1 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Campsite Media. 2 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:11,920 Speaker 2: Omar Alboreto grew up in Panama City. He arrived in 3 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 2: New York in the nineteen seventies and soon charmed his way. 4 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:18,479 Speaker 3: Past the velvet rope. At Studio fifty four. 5 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 2: One night, he's on the dance floor sipping ice water 6 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 2: because he can only afford one drink. His perfect cheekbones 7 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 2: stick out and glitter under the disco light. He's surrounded 8 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 2: by celebrities and sex. And that's when he gets discovered 9 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 2: as a model. 10 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:42,159 Speaker 4: Got discovered as a model, moved to Italy, worked as 11 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:45,879 Speaker 4: a model for four years, and then moved back. 12 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:46,800 Speaker 5: To New York City. 13 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 4: And from model I made the transition to becoming a 14 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:50,280 Speaker 4: model agent. 15 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 2: So Omar's working as a model agent and one night 16 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:55,959 Speaker 2: in nineteen eighty three, he gets. 17 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 3: A call from a former colleague. 18 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 4: Hey, have you been hearing about these guys? These millionaire 19 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 4: guys that I hear recruiting like the best agency in 20 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:06,120 Speaker 4: New York City and they're paying like top money to 21 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 4: open an agency and they want to meet you. 22 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:12,920 Speaker 2: The meeting with guys handing out money is a meeting 23 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:17,680 Speaker 2: you take? So Omar said, yes, of course, come meet 24 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 2: me at my office. 25 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:20,319 Speaker 3: But he wasn't sure what to. 26 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:23,480 Speaker 4: Expect, so these three guys came in. 27 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:27,679 Speaker 5: It was a Friday night, it was like a movie. 28 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:35,119 Speaker 4: So one guy looks exactly, exactly spitting version of Kenny Rogers. 29 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 2: Kenny Rogers, the country singer, the chicken restaurant magnet. May 30 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:44,840 Speaker 2: not be the exact person that Larry Lynd is trying 31 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 2: to emulate, but that's the look he's got. He has 32 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 2: this big Santa Claus beard. It's almost like the before 33 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 2: picture from a Beard Die commercial. And his whole look 34 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 2: is just very televangelist trying to become a sex track. 35 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 4: Suit in an Adida's Wrong DMC track suit blue and 36 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:10,799 Speaker 4: white with Adida sneakers and I never saw like a 37 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:16,280 Speaker 4: bling blink rolex and a pinky ring with like diamonds. 38 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:20,880 Speaker 5: That's one guy, Larry Lynd. Then there's a second guy, 39 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 5: and he had glasses on. At seven o'clock at night. 40 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 4: This guy's wearing glasses, perfectly tailor navy suit, white shirt, 41 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,800 Speaker 4: red tie, overcoat, very Italian looking. 42 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 5: Michael Fitzmorris. 43 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:36,520 Speaker 2: So that's Michael. And of course next in the door 44 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 2: is Larry's muscle. 45 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 5: And at the door there's a big guy. 46 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 4: Italian guy, kind of heavy set. He didn't come in. 47 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 4: He just stayed at the door, like that's their bodyguard. 48 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 2: Ohmer's watching all this, but he's still on the phone 49 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 2: with somebody. 50 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:53,360 Speaker 4: And I said, hey, let me call you back, and 51 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:58,360 Speaker 4: I hung up, and the Kenny Rodgers lookalike, guy Larry Linn. 52 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 4: I'm knocking. He looks at me and he goes, oh, 53 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 4: all right. I go, yeah, oh my, hey, how are you? 54 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 5: He didn't even shake my hand. He goes, how much 55 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 5: money you make? 56 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 4: I'm like, I, uh, whoa, okay, I make I make 57 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:18,760 Speaker 4: five one year a week, which is a lie. 58 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 5: I was making like three hundred and fifty bucks a week. 59 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:22,600 Speaker 5: I make five one year a week. 60 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 4: He goes in his pocket and pulls a lot of 61 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,240 Speaker 4: money and just stands there and goes like this. 62 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 2: Larry's rapidly counting through a bunch of money with a 63 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 2: practiced flourish, like he's a blackjack dealer with a deck 64 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 2: of cards. 