 I was sitting outside on the patio at Alfie’s one day, down on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, enjoying a hamburger with a sweet young thing from Texas, who had just arrived in town with big ambitions and an empty pocketbook.
It was one of those sunny California days when star types stroll along the Strip enroute to one of the many Hollywood boutiques, shops and restaurants. My young friend sat there “goggleyed” as she watched the rich and famous walk by our table. She kept elbowing me in the ribs while giving me a play by play description of “Who’s Who on the Sunset Strip.”
Several of my friends and business associates came over to our table and I introduced them to my young friend. I must say, in all fairness, she had it all together (despite the elbow to the ribs routine), and a number of star types at Alfie’s were looking her over, too.
Somewhere between elbow jabs and bites of hamburger, Sal Mineo strolled over and sat down at a nearby table with a gorgeous chick of his own. My sweet young thing gave me the elbow routine again.
“Hey,” she told me, “That’s Sal Mineo over there. You know, the guy who did ‘Rebel Without a Cause’ with James Dean? Wow, just think, I’m eating lunch at the table next to Sal Mineo.” I grinned a little, amused at my friend’s infatuation with the young movie star.
“Does he come here, often?” she quizzed me. I told her he probably did, since Alfie’s (at that time) was a popular place for most Hollywood star types like Mineo. “Well,” she said, “Tomorrow, let’s come back to eat at Alfie’s.”
The next day, we showed up at Alfie’s at the noon hour, but Mineo wasn’t there. That didn’t discourage my young friend. She kept bugging me to bring her back again, until, gradually, she became almost as well known at Alfie’s as some of the regular star types who hung out there.
After the initial infatuation with Alfie’s and Hollywood stars, I didn’t see my young friend for a while. One day I bumped into her having cocktails at another Hollywood haunt and she hit me with the big one.
“Guess what, man?” she asked me. “Sal Mineo is gonna make me a big star. He wants me to change my name to Tina Marlowe and I’m gonna be a great big movie star.”
Pow. Just like that. Instant stardom. Sal Mineo must be a nice guy, I thought. Since Sal was gay, I knew he wouldn’t be hustling my young friend. The whole scenario intrigued me.
 Almost everywhere Sal went, back in those days, people asked him about the picture with James Dean, or his excellent performance in “Exodus.” I asked Sal if it bothered him when fans talked about his early years in show biz.
“No, not really,” he told me, “Actually, it’s nice to be remembered. And, I feel I’ve been fortunate. I started in show business when I was 11-years-old in a Tennessee Williams play. It was just something I wanted to do. Everybody else was into their own thing, you know, like playing baseball or surfing, but my thing was acting. And, believe me, I’m damn grateful I had the opportunity.”
 We talked a bit about being “typed” in the film business and Sal explained it this way: “Well, for a long time, all I was offered was kid’s parts, but gradually, all that changed. After all, I’m not a kid anymore. It wasn’t so much of a problem with the public, they accepted me. The problem was in the industry. They just kept on offering me the same type films. That’s partly why I decided I had to do my own thing.”
A few years later, Mineo called me and invited me to have dinner. I asked him if he remembered my young friend from Texas. “Hey, man,” he said, “she was a real beauty. Too bad she became disillusioned and went back home to mama.” We laughed about that scene down at Alfie’s on the Sunset Strip and Sal said he hadn’t spent much time at Alfie’s since I last saw him.
“That’s what I want to talk to you about,” he said. “I’ve got this new film project I’m really hot on, but I’m a little nervous about it.” He told me the film was tentatively titled “Sirhan Sirhan,” and it dealt with the alleged assassin of Robert F. Kennedy.
One reason he was so excited about the film was because Donald Freed had written the script. Freed’s the fellow who wrote “Executive Action,” and “Sirhan Sirhan” had much of the same explosive intrigue as Freed’s successful film, he said.
I didn’t want to “rain on Sal’s parade,” but I asked him if he had any bad vibes about launching such an obvious controversial project. “Well,” he commented, “at first, I did have a lot of apprehension, but it’s such a strong body of work, I felt it had something valid to say and I just had to do it.
“It’s a little eerie, though,” he confessed. “We want to use film clips of Bobby Kennedy in it. I think the public is wondering why he was killed, particularly since JFK was gunned down in Dallas.”
Mineo said he thought “Sirhan Sirhan” would have the same kind of impact on the theater-going public as “Executive Action.” Though I was leery of Sal’s film project, in lieu of the fact that I resided in Dallas when JFK was assassinated, I encouraged him in his ambitious endeavors. As it turned out, he needed my encouragement and much more.
