In early 1977, my sister, mom, and I were back down in Jackson, Tennessee, for the production of Final Chapter: Walking Tall, the third and final installment in the Walking Tall film series. The third edition was directed by Jack Starrett, who was known as an actor for his role as Gabby Johnson in the hilarious film Blazing Saddles. Filming the Final Chapter: Walking Tall film was notable to me for two reasons: It was the first time I ever did cocaine, and it was also when I lost my virginity. Jack’s daughter was visiting him on the set for most of the production, and I thought she was hot. Even though she was maybe only two years older than me, she felt much older and experienced (she definitely had experience sexually). She seemed to be interested in me too. One night, she and I were both hanging out in the first assistant director’s hotel room. I could tell he had a thing for her too. She had to be used to it. She was so good-looking that I’m sure wherever she went, she broke hearts. That night the first assistant director took out a vial of cocaine and a small silver spoon. I was at a crossroads. I had never done coke before but didn’t want to look like a little kid in front of her. Everybody else was doing it freely, and I wanted her to think that I was more mature than my age. For the first time in my life, I took the tightly rolled-up dollar bill and did my first couple of lines. The rush was immediate. I got why people like this stuff. It was scary though. It all went back to when I saw my cousin Peter smoking that first time. Even though I smoked pot pretty regularly now, cocaine scared me in the same way that I got scared when I first saw Peter get high. It seemed so serious. But I did it. Maybe I was imagining, but I could’ve sworn she looked at me in a way she was not looking at the first assistant director. I think she liked me.
The next night I asked her out on a date. There was a movie theater across the highway from the hotel, next to the roller rink where we’d sometimes go to skate during breaks in the shooting. At this movie theater, you could rent a private booth in the upper balcony, all to yourselves. I can’t remember what it was I took her to see, but once we got up there in a little private space, I had what I considered to be my first authentic experience with a girl. I was so nervous. She took my hand in hers; I think she sensed what I was thinking. Somehow or other I got up the nerve to lean over and kiss her. And she opened her mouth. I’d never felt anything as hot as that before. It was the sexiest thing in the world. I absolutely loved the feeling. She slipped my hand in her blouse. She let me feel her. Then she whispered to me, “Let’s get out of here and go back to the hotel.” We crossed back over the highway together, holding hands and playfully kissing each other on the way back to her room. She and her dad were sharing a suite that had two separate bedrooms. We made sure that the door connecting the two rooms was locked.
When we fell into bed together, she resumed what she had been doing in the movie theater. That is, she was steering me through the process. She took my shirt off and she helped me take hers off as well. Soon we were both naked in the bed and as I positioned myself on top of her, she guided me. It was nerve-racking at first and I struggled a bit, but then all of a sudden I was inside of her. Okay. Wow. Now I understood. Now I got why this is what everybody wanted to do. It was the most incredible feeling in the world. The sheets were down below our waists. The phone next to the bed had been ringing, but we ignored it. All of a sudden, she looked toward the door as we both heard a sound, and then she quickly pushed me off of her. It was her father. He had been calling her, looking for her. The door leading into the room from the hallway evidently had not clicked shut when we got back from the movies. When he knocked on it, it had opened automatically. He had seen everything. I was dumbstruck. What did I do? What else? I pulled the covers over me and pretended like I wasn’t there. There was a pause that lasted for an eternity. And then I heard her father, the director, simply say, “Hey, Leif, next time lock the door.” And then he walked out.
To say that the rest of that shoot was awkward and uncomfortable would obviously be an understatement. But what a crush I now had on her.
Once I got back home to Studio City, she’d call me and we’d get together to finish what we had started in Tennessee. We both lived at home, so we’d rent cheap little motel rooms on Ventura Boulevard. I think the last time we were together, I hijacked my mom’s new gold Cutlass (I had just gotten my learner’s driving permit) to go see her. When I got home, my blissful postsex buzz was killed immediately by the sight of my mom, in the parking space, arms crossed and angrily tapping her foot. I was grounded for a time after this, thus killing any more escapes, at least for a while, with my first sexual partner. But my eyes were now wide open.