65 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 4: And he just kept going and going and going, and 66 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 4: he puts six thousand dollars in my hands. Monday morning, 67 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 4: you come in and work for me. I'm at the plaza. 68 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 4: Contact me this weekend. 69 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:50,119 Speaker 5: And they left. 70 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 2: Who the hell are these guys Larry Lynd and Michael 71 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 2: Fitzmorris and what exactly are they trying to buy their 72 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:03,760 Speaker 2: way into But with cash in hand, Omar didn't stop 73 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,240 Speaker 2: to ask what was really going on here, and neither 74 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:13,400 Speaker 2: did Paul Fisher. From iHeart Podcasts and Campside Media. I'm 75 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 2: Vanessa Grigoriotis and this is Model Wars episode three. So 76 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:24,960 Speaker 2: you could say this story is chock full of wisdom, 77 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 2: lessons about life, sex, friendship, and of course business. 78 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:31,840 Speaker 3: And there's a. 79 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 2: Saying that you're probably familiar with. If you want to 80 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 2: make money, you've got to spend money. And at the 81 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 2: Wind Agency, that seems to be as far as they 82 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:45,480 Speaker 2: got while creating their business model. When Omar and Paul 83 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:48,839 Speaker 2: get going, no pile of money is safe. 84 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 5: Everything was cash. Everything was cash. 85 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:55,760 Speaker 4: We will go to Western Union once or twice a 86 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 4: week and come out of you with you know, eighty grand. 87 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:01,719 Speaker 5: I'll hunt your grand you know. We would put you 88 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:04,240 Speaker 5: know forty running our barget each and walk back to 89 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 5: the household. 90 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 2: Is the Lend Agency a business or is it a 91 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:11,920 Speaker 2: charity to benefit people like Paul Fisher? A five oh 92 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:15,560 Speaker 2: one C three that could be called Ferraris for fuck Boys, 93 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 2: the Make a Wish Foundation for men suffering from permanent 94 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:24,760 Speaker 2: erection syndrome. Paul really does want to build a successful 95 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 2: modeling agency, but in the absence of expertise, the perceived 96 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 2: legitimacy that comes from spending shitloads of money is just 97 00:05:35,839 --> 00:05:36,839 Speaker 2: so alluring. 98 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:39,279 Speaker 1: He didn't give a shit Larry. As long as he 99 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 1: could come in on a Friday and Saturday night and 100 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:43,440 Speaker 1: do blow with a nineteen twenty year old girl, He's 101 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:44,360 Speaker 1: fucking happy as shit. 102 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 3: But was that all that was really going on with Larry. 103 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:53,719 Speaker 2: Paul may have considered him the ultimate party buddy, but Michael, 104 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:58,120 Speaker 2: who was much closer to Larry, saw a man in crisis. 105 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:02,800 Speaker 6: Larry got divorced or was getting divorced, so he went 106 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 6: through a middle aged craze at the time. At the time, 107 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:09,040 Speaker 6: he was forty one and we had a very successful 108 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 6: business who we had sixty million dollar, which at that 109 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:12,839 Speaker 6: time was a lot of money. 110 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:15,480 Speaker 7: That we owned real. 111 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 6: Estate in Houston, and he decided he wanted to go 112 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:21,120 Speaker 6: out and meet every girl in the world. 113 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 2: So the Lend Agency, Paul's entire career is built on 114 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:29,400 Speaker 2: top of one man's mid life crisis. 115 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 3: And our pal. Paul has no idea. 116 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:36,800 Speaker 2: He didn't even know Larry was married, and he definitely 117 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:40,160 Speaker 2: doesn't know the business in Houston is going up in flames. 