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Chelsea Hotel

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Nigel Finch died last month of an Aids-related illness on Valentine's Day. He was 45.

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As a director and co-editor of Arena with Anthony Wall,

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he was one of the most original and brilliant talents in television.

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Nigel shot his first film when he was still in his teens, cajoling friends and neighbours

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into taking roles for little or no financial reward.

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A talent he was to perfect in later life.

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He began his career at London Weekend Television but moved to the BBC in the mid 70s,

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where he remained, mainly in music and arts, for the rest of his life.

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His earliest films were about the visual arts,

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one of his passions, and even his earlier pieces have a distinctive style and look -

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the hallmark of a unique eye.

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At the BBC he became notorious for his humour, anarchy, ambition and dress sense.

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The first time I saw Nigel, he was revving up a huge black motorcycle,

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his leather jacket shining in the sun,

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his barking laugh audible half a mile away.

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"This man makes arts documentaries?"

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I said to a friend. "Well, not exactly."

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She lent me copies of My Way and The Private Life Of The Ford Cortina.

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Suddenly it all made sense.

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These early films for Arena completely broke the mould

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of what an arts documentary was supposed to be.

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"Make a film about a song?" some bureaucrat complained, "Give me a break."

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Such ideas are commonplace now.

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16 years ago they were considered outrageous.

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But although Nigel's ideas have been copied,

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no-one else has matched his wit or technical verve.

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And now he's gone, leaving behind a treasure house for us -

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30 films packed with memorable ideas and images.

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Nigel had been living with Aids for years and, in his case, living was the operative word.

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He worked to the end on his first feature film, Stonewall,

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which will be released on both sides of the Atlantic this year.

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Nigel wanted to complete a feature film before he died.

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It is somehow typical of him that he got what he wanted.

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Word is that the story of the 1969 gay riots in New York is Nigel's finest work.

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We can't see Stonewall for a while but tonight there's a chance to re-view The Chelsea Hotel -

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Nigel's personal favourite and, I have to say, mine too.

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Nigel celebrated difference in people and loved to get below the surface of things.

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This project offered ample opportunity for both.

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The Chelsea Hotel in New York is famous for the exotic individualism of its inhabitants.

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And, to the outsider, seems an enclosed Bohemia only for initiates.

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Nigel throws open the doors of its rarefied rooms,

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capturing a hothouse world

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with an enchanting mix of satire and affection.

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The roll call of avant-garde artists in the Chelsea Hotel

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is one of the most wide ranging ever assembled on film.

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Andy Warhol, Viva, Nico, Quentin Crisp,

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Virgil Thomson and William Burroughs all put in appearances.

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Funnily, that wasn't the appeal for Nigel.

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He was equally interested, perhaps more interested,

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in the struggling artists no-one had heard of, except mothers and lovers.

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The Chelsea is a haven for those who don't follow the normal rules.

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A place that nurtures non-conformity.

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As a person, Nigel was as unconventional and surprising as his films.

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With The Chelsea Hotel he created a magical world typical of himself and Arena at their very best.

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SIRENS BLARE

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# Every street's full of art in old New York

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# Every street's a highway full of green

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# Why, it's a thrill to shop on 34th Street

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# Or down in Union Square

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# All of the people you meet on Mulberry Street

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# Have you ever been there?

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# Every street's a boulevard in old New York

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# So remember and you'll never wear a frown

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# There's the East Side The West Side, Uptown and Down

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# That's why I'm proud to be the mayor of this town. #

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Thank you.

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I'd like to welcome you to the Chelsea Hotel,

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one of the most distinguished structures in all of New York.

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It takes its name from the area we're in.

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It's a centre of creativity

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you might compare with Florence during the Renaissance.

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Some of the greatest talents of the 20th century have stayed here.

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You'll notice the plaques here refer to Dylan Thomas, Brendan Behan and Thomas Wolfe.

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In fact, Thomas Wolfe wrote You Can't Go Home Again, most of it, in this hotel.

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And both Brendan Behan and Dylan Thomas stayed here when they came to New York.

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They drank themselves to death at the White Horse on 11th Street.

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Then they'd come and collapse here.

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Later they were buried from St Lukes In The Field in Greenwich Village.

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If you've had a tour, you've seen the church.

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Some of the other people were Charles James, the famous couturier,

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Lillian Russell - Diamond Jim Brady was her boyfriend.

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Mark Twain. Henry Cartier-Bresson, he's the man who does

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the wonderful photographs. When he comes to New York he stays here.

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Arthur Miller and his wife stay.

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Janis Joplin did stay here, that's right.

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A lot of people, famous people, have stayed here.

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Of course, Sid Vicious was here.

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You sign your name and from whence you cometh.

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DOG BARKS

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There are things that go on here that are very far from the norm.

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They just...

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I don't think most people realise how strange it is.

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Now, what is it you wanna know?

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Wanna know all the good about the Chelsea Hotel?

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I told you before, I'm not gonna tell.

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The Chelsea's the only place to work.

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If I don't say that I won't be working here much longer.

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What can I tell ya, I won't tell anything about anybody's life.

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It's my business, not yours!

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It's good to have you here at the Chelsea, and welcome aboard.

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It's a little warmer in here, isn't it?

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Yes, it was rather cold outside.

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Well, I'm very glad you all turned up on such a terrible day.

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Now, are we all here?

