I Hated to Do It: Stories of a Life Read Online Free PDF

bombing and written a best-selling book questioning the moral wisdom and even the strategic military value of bombing a city of our enemies, the Germans, who were out to destroy the civilized world as we knew it and our way of life.
    We know that the slaughterhouse was a dreadful experience. We know when the bombing was over, Kurt was forced to clean up the bodies, and we know he saw some fellow soldiers abused and murdered. Kurt and I each knew what the other experienced during World War II, and we only discussed it to the extent that we did not have to conjure up the too-painful memories that we both wanted to suppress.
    Cat’s Cradle
—Save Me from Hilly
    I became familiar with Kurt Vonnegut Jr., as I told you, when a young new client wanted to make a film based on the novel
Cat’s Cradle
. He didn’t get the movie made, but once I was already doing work for Kurt, he did one day say, “Don, save me from Hilly.” Hilly Elkins was in the entertainment business in many ways, agent, manager, producer, promoter, and he had talked Kurt into giving him an option to produce a film based on
Cat’s Cradle
. I do not remember what, if anything, Kurt was paid for the option, but it had to be a mere token, because the total price for the motion picture rights was $50,000.
    The option was entered into in 1968, just before I represented Kurt, so when he asked me to save him from Hilly, it was because each time the option was about to run out, Hilly would charm Kurt into extending the option without paying any additional money. I saved Kurt from Hilly by saying no more free option extensions. I was pretty insistent, despite Hilly’s urgings. The option was running out at midnight and there was a delivery to my apartment of a check for $50,000 at ten thirty, beating the deadline by an hour and a half.
    Hilly, born in Brooklyn, had started his show business career as an office boy in the mail room of William Morris Agency. He shortly thereafter had his own agency with some important clients. One of his early production hits was
Golden Boy
, a musical that starred Sammy Davis Jr. His biggest hit was
Oh! Calcutta!
in 1960, which featured nudity and a lot of four-letter words. It was panned by critics but survived for twenty years. The critic Clive Barnes wrote in the
New York Times
: “Voyeurs of the city, unite, you have nothing to lose but your brains.” Hilly did not mind the criticism, as it sold tickets. Hilly had six wives, one of whom was the star Claire Bloom.
    Through the years there were many communications with Hilly, as he was holding the film rights in a very valuable property. He didn’t get a film made, although there were several attempts. We dined with Kurt and Hilly one evening, and it was an experience. Kurt respected the ability that Hilly had to influence people in a very friendly manner, but at the same time Kurt was skeptical of whether Hilly would ever get the film made. In fact it was Kurt’s frequent comment that the film would never be made because no one wanted to work with Hilly. Hilly died of a heart attack December 1, 2010. He left a lot of memories with those of us who knew him. He was smart and charming.
    Kurt Vonnegut and the Heaven Stuff
    Things were tough in West Barnstable when Kurt was trying to write, trying to sell Saabs, and trying to earn enough to feed his family. He was a lousy car dealer, ran out of money, and desperately needed cash. He asked all of his good friends in town, the library board members, the merchants he knew in town, and no one would guarantee his loan.
    Kurt stopped in to Dexter Lean’s shoe store. Dexter was on a ladder putting shoes on to the top shelf. He took one look at sad Kurt and asked what the trouble was. When Kurt told him, Dexter without hesitation said, “Send the papers up the ladder.” Atop the ladder, he signed them and sent them back down. Kurt’s family had food to eat for a while.
    Eventually Kurt repaid this remarkable gesture of Dexter’s in a