"YES, DR. IVY?"

If you've worked in this business for any length of time, you've no doubt met (and probably at some time had to work with or under) producers or directors who seemed to enjoy exercising their authority over others - celebrities who flaunted their sense of superiority, all the while making you feel less than accepted or respected as an individual or as a professional.  But the REAL celebrities, the men and women who truly are STARS, seem to go out of their way to make you feel important, no matter who you are or what your position.  Billy Graham first did that for me.

I was about to meet 'the man' himself.  By then, the Rev. Billy Graham was already a household name around the world.  He had spoken face to face with more people than anyone in history, was a friend and confidant to every President since Dwight D. Eisenhower, "The Most Admired Man In America", according to a Gallup Poll.  And I had just been assigned by the ad agency I worked for and which had charge of his media production, to direct the Billy Graham television programs.

It was a heady assignment for a young director without a big network portfolio -- unlike the retiring director I was replacing.  Sonny Diskin was a veteran network television director who had covered the first NASA moon shots for ABC News.  What had I done?  Not much, not by then at any rate!

So here we were about an hour before Dr. Graham was to address thousands of people in one of his city-wide meetings, with a freshman tv director, me, about to helm the six camera 'live to tape' television coverage.  I was nervous as ('that place other than heaven'), though I made a noble effort to hide it!

I had already met Cliff Barrows and other officials of Dr. Graham's organization and they had accepted my boss's assurances that this 26 year old (who still looked 18 at the time!) was the right man for the job.  But I had yet to meet Billy Graham himself.  That was about to happen.   I entered a room just off of the stadium arena where Dr. Graham had been meeting with local dignitaries.  The head of the agency, my boss, Walter Bennett, and several others were there.  Dr. Graham was seated on a sofa at the far end of the room.  As I entered, he saw me, moved to one side, smiled and motioned for me to join him.  I sat down, turned to this great man of faith and worldwide fame, and blurted out, "Dr. Graham...."

I'm not sure what I had planned to say next, but before I could continue, he responded with "Yes, Dr. Ivy?"  I was caught off guard.  In the awkwardness of the moment that followed, he leaned across the sofa, put his hand on my shoulder, and said, "I'll tell you what, Tom.  If you don't call me 'Dr. Graham', I won't call you 'Dr. Ivy'.  Agreed?"  I replied 'yes sir'.  He continued, "You can call me Bill or Billy or whatever you like, but you don't need to call me 'Dr. Graham', okay?  I smiled and nodded.   He went on to ask me about my family, my church, welcomed me to the Billy Graham team, and ten minutes later I was facing a bank of television monitors directing my first Billy Graham telecast.  I would do scores of others over the next eight years in cities across America and capitals around the world.  It would become a lifelong friendship that I treasure to this day.

Charlton Heston was another true 'star' in the firmament of celebrities I have had the privilege to observe close up.  Several years ago, I traveled around the world with Chuck, his wife Lydia, and daughter Polly,  on a production that took us to some of the remotest out-of-the-way corners of the globe.  Whenever he entered a room, Chuck would walk around and introduce himself to everyone there in a totally unassuming gesture of friendship.  Though at the time he was one of the most famous actors in the world, he made everyone in his presence feel relaxed and valued.

One time in the Bangkok Airport, waiting for a flight with Chuck and a film crew, we were all ushered into a private waiting room.  There was no air conditioning and everyone was hot and uncomfortable.  After awhile, Chuck excused himself and left the room.  When he returned, he had managed to rustle up bottles of cold beer for everyone, and he proceeded to pass them out like a dutiful production assistant with the comment, "...Thought this might help!"   Charlton Heston was a REAL STAR!

Bringing this home...  No matter where YOU are on the ladder of success, and you may still consider yourself on a pretty 'low rung',  there are nonetheless others who see themselves lower than you on the proverbial totem pole.  Make them understand by what you say and how you behave that you consider them to be just as important as you, that you respect them as equals, even as you both respect your respective professional positions.   You will not only receive their respect, you may gain their friendship.  If they sense you are genuine in your feelings, you will also gain their admiration.  When the time comes, and I speak from experience, they will repay you by giving you their very best, just as I felt compelled to do for Billy Graham and Charlton Heston and others like them over the years.  "Yes, Dr. Ivy?" 

DON'T JUDGE TOO SOON

It was a busy day in the studio.  We were pre-recording choral vocal tracks for a Christmas Special.  Ralph Carmichael, who had been an arranger for Nat King Cole and tons of other Hollywood artists, was conducting the session.   Ralph was a legend in Hollywood jazz circles.  He liked to tell the story of trying to get musicians to play on a big studio session 'back when'.  The real pros didn't want to do it since it was considered a 'rock' session and in those days, rock was considered a second-class citizen by lots of  'serious' musicians.  The 'rock' score being recorded?  "Born Free"!   Shows you how times have changed.  

Anyway, I turned to Ralph and shared something I'd been going through.  I had made a decision about something that at the time seemed right  - even the more spiritual choice.   Yet, something came along that totally contradicted what I had done, left me floundering for what to do next.  And this wasn't the first time.   Ralph, considerably my senior in both age and wisdom, looked at me, smiled and told me a 'modern parable'.   Imagine your life as a giant canvas.  You are the painter.  Sometimes you feel in your heart that God is telling you to dip your brush into the paint and brush your canvas with bright yellow paint.   You stand back.  It looks beautiful, like the morning sun.  Then, before you know it, something or someone comes along and blue paint is thrown all over  your yellow, completely obliterating what you had done.  You feel betrayed, misled, confused.   God is silent.  But after awhile you gaze at the canvas and realize that God was not after yellow in your life, nor was he after blue.   He wanted to produce a brilliant emerald green!   It required your obedience to put down yellow,  something or someone else to add blue, in order to realize God's intended  result on the canvas of your life.  The moral of the parable?  "Don't judge the painting before it's finished!"    Ralph encouraged me through that little parable to never see the circumstances at any point of my life as the end, but rather as the next step in the journey of life, a step that will lead to other steps, that in the end, will produce what God has intended all along!   I'm often reminded of that story when I'm tempted to be discouraged because something doesn't go as I think it should, or I face a difficulty, or MY agenda gets changed and I don't know what's happening.   Pass the paint brush!  Thank you, Ralph!