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> Kimberlee Carlson

Kimberlee Carlson is a complete original. We recently tried to remember exactly when and where we met. It was definitely in Hollywood and we decided together that it was at one of Sandy Martin's explosive blow-out parties in 1978. Wherever it was, we have been friends for over twenty years. I was living on Sierra Bonita Street above Melrose in a garage apartment behind Thelma White, a former Vaudeville star who had a lead role in the infamous "REEFER MADNESS" in the early 1930's . Kimberlee was living at Ten Bungalows on Poinsettia Place. When I was in the market for new digs I called Miss Carlson. She informed me that she and a friend were both being evicted from their apartments at Ten Bungalows for removing the hideous carpets to reveal the beautiful original hardwood floors. The aging landlady, Molly Adams, was a former Hollywood waitress who had literally put the down payment on Ten Bungalows with tip money and was more than a little controlling about any changes - even obvious improvements. Miss Adams had already rented Kimberlee's (a one bedroom apartment up stairs with a view) . I would, within a year, move into it and spend the next 14 years with that view. However, in that January of 1980, Kimberlee showed me the studio apartment downstairs that had just been vacated by her fellow evictee. The door to the apartment was locked, so Kim showed me how to open the tiny little door in the center of the front door so I could get a peek inside. Miss Carlson's wickedly clever friend had created, with white adhesive tape, the outline of a dead body on the lovely polished wood floor in the center of the room. It looked quite official, but Kimberlee laughed and assured me her friend was alive and well and had a terrific new job in San Francisco. That was my introduction to life at Ten Bungalows.

At the time we met, Kimberlee was dancing with the wonderfully notorious L.A. Knockers at nightclubs all over Los Angeles and they were all even flown to Japan to wow Japanese Businessmen. I was sure she would be sold into white slavery and never seen again. Happily, this was not the case. Soon Miss Carlson was off to Chicago where Hugh Heftner's organization had hired her as a Playboy Bunny. This experience lasted a year and in 1984 I co-wrote (with Eric Wise) and produced a half hour video movie entitled "DRESSING ROOMS FOR DAY PLAYERS" in association with EZTV Video Gallery and the late John Door. Kimberlee was my first and only choice for the lead in this strange little romantic musical comedy. Kimberlee can REALLY sing and was truly the best thing in this little half hour. On the 4th of July in 1989 Tim Burton flew in from London in the middle of the shooting of the first BATMAN and I picked him up at LAX and we went to Vine Street - a "terwubbly, terwubbly" hip nightclub where Kimberlee Carlson was headlining with her band and playing to packed houses. Tim was, of course, totally charmed and after they closed Vine Street, Tim, Kimberlee, John Lovitz and I spent the remaining wee hours at Canters delicatessen on Fairfax yakking away the hours 'til the sun came up and drove us to our (separate) beds.

In the early 1990s Miss Carlson was hired to develop the art design for the fledgling "E" cable channel. After giving "E" a distinctive (and obviously successful) image, Kim was snapped up by Ted Turner's organization and was off to Atlanta for what seemed like forever but was only little more than a year…

Five years ago Kimberlee created and is executive producer of "Dinner And A Movie" for the TBS network and in its fifth year it is quite clearly a success. I have dropped in twice to have dinner and talk about the movies being shown ("EDWARD SCISSORHANDS" and Steven Kings' "SLEEPWALKERS") I will be back again when BEETLEJUICE is shown later this year or in early January of 2000. Kimberley is also a serious and commited writer as well as a showstoppingly accompplished Mambo Dancer. She still has that sharp wit and glorious sense of humor that she had when she arrived as a teenager from Palmdale California to seek her fortunes in Hollywood. She has, believe me, only just begun. When the revealing clock photo above was shot on the afternoon of April 30, 1990 Kimberlee was listening to The Rolling Stones' "Blinded By Love". I would say today that her focus is 20/20 on all issues.
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