Photos of Andrea (and
a little inside info)
If the arches and pillars above look
familiar, rent a copy of the film Five Easy Pieces
with Jack Nicholson and
you'll see them. (Remember the famous chicken sandwich
scene in the restaurant where Nicholson gets irritated with
the waitress?) This veranda on the Cormie Estate, near
Victoria B.C., was one of the locations for the film. I was
a speaker at a function hosted by the Principle Group,
circa 1980. Above: a much younger Andrea with audience
member Philip Chan who later sent me a lovely packaged set
of The Richest Man in
Babylon booklets,
which I still have.
Here is an inside view of the same home.
That plaid box was a last minute invention. There was no
podium and I needed something in front of me higher than
the stand provided. So with 5 minutes to spare I wrapped my
shawl around a cardboard box and, voila!, instant
lectern.
Above is my first professional head shot.
Circa 1978. At the time I had a temperature of 104 degrees;
I was so sick but the photos turned out well. This shot was
completely rigged. (I used to be a photographer's stylist.)
The photographer sneaked us into the empty auditorium of
one of her clients, a government ministry for the province
of Ontario. And the microphone was actually the mic to my
cassette tape recorder. I didn't own a real microphone, but
I did own the slide projector.
I weighed about 105 pounds back then (sigh). Notice the big
head compared to my body size? I'd like to think it's
because I have a big brain. I've never found a hat big
enough for my head so I've always gone without even in the
coldest winter weather. Merv Griffin had a theory that
big-headed people make the best TV hosts (Pat Sajak, Dave
Letterman, etc.) I don't know if that follows for women
with big heads. The only woman talk show host I can think
of with a large head is Rosie O'Donnell.
This is the photo I currently use but I
need to update it. I'm no longer naturally red-haired, and
no longer 105 lbs.
