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We just couldn't believe it! The three of us on the same movie lot with Herman's Hermits and being able to spend a whole day with them while they were making their first film: MGM's "There's No Place Like Space." It was all too much to be with these five fab guys from England, and boy, did we plan before we met them face to face. There were our clothes to consider, our hair, our makeup and a brush-up in the smile department and a rehearsing of witty sayings. All of which we completely forgot when the boys greeted us with "Hi, luvs!" We neglected our personalities entirely because our three pairs of eyes were on Herman and his Hermits every minute, except when we ate, and even then we almost forgot ourselves. When we arrived at the studio, we were chauffeured to lot 2, where all exterior movie shots are taken. When the car stopped, we trampled over each other and headed for the very glamorous poolside setting. Not wanting to appear too anxious, we slowed down to a gallop when we got near cameras, lights and all very important looking people. We threw our necks out of joint looking for "our boys," but we saw neither hide nor hair of them. And with their hair, it's almost impossible to miss them. All of a sudden, someone bellowed "Quiet on the set!!!" and everyone immediately became dumbfounded. Then our eyes popped as Herman and his four pals stepped from a cabana and ran up on the stage which was set right in front of the pool. They grabbed their instruments, listened to a few instructions from the director, and then began to sing. What they sang we don't know, because we were all too busy dodging people, who stood in front of us to get a closer look. But what a blast they had up there. When they'd stop singing, they'd crack jokes, especially Herman. When the director told him he didn't do something right, Herman gave a big grin and said, "Well, me mum thinks I'm good." At that point, we all had maternal instincts. After what seemed like endless hours of restless waiting, Lek and Karl talked with us under the shade of a huge tree because it was about 92o. And the five of us maneuvered to stand quite close to the water cooler. In between panting from the heat and gulping the water, we became good friends. We tried to act as natural as possible, as if this is something we do every day of the week, but the hemming and hawing and some nervous giggling gave us away. Nevertheless, we were interested enough in the movie they were making to sputter along as best we could. "We don't enjoy making films when we have to wait around so much of the time. We're used to the fast pace from our tours, so we do get restless. But once we're in front of the cameras, it's a real giggle." Do you think you've changed since you've become so successful? Karl answered this one. "Well, we're not as free as we used to be because of our bodyguards. But we're able to take more trips now because we have more money." Even though they like to travel, they do admit that England is their favorite country. We don't blame them. After a few brief comments they were off again to do some more filming. And we agreed with them about the waiting routine. We'd hardly started to ask them what we had in the back of our brains. But before we knew it, someone else bellowed "Lunch!" and we impatiently waited for the boys. Then from a distance we saw Herman walk slowly towards us with one arm draped around the director and another around a friend. We were thinking that the three of us could fit quite cozily into the spread of his arms. But we stayed dead in our tracks, hearts beating a mile a minute and hands shaking just as fast. Herman's boyish grin and English accent were no surprise to us when he said hello. It was our lead feet that got the better of us. "C'mon luvs. You're comin' to eat at the commissary, aren't you?" Brother! Talk about lead feet having wings!! We had to drive to the commissary in two cars, with the Hermits leading. Karl, Barry and Lek were almost hanging out of the back, and Herman and Keith were sitting solidly inside. The intensity of the heat was almost killing, but what a relief when we got inside the cool commissary. We walked single file to our table with who knows all watching us - er ... the Hermits. To get things on a more intimate basis, Pam asked him if he preferred being called Herman or Peter. "Either one. Both are quite nice. Herman is more of a gag." "well, Pet ... er ... Her ... uh ..." She lost all |
of her intimacy with that line, so I, Christine, broke in with a clever remark: "Have you ever slipped up on a song while performing?" "Yes, luv. But I just hum or make up the words. This performing can be a real laugh." I decided to charge on, leaving Pam to stare absently into her iced tea until she made up her mind about name-calling. "You know, the English have a real thing about having giggles and laughs. Is everything ..." "Ill tell you sumthin' that was a real laugh when we were in England not too long ago. All of us, including The Yardbirds, Donovan, and a couple of Rolling Stones went down some of the streets in London pulling off bowler hats from the heads of men and stamping on them! A policeman came up threatening to arrest us. Blimey, we weren't tryin' to stamp out blowler hats. It's a giggle. Besides, doin' sumthin' like that in England doesn't make us juvenille delinquents as it would in America. Anyway, we probably don't get that label on us so often because we have more respect for our bobbies than American teens have for their 'cops.'" Before I, Christine, could plunge in with a million other questions, Nancy, I must admit had to have her say; and we both turned red when she asked: "What do you like in a girl?" We had mentioned earlier to one another that an invitation to our school football game and to a dance that night might have been possible. But maybe she was waiting to see what he said first. "I like the English 'Mod' way of dressing - a good personality - and attractive appearance. I don't like a girl who smokes on the street." Pam and I waited for Nancy to start the invite. "Have you ever seen a football game?" That's our pal. "No. But in England we having something similar. It's called Rugby." "Well," (here goes, we thought), "what about other sports. How about surfing?" "Yes. We really like it. The only thing that bothers us is that the boards keep hitting us on the heads!" That would have been the perfect time for Nancy to get one on her head! Tired from long shooting days, most of the boys had come down with colds. They lead pretty hectic lives and ever since they started making the film, a typical day would be something like this: 5:30 - Their chauffeur, Willy, referred to as "the greatest guy," wakes them. 6:30 - Breakfast made by the house cook, "It's the greatest food we've ever eaten." 7:00 - Limousine takes them to the studio for makeup. 8:00-12:00 - Production of "There's No Place Like Space." LUNCH 1:30-6:30 - Continue shooting of film. 6:30 - Willy takes them home. 7:30 - Dinner. And most nights they spend in a recording studio until midnight. Knowing what it would be like answering questions in school the following Monday on what Herman's Hermits are really like, we made a list of our personal impressions. Peter: Aged 17; lead singer; practical joker with a boyish face and grin; is very relaxed on the set; friends with everybody. keith: Age 18; rhythm guitar; the quiet one; friendly with people he knows, but shy with us. Barry: Age 19; drums; very cute; became friendly after he ate his lunch; daydreams a lot. Karl: Age 18; bass guitar; friendly and funny in a quiet way. Lek: Age 20; friendliest one; best personality; always keeps the conversation going. Lunch was over much too fast, and we were sorry to see ourselves go. But we didn't want to hang around and have that excitement wear everybody down, so we left quietly. However, we went away with an awful lot to remember. The Hermits all said goodbye together, but Herman was the last to add: "Goodbye, luvs. Glad you could come. Take care until I see you next time." And he waved, turned and walked towards the set. When we left the studio, we felt as though everyone was staring at us ... as if they all knew we had spent the day with that special group. What are we going to do with new glow we've found? Said Nancy: "My sweater is never going to be washed again. In fact, people will have to ask my permission before they can touch me." Said Christine: "Well, my family is going to make a small fortune, because my brother, David, is going to charge 25 cents a person just to look at me." And said Pam: "Boy, I sure was impressed with Her ... er ... Pet ... us." |