Bound by Flesh Page #10

serving food.

- When Daisy and I

were seven years old,

we shook hands on a promise

that after putting

a set number of years

in this world,

we would get out of it.

- In 1 962,

I owned a theatrical agency.

We would book shows

in theaters

and for television

and traveling shows,

and my secretary said,

"I have a call for you,"

and it was Violet Hilton.

She said,

"Well, do you know who I am?"

And I said, "Absolutely.

"You were the highest-paid act

in vaudeville.

"You were the sensation

of the show business world

for many, many years."

She said,

"Well, my sister and I

"have decided

to go back on the road

"and are wondering

if you would be kind enough

to book our act."

I said, "Well, certainly,

"but, now, it would take me

some time to set this up.

I'll call you back

in a couple weeks."

Two days later, this gentleman

walks into my office

and said that he was

a taxi driver.

I walked down the steps

with him,

and there

in the backseat of the cab

were the two Hilton sisters.

And he would like me to pay

for their cab fare

from the train station.

And they said,

"Well, we're ready to work."

And I said,

"Well, I told you

it was gonna be

a month or so."

I said, "It would be better

for you to go back home."

She said, "We do not have

a home to go to."

And one of the girls said,

"Well, is there

a theatrical hotel in town?

You think they would

check us in on the cuff?"

Meaning, they didn't have any

money to check into the hotel.

These girls were a tremendous

success in show business.

Now, as I started to call

the different theater circuits

and say, "Could you book

some dates for the girls?"

I began to feel

some resistance.

I said to them, "Listen,

"maybe you would book

just a trial date

"so that we can put them in

as an engagement

"and let's see how they do... -

"an engagement here,

an engagement there.

"We'll try it

in different-size theaters

"and different-size towns.

"I'll even book them in

some of the drive-in theaters,

and we'll see how it goes."

I said, "Now, incidentally,

girls, after we book the dates,

how do you plan on traveling

from town to town?"

They said,

"Well, we'll take a train."

"But it would be almost

impossible to book a route

for you to travel by train."

Then it came time

for the engagements.

I had several television shows.

And Uncle Zeke hung around

the television station

and would want to help me

carry bags in

or do this and do that.

[chuckles]

And poor old Uncle Zeke.

He... - He was an alcoholic.

[laughs]

And this was a children's show

I'm doing.

And so finally the director

came over to me one day,

and he said, "Listen,"

he said,

"We've had some comments

about his breath."

I said, "Uncle Zeke,

you can't drink

and come here and be on these

television shows."

He was a person

who was driving their car

and taking them

from town to town.

They were willing to do... -

if you had a project

and say,

"Here's what we're gonna do.

I want you to do this

publicity," or whatever... -

"Oh, yeah.

Oh, absolutely."

The girls did not like

the drive-in theaters,

but I felt that the picture,

Chained For Life

and Freaks,

which we played

a double feature with them

when they appeared

in the theaters,

would go better with

a drive-in theater crowd.

The only thing

was that nobody cared.

Nobody showed up.

I says, "I think

their personal appearance days

are almost over, Zeke."

I said, "Girls,

we need to do something here.

"Tell me, do either of you

have any skills?

Like, office skills?"

She said, "Well, yeah.

We play musical instruments,

and we dance."

I said, "No, no, that's not

what I'm talking about.

"I know that.

"Have either one of you

ever had a job where you worked

at a store or you worked

in an office?"

"Oh, no.

Oh, absolutely not."

I had booked them in

a grocery store here in town,

making a personal appearance.

It was this place called

Park-N-Shop,

operated by a fellow

by the name of Charlie Reid,

very fine person, who had three

stores in total in Charlotte.

- They were at

the front of the store,

and they were advertising

twin-pack potato chips.

Now, that's a good sport.

The twin-pack potato chips

came put together.

- They became more cynical,

but it didn't seem to teach them

anything about handling money

or to acknowledge that those

around them had used them.

They got robbed.

They got taken by almost

every male in their life.

And I can remember where they

asked my father for money,

and they were always somewhere

near where they ended up.

They were in the Carolinas,

and they would wire him

for money,

and he would always send it.

- They were promoting

the movie Freaks.

And they came to Monroe,

which is a little town

east of here.

- They were abandoned

after one of their gigs.

They had had a manager

that was less than honest,

and they were going to do

a performance at a drive-in,

and he took off

with all their earnings

and left them with nothing.

- These Siamese twins

were basically dumped out,

and my father, Clay Keziah,

owned the motel

and the restaurant next door.

And he allowed the twins

to come and stay here

for free of charge

and allowed them to eat

at the Bonfire restaurant.

And they stayed

in this end unit.

They were here several months... -

two little tiny, tiny twins

and very delightful,

were just thrilled to know

they had a roof over their head

and somewhere to eat.

- A church in

Gastonia, Belmont,

heard about them,

and they moved them

to Tanzy's Trailer Park.

- My dad had about

20, 25 trailers.

A lot of them were rented

week to week.

Some were rented

month to month,

and we had people that stayed

there for years and years.

I would say

they weren't unfriendly,

but they were

a little more standoffish.

- [sighs]

And it was hard for them,

like it's hard

for a lot of entertainers.

You know, a day comes

when it just is over.

- They had been in the spotlight

most of their lives,

and to be honest,

the spotlight had not

treated them all that well.

- I think the first reaction

that everybody had

was to feel sorry for 'em

a little bit

by the time they got here,

because they were really

down on their luck.

They were basically broke.

They were looking for work.

They had been sort of

left behind.

They didn't have family.

And so

people in that situation,

I think it was natural

for people here

to feel sorry for them

and to reach out a little bit.

- My dad and mom,

independent grocers,

came to Charlotte and built

a pretty good size store

on Wilkinson Boulevard

out by the airport.

And my dad loved produce.

- They were known

for their service,

and he was known

for his kind of big promotions.

- If you bought groceries,

you could get a piece of Alaska

when Alaska became a state.

We had Buffalo barbecue.

Watermelons, 1 0 cents each.

If you came in your pajamas,

they were 5 cents.

One day,

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