Mineo initially had envisioned Omar Shariff playing the title role, but when he approached Sirhan Sirhan’s family about it, they nixed the proposed film idea completely. Then, he started getting pressure from political groups who even threatened him if he proceeded with his plans.
I’m sure Sal was aware of the consequences, but, never the less, he continued to push forward to get “Sirhan Sirhan” on the screen. He called me one day to confirm that he had been successful in raising the money necessary to make the movie. And then, a few days later, he called me back and told me he was afraid somebody was going to kill him.
 “Somebody wants to snuff me out,” he whispered on the telephone. “I’ve had death threats and been stalked from time to time whenever I leave my apartment and go to the grocery store. There are people out there, evidently, who don’t want the American public to know the truth about what caused the death of Bobby Kennedy.”
I told Sal he had every right to be concerned and suggested he notify the FBI. He told me, based on his research, he had become paranoid about governmental agencies, particularly the FBI and CIA. He said he’d be careful, okay, but he was going to continue cautiously with the “Sirhan Sirhan” project.
I didn’t hear from Sal any more after that last phone conversation, and I wondered if all the threats had subsided or if Sal was in danger as he fearfully expressed. One day I was watching a football game on TV when the announcer cut in with a news bulletin that actor Sal Mineo’s body had been found dead on the parking lot outside his apartment.
As with most cases of this nature involving a celebrity, the newsman was sketchy with his preliminary comments, but a lot of observations were made that his death may have been drug related, a robbery, or a hate crime by homophobics who knew Mineo was gay.
I checked with a few of my Hollywood friends to see if they knew anything more specific about Mineo’s death. Most (who knew of Sal’s “Sirhan Sirhan” project) said things were pretty “hush hush,” but agreed with me that the drug comments and the homosexual comments were nothing more than a giant smokescreen.
One friend of Mineo’s, Beatle John Lennon, was furious about the death of the actor. He immediately enlisted the aid of lawyers, fellow entertainers and media types to uncover the real reason why Sal had died.
The “establishment” tried to keep Lennon from stirring up a hornet’s nest and when that failed, trumped up a deportation charge to get his butt out of the country. But Lennon came back, this time, armed with more facts and determined more than ever to uncover the real reason while Mineo died.
 Despite his efforts, Lennon was never able to uncover the truth. But his star status and determination attracted so much attention to Mineo’s death, newspapers and the radio-TV guys began demanding the Mineo case be reopened and reexamined. Things got so hectic at one point, the “establishment” issued a memo to their staff members to put a stop to all the John Lennon-Sal Mineo nonsense.
A few days later, John Lennon was shot to death outside his Dakota residence, in New York City. Newspaper types, particularly close friends of Sal and John, rallied to the cause and tried to bring closure to the matter. But, to no avail.
 You probably know the rest of the story. Mineo’s death was declared “a mysterious drug-related incident” and the case was closed. Period. Lennon’s assassin, Mark David Chapman, was sentenced to prison and life went on as usual.
Naturally, Mineo’s “Sirhan Sirhan” movie project never made it to the big screen. There was talk in Hollywood circles that some of Sal’s friends would eventually produce the film, despite the confrontations. But, as far as I know, this never happened.
What was it that Sal knew that caused him to be silenced? Your guess is as good as mine. We may never know the answer. And maybe it was supposed to be that way.
Well, that’s show biz, baby.
DONNYFUN NEWS
Well, then, there now….we got so many phone calls and emails about the recent James Dean Celebrity Scene Weekly column feature, the folks at the donnyfun house decided to set up a James Dean Shrine in the newly decorated Cabaret Lounge. One corner of the area showcases a giant billboard of the movie “Giant,” starring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean. If you recall, Jimmy is featured sitting in a vehicle with a straw cowboy hat on his head, wearing a leather vest and blue shirt, with his boots propped up for comfort and style. The display at the donnyfun house features a cutout of that same Dean pose and a clothes display of straw hat, vest, shirts, bluejean jacket, boots and leather gloves, highlighted by a large lariat. A marvelous sepia-toned 11x14 photo of Dean is “framed” inside a circle of barbed wire. (“Giant” was filmed on location in Marfa, Texas, and featured Dean as Jett Rink, a maverick rancher involved in cattle drives and western wheelin’ and dealin’). A lifesize standup cutout of James Dean stands by the “Giant” display, beckoning visitors to stroll over for a closer look. Standing nearby, taking in the action are Christina Aguilera, John Wayne, Heather Graham and Humphrey Bogart, hanging out by the bar.
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