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You're at the end, Mr Freisach.

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Now, we're in the lobby. This was built as an apartment, not a hotel,

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so this would have been the lobby.

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We are going to go in to see the managers office.

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Remember, the manager's office is not just the manager's office

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but at one time it was the home of someone.

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Think of it at as someone's home.

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We're going to go into his office. Look at all of the art work.

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I'm going to walk over here. Here is Stanley Bard, the manager.

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Sorry to interrupt you.

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That's OK. How are you?

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Very well! Nice to see you again.

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-Pleasure to see you.

-Thank you.

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Why don't you all come in here?

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Cluster around, so you can see the office.

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Is everybody in here...?

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Everyone in the group?

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I don't want to lose anybody.

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OK, you can see this is Mr Bard's Office.

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They put up a partition but this would have been a Parlour.

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A front parlour, reception room, for someone's home...

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My job never ends.

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I have an open line connection to the hotel 24 hours.

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I want it that way because I can keep in touch with the hotel 24 hours

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and I know what's happening.

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I believe in flexibility in management.

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I never believed in, um... tight policy-making.

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I'd rather gear my policy making to fit the needs of the individual.

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Suddenly a big bull frog hopped out of the water and sat down on a log beside him.

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Ug! Ug! Ug! Ug!

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Lovely evening.

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Ug! Ug! Ug! Ug!

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I said lovely evening.

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Ug! Ug! Ug! Ug!

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I said bee-yoo-tee-full evening.

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Hello. Ug! Hello. Ug!

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Hello.

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But Tubby just sat.

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"Oh well," said the Frog, "Oh well, if I'm not wanted.

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"Oh!" cried Tubby "Please, Mr Frog, come back.

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"I didn't mean to be impolite."

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Back hopped the frog.

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"Oh, that's all right, I'm used to it.

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"No one pays any attention to me either."

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"Really?" said Tubby.

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"Why of course!

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"Every night I sit here and sing my heart out,

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"but does anyone listen?

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"Oh, no."

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"Can you sing?" asked Tubby.

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"Can I sing? Listen."

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HE PLAYS THE PIANO

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I moved into this hotel 24 years ago

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because I got tired of walking eight flights every night in my tenement.

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And, um...

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I started to raise plants

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because I was in the flower district, on 28th Street.

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And then I decided to put a canary in and this whole mess started of that.

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They became pythons, tarantulas and...things like that.

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And now the greatest animal of all happened to me recently.

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I met a lady, Susan, over there,

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who loves plants and animals.

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I'm not sure how she likes pythons and boa constrictors.

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And the hobby grew, and the hobby grew, and the hobby grew...

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and now I've found that we in New York City can create,

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in this concrete jungle, a place of happiness, of greenery and plants.

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So I've been very happy here,

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thanks to you.

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Lucky man, lucky man, lucky man!

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I actually met George before... I met him on the elevator

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and I fell in love when I heard him laugh.

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I was going down on a Monday to work in a very grouchy mood

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and said something about the elevator, which had broken down.

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George laughed with his great big belly laugh of his... That's funny!

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All of a sudden, I warmed up and the day seemed beautiful.

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I said, "That man has the most wonderful laugh in the world."

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I had no idea who he was and didn't meet him again for two months,

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when I met him down at the good old bar downstairs.

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At which point, he immediately asked me to come up

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and see his jungle, not his etchings!

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My biggest theatrical success in New York

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was a story about a cockroach...

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and an alley cat, Mehitabel.

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And here she is.

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You see, Mehitabel is always being scolded

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by Archie the cockroach

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because he wants her to turn into a nice, tame house cat.

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Mehitabel says, "Oh Archie, why do I want to be a tame house cat?"

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And, er... "I have my problems and I don't try to change you.

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"Why do you try to change me?"

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She said, "Don't change me, Archie."

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And this is the story of my life and all of our lives.

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Everyone is always trying to change us. And Mehitable sings.

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# My youth I shall never forget

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# And there's nothing I really regret

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# The years I have poured down the drain

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# Have sparkled like golden champagne

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# I don't care to dance with a king

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# But with any old beggar I'll sing

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# I'll dance in the sun or the shade

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# To any old tune that is played

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# It's cheerio, deario Prance and pirouette

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# It's cheerio, my deario

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# There's life in me yet... #

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# ..I'll sing all my troubles away... #

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On the very first time I ever came here,

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I think I only stayed five days

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and there was a robbery, a fire and a murder.

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I came here to try to become a resident alien.

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That's my fundamental object.

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I've had my photograph taken

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and I've filled in the forms and now I can't do anymore except wait.

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All people who come back to England from America,

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the first thing they say is,

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"It's more like the movies than you would ever dream."

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And it is.

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From the moment I saw New York, I wanted it.

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Apart from the beauty of the place,

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in New York there are no strangers.

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People warned me that I would be robbed with violence

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and I don't know whether this is so or not,

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but I can safely say that all the people who are not hitting you over the head, are your friends.

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They talk to you in the street,

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they turn back having passed you in order to say, "Welcome to America."

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Can't ask for more than that.

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SIRENS BLARE

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First of all, I unpack...

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..and I unpack quickly

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because almost all my luggage is bottles

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and it's bottles of witch hazel

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and it's bottles of peroxide

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and it's bottles of this, that and the other.

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And one is terrified...

