European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 8, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Its no Accident that you re hit with nagging Nicks Andy Rooney Tribune Media i fell yesterday. Flat. I walked into a heavy electrical Cord i had stupidly Strung 6 inches off the floor in my shop and went Dow n like a tree in the Forest Cut by a Lumberjack when it interrupted the movement of my legs. The difference Between me and a tree was that i hit the Concrete floor instead of a cushy bed of leaves. I landed on my left knee and both hands As it i d been doing a Pushup. I stayed on the floor a few minutes assessing the damage. Serious i remember wondering. I quickly decided that although i Hurt a lot i was t Hurt. My knee is swollen today but it s just a bang. There s nothing wrong with the hinge. Both hands and wrist Are sore and discoloured but i m going to live. It reminded me of How the heels of my hands Hurt when i was a kid and fell re s Reynolds keeps stars shining on new talk showy Paul Lomartire Cox news service Burt Reynolds emmy for Best actor in a comedy Hadnot yet cooled when he was on the phone from his los Angeles production office talking about a dream realized. Not his emmy award for evening Shade which begins its second lbs season sept. 16. The other dream realized. Its called Burt Reynolds conversations with. And aired recently on lbs. The premise is simple. Reynolds gathers his friends in groups of four and tapes an informal freewheeling unscripted hour of storytelling. The idea for the show appealed to lbs programming executives when they realized Reynolds friends include Hollywood legends such As june Allyson Jane Powell Ginger Rogers and Esther Williams who were featured on one show. It was the loss of other close friends that prompted Reynolds to get the project moving. A Orson Welles and i had dinner one night a week each month a he recalled. Quot Bette Davis was one of my great pals. Barbara Stanwyck was a great Friend. David Niven of course. That s Why 1 originally had the idea because in be lost so Many great great friends the last three years that no one had on tape. I was just determined to do it. When he saw a show featuring Chicago Sporis writers shooting the Breeze he knew the idea would work. Williams. Powell Rogers and Allyson traded stories about moguls movies and marriages among other topics. Reynolds said his toughest Job was t keeping the conversation of in bicycle or fell on the sidewalk roller skating. The worst part of my wounds was going to a party last night where 1 had to shake hands with 25 people. I chose to kiss a lot of women i did t know that Well so 1 would t have to shake their hands. I m always surprised at How Seldom everything s perfect with any of us. You have a cold you break a Fingernail or you wonder if some Small blemish on your body is serious. You would t dream of mentioning it to anyone because it s probably nothing. But its always something. Maybe it s Only a pair of shoes that make one toe Hurt. Each of us needs a doctor we can ask Small questions. We done to need a Complete checkup. 1 have an office next to or. Bob Arnot. Who does medical stories for the lbs morning news. He can to walk Down the Hall without someone asking him for free advice. We had dinner with an old Friend last week who retired As a doctor. He still gets lots of Calls asking for advice. There s a Market for it. It might be a new Field of Medicine. There would be specialists who do nothing but answer silly medical questions. You a be Able to go to a a Tutor s office and say Quot what is this anyway. Doctor Quot if he thought you should see a doctor about it he d Tell you. It should be cheap maybe $11 for five minutes and it could be done in person or on the phone. Last night my wrists and one knee Hurt when 1 was going to bed. I d like to have asked a doctor if putting ice on swollen parts does any Good nine hours after the incident that caused them to Niff up. One reason some people Are always getting banged up is you can t Liv e your w Hole life being careful not to get Hurt. There s just so careful you can be and still get anything done. It was established in our family Many years ago that say ing a be careful Quot to someone does t help. Whenever the kids were going someplace. Margie always said to them. Quot be 1 never told the kids to be careful. 1 know that there was absolutely no difference in what happened to them when they left Home after being told to be careful and when they left Home without being told to be careful. 1�?Teople either Are careful or they Are not. Being told to be careful has no influence on the care they exercise. 1 could have been told to be careful 10 times at breakfast yesterday and i d still have tripped Over that Cord. One reason telling a person to be careful does t help is that Little accidents like mine occur at unlikely times in unlikely places. When you get up on a ladder around the House or when you re going for a Long drive in bad weather someone always tells you to be careful. It s tool ish. If you re climbing a ladder or taking a danger Ous trip you already Are being careful. Almost no one climbs a ladder without considering the possibility he might fall so a cautionary word from someone on the ground is not Only unnecessary its irritating. Ten dollars Worth of advice from a Good doctor after you fell would be a lot More helpful than being told to be careful. Andy Rooney is a former stars and stripes reporter Cis Tony Esparza Burt Reynolds hot on evening Shade too. Going but editing it afterwards. A i spent More time editing that show than any movie i be Ever directed Quot he said. Quot i was in there for god knows How Many hours. But All in All. In a very proud of it. I think it came off very Reynolds in t trying to fool anyone into thinking his is yet another talk show attempt to mine celebrity secrets with the cameras rolling. He edits for continuity and equal time for guests. Quot number one i think they know if i ask them a question that they find in any Way to personal or Over the line they can turn around and ask me the same question a he said. Quot and i be told them All. You Wanna go to the editing room with me c Mon. Well look at it together. That a not what the show s about. The show is just to make you look As Good As possible also any horror Story that they might have to talk about in terms of being mistreated by editing the press whatever i think i can top a second show was taped with actors Jimmy Stewart Mickey Rooney Van Johnson and Ricardo Montalban. Quot in a literally hand picking Reynolds said. His object is to Book foursomes who share the same Hollywood Era and a respect for each other. He was surprised to find out that even though Williams Rogers Powell and Allyson were stars during the 40s and 50s for metro Gold Vyn Mayer they weren t friends at the time. Comparing the shows taped with the men and women Reynolds laughed and said Quot the funniest part of it was i asked the men ii they wanted booze or cigars or cigarettes or whatever on the table. They said a no no. We Don t smoke or we done to the women said a Gin Vodka a Reynolds is working to bring together Sophia Loren Gina , Kim Novak and Lana Turner for a show. Those actresses share a common Bond As former sex Symbol leads. Quot the other show that i think would be terrific a Reynolds said Quot i want to do Sinatra Mcl Torme Joe Williams and Tony Bennett because they re All Saloon singers and they All like each the commitment from lbs remains vague. Reynolds show was originally announced As a late night entry but was moved to prime Tunc after the first program was completed. A a in a not really sure it is a prime time show he said. A i m a Little bit worried about that because we did no to tit it As a prime Lime show. I v cry body sort of talks a Little bit Diller Cully at i 1 30 . Than if they think they in going to be on at 10 . Reynolds Isnit so sure his show Lias the kind of mass audience Appeal it lakes to be a prime time ratings Winner. Quot there a a Yuppie audience out there that unfortunately does t know who a lot of these people Are Quot he said. A but i m hoping in spite of that Well get an audience. You re seeing some Lions that May not be around and Hoy they be got some september 8, 1991 sunday a Page
