ENTERTAINMENT
Page lOA - THE CHARLOTTE POST - Thuraday, February 11, 1988
fektisld
TELEVISION
SWEETHEART
BJ. HARRISON
graphic by JASON
Housekeeper Debra Fuller in Presidential Suite
FHoioe By Calvin Ferguson
four-star. And the only one fa
mous for strawberry soup-and
for going to any lengths possi
ble for Its guests. And some
times for people who aren't even
guests. Just listen to this.
"Once during a big snow one of
our van drivers noticed a lady at
Charlotte/Douglas Airport who
looked obviously distressed,"
said Jennifer Rockett. Catering
Assistant with The Park Hotel.
"He brought her back here to the
hotel then went out and bought
some baby supplies for her out
of his own pocket. There was
this poor lady, stranded at the
alrp>ort with two babies and a
big snow covering everything.
She had no formula or diapers
for the babies. He helped her
get settled In and registered.
That's the kind of service we're
proud of."
That's the kind of service that
attracts show business, politi
cal and corporate royalty to
four-star hotels. Charlotte will
Catering Assistant Jennifer Rockett
glides In. Did the water In the
famed heated outdoor pool part
like the Red Sea every time Hes
ton went for a dip?
But exactly what Is a four-star
hotel? Well. Imagine New York's
Waldorf-Astorla-whlch hosted
the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame
Awards dinner a while back-
and you've got It. Or The Pea
body In Memphis. Or the Fair
mont In Dallas. Then there's La
Costa, near Beverly Hills. Char
lotte Is becoming a class act.
mats rion?
"Four-star hotels are designat
ed by the Mobil Travel Guide,"
said Kathy Barringer, executive
assistant to general manager
Richard L. Arsenault. "It Is a
guide for travelers that rates
21,000 U.S. hotels, motels and
restaurants annually-ln 4.000
cities. Only 409 such establish
ments were rated four-star this
year. The Park Hotel Is In exclu
sive company. That puts us In
(se« PARK HOTEL page 16A)
Chef Abdou & Morrocrofts Buffet
Poet Robert Martin
By William James Brock
Post Entertainment Editor
Robert Martin weis bom short
ly after John F. Kennedy was
shot In Dallas, and right before
Martin Luther King led the great
march on Washington. Perhaps
It was the social trauma of the
times that forged what he would
become. Maybe It was the envi
ronment of the mean streets of
New York: where he spent his
early youth. He can't put his fin
ger on It now.
Bom In Queens, Martin had a
relatively happy and stable
childhood. It was In his early
teenage years that things began
to go downhill. His mother re
married. after divorcing his fa
ther. and young Robert Emd his
stepfather never got along. In
rebellion, the boy took to dmgs-
begi .inlng with smoking pot.
But he had the soul of a poet-
creattve and undisciplined.
"My grades were up before 1
got on reefer," he said. "1 had a B
average-that dropped to F after
1 began smoking that stuff. 1
was doing grass at 13."
The Inevitable result was he
ran away from home. He be
came a pusher-getting p)ot from
a supplier for resale to other
kids. It was a tough way to
make a buck. Sometimes he
slept In doorways, on park
benches or crashed with
friends. He even slept on sub
way trains, endlessly rldmg the
Big Apple night. He lived at the
heart of darkness.
After nearly two years of that
he rlpped-off his connection
one day and fled to Long Island,
where his mother now lived.
Hearing that his former suppli
er was gunning for him, Martin
tried to vanish Into military ser
vice. He Joined the National
Guard. Surviving Ft. Jackson's
bootcamp fairly well, he was
stationed at the Aberdeen Prov
ing Grounds In Maryland for
technical schooling.
Creative by nature, the youth
ful poet skipped work detail one
day to go offbase to p>arty with
friends. He was angry because
his sergeant had refused him a
weekend pass home. He had
been In service just three
months. His captain gave him
(see HEART page 15A)
By WUllam James Brock
Post Entertainment Editor
Television newswoman B.J.
Harrison Is a real sweetheart-ln
the truest sense of that over
done word. She defies the my-
thos of TV Airhead by simply
being hersef, on camera and off.
She is warm, articulate, intelli
gent, carlng-and bakes the best
chocolate chip cookies this side
of Famous Amos. You know.
She's just like she Is on WSOC-
TV 9. where she does the health
features. Except she's even
prettier off the tube. But she
doesn't like to dwell on that.
