Recollections III – Wrap Party

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This is my memory of a VerySpecial Few Minutes during Stasrky & Hutch’s 3rd season wrap party.

Looking back, from 2014, and remembering what it was like doing the research on, and being part of “Starsky & Hutch” from near the end of first season, 1976, through the end of the series in 1979. I was the legal and production researcher on the show, Seasons 2 through 4, and am writing from my own experiences, as I remember them. I have only recently rediscovered Starsky & Hutch fandom and am enjoying sharing some of those experiences. Memory being mutable, events and emotions I talk about may not be as others remember them, so I apologize, in advance, and sincerely hope not to offend anyone.

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Most readers have probably never been to a Hollywood wrap party so I’ll offer a brief explanation first: at the end of a season, if it’s a TV show, or the end of scheduled shooting, if it’s a film, the production company hosts a party for everyone who worked on the project. And I mean everyone. Literally hundreds of people can attend one of these things. It can be held in a hotel ballroom, a large restaurant, convention center, or a Hall of any kind but is often held in an empty sound stage at the Studio. That’s where S&H’s third season wrap party was held: on a sound stage on the Twentieth Century lot. The empty space was filled with arm chairs and sofas to sit on, tables and chairs to sit at while eating, catering tables full of food, more tables for the open bar, and just plain lots of room for people to mingle, talk, laugh and have a good time.

Unfortunately, rumors had been rife toward the end of the season, again; rumors to the effect that David and Paul weren’t getting along, that there had been arguments over scripts, directing, etc., etc. There was even a rumor that one, or both of the actors wouldn’t show up that night.

But the rumors weren’t true; both David and Paul were there, and appeared to be having a really good time, along with everyone else.

After people had gorged themselves on the excellent food (caterers always outdo themselves at wrap parties) and talked to everyone they wanted to talk to, someone brought out David’s guitar and asked him to sing.

Hardly ever needing to be asked twice, he smiled, took the guitar and walked over to an arm chair he could sit in comfortably and still be able to play. Everyone else gathered ‘round in about a 250 degree arc in front of him and around to the sides; two or three deep, leaving about 15-20 feet of open space between him and his audience. Paul was standing in the middle of the arc, directly in front of David, with Lynn Marta, David’s lady at the time, and Elizabeth Meyer, Paul’s own lady, on either side of him.

After a few chord-testing strums and riffs, David played/sang “Don’t Give Up on Us.” And he didn’t sing it to Lynn Marta. He sang every word directly to Paul. He looked down at his fingering on the strings from time to time but his eyes always come back up to Paul’s, who never took his own eyes off him. Paul has a heartbreakingly beautiful smile when he chooses to offer it; he offered it to David during that song.

Don’t give up on us, baby
Don’t make the wrong seem right
The future isn’t just one night
It’s written in the moonlight
Painted on the stars
We can’t change ours

Don’t give up on us, baby
We’re still worth one more try
I know we put a last one by
Just for a rainy evening
When maybe stars are few
Don’t give up on us, I know
We can still come through

I really lost my head last night
You’ve got a right to stop believin’
There’s still a little love left, even so
Don’t give up on us, baby
Lord knows we’ve come this far
Can’t we stay the way we are?
The angel and the dreamer

Who sometimes plays a fool
Don’t give up on us, I know
We can still come through
It’s written in the moonlight
Painted on the stars
We can’t change ours

Don’t give up on us, baby
We’re still worth one more try
I know we put a last one by
Just for a rainy evening
When maybe stars are few
Don’t give up on us, I know
We can still come through

At the end of the song, everybody applauded and cheered, probably thinking that was about as positive a ‘statement’ as the guys could make. A great many had tears in their eyes, and if you think I wasn’t one of them you are much mistaken.

David, smiling that glowing smile he sometimes, but not nearly often enough, bestows, got up, walked forward and handed the guitar to Paul, who had moved forward to meet him. I couldn’t hear what was said between them, it was only a few seconds, and they were talking quietly, then Paul took the guitar and walked back to the same chair, sat and took several deep breaths, not looking at anyone. David walked to the arc of people, to the exact spot Paul had vacated, turned around to look at Paul and stood next to Lynn Marta, holding her hand. He may have taken Elizabeth’s hand, too, but I honestly don’t remember.

Finally ready, Paul looked up, directly at David, and played/sang Jim Croce’s “I Have to Say I Love You In A Song.” His voice was sweet and soft and a little gravely; perfect for Jim Croce’s words. (Something has just now occurred to me, after all these years: Paul is left handed, but he played David’s guitar, and he played it right handed; very well, too.)

Well, I know it’s kinda late
I hope I didn’t wake you
But what I got to say can’t wait
I know you’d understand

‘Cause every time I tried to tell you
The words just came out wrong
So I’ll have to say I love you in a song

Yeah, I know it’s kind of strange
Every time I’m near you
I just run out of things to say
I know you’d understand

Every time I tried to tell you
The words just came out wrong
So I’ll have to say I love you in a song

Every time the time was right
All the words just came out wrong
So I’ll have to say I love you in a song

Yeah, I know it’s kinda late
I hope I didn’t wake you
But there’s something that I just got to say
I know you’d understand

Every time I tried to tell you
The words just came out wrong
So I’ll have to say I love you in a song

During the entire song Paul never looked at anyone except David, and David never took his eyes off Paul, his beatific smile lighting up the entire sound stage.

If possible, the applause and cheering (and weeping) were even louder this time. Paul finally smiled, leaned the guitar carefully against the arm of the chair, got up and walked toward David, who had left Lynn and Elizabeth and was approaching the center of the open space. They enfolded each other and hung on, tears in their eyes but smiles on their faces. The embrace lasted a long time, while almost everyone else in the room seemed unwilling or unable to break into the moment. It was magical.

Thanks, again, for listening.