118 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 2: So jumping back to those days in La Paul's first days. 119 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,360 Speaker 6: With Larry, he opened up a real estate office out 120 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:50,159 Speaker 6: there to keep me happy because between me and the 121 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:52,560 Speaker 6: fence post, he was out there just having a good time. 122 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:56,720 Speaker 6: And he also knew that the business was going down, 123 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:00,120 Speaker 6: so he wanted to enjoy the money while he had it. 124 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,000 Speaker 6: That was Larry, you know, and I was and I 125 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 6: was working, you know, seven days a week, sixteen eighteen 126 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 6: hours a day, trying to keep everything together, screaming and 127 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:10,480 Speaker 6: yelling at him, telling what are you doing? 128 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 7: This is not right. 129 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:14,760 Speaker 2: Because the business, Michael says, is about to go bankrupt, 130 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:19,400 Speaker 2: and girl crazed Paul Fisher is gasoline on Larry's mid 131 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 2: life crisis bonfire. Despite his business troubles, Larry's very motivated 132 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:27,000 Speaker 2: to keep the party going. 133 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 3: Maybe he even wants to take it up a notch. 134 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:33,000 Speaker 6: Paul was going on meeting girls in Houston and bringing 135 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 6: them in, and you know, but Larry was enjoying that. 136 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 2: But Larry also genuinely thought Paul could be a good 137 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 2: model agent. 138 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 6: Larry finally just said to me, Mike, look, this kid's 139 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 6: got a great eye. I want to open up an agency. 140 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 6: And I says, are you serious? I says, well, when 141 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 6: am I go bankrupt? He says, I only cost a 142 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 6: million bucks, don't worry about it. I says, okay, all right, 143 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:56,720 Speaker 6: all right, well we'll do it. 144 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:59,679 Speaker 2: It's only going to cost a million bucks. But Paul's 145 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 2: wrap burning through that money. The Lend agency has been 146 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 2: on the edge of a cliff. The entire Binge is 147 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 2: just one last meal before a famine. And Larry seems 148 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:16,720 Speaker 2: to be happy, but really he's spiraling and he's a 149 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:18,640 Speaker 2: dangerous man to disappoint. 150 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:22,800 Speaker 6: Larry had two sides to his personality. He was an animal. 151 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 6: If he got into a fight, he'd fight five people, 152 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:29,560 Speaker 6: you know. I mean, he was unbelievable with his hands. 153 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:33,120 Speaker 6: But at the same time, he was the most creative 154 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:36,559 Speaker 6: person you ever found in your life. And just put 155 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:39,400 Speaker 6: a thu like this. I know he wrote most of 156 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 6: Bob Dylan's lyrics. 157 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:45,720 Speaker 2: You just knew that Bob Dylan was going to feature 158 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:46,400 Speaker 2: in this story. 159 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 5: Now. 160 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 2: Michael later clarified that he was only four years old 161 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:54,400 Speaker 2: when all this happened, and certainly not around to witness 162 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:57,439 Speaker 2: any of it. And we should also note that Bob 163 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:03,520 Speaker 2: Dylan is one of the most gregonized people on the planet. 164 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:09,800 Speaker 2: But sometimes stories have meaning beyond their plausibility. So here's 165 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,120 Speaker 2: a story that Larry told Michael. 166 00:09:15,559 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 6: Bob Dylan and Larry lived together in nineteen fifty nine 167 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:21,360 Speaker 6: and makes in sixty on the summers, and they sang 168 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:23,800 Speaker 6: on the streets of New York City. And Bob had 169 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 6: a reel to real tape recorder and just tape recorded 170 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 6: all the songs. And they laid around smoking marijuana and 171 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 6: just Larry was writing. So they met in like nineteen 172 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,679 Speaker 6: fifty nine, maybe fifty eight, but probably fifty nine. They 173 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:40,480 Speaker 6: lived together for two in the West Village, Okay. 174 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:41,959 Speaker 8: And in the West Village in those. 175 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 6: Days, anyone that was anybody sang in the streets. 176 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:47,600 Speaker 8: They got their guitar and they sang on the streets. 177 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:49,960 Speaker 8: They sang in the little cubs, they sang in places. 