Ever the cool, unflappable professional….

That was my reputation when I worked for a small film financing company in London. While we mostly dealt with fund managers, lawyers and accountants, there were also a few directors and actors crossing our path.

When I worked there as a temp, there were many comments about my sangfroid when dealing with the likes of Sir Richard (Dickie) Attenborough, Candice Bergen and Martin Sheen. Indeed, I suspect it played a significant part in my being offered a job full-time. But I’d had practice….

In my teens, my grandparents retired to a part of southern Spain which was still rather exclusive. Before London’s criminal world relocated there and lowered the tone, a number of old film stars (Sean Connery among them) chose to make a home there, so it was common to see them around and about the local village. My mother would hiss and ask “is that xxx?” in a stage whisper, which I hated, possibly almost as much as the person being whispered about.

Thus trained, I’ve not been one to have my head turned by celebrity. I know some court publicity and attention, but I believe they deserve a life of privacy. While I don’t pretend I don’t recognise them, I make no demands of them. As a result, I’ve found myself engaged in some lovely and unexpected conversations, while also being on the receiving end of the odd harumph! 😉

Growing up in West Africa, there were a large number of older US TV shows screened, among which were the many series produced by Quinn Martin. A memory of those years is the male voice-over announcing – at the end of each episode – using a big important voice: “This has been a Quinn Martin production.” If I thought about it at all, I’d probably assumed it was a made up name, or a company run by a Mr Quinn and a Mr Martin. Little did I know…

Back to that cool, unflappable professional working for the film company. One day the phone rang, and Quinn Martin was on the other end asking to speak to my boss…

I stammered my way through connecting the call, then collapsed into squeaky and fan-girle behaviour afterwards, causing my colleagues to roar with laughter…. ‘cos people in the UK have never heard of Quinn Martin. When my boss heard of my reaction, he was most impressed that I knew of QM’s status in the industry (apparently his claim to fame being he had at least one television series running in prime time every year for 21 straight years) whereas the truth was… I’d just regressed to being an excited pre-teen 😉

How do you feel about celebrities? Are you a collector of selfies or signatures, or do you go for the cool, unflappable option?

© Debs Carey, 2024