dish of snowy white rolls arrived at our table. I took him at his word, of course, and bit into one. It was a
hand towel
. Robert told that story foryears. He thought it was the funniest thing. He was such a funny guy, and he was always playing practical jokes on everyone. The coconut roll/hand towel bit ranked among his best.
When I moved to Los Angeles, O.J. had been separated from his wife, Marguerite. They tried to work things out and had gotten back together, and when they did, she got pregnant with their daughter Erin. So now, after living with Robert for a time, O.J. was back at home with Marguerite. Then, one day, Robert’s brother surprised us by announcing that he had bought a house in Beverly Hills right across the street from Sammy Davis Jr.
Now Robert and I had the house in Beverly Hills to ourselves, and I soon left the apartment I’d been sharing with the flight attendants. It was a relief to have some space alone with Robert, because when I first moved back to L.A., O.J. and Tommy and all of their friends were always there. The guys would play tennis at one another’s houses, because tennis was the big thing back then. On Saturdays everyone would be at Robert’s house playing tennis. On Sundays we would all be at O.J.’s house playing tennis.
My time living alone with Robert in his big, beautiful house on Deep Canyon Drive would turn out to be short-lived. Robert was a born-again Christian. He prayed before every meal and before each and every business meeting. He even carried a Bible with him. I had grown up going to a Presbyterian church on Sundays and holidays, but I was never really devout, especially not as devout as Robert.
When I went to see Robert for the first time in L.A., I realized that he was actually not only really fun (and funny) but he was also very spiritual. The first thing I noticed was that he had a Bible on his desk and another next to his bed. It was impressive to me that Robert seemed to be such a religious man.
Wow,
I thought,
what an amazing guy.
He wore his Christianity on his sleeve.
“That’s a beautiful Bible,” I said about the Bible beside the bed. It was covered in a special leather cover, hand tooled with his initials engraved on the front. (I have that Bible to this day.)
Through the years I would discover that Robert’s family members were all very devoted Christians and often gave one another beautiful gifts that showed their love of God. When I went into Robert’s kitchen, I saw an intricate three-dimensional sculpture made of clay hanging from a rawhide rope in his kitchen. On the pieces of clay were inscriptions from the famous John 3:16 Bible verse: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
“It was a gift from my sister, Barbara,” Robert told me.
The love of the Lord would be the thread that ran deep in our family for many years to come. The artwork bearing the Bible verse in Robert’s kitchen became something that meant a lot to me. Last year, when I was with Robert’s sister, Barbara, I mentioned how much the John 3:16 verse in the clay artwork she had given her brother had meant to me. “Whatever happened to it?” I asked. She told me she didn’t know but would try to find out. Shortly afterward, she drove all the way to L.A. with her daughter, Cheryle, and gave me my own copy for my house. It almost brought me to tears.
Robert’s love of God and religion was one of the things that attracted me the most. He wanted me to share in that love. One day he told me he wanted to take me to a Bible study at Pat Boone’s house. Pat was, of course, the pop singer turned motivational speaker who hosted these big Bible studies at his house every week, and over the years, celebrities like Zsa Zsa Gabor, Doris Day, Priscilla Presley (thanks to Robert), and Glenn Ford were just some of the people who attended. Robert went every week and he really wanted
hand towel
. Robert told that story foryears. He thought it was the funniest thing. He was such a funny guy, and he was always playing practical jokes on everyone. The coconut roll/hand towel bit ranked among his best.
When I moved to Los Angeles, O.J. had been separated from his wife, Marguerite. They tried to work things out and had gotten back together, and when they did, she got pregnant with their daughter Erin. So now, after living with Robert for a time, O.J. was back at home with Marguerite. Then, one day, Robert’s brother surprised us by announcing that he had bought a house in Beverly Hills right across the street from Sammy Davis Jr.
Now Robert and I had the house in Beverly Hills to ourselves, and I soon left the apartment I’d been sharing with the flight attendants. It was a relief to have some space alone with Robert, because when I first moved back to L.A., O.J. and Tommy and all of their friends were always there. The guys would play tennis at one another’s houses, because tennis was the big thing back then. On Saturdays everyone would be at Robert’s house playing tennis. On Sundays we would all be at O.J.’s house playing tennis.
My time living alone with Robert in his big, beautiful house on Deep Canyon Drive would turn out to be short-lived. Robert was a born-again Christian. He prayed before every meal and before each and every business meeting. He even carried a Bible with him. I had grown up going to a Presbyterian church on Sundays and holidays, but I was never really devout, especially not as devout as Robert.
When I went to see Robert for the first time in L.A., I realized that he was actually not only really fun (and funny) but he was also very spiritual. The first thing I noticed was that he had a Bible on his desk and another next to his bed. It was impressive to me that Robert seemed to be such a religious man.
Wow,
I thought,
what an amazing guy.
He wore his Christianity on his sleeve.
“That’s a beautiful Bible,” I said about the Bible beside the bed. It was covered in a special leather cover, hand tooled with his initials engraved on the front. (I have that Bible to this day.)
Through the years I would discover that Robert’s family members were all very devoted Christians and often gave one another beautiful gifts that showed their love of God. When I went into Robert’s kitchen, I saw an intricate three-dimensional sculpture made of clay hanging from a rawhide rope in his kitchen. On the pieces of clay were inscriptions from the famous John 3:16 Bible verse: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
“It was a gift from my sister, Barbara,” Robert told me.
The love of the Lord would be the thread that ran deep in our family for many years to come. The artwork bearing the Bible verse in Robert’s kitchen became something that meant a lot to me. Last year, when I was with Robert’s sister, Barbara, I mentioned how much the John 3:16 verse in the clay artwork she had given her brother had meant to me. “Whatever happened to it?” I asked. She told me she didn’t know but would try to find out. Shortly afterward, she drove all the way to L.A. with her daughter, Cheryle, and gave me my own copy for my house. It almost brought me to tears.
Robert’s love of God and religion was one of the things that attracted me the most. He wanted me to share in that love. One day he told me he wanted to take me to a Bible study at Pat Boone’s house. Pat was, of course, the pop singer turned motivational speaker who hosted these big Bible studies at his house every week, and over the years, celebrities like Zsa Zsa Gabor, Doris Day, Priscilla Presley (thanks to Robert), and Glenn Ford were just some of the people who attended. Robert went every week and he really wanted
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