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47
Going back to Santa Barbara. You’d played at the Lobero, so you were familiar
with Santa Barbara…
I fell in love with Santa Barbara when I first came up here. I was showing
horses on the horseshow circuit back in the 1950s. This was before the Earl
Warren Showgrounds even existed. We used to have shows at Pershing Park
[near the waterfront].
But, when you sold your Beverly Hills home, you got a place in New Mexico
instead of coming up here.
Well, I had fourteen houses. I had a house here. In the 1950s and ‘60s,
Montecito was just a place with a bunch of old estates with boarded-up
windows on big pieces of property. It was quite wonderful. It’s grown a great
deal since then, but I was always drawn to it. It’s like living in the South of
France without the French.
You have something against the French?
I have
nothing
against the French, but it’s just like living in the South of
France without the French.
When did you buy your first home in Montecito?
In the nineteen-seventies, over by the Y on Santa Rosa Lane.
But, I had a very bad robbery and I moved away. I moved down
to Dana Point. I was on the road doing a play and I had a house
sitter who ripped me off. I just wanted someone to take care of
my dogs while I was gone. Then back to Los Angeles, where I met
Allan. I went on to New Mexico and he stayed in Los Angeles
trying to run our business. And, he said, “You’re just sitting there
riding horses and eating green chili and getting fat and I’m doing
all the work.” He then asked if I would come back to L.A. And I
said, “No.” I never liked L.A. He said, “Would you move back to
Santa Barbara?” And I said, “In a heartbeat.”
And, here’s the question we almost always ask: what would
constitute a perfect day in Montecito for you?
That’s very easy. Once I drag myself out of bed, Allan and
Tab with figure skater Aja
Zanova, in an NBC-TV special
“Summer On Ice,” 1959