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Most of all, one is terrified that the dye with which I do my hair will have broken.

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In that case, everything in the suitcase will be bright purple...

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forever.

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Style, as I would define it, is never, of course, elegant.

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It is simply an idiom which arose spontaneously from you

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and everybody has an individuality.

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All you have to do is to learn how to present it

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because you've nothing else to give the world

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which no-one else can give, except yourself.

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Of all the cities I've ever visited,

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the one most totally given over to the idea of success

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is New York.

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All those people down there

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are either hurrying or sauntering

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towards what they call the big time.

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If my voice were loud enough, I would now shout down

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to explain all they need

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is to have a lifestyle of their very own

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and it's appropriate that I should be standing on this balcony

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to discuss this matter,

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because this is the hotel where the great stylists have lived.

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Also, when Brendan Behan stayed here, he was outrageous.

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He wrote a play called Borstal Boy and he was rather a drunk,

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so they say, and he used to stand in the halls

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and holler up the staircase.

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He used to like to hear the echo, the hollering. Arrhhh.

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And loved to hear echoes. You could hear the echoes.

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Hello, there!

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This is one of the tenants coming down...

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And he also had a habit of chasing chambermaids.

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I understand he was rather a sensuous man

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and finally got to the point that all the chambermaids,

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when they straightened up his room, made sure he was dressed.

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I gather he was an exhibitionist.

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I don't know what to say, except I absolutely must decline

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to dance through the streets like Gertrude Stein.

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As for Alice, I'd sooner shake a beer in a great big box of chocolates.

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She said when she was dying, "What is the answer?"

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Then she said, "What is the question?"

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# I will give you a golden balls

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# Off with the children in the hall

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# If you'll marry, marry, Marry marry,

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# If you'll marry me.

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# I will give you the keys of my chest

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# And all the money that I possess

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# If you'll marry, marry Marry, marry

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# If you'll marry me. #

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Brendan was in New York, was being thrown out of one hotel after another

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and just wasn't able to write.

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And Bernard, who I had known from other writers and from other poets,

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called me up and said, "Stanley, I wonder if you can help me out.

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"We have a real problem with Brendan Behan,

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"I'm sure you're aware of what's happening with him in his life." And I said, "I really am."

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"I tell you, Bernard, I don't know if we can manage that,

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"because what I hear about him, or what I read about him, he's in a sad, sad shape."

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He says, "Would you do me a favour and give it a shot?

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"I mean, if there's any place he could possibly put himself together, it would be The Chelsea.

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"Would you do me a favour?"

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And reluctantly - because he was in the papers almost every other day

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getting in trouble with the police,

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with just a lot of different people - I said OK.

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# I will give you a watch and chain

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# To show the children in the lane

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# If you'll marry, marry Marry, marry,

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# If you'll marry me. #

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Brendan thought that he could not have children,

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that his wife was infinite, his wife could not conceive.

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His wife thought he was impotent and he couldn't conceive.

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No-one knew what the situation was but his wife came over,

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Bernard brought his wife over

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and wanted to make his life, sort of, a homely type atmosphere

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to finish these last two books.

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Beatrice spent one year here

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and the ironic part of that is, she conceived here in the hotel.

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And I always shocked and kidded Brendan about it, see,

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The Chelsea is so creative, we can do these miracles.

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The shopper can use this place as a place to rest.

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A lady could be shopping,

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cos this is the height of the shopping district,

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it was where the ladies mall was, and where Coopers was

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and they could stop here for a breath of fresh air.

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OK, now we're going to go to one of the many floors.

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We'll work our way down and talk about people on the floors.

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On this floor, at one time, Brendan Behan lived,

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and Virgil Thompson lives on this floor right now.

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I'm sure you've heard of Virgil Thompson.

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In fact, there was a spread about his apartment in the New York Times.

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Well, I write music here,

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or somewhere else if I happen to be travelling.

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Things having to do with theatre or a public appearance...

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that involves rehearsals and performances in other places.

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I have rehearsals here for say, chamber music,

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but I can't have a full orchestra rehearsal here.

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It's a photograph of Gertrude Stein, taken in Florence, I think.

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Alice Topliss gave it to me some years ago.

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I knew Gertrude Stein for 20 years and Alice for 40.

0:24:270:24:31

When I was a student, Alice B Topliss's recipe for cake was famous.

0:24:310:24:36

Oh, marijuana brownies!

0:24:390:24:41

Well, there's another recipe that came out in the English edition of her cookbook,

0:24:410:24:46

which was suppressed in America...

0:24:460:24:49

for hashish fudge.

0:24:490:24:53

Hashish is normally eaten with chocolate.

0:24:530:24:57

The classical pot smokers will eat a chocolate with each cigarette.

0:24:590:25:04

Did you ever eat Alice B Topliss's cookies?

0:25:040:25:07

No! I don't think she ever made them.

0:25:070:25:09

I think she put it in for fun.

0:25:090:25:12

This apartment was lived in, before I took it,

0:25:210:25:27

by the manager of the hotel.

0:25:270:25:30

He had been careful about the flat

0:25:300:25:33

and hadn't had the woodwork painted over.

0:25:330:25:37

This is the original woodwork.

0:25:370:25:39

The mantelpieces in the building, bookcases and all that.

0:25:390:25:44

It's period stuff and it's very handsome.

0:25:440:25:48

Hotels are extremely good working places because you can cut off the telephones.