178 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:53,640 Speaker 6: And Larry, who had a terrible voice, he did sing 179 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:56,280 Speaker 6: on the street songs. Well Larry would do it is 180 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:58,720 Speaker 6: he say to someone, give me a topic, and they'd 181 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:01,199 Speaker 6: give them a topic. And they sing the song. It 182 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:04,200 Speaker 6: come out of his head. Okay, there was no writing 183 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 6: the song. It just came out of his head. And 184 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,600 Speaker 6: that blew Dylan's mind. So Dylan got a real, real 185 00:10:09,679 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 6: tape record. Those are the old ones, the ones with 186 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:14,040 Speaker 6: the big reels, okay, and. 187 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:15,760 Speaker 8: He just sat there taping him. 188 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:20,040 Speaker 6: Well, Larry was shown, you know, just writing ten twenty 189 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:20,760 Speaker 6: songs a night. 190 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 2: So in this version of events, rumored mobster Larry Lynd 191 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:35,640 Speaker 2: is actually the Rosetta stone that unlocks Bob Dylan's famously 192 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 2: enigmatic lyrics. 193 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:43,800 Speaker 6: Larry told me hundreds, if not thousands of times, the 194 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 6: different songs that he wrote and what they meant, and 195 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:51,600 Speaker 6: that Dylan couldn't read his handwriting and so on. 196 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 2: So, according to Larry via Michael, these are the origins 197 00:10:56,320 --> 00:11:03,240 Speaker 2: of some of Dylan's most famous songs. 198 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 7: Maggie's Farm is about a whorehouse in Brooklyn. 199 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:10,680 Speaker 6: Okay, the Dyland doesn't even get close to it. 200 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:15,120 Speaker 2: Farm equals whorehouse. And Casey were wondering and I'm not 201 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:17,760 Speaker 2: going to think about what scrubbed the floor. 202 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 5: Makes me scrub the floor. 203 00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:23,280 Speaker 6: He just would go over all the different lyrics and 204 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:25,839 Speaker 6: tell him to me and I go, wow, He says, oh, 205 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:27,120 Speaker 6: this song that was about. 206 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:29,720 Speaker 3: Joes someone Larry knew named Joan. 207 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 6: He says, uh, how does the song go in my 208 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:41,960 Speaker 6: what do you call it? Bud brass, big brass balls, 209 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:42,920 Speaker 6: big grass. 210 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:46,720 Speaker 3: So Joan is the unnamed lady. 211 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:50,120 Speaker 2: And who knows if the bed was even big or 212 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:52,840 Speaker 2: brass at this point, maybe it was a futon. 213 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:54,640 Speaker 8: So when I said, I asked him, I said, what 214 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:55,199 Speaker 8: do you think of doing? 215 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:57,280 Speaker 6: He says, well, good for him, he says, at least 216 00:11:57,320 --> 00:11:58,520 Speaker 6: my songs got out there. 217 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:03,439 Speaker 2: Larry he kept up his songwriting even after this alleged 218 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:07,640 Speaker 2: Bob Dylan era, and later Michael went out and got 219 00:12:07,679 --> 00:12:12,480 Speaker 2: some musicians in Nashville and they recorded some of Larry's originals, 220 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:17,840 Speaker 2: like this honky Tonk number from the musicians that recorded it. 221 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:19,840 Speaker 3: It's called Devil and the Dollar. 222 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 5: Young Girls. 223 00:12:25,559 --> 00:12:28,360 Speaker 8: Page and. 224 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:37,440 Speaker 2: In a way, yeah, very romantic. All you need to 225 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:40,280 Speaker 2: do to find a young girl, apparently is look in 226 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:43,040 Speaker 2: the yellow pages and you'll find one. They're all going 227 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:45,360 Speaker 2: to have sex anyway, and you might as well pay 228 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 2: them so you can lay them. 229 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:48,520 Speaker 3: Really classy. 230 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:52,320 Speaker 2: At least that's what I thought when I first listened 231 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:55,680 Speaker 2: to the song but if you really tune in, it's 232 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:58,600 Speaker 2: clear that Larry's actually making fun of this way of living. 233 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:02,360 Speaker 2: It seems like Larry has some awareness of what he's doing, 234 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:05,559 Speaker 2: and in general, some of his songs are pretty great. 