Of Cabbages and Kings

If you like pop music of the last 50 years, Tony Starlight’s Supper Club in Portland is a guaranteed good time.

My wife and I took in the scene last Saturday night. Our table was filled out by my longtime writer friend Marnie McPhee and Mike Morrissey of Portland and Astoria. Both of them got the joke and participated in the musical hilarity that defines the Tony Starlight experience.

Tony Starlight is the alter ego of Brett Kucera, who is sort of a human jukebox. If you give him the name of a song, he’ll tell you who made it popular, who wrote it and he’ll sing a fair rendition.

Neil Diamond was last Saturday night’s show. Starlight also does Sinatra nights and others from the Rat Pack era. As Diamond, Starlight wore a black wig and did three costume changes. His back-up musicians and singer were excellent.

Tony Starlight’s is a supper club, and the food was appetizing.

John Kitzhaber’s attempted rerun for governor has sparked memories of Tom McCall’s comeback in 1974. McCall’s return to the hustings coincided with Jim Boutin’s return to the pitcher’s mound. A former New York Yankee, Bouton brought his knuckleball to the Portland Mavericks unaffiliated Class A minor league team.

At Willamette Week we captured the Bouton comeback by having our writer Richard Meeker visit with the former New York sportscaster at Civic Stadium (now PGE?Park) and at the Benson Hotel. Meeker found Bouton to be quite eccentric. I was dispatched to interview McCall at his home on Southwest Broadway Drive. McCall was a family friend, so I had already observed him at close quarters. In the meantime, I had gotten to know the former governor’s niece Mary Louisa (better known as ZeeZee) and gained a deeper sense for what psychologists would call the McCall family drama. Visiting with the former governor that weekday morning was like walking on the set of a Eugene O’Neill play.

O’Neill characters rehash their family saga. McCall told me about the day when his political career took off. It was a speech he made to luncheon audience that included Oregon Gov. Douglas McKay and a doyenne of the Republican Party. McKay was looking for an executive assistant. McCall so impressed the audience that at his speech’s end, the doyenne leaned toward the governor and said, “There’s your man.”

As I drove McCall down the hill to his appointment at the Multnomah Athletic Club, he said: “I don’t know what will happen to me today. Perhaps McKay will find me.”

I vividly remember my first meeting with Jim Flint. After being in my job for just a few weeks, Flint stopped by. In a very straightforward manner, he told me the city’s agenda. Every few months, Flint would come by to deliver a briefing. In 21 years, he was the most pro-active communicator among the city and county managers I have known.

Edith Henningsgaard’s terms as mayor of Astoria were remarkable for a number of reasons, but mainly because she professionalized Astoria’s city management. Her selection of Flint to be city manager was the pivotal move.

So many aspects of Astoria’s rebirth began in those years.

As Flint moved on, we followed his journey. On one of his frequent visits to Astoria, he gave me a tile coaster from Los Alamos, N.M., where he was city manager. Some 18 years later, he was astonished to see that memento from his odyssey sitting on my desk.

– S.A.F.