0:25:540:26:00

Just tell the operator not to ring you.

0:26:000:26:04

A lot of people here have said that they get a lot of excitement

0:26:040:26:07

from being in a building where other people worked before them.

0:26:070:26:10

-Could be.

-Do you get that yourself? Is that important?

-Not at my age.

0:26:100:26:15

They're more likely to get a thrill out of the fact that I'm here

0:26:150:26:20

than I get a thrill of their being here.

0:26:200:26:23

How are you, Larry?

0:26:250:26:26

-I'm all right. Will you fill out that form?

-I'll fill out this form.

0:26:260:26:30

The reason why I I asked you down is because I'm having great difficulty.

0:26:300:26:34

I never knew the actual title of the painting.

0:26:340:26:37

The title out in the lobby. The title is Dutch Masters And Cigars -

0:26:370:26:43

Shaped I.

0:26:430:26:46

1964.

0:26:460:26:48

-OK, I see this signature.

-Where?

0:26:540:26:57

I see Dutch Masters.

0:26:570:26:59

Dutch Masters is not a signature.

0:26:590:27:01

I saw Rivers. Oh, here.

0:27:010:27:03

Where?

0:27:030:27:05

You're blind. In other words, the signature must be on the back.

0:27:050:27:09

Unless you want me to sign it now, on camera.

0:27:090:27:12

Yeah, I'd like you to sign it.

0:27:120:27:13

-Right there.

-I finally got you to sign this, after all these years.

0:27:130:27:18

All right... Larry.

0:27:180:27:19

Now I sign with two names.

0:27:190:27:21

At the time, I would have signed it Rivers.

0:27:210:27:24

I don't know what had got into me.

0:27:240:27:26

Somewhere along the line, I think Peter Beard said...

0:27:260:27:29

Should I put 64?

0:27:290:27:31

Peter Beard said, "You know,

0:27:310:27:34

"Barney Newman, he doesn't sign Newman." Barnett Newman, so...

0:27:340:27:38

-So, since about 1975, I've been signing...

-"Larry Rivers."

0:27:380:27:43

There it is, Stanley.

0:27:430:27:45

Now it's official. This proves I really did it.

0:27:450:27:48

-OK.

-Here in the Chelsea Hotel. My home away from home.

-What?

0:27:480:27:52

I liked the days that I stayed here, Stanley.

0:27:520:27:55

It was a nice time. It was funny.

0:27:550:27:57

It was sexy. It was interesting.

0:27:570:28:00

A lot of time has passed.

0:28:000:28:02

I still feel this.

0:28:020:28:03

Arthur Miller is coming back.

0:28:030:28:05

-Viva is back now. Remember Viva?

-I certainly remember Viva.

0:28:050:28:09

In that chair, she was breast feeding her child and there was a commotion.

0:28:090:28:13

I had to grab her into the office.

0:28:130:28:15

-What, somebody objected to it?

-Yes.

0:28:150:28:17

-Breast feeding was not permitted in those days.

-That's what I mean.

0:28:170:28:20

A lot of people think the Chelsea is full of freaks.

0:28:200:28:23

At the point that I was here, it had a very substantial,

0:28:230:28:26

conservative element in this hotel,

0:28:260:28:29

-mixed with the bohemian...

-It was the avant-garde.

0:28:290:28:34

The Chelsea was avant-garde.

0:28:340:28:35

The forefront of every kind of creative....

0:28:350:28:38

-Why do think it all took place? Cheap rooms? No?

-Cheap rooms.

0:28:380:28:41

-Fun people. Flexible management.

-That's what I meant.

0:28:410:28:45

-Viva also...

-Will I have fun, if I come back?

-Larry, I promise.

-Can I knock on any...?

0:28:450:28:50

Walk down the hallway, knock on any door and get a welcome?

0:28:500:28:53

-Only if I go first.

-All right.

0:28:530:28:55

Good afternoon and welcome,

0:28:550:28:59

British viewers and cosmic viewers, to the Chelsea Hotel short story hour.

0:28:590:29:05

My name is Bernard Lyce.

0:29:050:29:09

Room 822, Chelsea Hotel.

0:29:090:29:13

Our story today involves a snake.

0:29:130:29:18

SINGING IN DIALECT

0:29:200:29:23

Once upon a time,

0:29:530:29:55

a snake descended to the earth from the heavens.

0:29:550:29:59

It took the form of a beautiful man in order to be more at ease with the inhabitants of earth.

0:29:590:30:06

Besides the art of disguise, the snake had many, many powers.

0:30:060:30:12

The snake moved with magic,

0:30:120:30:16

allowing the earth people to see many things they had forgotten.

0:30:160:30:22

I think that, myself being a dancer,

0:30:580:31:02

I'm probably the sum total

0:31:030:31:05

of all the teachers and other dancers that have made definite influences on me.

0:31:050:31:10

This is my way of making a personal tribute to all those people

0:31:120:31:17

who have been influential, as far as my career goes.

0:31:170:31:21

And so I, would like to mention George Balanchine,

0:31:210:31:26

Doris Novikof, Mary Staton, Diane Doretti, Rodney Swan,

0:31:260:31:30

Mary Lewis, Muriel Stuart, Walter Nicks, Irene Larsen, Charles Wideman.

0:31:300:31:36

They're all here in me somewhere.