235 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:08,120 Speaker 2: There's one we only have the lyrics for, and it's 236 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:10,520 Speaker 2: got this chorus that talks about being a killer and 237 00:13:10,559 --> 00:13:13,440 Speaker 2: a king, a prisoner and a fool, having life go 238 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:16,920 Speaker 2: up and down your feet always in the balance. Larry 239 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:20,400 Speaker 2: may have been a rumored mobster with ties to Frank Costello, 240 00:13:20,559 --> 00:13:23,880 Speaker 2: as you remember from the first episode, and he certainly 241 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 2: seems to keep a lot of bodyguards around, but whatever 242 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 2: the truth about his mafia ties, he's a bona fide troubadour. 243 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:37,319 Speaker 2: And Michael Fitzmorris also had an alternative upbringing. 244 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:41,160 Speaker 6: I met Larry through a fellow that I work for, 245 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:44,760 Speaker 6: and he was over at his place and he was 246 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:49,319 Speaker 6: singing songs and I walked in and I was listening 247 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:55,760 Speaker 6: to him, and I thought, that's pretty good. And Larry 248 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:56,160 Speaker 6: asked me. 249 00:13:56,160 --> 00:13:56,839 Speaker 7: What I was doing. 250 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:00,240 Speaker 6: Was that time I was fifteen years old, I was 251 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:02,960 Speaker 6: peddling rings and pins on the streets in New York City. 252 00:14:03,559 --> 00:14:04,600 Speaker 7: I was making good money. 253 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:06,719 Speaker 6: I was making about fifteen hundred to two thousand a 254 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:08,640 Speaker 6: week back in nineteen seventy one. It's a lot of 255 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:12,680 Speaker 6: money in those days, and it was cash. Anyway, Larry 256 00:14:12,679 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 6: handed me his card and said, listen, I have an 257 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:19,480 Speaker 6: office on Wall Street and we rent apartments. Were the 258 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:23,280 Speaker 6: biggest agency in New York City. And you know, I 259 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:26,000 Speaker 6: think you're a smart kid. He says, we may have 260 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:28,120 Speaker 6: to cut your hair. My hair was at that time 261 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:33,440 Speaker 6: halfway down back and it was so fun. I was 262 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:37,200 Speaker 6: a vegetarian, the whole crazy thing. But he got me 263 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,160 Speaker 6: out of it. Within a couple of weeks, started eating 264 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:41,440 Speaker 6: cheeseburgers in front of me, saying this is good. 265 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 2: So Michael went to work for Larry and they actually 266 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:49,520 Speaker 2: formed a partnership selling land investments. They were hunting down leads, 267 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:52,720 Speaker 2: they were closing the deals. It feels a little like 268 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:57,520 Speaker 2: Alec Baldwin and Glengarry Glenn Ross A b C. 269 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:05,840 Speaker 8: They always be b closing, always be closing, always be closing. 270 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:09,040 Speaker 2: But at this point New York wasn't the best place 271 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:10,480 Speaker 2: for the real estate business. 272 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:13,160 Speaker 6: At the time, New York City was going down the 273 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:16,400 Speaker 6: down the tubes. It was very bad, and they in 274 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:21,480 Speaker 6: the mid seventies, everyone was leaving New York. So a 275 00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:24,320 Speaker 6: friend of mine was living down in Houston, and he 276 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:26,280 Speaker 6: wasn't the smartest guy in the world, but he was 277 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:27,480 Speaker 6: worth millions of dollars. 278 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:29,600 Speaker 7: And I thought, and at the time. 279 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 6: I'm nineteen, and I thought, if that guy could be 280 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 6: a million, and that can be one. 281 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:36,280 Speaker 7: So I said, come on, ri, let's go, Let's go Houston. 282 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:40,040 Speaker 2: They end up buying hundreds of acres of land as 283 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:44,120 Speaker 2: Houston's going through this major oil boom, and they put 284 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:46,040 Speaker 2: on these seminars. 285 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:48,880 Speaker 1: Redipline your image of what a salesperson looks like. 286 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:51,880 Speaker 6: We were doing seminars here in Houston. People learned how 287 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:54,760 Speaker 6: to become rich and buy blah land, you know, by 288 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:57,320 Speaker 6: real estate. And we had a fabulous, you know, two 289 00:15:57,440 --> 00:15:59,680 Speaker 6: three hour pitch and at the end of the pitch, 290 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:01,720 Speaker 6: we'd a million dollars with the deposits, and. 291 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:04,600 Speaker 7: Then they would come up and buy the land. 292 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:06,760 Speaker 6: And on the weekend we'd probably sell a half a 293 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:09,880 Speaker 6: million dollars with a property back in you know, eighty three. 