Their house is on a tree-lined street in Brentwood (between Westwood and Santa Monica) behind an unassuming wall that unless you really thought about it, would never suspect was the entrance to park-like gardens and an iconic and beautifully appointed Hollywood mansion. After depositing the car with one of the dozen valet guys, we went inside. The theme was a country fair. The tables were covered with red and white checkered tablecloths and held jars stuffed with sunflowers. There was cotton candy, popcorn and fried chicken. Clusters of red, white and blue balloons rose from ribbons tied to the ground. A clown on stilts juggled balls and a temporary tattoo artist awaited customers.
We got a couple of beers and decided to explore the grounds. Big beautiful dahlias and bright geraniums lined the lawn while huge trees canopied above. An ivy covered fence revealed the entrance to a tennis court. I snapped a few photos of us there but had decided that it wouldn't be kosher to photograph the whole house and lawn – even though I desperately wanted to! We decided to make our way towards the house. As we approached, we recognized our host who we both had looked up on the Internet. "There he is!" my guy said and Skip turned to shake our hands. We thanked him for having us and asked about the back gardens. He said "go on through the house, there are more people back there."
As we went through the door, we were asked by a man if we had wristbands – obviously the demarcation of who is allowed entry to the VIP party – and my boyfriend simply replied "Skip told us to go on through." And so we did. The house was amazing! Although we could only see a small portion, it was immediately recognizable as one of the Spanish Colonial Revival mansions that were so popular in the 1920's and 1930's. It was magnificently understated with its terra cotta tile floors, arched doorways, vaulted ceilings with rustic wood beams and Moorish detailing in the columns and windows. It was decorated in reds and yellows, Persian carpets, Mission revival furniture and filled with paintings and Chihuly sculpture. Absolutely gorgeous!
It opened up onto a tiered garden in the back. Umbrellas at tables and flowers were reflected in the swimming pool and beyond, the hills of Santa Monica and the ocean. We walked towards the small group of people gathered around tables on a small lawn. We immediately recognized Kevin Nealon (also of Saturday Night Live fame) and Jason Alexander (from Seinfeld). Looking at name tags, we picked out several big-time industry players including Thomas Schlamme (more commonly known as Tommy Schlamme) – a ubiquitous TV director and producer of The West Wing. Then, standing by himself at a table, I saw Martin Sheen.
Being a huge fan of The West Wing, I walked over and said hello, told him I was a fan of his and loved the show. We must have chatted with him for about twenty minutes. He even offered to get us drinks at one point! He was sweet and gracious and interesting. I always suspected that he was given his anti-war convictions and political activity, but he was truly delightful. He asked where we were from and when my boyfriend said he was Kurdish, he told us about accompanying a UCLA professor to Syria on an archaeological dig – he found a dog's jaw bone – and all the lovely Kurdish people he'd met. He then told us how he met Al Franken 30 years ago on Saturday Night Live. He was the guest host, Apocalypse Now had just come out, and Al Franken was a regular writer and performer on the show. Interestingly enough, the governor of California at the time was Jerry Brown who is running for the office again in the upcoming election. Martin says he's endorsing him.
We eventually excused ourselves to allow other people to talk to Martin and discussed which other celebrities to meet. None seemed nearly as alluring nor as approachable. As we were sitting there, I recognized a woman I'd had in an acting class many years ago who is now on SNL as well. I said hello and she introduced us to her party, Ariana Huffington and her daughter! My boyfriend was now officially starstruck. Finally, we were ushered back out front. Al was eventually going to give a speech and needed to mingle a bit with the non-VIP crowd. Still marveling at our good fortune, we were able to meet Jason Alexander and his wife, who borrowed a pen from me, before recognizing Garrison Keillor (Prairie Home Companion), Lawrence O'Donnell (MSNBC political analyst) and late-comer Conan O'Brien.
We joined the crowd around Senator Franken for photos and snapped one with him. Then, the speeches began. A few friends told funny anecdotes about his long road to Capitol Hill and one made a pointed observation that Franken is the only senator (who isn't married to a former president) to win on his first run. Martin read a speech prepared by Norman Lear who was there momentarily but must have decided he was too old to stand around for three hours. Before he started, Martin stammered a bit for effect and then said "I want this house!" to a big applause.
Then Al told a good story about being criticized by his opponent for taking "Hollywood" money. He noted that his opponent was taking money from big oil and big pharma and big tobacco and how all of these industries wanted something, nay expected something, in return. The Hollywood money, by contrast, was coming from his friends. People who wanted nothing in return, just to support a man they believe in. Then, he shared some of his time on the Hill so far and how he's made inroads with Republican senators by telling stories about the Hollywood people he knows. Turns out, no one is immune from being starstruck. Lastly, he promised to fight for health care reform and a public option. The number one cause of bankruptcy in America is health care and 2/3 of those people have health insurance.
After the speeches, there was a raffle and we won an autographed picture of Senator Franken being sworn in by Joe Biden. I took a picture of Franken autographing it. I turned around and saw another actress friend of mine. What a surprise. We chatted for a bit and then she took a picture of us with Martin Sheen who was now being mobbed by fans. At some point, Martin asked what kind of food there was. People pointed and asked him what he wanted. He said "all of it!" But he couldn't leave, he was mobbed. I took off and grabbed a Caesar salad, a box of popcorn, plate of fried chicken and corn on the cob and brought it back to Martin. He said he need a soda and as I spun off, he shouted "Coke, with ice!" I brought back two. He was very grateful. We said our goodbyes and said had been a pleasure to talk with him. He agreed. On the way out, we took a caramel apple for the road. The party was over. Now, as the buttons said, "It's finally Franken time."