0:31:360:31:39

On this floor, at one time, Oscar Wilde stayed here. He didn't live here, of course.

0:31:550:31:59

He stayed here when he was visiting.

0:31:590:32:01

I've a wonderful story about Oscar Wilde.

0:32:010:32:03

When Oscar Wilde was going through American Customs,

0:32:030:32:06

someone asked him, what did he have to declare. He said, "I have nothing to declare but my genius."

0:32:060:32:11

Another person who lived on this floor, was Sarah Bernhardt.

0:32:110:32:15

When Mark Twain came here he'd frequently stay at the Chelsea Hotel.

0:32:150:32:20

On the next floor, one of America's greatest playwrights lived at one point.

0:32:200:32:24

That was Tennessee Williams.

0:32:240:32:26

He stayed here, probably when he first came to New York.

0:32:260:32:30

Notice the painting. It looks like a Jackson Pollock.

0:32:300:32:33

At one time, Jackson Pollock stayed here.

0:32:330:32:36

So, all the immortals of the 20th century, at one time or another, have probably stayed at the Chelsea.

0:32:360:32:41

Mr Cole, what do you think of modern art?

0:33:220:33:25

Yes. I'm not modern arts drawn.

0:33:250:33:29

No more modern art.

0:33:310:33:33

What's wrong with modern art?

0:33:350:33:37

WHAT'S WRONG WITH MODERN ART?

0:33:390:33:42

Everything.

0:33:440:33:45

It makes me laugh.

0:33:490:33:51

You think modern art's funny, do you?

0:33:530:33:56

It is, all over.

0:33:560:33:59

Its day is over.

0:33:590:34:01

What they call modern art.

0:34:010:34:04

Who is your favourite artist?

0:34:080:34:10

Sargent.

0:34:100:34:12

I am so old that I don't care really about any art.

0:34:170:34:22

How old are you?

0:34:240:34:25

104.

0:34:270:34:29

PIANO PLAYS

0:34:320:34:35

# Join us for the feast

0:34:550:34:57

# New York is a

0:34:570:35:00

# Sunday brunch

0:35:000:35:02

# East, young man, go east

0:35:030:35:06

# We're having

0:35:060:35:08

# A Sunday brunch

0:35:080:35:10

# Wine and dine your dreams until they all come true

0:35:120:35:16

# Romance 'em, in a handsome, down Fifth Avenue

0:35:160:35:20

# At St Patrick's buy 'em diamond rosaries

0:35:200:35:24

# Hence a confession up at Tiffany's

0:35:240:35:28

# Pleased ease into New York and join us for Sunday brunch

0:35:280:35:36

# Drop your knife and fork, it's only a naked lunch

0:35:360:35:43

# You can have your fairy-tale and eat it too

0:35:450:35:48

# Happily ever after hours All night through

0:35:480:35:52

# Drop in any time

0:35:520:35:53

# We just love having you for

0:35:530:35:57

# Sunday brunch. #

0:35:570:36:00

What's it like, living in a pyramid?

0:36:020:36:04

My razor blades stay very sharp.

0:36:040:36:06

I have incredible flashes of creativity, just sitting, right here on the second floor of this house.

0:36:080:36:15

What do they say? One-third of the way up in a pyramid

0:36:170:36:22

in the centre is where the most energy is concentrated.

0:36:220:36:25

So, I have my working chair here, I have my piano here, I have my desk over there.

0:36:250:36:30

I come out with things that I can't even believe are coming out of me when I'm writing or composing.

0:36:300:36:35

Sunday Brunch is the theme song for my latest play.

0:36:350:36:38

It's about a tourist who comes to New York and he meets all these outrageous people.

0:36:380:36:43

It's...semi-cannibalistic.

0:36:430:36:46

He becomes eaten alive in the streets of New York.

0:36:460:36:49

-Is that your own experience?

-What?

0:36:490:36:52

My own experience! Oh, every day.

0:36:520:36:55

# Please ease into New York and join us for

0:36:550:37:01

# Sunday brunch

0:37:010:37:03

# Drop your knife and fork It's only a

0:37:030:37:08

# Naked lunch

0:37:090:37:12

# You can have your fairy-tale and eat it too

0:37:120:37:16

# Happily ever after hours All night through

0:37:160:37:19

# Drop in any time We just love having you for

0:37:190:37:24

# Sunday brunch

0:37:240:37:27

# Sunday brunch

0:37:270:37:30

# We'd love having you for Sunday brunch

0:37:310:37:34

# You'd be delicious for Sunday brunch

0:37:360:37:40

# We're so hungry

0:37:420:37:45

# We love having you

0:37:450:37:48

# For Sunday brunch. #

0:37:480:37:52

It's cream sauce.

0:37:580:38:00

Come on, don't you know the colour between mustard and cream?

0:38:000:38:05

This is the first time I've ever had hare.

0:38:050:38:08

-Hare?

-Yeah, it's really good.

0:38:080:38:11

-It's unusual.

-It's a rabbit, isn't that a hare?

0:38:110:38:14

What is the official name of the meal?

0:38:140:38:17

It's supposed to be lapin a la moutarde.

0:38:170:38:19

There's a lot more cream than anything.

0:38:190:38:22

Where did you find a rabbit?

0:38:220:38:24

They order it.

0:38:240:38:26

'And on this floor,'

0:38:260:38:29

this is where Andy Warhol made his classic, the Chelsea Girls.

