How did you first get the opportunity to meet Larry?
The March 14, 1973 edition of the Philadelphia Bulletin newspaper featured an interview with Larry's brother, which identified that Larry resided in the Motion Picture Retirement Home in Los Angeles. Based on this information, I contacted the Los Angeles telephone directory assistance, and the second time I called, they provided the address. The first time I called, they said they didn't give out addresses, so I called again asking for the telephone number, and this time they asked me if I was referring to the Motion Picture Home located at 23388 Mulholland Drive in Woodland Hills.
Subsequently, I wrote Larry a letter and within days received a very nice response from him, encouraging me to write back when able. Surprisingly, Larry was responding to hundreds of fan letters per week at the time, and seemed happy to maintain this high level of correspondence.
Shortly thereafter, my dad had a business trip to Los Angeles, so I came up with a plan for him to visit Larry, and being a great dad, he agreed to visit. My dad's visit with Larry was very successful -- they both had a good time, and my dad was able to get me an audio recording of Larry answering all my Stooge-related questions.
The net result of my dad's visit was that it made me realize I needed to figure out a way to see Larry, too. So I saved up my money and a year later had sufficient funds to travel from NJ to CA to visit Larry. However, the only mode of transportation I could afford was Continental Trailways Silver Eagle deal -- 30 days of bus transportation anywhere in the country for $149 -- so travel by bus it was. As you can imagine, this trip became my gold medal standard of trips!
