A. searching the Catskill region for a second home where he could spend the summer months while being close to New York City and the Broadway Theater District.
B. consideration of creating a theater program endowment at Oneonta State to advance the performing arts in motion pictures and television.
C. meeting with Oneonta area cartoonist Don Sherwood, who resided at the Woodchuck Knoll/Emmons Manor complex built in part by Lothar and Frank Fieg. Taylor's objective was to promote a television pilot in which Taylor would play Dan Flagg, Sherwood's nationally syndicated cartoon strip character.
ANSWER: When Greg Fieg shook hands with Robert Taylor at a promotional appearance at Bresee's Oneonta Department Store in 1966, he found the once-dashing Hollywood leading man still charismatic with his almost iridescent ice-blue eyes. Sadly Taylor, at 56 a chronic smoker, also appeared worn and haggard and would be dead of lung cancer within little more than a year. Cartoon character Dan Flagg, whom Taylor was to portray on TV, also died a premature death, as the political climate during the Viet Nam War era made a patriotic U.S. Marine unpalatable in the public mind. Even in his best year, Dan Flagg earned little more than $30,000 for his creator. The answer is C.
2. JUDY FIEG KESTNER WAS AT A business meeting in the early 1990s at the iconic Joe Cotten's BBQ Restaurant in Robstown, TX when a waiter put his head around the corner and whispered excitedly that a celebrity was having lunch in another dining room. That man was none other than:
A. Jerry Jeff Walker, the famed country and western recording artist and Oneonta native.
B. Willie Nelson, the immortal country and western entertainer and songwriter from Austin.
C. Nolan "Big Tex" Ryan, the former major league baseball fireballer who is enshrined at Cooperstown and who owns the Corpus Christi Hooks minor league baseball team.
D. former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega in the custody of federal agents, on the way to his trial in Miami for drug trafficking, racketeering and money laundering.
ANSWER: Joe Cotten's restaurant was a favorite haunt for everyone from local politicians to nationally-known celebrities. Oftentimes a helicopter would land in the grassy highway median outside and someone famous would emerge ready to enjoy a "plate" of beef, pork or sausage. Food was served on heavy butcher paper with complimentary cheese and crackers to begin and a peppermint stick presented with the bill. Jerry Jeff Walker, born Ronald Clyde Crosby in Oneonta, NY, moved to Austin, TX in the 1970s, joining the "country outlaw" scene with artists such as Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, Waylon Jennings and Townes Van Zandt. I don't know if Jerry Jeff ever ate there but Willie Nelson frequently did, and on this day he graciously signed autographs for the party of giddy bidnesswomen. The answer, obviously, is B.
3. GREG FIEG VISITED THE ACADEMY STREET residence of Broadway and Hollywood star Bill Pullman, best remembered for his role as the president in the blockbuster hit "Independence Day," and during the evening's conversation found Pullman to be complaining about:
A. the food at the dining hall at SUNY Oneonta.B. the largely overcast weather in the city of Oneonta.
C. the inability to shop for finer men's clothing such as can be found in New York City.
D. a young woman with whom he attended college classes and whom he found to be odious because of her flatulence.
ANSWER: Bill Pullman, whose screen credits include "Sleepless in Seattle," "A League of Their Own" and "The Accidental Tourist," was the son of a doctor from Hornell, NY and knew Greg from his days at Delhi Tech when Greg was editor of the local paper in the village. They later attended SUNY Oneonta where both earned their baccalaureate degrees. Though his father was an M.D., Bill found flatulence to be not the symptom of a food allergy but an awfully bad habit. D is the answer to this question.
4. WHILE ESCORTING HIS WIFE, Joanne Woodward, to their seats in a Broadway theatre, Paul Newman turned, looked Lisa Fieg up and down and rudely glared at her because:
A. Lisa had been openly staring at the celebrity couple and Newman responded in kind.
B. Lisa was wearing a t-shirt and jeans instead of evening wear.
C. Lisa had a large blob of ketchup on her blouse from the hamburger she had eaten for supper.
LISA FIEG HAS COMPILED a list of more than 50 celebrities she has met since moving to New York City several decades ago. The list includes Warren Beatty, Ringo Starr, Woody Allen, Mike Wallace and William Hurt (with whom she walked the length of a city block while the star of "Kiss of the Spider Woman" chatted about his background and career), but none is more famous than Paul Newman. Though she has always attempted to ingratiate herself with these people, she failed miserably with Mr. Newman, a man who resented intrusions on his privacy even while he was in public. The answer, sadly, is A.
5. WHILE STILL A BOY, James L. Seward - today next in line to ascend to the Republican Majority Leader's seat in the New York State Senate in Albany - stopped by Frye's camp on Otsego Lake to visit the Romans, Bookhouts, Fiegs, McGonigals and various other assorted cousins, cronies and hangers on, and whiled away the evening by:
A. patrolling the lawn with a flashlight to catch nightcrawlers for bait on the following morning's fishing trip.
B. scanning the starry skies with binoculars in the hope of spotting UFOs.
C. tracking an inexplicably large set of humanoid tracks that emerged from the.woods and disappeared into the reeds at the edge of the lake, leaving campers wondering about the possibility of Big Foot passing through the area.