0:38:290:38:32

Andy Warhol was originally a woman's shoe illustrator.

0:38:320:38:36

Then, he painted some tomato soup cans and went on to fame and fortune and glory.

0:38:360:38:40

This man is making repairs. There's wet paint.

0:38:400:38:44

The other favourite food is Texan food, though.

0:38:440:38:46

You like that food or not?

0:38:460:38:49

I do like that type of food.

0:38:490:38:51

-Not chilli but the chicken fried steaks...

-Not chilli. Sort of....

-I had one the other night.

0:38:510:38:56

What is a chicken-fried...?

0:38:560:38:59

'And on the next floor,'

0:38:590:39:01

we're going to see the apartment where William Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch.

0:39:010:39:05

Naked Lunch was quite an important seminal writing.

0:39:050:39:08

When it came out, it was considered very scandalous.

0:39:080:39:11

Today, a book like that hardly raises a blush on the cheek of your aunt from Debuke.

0:39:110:39:17

What is chicken-fried steak actually made out of?

0:39:170:39:20

It's just a thin slice of steak...

0:39:200:39:24

breaded and fried very quickly.

0:39:240:39:27

Why does it taste like mush?

0:39:270:39:30

It depends on what they serve it with, how it tastes.

0:39:300:39:34

What I particularly like is the, erm...

0:39:340:39:38

-biscuits and gravy.

-Right.

0:39:380:39:40

Gee, I never had a chicken-fried steak.

0:39:400:39:43

We can do it any time you want.

0:39:430:39:45

Really? It's actually a steak.

0:39:450:39:47

-It's not a tenderised steak.

-Really? Oh!

0:39:470:39:51

They give you a big chicken-fried steak and mashed potatoes and beans or peas and stuff.

0:39:520:39:57

That's sounds really great. Mashed potato and beans are my favourite.

0:39:570:40:01

-But you can eat the steaks.

-Yep.

0:40:010:40:04

So, we're right in the middle of dinner.

0:40:060:40:08

'The tension in here is weird. Andy Warhol is wearing a pair of headphones which he brought with

0:40:080:40:13

'him and hasn't taken off since he sat down.

0:40:130:40:15

'William Burroughs is looking relaxed. He's wearing a beautiful suit and Warhol's telling him that'

0:40:150:40:21

he's the best-dressed man in New York.

0:40:210:40:23

Burroughs, slightly bemused by this chic approach, has given Warhol

0:40:230:40:28

a proof copy of his new book, Cities Of The Red Night.

0:40:280:40:30

-Can you do drawings?

-Oh, yes. Sure.

0:40:300:40:33

(Great.)

0:40:350:40:37

And has just signed in it and drawn a painting.

0:40:370:40:40

Warhol's telling Burroughs he should be a painter.

0:40:400:40:42

My God! Oh!

0:40:420:40:46

More, more. On this side, right here.

0:40:460:40:49

Here, here. My God!

0:40:490:40:51

There we are.

0:40:530:40:55

-Thanks a lot.

-You're so lucky.

0:40:550:40:57

Great!

0:40:570:40:59

I'll get back to you in a few minutes and let you know what else is going on.

0:40:590:41:03

Tell Henry to come.

0:41:030:41:05

Tell him it's really fun.

0:41:050:41:07

# What do I find?

0:41:160:41:17

# Oh, healthy balance

0:41:190:41:22

# On the credit side

0:41:220:41:27

# Got no diamonds, got no pearls

0:41:270:41:29

# Still I think I'm a lucky girl

0:41:290:41:32

# I've got sun in the morning and the moon at night... #

0:41:320:41:35

-Are you comfortable?

-Yes.

0:41:350:41:38

I wasn't talking to you, pig face.

0:41:380:41:41

Yeah, OK.

0:41:410:41:43

Maybe she's kind of screwed up.

0:41:430:41:46

Oh, really.

0:41:460:41:48

I know pig face isn't being pretty.

0:41:480:41:53

What you mean is you have no taste.

0:41:530:41:55

Oh, do you like pig face?

0:41:550:41:57

SPEECH DROWNED OUT BY MUSIC

0:41:570:42:00

You're not paying attention.

0:42:030:42:05

MUSIC: Chelsea Girls by Nico

0:42:050:42:09

# Here's room 506

0:42:150:42:18

# It's enough to make you sick

0:42:180:42:24

# Bridget's all wrapped up in foil

0:42:240:42:26

# You want to heave

0:42:260:42:28

# She can uncoil

0:42:300:42:32

# Here they come now

0:42:350:42:38

# See them run now

0:42:400:42:42

# Here they come now

0:42:440:42:46

# Chelsea girls

0:42:480:42:51

# Pippa, she's having fun

0:42:530:42:57

# She thinks she's some man's son

0:42:570:43:02

# Her perfect loves don't last

0:43:020:43:05

# Her future died in someone's past

0:43:050:43:12

# Here they come now

0:43:120:43:16

# See them run now

0:43:170:43:20

# Here they come now

0:43:220:43:24

# Chelsea girls... #

0:43:260:43:28

I'm singing about my friends that were staying here with me.

0:43:320:43:38

That's why I keep coming back here, when I'm in the country.

0:43:380:43:43

You said to me, when we first met, "I am the person that made this hotel famous, for Chelsea girls.

