EDWARD (EDDIE) GRAY – MAKING DREAMS COME TRUE!-BY JAYAM RUTNAM
It was 1969. I was in my early twenties when I arrived in California, managing the only Ceylonese-Indian restaurant in the area, which I named The Taj Mahal. I was both the cook and the manager. The restaurant was owned by my brother Chandran.
One day, my good friend and former schoolmate Randy Gray, who lived in San Diego, dropped by to introduce his uncle, Edward (Eddie) Gray. Eddie had made a name for himself in Ceylon as a boxer and had even competed in the 1948 Olympics in London, England in1948. He was a senior officer in the Ceylon Police Force and an accomplished horseman, often seen riding on Galle Face Green alongside Ceylon’s first Prime Minister, D. S. Senanayake. Eddie was handsome in a rugged kind of way.
Eddie was visiting California and staying with Randy. But Randy, busy with his business and family, asked if I could take care of his uncle for a couple of days. I was happy to oblige.
Eddie had a wonderful, outgoing personality, and we quickly hit it off. Though I was juggling responsibilities at the restaurant, I managed to take him on a drive through Hollywood to see the homes of the stars. It was during this drive that Eddie told me there was one person he’d always dreamed of meeting, actress Kim Novak.
At the time, I didn’t have any Hollywood connections, and Universal Studios hadn’t yet started their studio tours. Kim Novak was a major star, so I couldn’t imagine any way I could make that happen. Still, I told him I might be able to arrange a private tour of Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank. He was happy to go along.
I called Carl Schaefer, a close friend of my mother’s and an important figure at Warner Brothers. I introduced myself and asked if I could bring a friend by. Carl was gracious and said we were welcome, though he warned us not to expect much, as only one film was in production at the time: The Great Bank Robbery. The cast included Clint Walker, Zero Mostel, Larry Storch, and, incredibly, Kim Novak.
I didn’t tell Eddie. I wanted to surprise him.
We arrived at Carl’s office, and he assigned a young intern to escort us to the set. We quietly observed the filming from a distance. When Eddie spotted Kim Novak, he turned to me, wide-eyed, and whispered, “Pinch me. Is this real? That’s Kim Novak!”
After about half an hour, the intern let us wander on our own, with strict instructions not to interfere with filming. We nodded obediently. Soon, the director called “Cut!” for a fifteen-minute break, and the actors dispersed to their dressing rooms.
That’s when Eddie turned to me and said, “Let’s go meet her.”
Before I could think twice, we were at her dressing room door. We knocked. A voice inside said, “Come in!”
I introduced myself, explained we were from Ceylon, and asked if she might say hello to my friend Eddie Gray, a lifelong admirer. She took Eddie’s hand, looked into his eyes, and for a moment, time stood still. I stepped back and watched in awe. They seemed utterly absorbed in each other.
I heard Eddie inviting her to visit Ceylon. She smiled and said she’d love to. But before long, someone knocked on the door: “Miss Novak, we need you back on set.” After a couple more prompts, she finally said her goodbyes to Eddie and left.
Mission accomplished. Eddie was absolutely flying high.
We returned to Carl’s office to thank him. As we approached, we saw him standing dramatically at the top of the stairs, one hand at his side like Yul Brynner in The King and I. Before we reached him, he shouted:
“You cost us thousands of dollars!”
Apparently, filming had been delayed while Kim Novak lingered in conversation with Eddie. We apologized and left, knowing we probably wouldn’t be welcome on the Warner Brothers lot again.
But I didn’t mind. Eddie’s dream had come true, and that, to me, was worth far more than any studio pass.
