The Predators (36 page)

The next day, of course, she was banished from Cannes. Paul didn’t give a damn. He had photographs of her being published all around the world. Very soon, he had a contract from one of the smaller studios in Hollywood for three movies. This finally cemented Paul’s reputation as an artists’ agent and manager. It was at this time that he signed some male actors as well as the “girls.”

In 1955, he took over the career of one of the most physically attractive stars of the Italian cinema, “Atlas.” As Atlas, he played the world’s fastest man in the costume drama of the Greek
Odyssey.
Paul immediately changed the actor’s name to an American-sounding name: George Niagara. In one year, he made three of the most popular movies in the world. Children in all countries adored him. He became an idol.

Paul was lunching with Giselle and me at the Carlton when he pointed out George Niagara signing autographs on the beach. Paul looked at us and shook his head. “I have just one problem with him. Even though he speaks perfect English, since he was educated in Great Britain, I cannot get him a movie in Hollywood. They think that he’s foreign and that they would have to dub him in English.”

“Maybe they don’t think he can act,” I said. “Look at him—he’s nothing but muscle. He could put Mr. Universe to shame. All they watch him do in his movies is run until he can catch the bad guys and beat them up.”

“There still has to be a way,” Paul said.

Giselle saw someone whom she knew. She waved and called to a girl, who came over to the table. A beautiful blonde, blue-eyed, bikinied beauty. Giselle introduced her to me. “Annette Duvallier, mon ami, Jerry.”

I nodded and smiled. Paul asked her to sit down with us. He knew her even though she was not one of his clients. Giselle later told me that despite the name she used now, she was English and she was one of the Blue Bell showgirls from the Lido. She had already had several good parts in French movies.

“It’s warm,” she said.

“Let me get you a drink,” I offered.

She smiled. “Thank you, but I can take care of myself.” Then I watched her as she took a liter bottle of Plescassier from her bag and began to sprinkle the water over her face and shoulders.

I looked at her, then at Giselle. Giselle knew what I was thinking. “Can I ask her?” I asked Giselle.

She laughed. “Annette and I are old friends. You can ask her.”

I turned to Annette. But she too knew what I had been thinking. “Yes.” She laughed. “On my pussy too.”

I turned to Paul. “It’s a new world. I have an idea that I want to talk to J. P. about.”

“Will it need artists? Maybe I could have a place in this idea?”

I looked at Annette. “Do you have an agent?”

“Not really,” she said. “All of my jobs have come from friends.”

“Then you sign with me,” Paul said. “Then you will have a real career.”

Giselle looked at me. “What are you thinking about?”

“There is one thing I will need,” I said to Paul. “Is George available for promotions?”

“For money he’ll do anything,” Paul said.

“Good,” I said. “Then tonight I will talk to J. P.; maybe this is the right time to get back into business.”

13

Jack had moved up the hill to Villa Plescassier to be with J. P. when he returned to Cannes. That left Giselle, Archie, and me to stay in his villa. But we still went up the hill to have dinner with J. P. every day. J. P. looked well, but he still wore the black mourning band on his sleeve. Giselle had told me that the old family kept that on for six months.

Earlier, when I had sent back the twenty thousand to J. P., I had spoken to him about why we had failed and given him all the reasons. I was very careful not to complain about any of his father’s plans to sell the water in the States. He had known how I felt about that even before we left for the States. Now I had to find out if he still wanted to go into the States with Plescassier.

That night I had the opportunity to talk to him about trying again. It was now only a question of time before other water companies would start going into the market before us. I looked at him. “The last time we went unprepared. The wrong packaging, very little advertising, but most of all we didn’t tell them of the many wonderful qualities that Plescassier has.”

J. P. looked at me. “You’re talking about a lot of money again.”

I stared at him. “And you’re talking like your father again. And whether you like it or not, that’s why we bombed the last time. Believe me, Evian and Perrier won’t make the mistakes that we made.”

“What’s your plan besides the money?” J. P. asked.