"I've never been what you'd call
real Show Biz," Harrison said. "I
know how that sounds-with my
being a TV personality-but it's
true. I majored In photojournal
ism In college. I went around
like your typical photographer-
ponytail, flannel shirts and
bluejeans. I was never Into the
beauty pageants and Prom
Queen stuff."
Harrison grew up In San Fran
cisco. Her father, Alvin Harri
son, was an FAA official and
helicopter pUot. Mother Mickey
was a bank manager-tumed-
publlc school administrator.
There were only two klds-B.J.
and older brother Alvin Jr. They
were a fairly typical middle
class family.
Brother Alvin went to Dart
mouth. B.J. wanted to go to a
school that offered a good pho
tojournalism curriculum. She
had always been interested In
photography. As a child she
would pore over Issues of Na
tional Geographlc-to which the
family always subscribed. She
loved the beautiful pictures of
exotic places. She chose to go
to San Jose State.
"1 hung out my shingle as a
photographer right out of col
lege," Harrison said. "I got really
lucky. Some friends partnered-
up In San Francisco to form a
photo studio. One had cameras,
one had lenses, one had Ughts-
that sort of thing. We did pretty
well. We stayed in it two years."
When the studio partners
eventually went separate ways
Harrison did the logical thing.
She went Into the aerospace In
dustry-working In Its public re
lations aspects for the next two
years. After that came her first
TV job-ln management. She
signed on with NBC affiliate
KRON-TV In San Francisco as a
public relations director.
"Ordinarily. 1 might have lived
out my life and never gotten on
the tube," she said. "While 1 was
there the station's talent/crew
people went on strike. Manag
ers had to fill-in on various jobs
to keep It on the air. I was as
signed to cover as a reporter. 1
got bitten by the news bug then.
1 did gener^ news for two years
then decided to specialize. 1
opted for health/medical re-
porting-so I could stay In TV yet
do something 1 felt would be re
warding to the public and my
self."
WSOC-TV 9 beckoned In 1982.
She moved to Matthews-where
she lives with a huge black Lab
rador Retriever named "Footsie"
and a cat named "Sousa." A sin
gle career woman, she puts
what free time she has Into
horseback riding. Lake Norman
recreation and cooking Creole.
. "1 do love to cook and bake."
Harrison laughed. "My mom was
a Creole lady from Loulslana-1
still love that food 1 grew up on
A college room mate had U
teach me to make grits and bis
cuits. I taught her to bake choc
olate chip cookies."
Harrison's mother died two
years ago. Her father Is retlred-
and Is touring America In an RV.
She kept her niece. Amanda, for
a year after the death of her
mother. Alvin Jr., the child's fa
ther, was trying to cope with be
ing a single parent following a
divorce. Suddenly It all caved In
‘on him.
'We're a close family," Harrison
said. "And Amanda Is the most
beautiful. Intelligent child. I
kept her for a year; until my
brother could get his life togeth
er. She turns nine years old this
Valentine's Day. I loved the ex
perience of being a mother for a
while."
She Is happy doing what she
does, so Harrison gives little
thought to leaving Channel 9 or
the Charlotte area. She gives
time to the Juvenile Diabetes
Foundation, Handicapped Or
ganized Women and Camp
Care-a group that sends kids
with cancer to summer caunp.
"At times 1 don't know where 1
get all the time to do all those
things," she said. "But 1 put
175% of myself Into everything 1
do. Especially the work with
kids. Young p>eople are our fu
ture. I just launched a new five-
part health serles-"Oh My Ach
ing Back'-here at WSOC-TV on
February 8. You might could ap
ply the title to me sometimes."
And so she rocks on. Chal
lenging Famous Amos for the
World Cookie Title. Cooking
weekend dinners like a Creole
Queen. Campaigning for sick
kids. Still finding time to be a
friendly shoulder for co-workers
to cry on. And looking good
while keeping her sense of hu
mour. Any way you look at it.
B.J. Harrison Is a sweetheart.
Long may she wave.
HERITAGE
Bom Into the numbing poverty
of St. Louis slums, right after the"
turn of the century. Josephtne
Baker seemed to have little fu
ture prospects.
She went on to play the Cotton
Club In Harlem, as both a danc
er and lazz singer.
Falling to reach the stardom
she craved, Josephine dec
amped for Europe In the Roar
ing 20s. The French loved her -
and made her an overnight star.
StUl a star when World War 11
cEime. she joined the French Re
sistance against the Nazis. She
won the Croix de Guerre for her
heroism In working with the
French underground forces of
Gen. DeGaul.
After the war she established
an Interracial orphanage.