HOLLYWOOD (And the Wizards of Oz)
by Michael Marzicola
Excerpt
Talent is a preliminary gift that requires fine tuning. More often, than not, the mentors that mold the minds and bodies of potentially fine entertainers could never match the intricacies possessed by the potentially articulate student. Yet these professors of the arts: song, dance, musicians, film directors, etc., possess the knowledge to administer the necessary technique to bring the ordinary to greatness! Among such mentors was a man, so incredible, a man not only dedicated to himself, but hell bent on rising to the top in spite of all his failures: working long hours as a poor Italian immigrant from Italy in a dog eat dog society.
Frank Capra! One of Gods emissaries to brighten his twinkling stars, hated being a poor peasant trapped in a sleazy ghetto in Los Angeles. The one member of a large family that could read and write. He wanted out! Anything that would free him from his scurvy habitat of non-achievers to cross the tracks into the affluent world of success and prosperity. However, crossing the great divide was not without its failures. He opted for a technical education: instead; bootlegging, prize fighting, and con games became eminent in order to survive.
Considered a bum by his immediate family, except for his loving mother and sister, he continued his quest for a life of independence. Wearing his only clothes, a worn and now tattered Army uniform, he responded to an ad: Wanted, tutor in college math and chemistry. Little did the destitute Frank Capra, broke and in desperate need, ever dream the assignment would entail mentoring the son of the rich and famous: the one and only, Lucky Baldwin, discoverer of the fabulous rich Comstock lode. Upon acceptance of his credentials, only one other condition was left to negotiate. Mrs. Anita M. Baldwin, a sweetheart, devoid of snobbery, having ascertained Franks dilemma, placed one final condition upon his employment:
Mr. Capra, I will pay you $300 per month and buy you three new suits if you will discard that uniform.
Frank Capra smiled with affection at the gratitude of this lovely and most gracious lady. Living in the Baldwin estate 24 hours a day, he began tutoring the little rich kid to pass his exams at Berkley. Several months later, the brat passed with flying colors. Needless to say, Frank Capra was in love with Anita Baldwin. Not as a romantic, but an ardent admirer of a super well adjusted individual who lived each day with a heart filled with compassion!
Franks mission accomplished, with the little brat in mind, he came to one conclusion: the rich have it all, but accomplish little. With the thought behind him, he left the Baldwin estate and journeyed to work where work could be found: the copper mines in Arizona.
However, like many of his other visions of grandeur, the copper mines of Arizona were a bust! Several years thereafter, he traveled over Nebraska and California. Mostly as a hustler to keep the wolf away from his door. Hopping freights for lack of fare, he sold photos from door to door, played guitar, and hustled at the local pool hall. Forever sinking lower, with a few jingling coins in his pocket, he found himself, once again, in the city where little cable cars reach halfway to the stars: San Francisco.
The year, 1921, laying atop a frayed and soiled mattress in a flea bagged hotel, half awake, he looked upon a figure dressed to kill: a man with diamonds draped all over him, and a face and body that made you cringe, merely imagining the inevitable! The big man threw the roll of green, held tightly with a rubber band, across Franks chest landing at the top of his fingers. This was no ordinary tough: instead the head ruffian from a syndicate of bootleggers from Los Angeles. The Mafioso had tracked Frank down to offer him his first job as a Chemical Engineer.
Theres ten Gs for pocket money, we want you to design some alcohol stills to keep our cookers from smelling up the territory, the lousy cops keep hitting us for grease! Scared half to death, Frank declined the offer, awaiting his fate! The man turned, then walked back to his ride: a block-long black limo.
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