“I remember that some time ago during the war you were stationed in London. You also knew an important army officer, Colonel Matthew Fox, who was on Eisenhower’s public relations staff.”

J. P. looked at me. “What has this got to do with selling the waters in the States?”

“Colonel Fox was in the motion picture business and the early beginnings of television advertising in the States. He and an associate bought advertising time on many television stations. They promoted a cleaning product of their own and made it the biggest household product in the United States.” I looked across the table at him. “I can use that same idea to sell Plescassier waters in America.”

“But that was many years ago. TV advertising is more expensive now,” J. P. answered.

“George Niagara, who plays Atlas in the movies, is one of the most handsome men in the world. He drinks Plescassier only for his health. He drinks it when he exercises. There’s a well-known actress, Annette Duvallier. The world thinks she is French, but she is really British. She has a body that doesn’t stop, and a gorgeous face to match. All I need is Niagara and Duvallier in the tiniest bikinis coming out of the water on the beach of Cannes, each of them drinking and pouring a bottle of Plescassier over their beautiful bodies.” By this time, I was almost out of breath.

“It’s exciting,” J. P. said. “But then how do we follow it up?”

“I’m going to have TV exercising clips of them, together and separately, talking about their health and beauty exercises and Plescassier,” I said.

“And how much do you think that will take?” he asked.

“The film clips are cheap. We’ll make them here in Europe. TV advertising in the States, maybe one million dollars. Shipping half-liter and liter bottles of Plescassier to Los Angeles won’t be that much. And we would bring the two stars to Hollywood for an important promotion.” I looked at him. “You have the money. I know you are spending more than two million dollars in advertising alone in France.”

“You know a lot about Plescassier’s business,” he said.

“Working for almost ten years with you, J. P.,” I answered, “I had to learn something.”

“Why don’t you want to begin in New York again?” he asked. “It’s the biggest market in the States.”

“We were a loser there,” I said. “They don’t forget. Besides, the Mafia and the unions control everything there.”

J. P. sat silently for a while. I watched him. Finally I couldn’t wait any longer. “Do you still want to go into the States or don’t you?”

He looked at me. “It will be almost a two-million-dollar investment, not one million.”

“But the market,” I answered. “If you win, you will cover the world.”

14

I hadn’t realized that J. P. had so many friends at the film festival. I also hadn’t known that J. P. had financed several of the smaller films and one of them was accepted in the competition. On the weekend before the festival finished, J. P. had a large, extravagant party on Saturday night. He invited over one hundred guests for a buffet dinner and dance on his yacht. He ordered that the yacht sail out of the marina and anchor in the bay to show all the lights along the Croisette and behind Cannes.

I had been busy in the last few days before the party, trying to get the promotion for Plescassier water planned for the States, so I had not had time to be with Giselle. She told me that she was helping J. P. with the party. On the night of the party she told me that J. P. had asked her to act as hostess with him. I thought that was really nice to give her that honor, even if it meant that she would have to go early in the afternoon to the yacht.

I was curious. “What’s happening with Jack?”

“There are many political men coming to the party, especially Monsieur Mitterrand, who is minister of information and really controls the festival. There are a lot of rumors that he may become president of France in time.” She turned to me. “It’s a real honor for me,” she said. “This means that I am accepted in French society.”

“Where does that leave me?” I asked.

“You’re American. It doesn’t change anything. At the film festival they only care about American stars. Kim Novak and Susan Hayward will be at the party and they will be seated on each side of Mitterrand like a sandwich,” she said, laughing.

“I don’t know what is so great about stars. It’s just movies and the people that work in that business,” I said.

“There is also a lot of business going on here. You would never have met George Niagara or Annette and you would have never had your promotion idea for Plescassier,” she replied.

“Where am I going to sit if you’re next to J. P.?” I asked.

“I have had Paul arrange everything. You will be seated with him and George and Annette in a special corner where the paparazzi will be taking a lot of pictures.” She smiled. “And just for your information, Jack will be seated next to me with J. P. on my other side and a little French starlet, Brigitte Bardot, on the other side of Jack and then Archie on her other side.”

