Michael In Cerritos
On August 14, 1999 I saw Michael Crawford perform in concert at the Cerritos Center For The Performing Arts. Looking at him through my binoculars, I noticed that his eyes were an intense shade of blue and they were to die for! Some of us fans suspected he was wearing blue-tinted contact lenses. He performed for nearly two hours and gave an excellent show.
After the concert, we walked over to the Cerritos Sheraton to attend a post-concert reception. When we first received information in the mail about this even, we were informed that there was no guarantee that Michael would attend. So we went in and had drinks and snacks while listening to announcements of charity raffle drawing winners. Then there was a big announcement- Michael was going to make an appearance! I let out a shriek of happiness and went up to about 20 ft. away from the podium with my camera ready to take pictures of him.
The moment arrived. Michael made his entrance from the back, through the kitchen. I was the closest I had ever been to Michael and I began to snap away. He was looking so gorgeous! At one moment there was some shaking of a tree near the podium. His agent Mort Viner was the one shaking it. He asked,"And what are you doing in the bushes with Bobbee (the fan club Executive Director)?"
Michael asked the audience,"Do your husbands know where you are tonight?"
Someone replied,"Some of us are not married".
Michael gave her a flirty look and asked,"And what is your name?"
A couple of people in the audience caught him with his belt undone at one moment.
Michael told us that he was catching a flight to Nashville to finish work on his Christmas album. Then he would go home to England to promote his autobiography "Parcel Arrived Safely, Tied With String". He also mentioned he would be in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve with Dr. Robert Schuller. Someone asked what he would be doing for New Year’s Eve and he said he would spend it with his family. Towards the end of his visit, he raised both his arms up in the air, and then was gone. I wondered if I was going to sleep at all that night.
We really appreciated Michael going out of his way to come visit with us for awhile. I suppose he was probably tired and would have just wanted to go back to his room and sleep, but he chose not to neglect the fans. A friend who came with me told me it was a treat to have Michael attend the reception.