0:43:430:43:49

I'm one of the persons. I mean,

0:43:490:43:51

aside from the people

0:43:530:43:56

that are now...

0:43:560:43:58

in heaven,

0:43:580:44:01

or in hell,

0:44:010:44:04

or...

0:44:040:44:07

not staying here,

0:44:070:44:10

I am, I would say, virtually, the only person that really

0:44:100:44:16

has something to do with

0:44:160:44:19

the hotel in the sense that we've done the movie.

0:44:190:44:24

We've done...

0:44:240:44:26

I've done the record.

0:44:260:44:28

I'm still getting royalties from it.

0:44:290:44:33

So, I guess

0:44:330:44:35

I am the person - the Chelsea Girl, right?

0:44:350:44:39

# Dropout, she's in a fix

0:44:470:44:51

# Amphetamine has made her sick

0:44:510:44:55

# White powder in the air

0:44:550:44:59

# She's got no bones

0:44:590:45:02

# And can't be scared

0:45:020:45:07

# Here comes Johnny Bore

0:45:260:45:28

# He collapsed on the floor

0:45:280:45:33

# They shot him up with milk

0:45:330:45:36

# And when he died

0:45:360:45:38

# Sold him for silk

0:45:400:45:42

# Here they come now

0:45:450:45:48

# See them run now

0:45:490:45:52

# Here they come now

0:45:520:45:54

# Chelsea girls. #

0:45:560:46:02

'Well, there always seemed to be rivalling groups of alchemists and magicians, as I recall.

0:46:350:46:41

'At one point, there was a 15th century chemical manuscript that

0:46:410:46:46

'somehow was stolen or misplaced.'

0:46:460:46:49

There was a point where everyone was casting spells on everybody else and

0:46:490:46:53

throwing a tarot before they left their room...

0:46:530:46:56

It was hysterical. The magicians denouncing one another in the lobby.

0:46:560:46:59

That's right.

0:46:590:47:01

Because he really didn't give a damn.

0:47:030:47:06

He must have seen the menu a thousand times.

0:47:060:47:09

# Night and day

0:47:090:47:14

# You are the one

0:47:140:47:18

# Only you beneath the moon

0:47:200:47:25

# Or under the sun

0:47:250:47:27

# Whether near to me or far

0:47:300:47:35

# It's no matter, darling, where you are

0:47:350:47:40

# I think of you day and night

0:47:400:47:47

# Night and day

0:47:500:47:52

# Why is it so

0:47:530:47:56

# That this longing for you

0:48:000:48:03

# Follows wherever I go... #

0:48:030:48:09

And the next floor is very exciting.

0:48:100:48:12

That's where Arthur Clarke wrote the Year 2001.

0:48:120:48:15

He's one of our most prominent space writers.

0:48:150:48:18

Remember that marvellous movie that Stanley Kubrick did, called 2001.

0:48:180:48:23

It's based on Arthur Clarke's particular book.

0:48:230:48:25

We saw the model of Arthur Clarke outside, down the lobby.

0:48:250:48:29

Remember, the little figure floating in space.

0:48:290:48:33

MUSIC: Theme From 2001: A Space Odyssey

0:48:330:48:38

MUSIC: Theme From 2001: A Space Odyssey

0:48:470:48:52

SHE PANTS

0:49:540:49:58

'Don't worry. Don't worry. Don't worry.'

0:50:050:50:07

Yeah.

0:50:100:50:11

Doctor...I can't. Ooh!

0:50:110:50:15

-Does that hurt?

-Yeah, something hurts. Yeah.

0:50:170:50:19

SHE SCREAMS

0:50:200:50:23

All right, all right.

0:50:300:50:32

< SHE BREATHES HEAVILY

0:50:330:50:38

How are you? You're fabulous.

0:50:400:50:42

'Yeah.'

0:50:480:50:51

You recognise this?

0:50:510:50:53

When did you last see it?

0:50:530:50:55

A few weeks ago. What's that?

0:50:550:50:57

Your head coming out.

0:50:570:51:00

Did I feel you inside?

0:51:000:51:02

When I came out, did I feel my feet in you?

0:51:020:51:05

Yeah, you felt your feet in me, your skin against me. Your head.

0:51:050:51:09

You didn't know what it was.

0:51:090:51:11

You didn't say, "This is my mother."

0:51:110:51:13

But you felt...

0:51:130:51:15

me as you came out. You probably

0:51:150:51:19

wondered what was happening to you.

0:51:190:51:21

Oh! And were probably very scared, don't you think?

0:51:210:51:26

I don't know.

0:51:260:51:27

I think you were terrified, wondering what was happening to you, and felt like you couldn't breathe.

0:51:270:51:33

Oh no, you don't breathe until they cut the cord anyway.

0:51:330:51:37

You probably were afraid you were gonna die.

0:51:370:51:40

With all that pressure in your head.

0:51:400:51:42

And then you saw this big room, all full of light.

0:51:430:51:48

It probably hurt your eyes.

0:51:480:51:50

It was probably the worst thing that ever happened to you so far.

0:51:500:51:54

-It felt like a boy.

-Yes, we're there.

0:51:560:51:58

It's a little girl baby.

0:51:580:52:00

Look at the way he's treating you. Isn't that awful?

0:52:030:52:08

Isn't that just awful? How did you turn out to be so un-neurotic after

0:52:080:52:12

an introduction to the world like that.

