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Joined: Apr 2016
For Gailtate... McGill was a legend playing for Jeff HS in LA. It was public knowledge that Pete Newell really wanted him and a friend close to Pete Peletta at USF told me that Pete thought that he could be, “Another Russell” on the Hilltop.
Majerus lived in a room at the Utah Hotel in downtown Salt Lake. Legend has it that he never fixed a meal for himself and lived off room service and local restaurants. I worked with Al McGuire on a 13 episode series and he had hundreds of stories including some of Majerus.
My favorite Al story happened on a shoot in NYC. We were staying at the Holiday Inn on West 57th down near CBS. My wife was on business in the City at the same time and we went to Patsy’s for dinner so I missed Al (a prodigious walker) and our PA on a crosstown jaunt to PJ Clark’s. At the bar Al filled into a conversation with a short fellow on the next stool. The guy knew all about the Knicks and of Al’s time there. It went on for most of two hours. Al couldn’t remember half of the things discussed and on the way back the PA said that it was great meeting the guy. She was star struck. Al asked her why. She replied, “That was Dustin Hoffman!” Al said, “Who?” Movies were not on his radar. Neither were spectator sports. He had attended one baseball game in his life and no football. He was fluent in many things, a real Renaissance Man. We used to trade old toy soldiers. The series was successful but it kept him out of Milwaukee and so he cancelled. One of my great shoots ever.