294 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:11,200 Speaker 7: That was good money. 295 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:13,280 Speaker 2: This was all going on at the time that Paul 296 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:17,240 Speaker 2: and his college friend David Sheridan were in Houston with Larry. 297 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:22,160 Speaker 2: David remembers these seminars for the prospective buyers. He would 298 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:24,560 Speaker 2: go to them and Larry would stand at the head 299 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:28,160 Speaker 2: of the room just holding court with those Greenwich Village 300 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:29,160 Speaker 2: honed skills. 301 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:32,160 Speaker 9: He'd stand up there with his easel and he'd be 302 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:34,720 Speaker 9: showing path and growth and there'd be a big picture 303 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:36,640 Speaker 9: of a map and you could get this corner. It's 304 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:40,160 Speaker 9: the last corner. Parcel maps through all the different pictures, 305 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:43,320 Speaker 9: I mean, they're different parcels, and then we would be 306 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:47,240 Speaker 9: in the audience and we'd be like, I'll want one. 307 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:51,880 Speaker 2: David and Paul were in the audience, just creating what 308 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,200 Speaker 2: seems to be an illusion of competition. 309 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:57,720 Speaker 9: I'm going to have the corner, and then other people 310 00:16:57,760 --> 00:16:59,200 Speaker 9: be like, no, no, no, I'm going to get the corner. 311 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:02,280 Speaker 8: You're like they literally were buyers. 312 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,359 Speaker 2: Now the bodyguards are starting to make a bit more sense. 313 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:10,879 Speaker 2: But when Houston's economy crashed, things went bad. 314 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:15,720 Speaker 6: It was Climbacet and then it wasn't claws so and 315 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:17,920 Speaker 6: then the economy went down the toilet. And when the 316 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:20,520 Speaker 6: economy went down a toilet, so did all our payments. 317 00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:23,280 Speaker 6: And we had, you know, five hundred thousand a month 318 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:26,359 Speaker 6: coming in in payments, so you know, the business just 319 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:28,080 Speaker 6: you know, it got. 320 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:32,200 Speaker 2: Soft, which brings us back to Paul Fisher lighting money 321 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:35,919 Speaker 2: on fire in New York City. Now Michael knows that 322 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:39,480 Speaker 2: Larry wasn't going to do anything to get things under control, 323 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:43,280 Speaker 2: and he wants that million bucks to stop disappearing and 324 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:47,200 Speaker 2: maybe even grow. He decides to take the reins. 325 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 1: Fitzmorris would come in and scream, and everybody yell book 326 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:56,480 Speaker 1: book book like they were animals. People were so scared 327 00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:59,320 Speaker 1: shitless of Michael Fitzmorris. It was literally like Michael core 328 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:01,120 Speaker 1: fucking come in like a fucking mania. 329 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:05,240 Speaker 7: Fuck book book, make book, book book. I'd got to 330 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:06,080 Speaker 7: jump on an airplane. 331 00:18:06,119 --> 00:18:09,199 Speaker 6: Come on, let's book, Let's make deals, let's you know, 332 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:12,160 Speaker 6: and let's get models in, let's get go gosties, get 333 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:12,520 Speaker 6: them out. 334 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:12,680 Speaker 10: You know. 335 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:15,480 Speaker 6: I mean I didn't know what I was doing, Okay, 336 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:18,040 Speaker 6: I mean all I knew was you got to book 337 00:18:18,119 --> 00:18:21,480 Speaker 6: someone to get a job so you can make the money. 338 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:25,080 Speaker 1: Book book, you slaps. I'm sending twenty thousand bucks a week, 339 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:27,920 Speaker 1: your book. Your fucking asses off, book models, book models. 340 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:31,160 Speaker 1: We have brand new kids. We don't know what I mean. 341 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:32,760 Speaker 1: I don't know what you're talking about. It's gonna take 342 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:34,520 Speaker 1: a couple of years to build this freaking thing. 343 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:38,560 Speaker 2: There's a story about Michael that gets told a lot. 344 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:42,040 Speaker 2: It involves meeting a bunch of people around a table 345 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:44,080 Speaker 2: and Michael roaming around with. 346 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 3: A baseball bat. 347 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:48,280 Speaker 2: It's a little like the scene and the Untouchables where 348 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:52,160 Speaker 2: de Niro murders someone, and this. 349 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:54,360 Speaker 7: Was before the Naro did it. 350 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:57,760 Speaker 8: He comes in with a baseball bat, piss. 351 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:00,400 Speaker 7: I had a baseball bat and I was giving a meeting. 