She would have been 94 in another twenty days.
Jim Reed shared the following story of an interaction he had with her some few years ago.
*****
"Once," Jim Reed said, "I was a featured extra in a f*cking horrible theatrical movie ("CBGB") that Estelle Harris played a supporting role in.
We both finished our lunch one day in the catering tent at approximately the same time, and just as I was pouring some hot water for my tea she walked up and began searching through the desserts with a dejected look on her face.
"Are you looking for something in particular?", I asked.
"Well," she replied softly, "I saw some folks with that red velvet cake, and it looked pretty good. Do you know if there is any left?"
"Yep. Hold on a second," I replied, and then walked a few feet over to my table and returned with the last slice of said cake -- which I had just taken for myself a couple of minutes before.
"Here you go," I said. "I believe this is the very last slice. I grabbed it a moment ago, but haven't touched it. Enjoy!"
"But it's yours, you got it first," she replied, with a slightly perplexed look.
"Yeah, but I wasn't actually in search of some, I just chose it absentmindedly. I'd much rather you have it, and I hope it winds up being good," I explained, handing it to her.
Almost immediately, tears began to well up in her eyes, and I feared I had somehow offended her.
Then she placed her free hand on mine and said quietly, "That's one of the sweetest things anyone has done for me in years."
I was taken aback and reflexively blurted out something like, "Well, I certainly hope that's not the case..."
She lowered her head a bit and said, "It doesn't matter that people recognize me from 'the show.' It's very hard for me to find work these days. And when I do, most people in the business act like I'm not even there. Being old in show business is not something I wish on others."
I was at a loss for words and truly did not know how to respond, so I just said with a smile, "Well, I am glad we met, and that you just happened to run into the only guy with any red velvet cake to give."
That broke the spell of the moment and she threw her head back and laughed loudly.
Then she said, "My last scenes are today and I fly out tonight. Thanks for making this a nicer experience than it has been up until now."
(Like I said, this was an infamously awful, unprofessional shitshow of a production, that resulted in one of the most understandably reviled films of the past 20 years.)
Before she headed back to the set, she walked by my table, leaned down towards me and said, "You know, that cake wasn't half bad!"
RIP, Estelle."
*****
We both finished our lunch one day in the catering tent at approximately the same time, and just as I was pouring some hot water for my tea she walked up and began searching through the desserts with a dejected look on her face.
"Are you looking for something in particular?", I asked.
"Well," she replied softly, "I saw some folks with that red velvet cake, and it looked pretty good. Do you know if there is any left?"
"Yep. Hold on a second," I replied, and then walked a few feet over to my table and returned with the last slice of said cake -- which I had just taken for myself a couple of minutes before.
"Here you go," I said. "I believe this is the very last slice. I grabbed it a moment ago, but haven't touched it. Enjoy!"
"But it's yours, you got it first," she replied, with a slightly perplexed look.
"Yeah, but I wasn't actually in search of some, I just chose it absentmindedly. I'd much rather you have it, and I hope it winds up being good," I explained, handing it to her.
Almost immediately, tears began to well up in her eyes, and I feared I had somehow offended her.
Then she placed her free hand on mine and said quietly, "That's one of the sweetest things anyone has done for me in years."
I was taken aback and reflexively blurted out something like, "Well, I certainly hope that's not the case..."
She lowered her head a bit and said, "It doesn't matter that people recognize me from 'the show.' It's very hard for me to find work these days. And when I do, most people in the business act like I'm not even there. Being old in show business is not something I wish on others."
I was at a loss for words and truly did not know how to respond, so I just said with a smile, "Well, I am glad we met, and that you just happened to run into the only guy with any red velvet cake to give."
That broke the spell of the moment and she threw her head back and laughed loudly.
Then she said, "My last scenes are today and I fly out tonight. Thanks for making this a nicer experience than it has been up until now."
(Like I said, this was an infamously awful, unprofessional shitshow of a production, that resulted in one of the most understandably reviled films of the past 20 years.)
Before she headed back to the set, she walked by my table, leaned down towards me and said, "You know, that cake wasn't half bad!"
RIP, Estelle."
*****
Thanks, Jim, for sharing such a sweet memory.
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