Fellow Fan Programmer (and good buddy) Kyle Kersten, Robert Osborne and Las VegasLynn

Well, TCM kicked off their anniversary week celebration last night with a trio of Fan Programmers introducing some of their favorite films.

Of the three, I know Peter Bosch the best.  He's a veteran of the TCM Message Boards and we've become good friends over the last couple of years.

Theresa Brown who introduced the Bette Davis/William Wyler masterpiece, "The Letter" has become a good friend since we met at the TCM tapings in Atlanta last November.  She was wonderful tonight kicking off the event, holding her own with Robert Osborne.

I barely remember what I talked with Robert O about during my on-air interview.  The time went by so fast.  I do know that he asked about my work and I was able to talk about my preservation work in Las Vegas as well as my film "The Story of Classic Las Vegas." 

I guess we'll all find out together on Wednesday evening (my big night)  what ended up in the interview and what ended up on the cutting room floor!

That Monday evening after a day of taping,  the TCM staff had arranged for a special dinner for all of us at a nearby restaurant called, appropriately enough (for a bunch of classic movie junkies), Home (as in, "there's no place like...")

There was time for cocktails in the bar before dinner.  Jon had taken ill late Sunday night and was unable to join us at the studio on Monday or for the dinner.  Luckily, my good buddy, Kyle Kersten was a Fan Programmer as well and he stepped in to keep me company.

We were standing at the bar having a drink and noticed that the television was tuned to TCM.  The movie was a really bad period drama starring Richard Burton.  We were trying to figure out which movie it was.  Turned out to be "Doctor Faustus"

Robert Osborne joined us at the bar.  We were sure that he was "working" the room and would only stay a few minutes before moving on to other groups.  Much to our surprise, that never happened.  We stood at the bar talking with Robert O until the announcement came that it time to adjourn to the dining room.  We had a delightful, relaxed conversation with Mr. Osborne about a number of subjects, most keenly the difficult of getting classic movie stars to sit down for interviews about their careers.  Maureen O'Hara, for instance, lives in Ireland and is not interested in flying to the States to talk about her career, she'd rather spend time with her family.  And she's not the only one.  Vera Miles, Kim Novack and many others are just as reluctant.

The dinner was great.  Kyle and I were seated with the TCMWeb staff as well as their archivist, Dennis Millay.  Dennis was the one who discovered the "missing RKO films" and spearheaded the effort to bring them back into the former Turner Film Library and screen them on TCM.

The TCM staff was great.  They had invited Tony Curtis to join us but he had taken ill at his ranch in Sandy Valley (just outside Las Vegas, how's that for symmetry?).

I remember we ate fried chicken with a honey/vinegar dipping sauce.  It was a wonderful evening.

Afterwards, the shuttle bus took us all back to the hotel.  We retired to the lounge with Theresa Brown and her friend, Lynn to continue talking about movies and our adventures.

But one of the best memories I have of the trip is talking with Robert Osborne at the bar before dinner.  He is just as knowledgeable and just as gracious as he seems on TCM.

Tonight on TCM as part of their 15th Anniversary Fan Programmer Week:

5:00 pm

April Lane introduces "Gone with the Wind"

This is the film that TCM debuted with on April 14th, 1994

9:00 pm

Lisa Mordente introduces "Singin' in the Rain"

11:00 pm

Rome Mendheim introduces a childhood favorite, "Angels with Dirty Faces"

All times PST so check your local listings.

More to follow tomorrow!

 Happy 15th Anniversary, Turner Classic Movies and the Staff of TCM!

Here's to the next 15 years!