352 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:02,920 Speaker 9: Everyone's got a suit on, you know, and he's pissed 353 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:05,600 Speaker 9: about the sales are down. And I'm not worried because 354 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 9: my sales are fine and I'm ever at the head 355 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 9: of the tail. 356 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:10,720 Speaker 8: I'm not worried. I think it's a trip that this 357 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:11,200 Speaker 8: is going on. 358 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:13,240 Speaker 9: But there were people that were worried because their sales 359 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:17,000 Speaker 9: weren't fine, and he's walking around complaining, hitting the bat 360 00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:17,720 Speaker 9: against his hand. 361 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:18,720 Speaker 7: They weren't listen to no. 362 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:20,800 Speaker 8: All of a sudden, he's just started. He just erupted, 363 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:23,320 Speaker 8: and how pissed I am. And god damn, you fucker. 364 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:27,080 Speaker 1: We had this big gold fucking uh like toots and 365 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:29,600 Speaker 1: calm and big gold fucking thing on the table. 366 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:32,399 Speaker 7: Yeah, it was the King podhead on my conference. 367 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:36,200 Speaker 9: And he smashes the bat on top of the head 368 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:38,960 Speaker 9: which was next to other people's heads, and it's about 369 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:40,280 Speaker 9: the same size as. 370 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:43,560 Speaker 1: Everybody's head and smash it to fucking pieces. 371 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:45,480 Speaker 8: And everybody's like freaking out. 372 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:46,360 Speaker 7: And I got their attention. 373 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:48,800 Speaker 5: Now. 374 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:52,680 Speaker 2: David Tridan says, this happens in Houston, and it's actually 375 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:57,160 Speaker 2: the head from Michael Angelo's David like a replication of that. 376 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:01,359 Speaker 2: Paul and Michael, on the other hand, say it's the 377 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:05,320 Speaker 2: head of King Tut. But regardless of the specifics and 378 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:09,880 Speaker 2: regardless of the intriguing possibility that this was a regular 379 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:13,679 Speaker 2: occurrence and Michael had a bunch of spare statue heads 380 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:18,320 Speaker 2: stashed in a closet, it seems like what we need 381 00:20:18,359 --> 00:20:21,840 Speaker 2: to take away from this is Michael's wielding a baseball 382 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:25,600 Speaker 2: bat in a business meeting. The good times that Lynd 383 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:36,359 Speaker 2: Modeling Agency are taking a very ugly turn. So Paul 384 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:38,679 Speaker 2: at this point is just dying to get into the 385 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:42,040 Speaker 2: model wars, to get some really serious models and some 386 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:47,040 Speaker 2: serious bookers working hard just for him. But there were 387 00:20:47,119 --> 00:20:51,480 Speaker 2: other signs, lots of them, that Larry Lynde had things 388 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:55,720 Speaker 2: that were not just fashion world legitimacy on his mind. 389 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:00,320 Speaker 1: Larry, to be able to get laid was a bad 390 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:02,520 Speaker 1: looking guys, a little bit overweight, a little bit chubvy guy. 391 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,280 Speaker 1: But to get laid, he just would want to want 392 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:09,400 Speaker 1: there to be something that he was doing that would 393 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:10,720 Speaker 1: get them excited. 394 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:14,600 Speaker 2: Them being girls, and the something he was convincing them 395 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:20,800 Speaker 2: of would be a totally fictional conceit about who he was, 396 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:24,400 Speaker 2: what he was up to, aka U scam. 397 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:27,960 Speaker 1: So you know, it's a movie, it's an MTV video, 398 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:31,280 Speaker 1: and he'd he would start singing, literally start singing for 399 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:32,840 Speaker 1: the girls. Oh and this is my new music video 400 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:35,560 Speaker 1: that I'm going to be doing. And once again, these 401 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:38,560 Speaker 1: are young kids. These are eighteen, nineteen, twenty twenty one, 402 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:40,640 Speaker 1: twenty two year old girls, twenty three year old girls. 