After reading Lisa Chamberlain’s article about our blog in the New York Times, Warren Allen Smith wrote in to comment on the piece. And though his letter doesn’t have too much to do with what was written in the article, he at least has something interesting to say about Arthur C. Clarke, so here’s his letter:
For the record, the most recent plaque – for Sir Arthur C. Clarke – was not placed there by his publishers, which some have assumed. On his last visit to the hotel, he remarked to me that he thought he might have found a plaque out front, stating a little sadly that he had written 2001 there. Telephoning Stanley Bard in 2002, I found that it would not be easy to work with the publishers concerning choosing the wording and deciding who would pay for such a plaque.
So Stanley gave me the go-ahead, Arthur approved my wording, and I paid for the plaque which was made by North Shore Monuments in Brookville, NY. Arthur was particularly pleased that I’d arranged for HAL’s logo and had included the novel’s memorable words, “I’m sorry, Dave. I can’t do that.”
He suggested that Arthur Miller might attend the dedication ceremony, but Miller wrote me, “I’m afraid I’m so preoccupied with two new plays coming into production that for me to spend an hour in front of the Chelsea Hotel is more than I can comfortably visualize. I was acquainted with Arthur Clarke way back in the sixties for a brief period and much appreciated his work. Give him my regards."
Stanley and I. along with sci-fi admirer Jimi Zhivago, dedicated the plaque on 29 September 2004.
Of the Chelsea, Clarke wrote biographer Neil McAleer and me that
Out of hundreds of memories over the last quarter-century, here are a few that come to mind:
- Using Norman Mailer as subject for the very first roll (yes, roll!) of Polaroid I ever shot.
- From the roof at night, zapping pedestrians on 23rd Street with a laser. They would be hypnotised by the brilliant crimson spot burning on the sidewalk, and by moving it around I could control them like puppets on a string. (That was back in the 60s; now that everyone has seen lasers, it wouldn't work.)
- Having dinner with Edith and Clifford Irving at the height of the Howard Hughes caper and, during the meal, watching a character who claimed to be H.H. being interviewed on TV. He was completely wrapped up in bandages, just like Claude Rains in The Invisible Man; when forcibly unwound, he proved to be Mel Brooks (I think; if he wasn't, he should have been).
- I must stop; this is making me homesick. . . . But by an unexpected turn of fate, I'll be calling at 222 West 23rd in just two months time, while promoting the sequel to a certain book I wrote in Room 1008. See you all then. . . . Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1982 Sept 6
Further for the record, Arthur (now 88 1/2, 4 years my senior) has not been in communication for a long time and has not been in good physical condition for several years.
Warren Allen Smith
http://wasm.us
http://philosopedia.org
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