You preaching to the choir on that working so many cons I became good friends with Jimmy, Walter, and George, and Nichelle, back then they were just “Actors” and not celebs.
Jimmy ALWAYS had time for any and everybody not one soul was turned away, even if they were stranger than some if you catch my drift.
The room parties at the Commodore back in the 70’s were legend, like you said so many good times were had by all
As with anything when big money gets involved was when everything changed. The corporate cons wanted full control and put the “Stars” on a pedestal which they would try and control.access to.
Creation Cons were when everything stopped being fun, billed as “one day events” rather than cons.
They even tried to tell the actors which cons they could and could not do which was settled pretty quickly by the actors telling them to eff off in no uncertain terms.
Hucksters rooms, film rooms panels that would last all night long soon became a thing of the past for the most part
I’m glad I was around before everything went main stream and sold out, sad what it has become now
It was a time when, if celebrities showed up to conventions, they just sat at tables like everyone else, no security detail, and talked to people. And they weren't afraid of their fans, I can't tell you how many celebrities used to come up to my hotel room to watch movies or play games or whatever. You'd have room parties and pretty much anyone could show up. This probably went on through maybe the late 80s or early 90s, before corporate cons became the norm and liability became a dirty word. Now everyone is terrified that something might happen. They don't want it to be their fault. Celebrities have become "special" instead of just someone that you like the work they do. The world really sucks today.
