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Message

Subject: Re: Richard Harris
Date: 29 Oct 2002 06:54:01 GMT
From: jmsatb5@aol.com (Jms at B5)
Newsgroups: alt.babylon5.uk

This group, for reasons that should be obvious, seems the best place for this
story. 

I met Richard Harris once, long ago, around the second season of B5.  I was
staying at the Savoy in London, and got into the elevator to go up to my room.

I was much surprised to turn and see Richard Harris get into the elevator
beside me.  I say surprised in part because it *was* Richard Harris, and in
part because I'd never seen anyone get into an elevator sideways before.

He'd had, suffice to say, sufficient libations to float a small island.

He turned, focused on me as the elevator doors closed.  "Did you know that this
is the oldest working elevator in London?" he said, working from a posture that
defied gravity in at least three points.  "It's true," he continued.  "This was
the first elevator installed in London, and it's been kept working ever since."

He continued on about this for another floor or so, filling in all the details
about the elevator's construction, history, who'd ridden in it and the rumors
about tawdry things that may or may not have happened in the spaces between
floors, than he stopped, turned, and looked back at me again.  "Do I know you?"
he asked.

"Almost certainly not," I said.

"Then why on earth was I talking to you?" he asked, before the elevator doors
opened and he exited, as before, sideways.

It was just a couple of minutes, but it was a couple of minutes I'll never
forget, in part for the humor of it, but also for the extreme graciousness of a
fellow who took the time to explain the history of the Savoy elevator to a
total stranger in the dead of a London night.

He was a damned fine actor, and he will be dearly missed.

 jms

(jmsatb5@aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2002 by synthetic worlds, ltd., 
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine 
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