I laughed. “I hope he won’t take out his teeth and dildo at dinner. If he does, it’ll blow the ship out of the water.”

She laughed with me. “It would be funny, but it won’t happen. He’s a real professional and there are several producers that will be there that are interested in using him for a movie.”

“Does anyone know yet who is going to win the prize at the festival?” I asked.

“Nobody really knows. The jury has Preminger and Buñuel on it and their lips are sealed. But the favorite is Susan Hayward for
I’ll Cry Tomorrow,
” she replied.

“But that’s an American movie. I thought they were all against it.”

She smiled. “It’s a jury,” she said. “Like in a courtroom, anything could happen.”

*   *   *

But, it was a great party, I heard. Of course, the moment the motors on the yacht were turned on, I became seasick, and I spent the whole of the night in one of the cabins in the toilet. It was about one in the morning when Paul got me off the yacht and up to Jack’s villa.

I looked at Paul. “Where’s Giselle?”

“They are having the party go on to the Playgirl disco. Everybody will be there all night,” he answered. “Why don’t you freshen up and we’ll go down to the party.”

My head was splitting. “All I need now is some aspirin and sleep,” I said.

I closed the door behind me as I walked into the entrance hall. Arlene was standing there. “Are you all right?” she asked.

“I need some aspirin,” I said, and started up the staircase to the bedroom.

“I’ll bring some to you in your room,” she said. “I’m sorry, both the housemen are doing guard duty at the party.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll manage.”

I did until the room and then the world began spinning around again. When Arlene came into the room I was half on and half off the bed. “Let me help,” she said. I didn’t know until now how strong she was. She lifted me up onto the bed with her hands under my armpits. Then she quickly took off my jacket and shirt. “Still dizzy?” she asked.

“A little,” I said, looking up at her. “You act like a real expert.”

She laughed. “I spent ten years being a nurse in the American Hospital in Paris.”

I shook my head. “I never would have known.”

She gave me two pastilles and dropped them into a glass of Plescassier water. The pastilles began to fizz in the water. I looked up at her. “This reminds me of Alka-Seltzer in the States.”

“The same idea,” she said. “But this is just aspirin.” She smiled, looking down at me. “Can I help you take off your shoes and trousers, so you can get into bed?”

I smiled. “That’s real service.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” she said. “Now lean back and try to get some sleep. If you need any help later, just call.”

*   *   *

I spent the rest of the festival setting up filming of the commercials for the States. Luckily, Paul knew one of the American directors who made commercials as well as films. He knew exactly what we needed. But everything took more time than I had expected, because we also had to rework a complete bottling plant for the American market.

It was February of ’57 when I finally called Buddy in New York.

“What are you tryin’ to do now?” Buddy asked. “Don’t you think you took enough of a beating the last time?”

“Buddy, it’s a new ball game,” I told him. “And I need your help with it. We’re moving it to Los Angeles.”

“Why Los Angeles?” he asked.

“Two reasons,” I answered. “We’re doing big promotion this time. TV commercials, and exercise programs with Mr. Atlas and Miss France. We are publicizing their physical beauty and our water. It goes together, hand in hand.”

“You got that already,” Buddy said. “Why do you need me?”

“Distribution,” I said. “You still have the connections with the Teamsters and the other unions who we need to deliver our water into the marketplace.”

“But I got a good deal here,” he said. “What makes it better for me out there?”

“One, sooner or later, they are going to nail you with the numbers game and you know they don’t like you. Especially since you are black and married with a white girl,” I said.

“You’re right there,” he said.

“I read in the papers they blew Anastasia away in a barber’s chair next to the Carnegie Delicatessen. How long do you think it’ll be before Cioffi has to get out or is killed, and you’ll have no protection?”

“Cioffi already quit,” he said. “He moved to Scottsdale, Arizona.”

“Okay,” I said. “Then you can become completely legitimate. Vice president of distribution of Plescassier America. I got you down for thirty grand plus expenses for the first year. We do better, you’ll do better.”