Michael Davis
Michael Childers
When I first met Michael Childers, it took us about five minutes to discover that we had a very close friend in common: the late Steve Lowe, whom I’d met when I bought his church in Madrid, New Mexico, and whom Michael had met after Steve renovated the Lautner Motel in Desert Hot Springs. And every time we’ve met since, we seem to discover another friend or connection, some so random and unlikely that it’s almost spooky.
And then one discovers that this is a common experience when one enters Mr. Childers’s orbit. The photographer who was once called “the man with the golden rolodex” appears to be one degree of separation from nearly on the planet, from President Zelensky to the head waiter at Antoine’s in New Orleans, from Lily Tomlin to a fisherman, who at this moment, is throwing his net into the water off Goa. It’s really quite uncanny.
The North Carolina native believes it may have all started with a blind date. He was a UCLA film student at time, working a side gig photographing headshots for $50 to $100 a pop. He scored a TV Guide shoot with actress Kaye Ballard, who subsequently sent him off to keep English director John Schlesinger (Darling, Midnight Cowboy) company at the Beverly Wilshire one evening. “In walked Lee Remick,” he recalls. “And she sat down with us. She was a neighbor of John’s in London. He asked, ‘What are you doing here?’ And she said, ‘Oh, I’m here to meet the leading man on my next picture…’ and just as her mouth is forming the word ‘F’, in walks Frank Sinatra. And he sits with us. And I thought to myself, ‘I could get used to this life’.”
Though they took it slow, love blossomed, and Michael and John took up residence in Malibu while the director worked on the screenplay for Midnight Cowboy. They moved to New York to make the film and while Michael’s official role was production assistant, he was instrumental in forging relationships with people like Andy Warhol and his Factory crowd or the artists, musicians, and filmmakers who hung out at Max’s Kansas City. He was one of the first photographers, in fact, that Warhol picked to shoot “rich and beautiful…preferably both” for Interview Magazine. The stunning work Childers produced led to a staff photography position at London’s National Theatre (“The only American photographer ever to be employed there.”), taking shots of all the greats of the British stage. “They loved my pictures, thought I made the older women, the dowagers, look glamorous. That was my Hollywood training paying off well, knowing how to light women of a certain age.”
In London, Schlesinger was part owner in a popular restaurant and it seemed to Childers that every time he wandered in, he’d find himself seated next to someone like Mick Jagger or Warren Beatty. But he was never over-awed and he was always charming and, as a result, acquaintances turned into friends. “The Schlesinger connection certainly didn’t hurt,” he admits. “But I was paving my way with good photos. And I’ve always believed that when opportunity knocks, you have to be ready to answer.”
The couple eventually moved back to L.A. so the director could shoot Day of the Locust, but a few years later the AIDS epidemic was in full force and the loss of so many close friends in a very short time took its toll on the couple’s mental and emotional health. They eventually moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico where they found peace again on the top of a mountain. One day, Childers was approached by a friend who asked if he could help organize a fundraiser for a local AIDS charity called Santa Fe Cares. Childers booked a night at the grand old Lensic Theater on San Francisco Street, called in some Broadway friends (and some local, such as Carol Burnett), and One Night Only was born. Several years later, when Childers and Schlesinger moved to Palm Springs, he revived the concept in 2003 for Desert AIDS Project with Lily Tomlin as the first MC. For many years, Childers put on the show for Jewish Family Service and three years ago began working with the Barbara Sinatra Centre for Abused Children.
And every year, Childers spins the golden rolodex and a multitude of stars fall from the skies. Childers bats away the praise. “I tell you what’s helped a lot is the show having such a good reputation. Broadway performers talk among themselves and say, ‘You have to do that show in Palm Springs.’ And we have great parties, great dinner parties, gift bags. I believe in good PR. Treat people well and they’ll treat you well. Now, we have Broadway performers calling up and begging to be in the show.”
The cast for this year’s theme of New York New York is impressive: Jason Alexander, Sam Harris, Kate Baldwin, Alex Getlin, Blaine Krauss, and Keith Carradine. “(Carradine) is going to do an amazing song in our show called “The Lord Must Be in New York City” which Harry Nilsson wrote. It was meant to be our theme music for Midnight Cowboy, but “Everybody’s Talking at Me’ tested better. It’s funny because our neighbor in Malibu at the time was Bob Dylan and John and I told him about the movie and he said he’d like to write a song for it. Months later, we were in New York and we received a little packet that said “Bob Dylan Productions” and a note from Bob saying, ‘Sorry this is so late, but maybe you can still use it. It was too late, but the song was “Lay Lady Lay”.”
Did Childers just say he’s friends with Dylan? Of course he is.
