Remembering the good old days (From Borehamwood Times)

Remembering the good old days

12:11pm Friday 27th November 2009

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PAUL WELSH goes back a decade to remember a week of pomp and ceremony and an accidental meeting with Tom Cruise in a dark corridor.

In a moment of boredom the other day, I decided to sort out some old appointments diaries and stumbld across one very busy period of seven days in November 1996. During that week, in my capacity as entertainments officer for the town council, I organised the unveiling of a plaque honouring veteran Elstree star Richard Todd.

The latter was an enjoyable occasion attended by other old Elstree names such as Helen Cherry, Honor Blackman, David Lodge and Bernard Cribbens. I remember David recalling making a film with Richard and Peter Sellers.

He said: “As Richard is on the short side, it was his custom to wear lifts in his shoes. Peter got paranoid about this and started putting lifts in his shoes.

“To maintain continuity, the wardrobe girls put higher lifts in Richard’s and so did Peter. It did not worry me as I am six feet tall but I found it quite amusing.”

That same week, I attended an interim Elstree Studios working party where I was helping to launch the facility back into public awareness and organised the guest list for the re-opening party a month later.

There were a diverse number of old names, including Liz Fraser, Ron Moody, Nigel Hawthorne, Christopher Lee, Pat Coombs, Peggy Cummins, Sylvia Syms Barry Morse, and Peter Wyngarde to name a few.

The cake was cut by veteran camerman Eric Cross, who had been employed at the studio when it had first opened in 1927.

The same day, I organised the Christmas lights switch-on in Shenley Road and I remember it was bitterly cold.

If that was not enough to keep me off the streets, I also attended the royal film premiere in Leicester Square, but for the life of me I cannot remember the film.

Finally in that same week, on Remembrance Day, I got to literally bump into Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise in an empty corridor at Elstree Studios.

I knew he was living at High Canons, outside Shenley, and was coming to the studio to record an interview for American television with talk show host Barbara Walters.

He was unescorted and his driver dropped him at the wrong door, which led to an empty row of dressing rooms, while the entourage were awaiting him upstairs.

I then entered via the same door just to watch from the sidelines, but literally bumped into him. Tom, being a polite lad, said: “Excuse me sir but I am Tom and I think I am lost.”

While showing him the way, I tried to pump him for information about working with Stanley Kubrick on Eyes Wide Shut, which was shooting at Pinewood, but he maintained eye contact and gave politicians’ answers. Still he seemed a nice chap and not really as short as journalists would have you believe.

Nowadays, my diary is less showbiz and more shopping for bargains in Tesco and wondering what is going to happen in the next episode of Hollyoaks.

You see, I am still hip to the beat and not quite ready for the rocking chair yet.

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