D. huddling with Tony Roman, John Roman's grandfather, around Tony's shortwave radio to listen to the 1964 Republican National Convention at the Cow Palace in San Francisco where conservative Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona was nominated.
ANSWER: Seward was born in Oneonta, received his B.A. from Hartwick College and was a Fieg family friend in his youth. His parents lived near Cooperstown Junction where they ran an egg farm and delivered eggs to the Frank Fiegs once a week. Even before he started junior high, Seward's political philosophy was formed, and so the highlight of this visit was finding a kindred Republican soul in Tony Roman, as described in option D.
6. RETIRED REPORTER GREG FIEG IS PERHAPS the one cousin who has appeared on TV more than any other owing to the fact that:
A. while feverishly taking notes in the front row at various press conferences when he was a newspaper reporter in Texas, Greg was often found by TV news crews to be a convenient prop for isolated atmospheric images or group "cover shots."
B. whenever he sees a TV news crew shooting live on location, Greg quickly jumps into the background, gesticulates, waves frantically and makes goofy faces.
D. about 30 years ago Greg joined a consortium that bought a VIP box behind home plate at Fenway Park in Boston and, during broadcasts of Red Sox games, he often can be seen in the stands closely watching from his seat.
ANSWER: While covering an appearance by President Reagan for the San Antonio Express-News in 1982, Greg found himself seated between Leslie Stahl, reporter for "60 Minutes," and ABC White House correspondent Sam Donaldson. Leslie and Sam carried on a lighthearted and animated banter across Greg's lap without paying much attention to him, apparently regarding him as little more than a prop, his wonted role at many such events. Letter A is the answer here.
7. IN AN ERA WHEN MANY ONEONTANS received only three television signals (those from Utica, Syracuse and Binghamton) John Bartholomew Tucker was recognizable around town as the evening weather reporter for what was then known as WNBF Channel 12. Tucker's laid back, folksy style and slow country cadence eventually propelled him to prominence as a nationally recognized off-screen announcer in such great demand that:
A. CBS television host Ed Sullivan booked him for a three-minute spot in which Tucker recited quotations from the opening pages of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.
B. he went on a whirlwind tour with his one man show, "Will Rogers Tonight," which culminated when he portrayed the late Oklahoma humorist at a command performance for Queen Elizabeth at the Albert Hall in London.
C. he was hired to narrate a series of single, one-minute commercials when he was hired by Greensboro-based advertising executive Philip Fieg for the Switzland based chemical manufacturer Ciba-Geigy Corp., receiving $40,000 for each ad.D. he found himself continually fielding marriage proposals from women who were beguiled by his voice but who had never met him in person.
ANSWER: Though not an A-list celebrity, John Bartholomew Tucker's name was a familiar one to many Americans. His off-screen voice was warm and inspired confidence, and it was an exciting day when Philip Fieg announced to his family that he would be working closely with Mr. Tucker on an ad campaign for an agricultural chemical sold by Philip's employer, the Ciba-Geigy Corp. as outlined in letter C.
8. ROGER MONACO WORKED FOR over thirty years behind the scenes in several different capacities at many a successful Broadway show. One of his favorite "up close and personal" celebrity encounters occurred:
A. when James Cagney came to see "42nd Street" where Roger was working. After the show Roger shook his hand and, along with a co-worker, helped him walk to his car at the end of a long alley. As the driver opened the door, Cagney turned to Roger and said, in his famous New York accent, "Thank you son."
B. when, upon hearing several women talking and laughing, he turned and saw Meg Ryan, Demi Moore and Jessica Lange enter the theater during a run of "Hamlet." Roger introduced himself as the prop man and Jessica Lange said, "Very nice props, Roger!" They asked if he would take them to the dressing room of the show's star, Ralph Fiennes, and Roger said, "I'll take you to see Ralph, but why don't you three sit down and we'll have a chat for five minutes?" and they did!
C. when Roger was outside on a fire escape taking a break from a show and Peter Falk came out and they sat and had a cigarette together and talked.
D. when Roger called his acting coach and one of his best friends, William "Bill" Hickey, after Bill's Oscar-nominated role in "Prizzi's Honor" which also starred Jack Nicholson. Roger asked what it was like to work with Nicholson and Bill replied, "He was very nice."
ANSWER: Roger Monaco is not only a nice guy but is also a terrific magician and during the time he worked on Broadway he amazed those he met with his meticulous and elaborate illusions. He took Joe Kestner under his wing to teach him some basic magic tricks that Joe uses to this day, especially when he plays Santa at Christmastime. As you can imagine, Roger has amassed a great bank of memories of the stars he met on Broadway, and, in fact, every one of the answers above is one of his precious reminiscences.
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