0:52:120:52:15

Look at the way he's treating you.

0:52:150:52:18

Isn't that disgusting?

0:52:180:52:20

God, look at that. From being in the womb to being thrown up in the air like a fish.

0:52:200:52:25

Just flung and then tossed down to somebody's body.

0:52:250:52:28

Isn't that awful?

0:52:280:52:29

We bought this Sony Portapack and I happened to be pregnant at the time.

0:52:320:52:36

It turned into a whole idea of filming the pregnancy, the birth and Alexandra's life.

0:52:360:52:43

Plus, the life of the parents - a social document.

0:52:430:52:47

I thought it would be interesting to look back and, especially for her,

0:52:470:52:51

to look back and see herself being born.

0:52:510:52:54

See herself growing up, see her parents' arguments.

0:52:540:52:57

See where she lived.

0:52:570:52:59

And so on and so forth.

0:52:590:53:02

Besides, it's been fun doing.

0:53:020:53:06

I'm just thinking it must be quite strange for you to see yourself being born, Alex?

0:53:090:53:13

It's funny for me to look at photos of me when I was a little boy.

0:53:130:53:16

What's it like actually seeing yourself being born?

0:53:160:53:20

Um, it doesn't look like me.

0:53:200:53:23

I don't know. It seems boring now cos I don't remember, um...

0:53:240:53:30

what it was like when I first saw it.

0:53:300:53:35

Have you enjoyed doing all this videotaping with your dad?

0:53:350:53:39

Yes.

0:53:390:53:41

Which is your favourite piece of video tape that he's done?

0:53:410:53:45

Um...

0:53:450:53:46

The birth.

0:53:520:53:54

Because it's exciting.

0:53:540:53:56

It's fun to watch because...

0:53:590:54:02

you see how you and how you were born and everything.

0:54:020:54:08

Oh, you are so cute!

0:54:170:54:20

Such a cute little girl.

0:54:200:54:22

Look at that! So cute.

0:54:220:54:26

Look! Oo, doo, doo, doo!

0:54:260:54:28

'She became so used to being taped, she would start demanding to be taped.

0:54:280:54:33

'She would get an idea and say, "I'm going to do something, turn on the tape."

0:54:330:54:37

'She began asking questions.'

0:54:370:54:38

She came home from school and said to me, "These kids don't know anything."

0:54:380:54:43

"They think babies are born in cauliflowers. They think the storks bring them.

0:54:430:54:47

"I know everything cos I've seen it all on tape."

0:54:470:54:49

You know, you're going to ask me if I don't think I've dramatised.

0:54:580:55:01

That's what my mother accuses me of.

0:55:010:55:04

When she looked at the tape of the birth, she said, "Oh, stop dramatising, oh, stop dramatising."

0:55:040:55:09

I never felt I was dramatising any more than I would feel...

0:55:090:55:12

-What's dramatising?

-Making more out of something than it is.

0:55:120:55:17

-Oh.

-Heightening it, like, you know how Barbara Steele talks.

0:55:170:55:22

"Oh, I had a perfectly horrendous day.

0:55:220:55:25

"You can't imagine what happened to me."

0:55:250:55:27

That's called dramatising.

0:55:270:55:29

Oh!

0:55:290:55:32

I never felt that I was dramatising any more than I ordinarily do, being an actress, after all.

0:55:320:55:39

I've always been rather self-dramatic.

0:55:390:55:43

It's other people who say, "You are dramatising."

0:55:430:55:45

To me, I always seem to be telling a story exactly the way it happened or expressing.

0:55:450:55:50

I think it is not the time dramatising, it's that everyone else is depressed.

0:55:500:55:55

Repressed and constipated.

0:55:560:55:59

Everyone else gets no fun out of life.

0:56:010:56:04

So, I seem to be dramatising when in reality, I'm merely reacting to

0:56:040:56:08

an incredible world that I can't believe.

0:56:080:56:12

# The rug is in my hotel room is old but it's clean

0:56:460:56:50

# I make believe I'm living on a putting green

0:56:500:56:55

# My door has got a lock

0:56:550:56:57

# Only I have a key

0:56:570:56:59

# I keep it in my pocket

0:57:000:57:02

# Like a treasure

0:57:020:57:04

# Oh, the stories they tell

0:57:060:57:09

# Oh, the dream hotel

0:57:100:57:15

# Oh, the stories they tell

0:57:150:57:18

# Oh, the dream hotel

0:57:190:57:23

# The maid, she so fragile I'm afraid to ask for towels

0:57:310:57:34

# The lady at the switchboard She's not answering now

0:57:340:57:38

# The playwright down the hall has just turned 83

0:57:400:57:45

# Swears that at every moment is a pleasure

0:57:450:57:50

# Oh, the stories they tell

0:57:510:57:54

# Oh, the dream hotel

0:57:550:57:58

# Oh, the stories they tell

0:57:590:58:04

# Oh, the dream hotel

0:58:040:58:07

# Living in a dream

0:58:140:58:18

# The stories we tell

0:58:240:58:27

# The stories we tell

0:58:290:58:31

# The stories we tell

0:58:340:58:35

# The stories we tell. #

0:58:380:58:40

Subtitles by BBC Broadcast - 2005

0:59:090:59:11

E-mail us at [email protected]

0:59:110:59:14

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