PAST "PERSONAL MESSSAGES"
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OK! I’m back! 2008 was all about travel. Seriously, I got home December 30th.
I’ve bonded with the fabulous dog we adopted in December; spring is trying to arrive; and, I am finally caught up with life. It feels great.

On the ghost front, I had some great experiences in 2008. The town of Eureka Springs, AR is so cool – and is home to the Crescent Hotel, purported to be the most haunted in the country. The spirits seems to love the hustle and bustle of the place. Our daytime walk through was so intense for me – the pressure from the presence of so many almost flattened me.

And for those familiar with my book, Hollywood Haunted, I’m excited to tell you I got to go into the Hollymont House – one of the most mysterious and active sites I ever wrote about. Thirty years after the original investigation, the lady we call Regina is still there. She greeted me excitedly and responded to some tests I set up for her. But making that chandelier oscillate over my head – that little trick was all her idea!

The investigation of the house near the former Sharon Tate death site is amazing...never seen anything like it. I was overwhelmed with the presence of spirits from the moment I got out of my car on the street...all up and down the entire street. Various neighbors have seen Sharon, Abigail and Jay, heard disembodied voices, and seen orange orbs. We can't get a compass to point true north in there; it can be anywhere from 18 to 180 degrees off and, in one particular spot, it spins around like a roulette wheel. What exactly does that mean?
There’s a vortex of energy that is stronger than the magnetic pull of the earth. It was pretty far out.

I even got into the late George Reeves house! It answered a multitude of questions about Superman’s mysterious death…but I’ll talk about that next time.

I’m working on several things. One book tells tales about the last 30 years of Lucy’s life A.D. – After Desi – as told by her dearest friend, the colorful Paula Stewart. Colorful? The woman’s a freakin’ rainbow. I’m also working on a documentary and book simultaneously. Can’t tell you too much about it, but I’m going to get a chance to talk to some amazing people and tell some outrageous stories – decades of them and all in the same place. And lastly, I’m developing a TV series and a psychic told me that was the one to bet the farm on. My cup runneth over. And I’m still writing for FIDO FRIENDLY Magazine while keeping up with my blog here, my MySpace page, Facebook page, twitter, LinkedIn and a few for which I’ve forgotten the passwords. Thanks for hanging in there, boys and girls, ladies and gents. The best is yet to come!

Laurie Jacobson
Santa Rosa, CA
March 18, 2009

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My latest book: Timmy's in the Well will be available in December.

The only time you will hear me use "divorce" and "my husband" in the same sentence is when I tell you that it was easy to divorce myself from the fact that my subject is also my husband. Sure, at the beginning, I felt extra pressure. I mean, this wasn't just any book; it's my husband's one-and-only memoir. And then there's the fact that it marks the 50th anniversary of his debut as Timmy Martin, one of classic television's most iconic characters. O.K., alright, I admit it. I was intimidated. If I screwed this up, it would be bad on so many levels.

All my concerns dissipated when I began hearing the stories. Ultimately, I am a fan of Hollywood, always have been. I've been researching and writing about it for close to thirty years - more if you count all those hours glued to "The Late, Late Show". But as much as I've learned, as many times as I have peeked "behind the veil," I was surprised by so many things in Jon's professional life. And I was astonished by things in his private life. While Jon portrayed part of an idyllic television family, his relationship with his own family was deeply affected as a result of his skyrocketing career. Did you know the suicide rate amongst the siblings of child stars is far higher than among "normal" siblings? Neither did I. That's the tip of the iceberg. For anyone considering putting a child in show business, there's plenty to learn.

The late '50s - early '60s is such a fascinating period, not only in Hollywood, but in our country: the collapse of the studio system, the burgeoning industry of television, the civil rights movement, JFK, rock and roll, Vietnam, the sexual revolution and the Sunset Strip. Peppered with names like: Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, Jane Wyman, Anita Ekberg, William Holden, Lucille Ball, Elvis Presley, Natalie Wood, Kurt Russell, Sal Mineo, Davy Jones, David Cassidy, Jay North and many more, Jon's path from toddler to television to teen idol is a pioneer's trek across some amazing territory. And in the fashion of that time, it has a Hollywood ending: He and his family find their personal happiness and their way back to one another. And Jon and I ride off together into the sunset.

Laurie Jacobson
Santa Rosa, CA
October, 2007

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Hi Friends and lovers of Hollywood,
Maybe I should make that old Hollywood; that’s what I love. Gable, Harlow, Valentino, Clara Bow…don’t get me started; it’s a long list. These are the people and the times that drew me there. I moved to LA in the mid-seventies, thinking I’d missed it all…but the tracks of those who’d come before were still warm. And the town was still full of a generation of waitresses, maitre ‘Ds, studio guards and hotel clerks with long memories. Back in the day, these folks held their jobs a lifetime. Take Estella Collier. I searched for her for DISHING HOLLYWOOD, never dreaming I’d find her. She was Sharon Tate’s favorite waitress at El Coyote and with Sharon her last night on earth. Estella worked at El Coyote for 50 years! The people she saw: Loretta Young, Kim Novak, Prince Ranier. So when I ordered breakfast at Schwab’s Drugstore, or had cocktails in Hemmingway’s and Fitzgerald’s shadows at Musso & Frank’s, I started asking questions. And I got a lot of information. A verbal social history was passed down to me. Most of those people are gone now, but some of their stories live on.

Like once, around1977, I’m on my way to a movie with a friend and he points to a run-down hotel. “Janis Joplin died there,” he tells me. So I can’t stop looking at the place after that. Every time I drive by, I stare and wonder until one day, I pull over and go inside. They deny the fact at the front desk – the days before it was cool for a celebrity to die on your premises – but they let me wander around. A guy comes out of his apartment and asks who I’m looking for. Sheepishly, I mumble something about Janis and he says, “Oh, sure, I lived here then and I helped break down the door to her room. Come on, I’ll show you where it was.” I cannot believe my luck! He tells me the whole story. Today, I consider it my first interview.
My natural curiosity led me down this path. The more I heard, the more I learned who and what to believe…and where to look. I found “runners” for lawyers and studio execs, who delivered brown paper sacks full of cash to get celebrities out of big trouble. I learned that in most of Hollywood’s unsolved deaths, somebody was “influenced” not to solve it. I know some things I have no right to know. I have delved into some people’s lives so deeply I have felt them in the room with me. And, according to psychics and parapsychologists I worked with for HOLLYWOOD HAUNTED, someone HAS been in the room with us from time to time.

I have written three books and contributed to several others. I have written and produced television documentaries, series and specials. Sometimes my pockets are empty. Sometimes they’re full. It’s not about the money. I love this town. I’ve loved it since I discovered they have pink houses on my first visit as a little girl from St. Louis. I love its history and I love the people who made the history. It calls to me; it always has. I’ve collected some great stories. If you’re looking for a guest speaker, call me.

I’ve met some great people and continue to do so. Recently, I married my own little piece of Hollywood history. My husband, Jon Provost was Timmy on “Lassie”; yes, girls, I got Timmy. We live in the wine country of Northern California. Life is good. And now you’re here. Even better. Sign the guest book and let me know you stopped by.

I’ll let you know when I’m going to be in your area.

Thanks,
Laurie