Circle Star Theater

It was late August and the weather was just perfect. There was that pesky problem with the ozone. We lived in Palo Alto Ca. which was basically surrounded by mountains and hills. This created a bowl of sorts .The General Motors plant just in Freemont was producing great quantity of breath choking smog. It seemed to roll over the area and never leave except for those times when the plant shut down or there was a very strong wind that blew all of this glow from us. I call it a glow simply due to the fact that it had a look of copper glaze and you could taste it, like a nasty metal . There were days that you could not see a thousand yards. I can smell that disgusting tincture even today so many years later. I had grown up in the east and had never known such a foul atmosphere. In addition to this and if this alone was not enough, Mount St. Helens had just blown her top . She decided to pollute the entire world for a time but especially the west coast. The winds from Washington blew straight down through the Bay Area.

At the time I was selling cars for a dealer in Burlingame. Every day we would come to work and find all the vehicles coated with this fine black film. Everything was coated. This was a combination of fine volcanic ash and smog. Every  day we had to wash all the cars .

I do digress. Highway US 101 was the main byway from north to south four or five lanes in either direction, I can’t quite remember which. Between my job and my home was a town called San Carlos. This was the home of the Circle Star Theatre.

It was a theatre in the round and had its’ stage revolve so that all may have a view of the entertainers. I believe they sat around 10,000. It was upon this warm August evening that Janell and I attended a concert here. The show was to begin around 8:30 so we arrived a bit early.

The headliner was Lou Rawls and the warm up was Nancy Wilson. Rawls was an amazing talent and had many hits. Nancy Wilson was no slouch either and was an entertainer in her own rite. I had seen Lou Rawls at the Playboy clubs and was looking forward to this evening. I had never seen Wilson.

Janell and I made our way into the building and to our seats it appeared that we and a handful of others were the only whites in the place. It seemed a bit uncomfortable for a while but we just forgot about it and waited for the show to start. At the appointed time Nancy Wilson came to the stage and was mildly applauded. She had on a long sequined gown and looked so professional. She started her show and by the second song was being harassed, cat calls and evil things being said. It was not something she was used to and you could tell. I had no idea why this was going on for she was doing a great job. Into the third song , something amazing happened. As she tried to sing and was being booed, Lou rawls came to the stage and took the microphone from her . He thanked her for her performance and bid her goodnight.

This is where I will always remember him as a man of great integrity. As she disappeared from sight, he began to chastise that audience without halt or care for his words. This demure , tiny man , He was only about five foot two, silenced these pack of wolves and shamed them. It was amazing.

He then went into his act and it was spectacular. Another memory of respect and consideration.