FEATURES

Time was, if Chuck Negron had invited comedian Howie Mandell to play the Sands with him, it would mean Mandell had arrived - big time. But last month, the tables were turned; Mandell was headliner now, and Negron played second banana. At first, the audience couldn't quite place him and only a smattering of polite applause greeted the former lead singer of Three Dog Night. But once Negron intoned the first soulful notes of "Easy to be Hard," the memories came rushing back. They went wild for the rock-and-roll legend, just as audiences did two decades ago when Rolling Stone Magazine crowed, "More gold than the Stones! Bigger Crowds than Credence! Fatter Purses than Elvis! Three Dog Night: See How They Run!" On his first tour since 1984, when years of abusing alcohol, marijuana, acid, downers, cocaine, and heroin took him to rock bottom, Chuck Negron warms himself in the spotlight’s glow . . .

Suzanne Somers sucked her thumb and wet her bed well into her teens; she fell asleep in school, skipped homework, and failed every subject but music. Eventually, pregnant and in disgrace, she was expelled. Somers was uneducated and unqualified for all but the lowest-paying jobs and she lived on the edge of poverty with her little son. Always broke, she wrote bad checks, hoping they wouldn’t clear the bank before payday. Eventually, Somers’ bad check habit landed her in jail. A frustrated creditor was even threatening to have Mafia-related friends kill her if she didn't pay what she owed. Her life was in chaos; she was crippled by debt and had a police record; deeply depressed, she seriously contemplated suicide. Suzanne Somers was not yet 20 years old . . .

Toma Turns It Around With Love

David Toma was Newark, New Jersey's, top cop. He fought vice, narcotics, and the mob; his history-making arrest record numbered in the thousands; his conviction rate, an unheard-of 98 percent. And, in 21 years of law enforcement, he never fired his gun. A master of disguise, the celebrated crime-buster who beat the bad guys with his wits inspired two hit network television series — Baretta and Toma. But on the day he needed them most, Toma's legendary skill and instinct failed him. Five-year-old David Toma, Jr., choked at the dinner table and, before his father got him to a hospital, the boy was dead. Wild with rage, guilt, and grief, Toma says he nearly lost his mind. Within four months, the squeaky-clean cop who never smoked, drank or drugged in his life was popping 100 pills a day. The dope pushers who formerly fled at the sight of Detective David Toma now boasted he was their best customer. "I was a drugged-out zombie," Toma says, "My career — my life — was over." . . .

All Writing Samples Copyright © 1998 Lois Seeligsohn