JS: When did you meet Bobby, what was your first impression and
what do you think his first impression was of you?
SB: Where did I meet
Bobby? I don't remember. I think Harriet Wasser introduced him to
me and I had no particular impression and I have no idea what his
impression of me was. However, the next time I met him, was when
I signed him to the agency that I was an agent at, General Artists
Corporation. And then I decided to go see him the first time he
had a booking. And he just stunned me. Not by what he was singing,
because he was doing rock and roll, but how he had the command of
the stage. He was unbelievable.
JS: How did you
become his manager?
SB: He asked me to
manage him at some point and I was then working for GAC in Calif.
and I said no. I didn't think I knew enough, I'd only been in the
business a short time. Then I left the agency and went to work for
a movie producer and I decided this wasn't working out. And so I
called him and said if you still want me to manage you, okay.
JS: Did Bobby ever
get to meet Frank Sinatra?
SB: Yes.
JS: Any follow up?
SB: There had been
all this publicity about Bobby and Sinatra, which was a figment
of the press' imagination. And to straighten it out, I arranged
a meeting for the two of them at Frank's office in Beverly Hills.
JS: Do you think
Frank Sinatra was his biggest musical influence? Or was there someone
you feel was more of an influence musically to Bobby?
SB: Well, there are
a bunch of influences. Actually, Frank, Jolson, Bing Crosby. There
may have been some others, but there was no one person.
JS: What is your
favorite performance of Bobby's (either a song, concert or show)?
SB: It would have to
be the hour and ten minutes which is now out on video, DVD, release
by Questar and also playing on some PBS stations.
JS: Will you ever
write a book about Bobby?
SB: No.
JS: What do you
want people to know most about Bobby?
SB: That he covered
more bases than any other performer in the history of the business
and did them all well.
JS: This is a 2
part question, so. What was the best part of being such a great
friend of Bobby Darin, and what means the most to you as you look
back?
SB: What was the first
part of the question?
JS: Well, the first
part was "what is the best part of being such a great friend
of Bobby Darin?"
SB: That I was connected
to genius.
JS: What means the
most to you as you look back?
SB: Well, I can only
explain it by the fact that after I managed Bobby, I went and sort
of ran Screen Gems, the television subsidiary of Columbia, and then
went on to make movies, such as "Easy Rider," "Five
Easy Pieces," and "The Last Picture Show," and none
of it, NONE of it, came close to the time I had with Bobby.
JS: A 3 part question,
but it's tiny, and I find it kind of amusing. Do you play chess,
did you ever play with Bobby and who won the most?
SB: Yes. I played with
Bobby once. And he was about to beat me when I deliberately stood
up and on purpose knocked the table, and all the chess pieces were
knocked off the board and I would never play him again.
JS: What is the
legacy of Bobby Darin, musically, and as an actor and songwriter?
SB: Honesty.
JS: Next and last
question, Mr. Blauner. This is the 500 point bonus question. How
do you think the fans and the press, radio, TV and newspapers, should
commemorate the 30th anniversary of Bobby's passing?
SB: Playing his music
or writing about his life.
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