Here's another story from another devoted fan from Brazil, about being an extra for Leif's 1981 movie, "Longshot": Text by Lucia © March, 2001 HOW TO KISS LEIF GARRETT IN 5 EASY STEPS My story with Leif Garrett goes all the way back to 1976. A new TV show was on my little screen. First time I laid eyes on those gold locks was on Three for the Road. Like every other girl watching that show, it was love at first sight. I was a nine year-old girl urging to get married. Leif was the one for me; I had no doubt about it. He looked like a prince: had perfect hair, gorgeous eyes, and best of all...he was American (you have no idea what that meant to a Cold War child). He was not very big here in Brazil, but I was persistent. On my way back from school, I used to stop at a Newsstand and go through every single magazine that I thought could carry an article on him. One day, finally, I got him in paper; he came out on a Brazilian teen magazine called POP. I spent two weeks staring at the magazine, day and night. Before I went to bed, I set the magazine opened by my pillow so I could take a glance while I slept, and I also thought that would encourage my dreams about him. There was never a Leif Garrett fever here except for my bedroom, my own sacred shrine, all dedicated to him. I built it with the sweat of my allowance, spent all my money buying American magazines. The only problem with those magazines was that they were obviously in English and I couldn't understand a word. So STEP NUMBER 1- I had to overcome the Language barrier to be able to learn more about him, and how to sweep him off his feet, since those magazines had so many tips. I started studying English like a maniac and I also wanted to be American so bad, I even become a real Patriot. I thought I was born in Brazil by mistake, one of those fate's ironies. I used to torture my family, English teachers, and friends with endless Leif Garrett sessions. We started having fewer and fewer house guests, I wonder why... STEP NUMBER 2- I had to get my behind in America or else I would never be able to meet him. In 1980, I walked a little further down "the road of success"...an American boy from L.A. (how convenient) was visiting Brazil. He was a big soccer fan and my father was a Sports Broadcaster (how convenient). They met at a Soccer Match and my father invited him over. He knew I would like to meet him and try out my English. I was so glad to finally get to know a real American teen, I felt closer to my dreamland. After spending sometime with him, I knew I was not supposed to be Brazilian; somebody messed up God's files and I ended up here. He went back to L.A., and we became pretty good friends. So, my mailbox was my ticket to ride...he became my pen pal. I had to take some action if I wanted to go to the U.S. and meet Leif, so I did. I called the American Embassy asking if they could get me an apartment in L.A. close to Leif Garrett's place. Of course, they didn't do that kind of thing nor did they know who he was. Later that year, Paul invited me to spend the Holidays with his family in L.A. Well, it would have been great news if only my father's job was not jeopardized by the Network's bankruptcy. Those were tough times for my family and Brazilian money was worth nothing. Praying was all that I could do, so I did it day and night. I also sold some of my stuff to help save money for my trip. My sales summed up to $50- not a great help, but I was obsessed. I was going to L.A. and I was going to meet Leif Garrett if it was the last thing I did. The Network closed down but my father started his own Radio Show, so I was back in business. By the end of November, I was on top of the world, aboard a Pan Am flight to L.A., dressed up as a Native American. When I arrived in L.A., I felt like I was home, I could finally have access to a lot of Leif Garrett material: magazines, records, TV shows, and to get a hold of the Real Thing, too. That was STEP 3 - time to meet Leif Garrett. My luggage was filled with gifts for Leif, including a soccer jersey from the Brazilian National team autographed by Pelé. My father got that for me, because I knew he liked soccer but he was very worried about me getting disappointed. He thought I would never meet him. Come on, L.A. is a big town, he was certainly not waiting for me at the airport. I was going to be there for 3 months so I had to think fast...I went to every place in L.A. that I thought Leif could be. I had a long list to be checked. No luck. So, I decided to make Paul's mom drive me around what I thought would be his neighborhood. I actually wanted to ring bells and ask around if they knew where Leif Garrett lived, but she stopped me from this insanity. I was getting pretty desperate; time was flying by and no Leif yet. One night, as we were looking at some family pictures, it finally hit me...soccer- I will meet him through soccer. This American family was crazy about soccer, they were big L.A. Aztecs fans, and they knew everybody on the team. Leif had participated on a contest where an Aztecs' fan would win a dream date with him. Therefore, the people from the team should have his manager's phone number. With the help of my father and my American mother, who were able to pull some strings, we got a hold of his manager. He thought my story was very interesting, and he never thought he could ever take a bite out of the Latin American market. I was good publicity for a start. So he set up a "date" for us. To me it was a date- I went to the hair dresser, got a new outfit, wore make up for the