Don Collier W
hen I was a youngster my family wasn’t wellto-do. That’s actually not being honest – we were poor. One year things were so bleak there wasn’t enough money for a Christmas tree. In Ocean Park, California there aren’t many options for trees, it’s not like you can go out in the local woods to chop one down so my mother got creative. She took my sister and me by the hand out to a local vacant lot to hunt for a tumbleweed. Soon enough we found one. Tumbleweeds are free so we caught it, took it home, and decorated it with the light bulbs left over from better years. I don’t remember having many Christmas presents. One year I got a flashlight. It wasn’t until the next Christmas I got the batteries for it. I knew my folks were doing the best they could so I didn’t mind, I understood there just wasn’t a lot to go around. During the holidays we’d go look at the other trees in yards and in store windows because the streets were decorated. It only cost a nickel to ride from Ocean Park to Santa Monica and kids rode for free so my mom would bundle us onto the bus and we’d look at all the lights. If we were really having a great week we might see a movie. Back then a movie was 10 cents, except for Saturday when the price went up to 11 cents. For that nickel you could watch two movies and
a news reel, quite a bargain, assuming you had the nickel. The best Christmas present I ever got as a child was in 1937 when my dad received a check from the government related to serving in the War. It was a huge amount for our family so he surprised my mom with a wringer washing machine, and I got a Mercury bike – he spent a whole $8 on it! As an adult working on television there would be Christmas parties at the studio with the cast, crew, people who worked at NBC. I’d often shake my head and wonder about how much life changes. Who’d have thought I’d go from an $8 bicycle and a tumbleweed Christmas tree to a Hollywood party in one lifetime? In my mind I’m still the kid who got a flashlight with no batteries and was happy about getting it. I’ve worked in over 200 movies and television appearances, but in a long and busy career I’ve only had one Christmas story. The Young Riders filmed a Christmas Episode entitled Star Light, Star Bright. In it the riders think they own half a gold mine as repayment for a kindness one of them has shown to a prospector. Now I’m at the age where if I do get to act in a Christmas movie or TV episode, there’s a decent change the role might be Santa Claus. I wonder if he gets batteries in his Christmas flashlight or just depends on Rudolph’s nose? Merry Christmas to all! cinamagic dec 2013 - jan 2014
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