame Tussaud's.
When closing time came, I recall a polite handshake goodbye with the actor, and a memory of his dashing off perhaps into some bohemian adventure in the city that never sleeps?
I still have my EastEnders cockney dictionary. And now it's all come round—with the success of Ricky Gervais in America. Via references to EE in The Office and appearances by Shaun Williamson (Barry Evans) and Ross Kemp (Grant Mitchell) in Extras, EastEnders is being introduced to a new audience.
Tom Watt was the first English celebrity I'd ever seen in person. Soon after I did see Madonna at a Francis Bacon exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, but she wasn't British yet.
Since then, I've seen Rod Stewart walking in Columbus Circle, Robyn Hitchcock being interviewed live from a WNYC radio studio, foisted myself upon Dames Judi Dench and Maggie Smith when they appeared on WNYC radio; and likewise, Dame Diana Rigg, who was kind enough to sign an Avengers trading card from a pack found oddly enough in the inventory of a Manhattan bodega.
Since then, I've visited London a number of times, and experience it as being a lot like New York—glamorous, expensive, crowded, exciting and high profile.
I've also spotted many non-English celebrities throughout New York, as is one of the facts of life about living here. In fact, it's a bit of a local sport. Bruce Weber wrote a hilarious piece in the New York Times about a point system for it ("Spectator Sport: Spotting Celebrities," Aug. 28, 1992). The less likely a place of the sighting, the more points you get; plus, you assign one celebrity who really irritates you zero points.
Best catch for me so far? Robert De Niro. Not because it was so unlikely seeing him. I worked near his Tribeca offices. It was because he met my eye and gave me a big smile back. Forgive me, Mr. De Niro, I know it must be the bane of your existence, but really, I was so gobsmacked. I was like, "Robert De Niro, you looking at ME? YOU...looking...at...ME?!"
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