first time. For him, it was just another day working on the set of "Longshot Kids" movie. I didn't know that he was going to be there, because my mother told me that there was a possibility that he might be there. It was January 31, 1981. A big day for me. As we drove by the Malibu Pier parking lot, he was standing there, talking to some guys by a limo. I felt like I was dreaming. The sunset was beautiful, and he looked gorgeous- even better than I could ever imagine. He was wearing a green suede jacket and Levi's. He had just gotten his haircut for this part. It was perfect. I was still in the car; I wanted to jump out, run to him and ask him to marry me. STEP 4 - Get him to fall in love with me. As I came out of the car, he was expecting me to show up, since his manager told him there was this freak that came from Brazil just to meet him. As I approached him, he said my name and I went mute...I didn't know what to do: if I kissed him, if I smiled, if I cried, or if I should go down my knees and propose to him. So, my mom helped me out a little by suggesting we took some pictures, and then she told me to give him all the gifts. It was so hard to start out a conversation with him, trying to be cool and to look cool when my mouth was dry like sand. His manager had contacted a photographer who was an International correspondent for a Brazilian magazine, who took several pictures of us. Soon, his mother Carolyn and sister Dawn arrived in a beautiful car. They had tons of pictures of him in the trunk and Carolyn also gave me a book that she had just finished writing. It was called The Leif Garrett Scrapbook [that Carolyn used a pen name as C.G. Underwood]. Dawn and I automatically connected, so I thought it would be the easiest way to his heart, through his family. With Dawn and Carolyn, I felt more comfortable, I could be myself, and we had a great time talking and laughing. We were making such a fuss on the set, that the director finally asked us to join in as extras in the restaurant scene. We were great extras, we spilled OJ on the table and we had a ball together. STEP 5 - Get Leif to kiss me before midnight: It was very late at night, and the director was ready to give the crew a break for dinner. He invited us to join him at his table. Oh, my God! My "date" was almost over and the spell would be broken...I still didn't get him to kiss me, because after all, even though I felt like it, I couldn't just grab him and kiss him. He would have to take the initiative. Then it hit me...I started talking to Dawn about girls that Leif dated, if he was going steady and if she thought I had a chance with him...she said that he dated a lot of girls but he wasn't seeing anybody special at the time. My mom was ready to go home and as we were saying good bye to Carolyn, I saw Dawn whispering in Leif's ear. When I went to him to say goodbye, he kissed me twice and gave me a big hug. I knew that she had asked him to do it, but I was OK with it. I got what I wanted. It was my very first kiss ever, and it had to be with Leif Garrett. We exchanged phone numbers and Dawn was supposed to come to Brazil with me to stay at home. She seemed very excited about it, she said she would take backgammon and a deck of cards so we could play during the long flight. She said she'd call me so we could make plans for the trip. She didn't call me right away. It took her 3 long days to do it and when she did, she told me she was unable to go to Brazil because she was starting a singing career, and she had some tests and some studio work at the time. I was glad enough that she even took the time to call me. I went back to Brazil and he never asked me to marry him, as you all might know, but I did live up to my dream. Needless to say, I had to find a way to keep his "kiss cells" on my lips, so I developed a tooth brushing technique where I'd wrap a towel around my lips to prevent water from washing them off. I did that for a month, believe it or not. After awhile, I was able to get normal dates, go out with real boys and I even fell in love. But some things remained my love for America and very fond memories of Leif Garrett. In 1986, I moved to L.A. and became a permanent resident. When I first got there, I called Scotti Brothers and the Screen Actors Guild to see if I could get in touch with him and his family. I got some phone calls from some people who gave me phone numbers of some other people, but I never had the guts to call. Soon after that, I was working at the Beverly Center, a big Shopping Mall in L.A. A guy came in the store with a friend and as I started helping them, I didn't realize that was Leif Garrett. As I heard his friend call him by his name, I looked up and I couldn't believe my eyes. He looked different, very different and we all know why. Unfortunately, I told him who I was but he didn't seem to have remembered me. He said that he remembered having an encounter with a Brazilian girl, but he said he could not recognize me. But, that was not scary. The scariest thing was that I could not recognize him. But, I still cherish these memories and keep them in a special place in my heart. He was a very big part of my life, even though he doesn't know it. He taught me how to speak English; he made me move to America and made me pursue my dreams. Thank-you, Dear !!! ~~~ Lucia, now 33, works as a freelancer in a Rock Radio Station in Brazil. She graduated from Marketing and Advertising. She lives with her husband and 5-year-old daughter. BACK TO Leif Gallery 2 (page 1) Next on to Leif Gallery 2 (page 3)