403 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:42,560 Speaker 1: So they believe any And you're in a limbo and 404 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:44,600 Speaker 1: you're in a ferrari and there's a modeling agent and 405 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:47,679 Speaker 1: you have a modeling agency there. You know, it looked 406 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:50,440 Speaker 1: like it was real. It looked like it was real. 407 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:52,960 Speaker 3: So here's how it would work. 408 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:56,720 Speaker 9: He sent out a notice to all the modeling agencies 409 00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:01,560 Speaker 9: in Houston. That we're doing album cover for the Jim 410 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:05,960 Speaker 9: Dandy next album, The Jim Dandy whatever the country Western 411 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:09,760 Speaker 9: Charlie Daniel, come a ban and if you're interested, send 412 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:13,120 Speaker 9: your models on Tuesday night at seven pm to our office. 413 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:15,879 Speaker 2: David Tridan witnessed all this when he was working for 414 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:18,600 Speaker 2: Larry in Houston along with Paul, and then. 415 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:21,119 Speaker 9: He says to us that day, all right, Paul, I 416 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:24,120 Speaker 9: need you to say, David, you stay, And he had 417 00:22:24,119 --> 00:22:27,199 Speaker 9: a set up around this full floor of office space 418 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:30,240 Speaker 9: one to receive the girls as they came in two 419 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:32,399 Speaker 9: to tell them what we're going to do. Then they 420 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:34,720 Speaker 9: got to by the way, it's a bikini shocks. It's 421 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:36,520 Speaker 9: a summer photos. So you're gonna have to go to 422 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:40,760 Speaker 9: the bathroom in February in Houston when it's cold and 423 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:44,080 Speaker 9: dark and put on your bikini and then go to 424 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:47,119 Speaker 9: this conference room and meet with this guy. 425 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:49,159 Speaker 8: And then at the end you're going to meet. 426 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,600 Speaker 9: With Paul Fisher, who's going to say, yeah, you did Gray, 427 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:55,000 Speaker 9: You're unbelievable. By the way, we're having this big party 428 00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 9: this Saturday, and guess what you're invited. And all these 429 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,160 Speaker 9: girls were in the lobby and they're all walking around 430 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:05,639 Speaker 9: our office in their bikinis and my twenty women and 431 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:12,240 Speaker 9: five guys at nighttime. The office building is reflected glass, 432 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:15,119 Speaker 9: so it's all mirrors on the inside, and it was 433 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:16,240 Speaker 9: like a ReSpectacle. 434 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:20,240 Speaker 2: This is just so weird and so very uncool, but 435 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:24,800 Speaker 2: Larry loved it, so he decided he wanted an encore. 436 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:27,679 Speaker 9: So then Saturday comes and he's like, I want you 437 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:29,760 Speaker 9: guys go out and rent a tuxedo because we're going 438 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:31,840 Speaker 9: to have these girls over this night. All these twenty 439 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:35,600 Speaker 9: girls show up, there's five of us in tuxedos, food 440 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:38,920 Speaker 9: during caterer limos downstairs. All right, ladies, we're going to 441 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:42,000 Speaker 9: go down to Boccaccio, which was the super high end 442 00:23:42,119 --> 00:23:43,000 Speaker 9: club at that time. 443 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:45,720 Speaker 2: But before they all piled into the limos to go 444 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:49,399 Speaker 2: to the club, Larry had an announcement. Turns out that 445 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:53,080 Speaker 2: Jim Dandies were not only going to do an album 446 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:56,480 Speaker 2: cover shoot, they were going to do the most cutting 447 00:23:56,680 --> 00:24:00,600 Speaker 2: edge thing an eighties musician could do. They were going 448 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:02,800 Speaker 2: to shoot a music video. 449 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:05,640 Speaker 9: A music video was like, oh my god, no one 450 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:09,000 Speaker 9: even thought that's like saying AI today or something, and 451 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:11,640 Speaker 9: so on the way out, I want you to say, hey, 452 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,920 Speaker 9: my name is Tammy Smith. Here's my phone number, here's 453 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:17,800 Speaker 9: my address. I'd love to you know whatever. 454 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:20,200 Speaker 3: And that was just the beginning of the can. 455 00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:23,600 Speaker 8: For the rest of the year, he would say hey. 456 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,280 Speaker 9: On Saturdays, he'd like, Hey, get the video, put the 457 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:28,040 Speaker 9: video in, and put the video like and I'm going 458 00:24:28,119 --> 00:24:29,480 Speaker 9: to call her, call this one. 459 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:30,800 Speaker 8: Yeah, no, call this girl. 460 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:33,240 Speaker 9: I mean, we would use the And I think he 461 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:37,840 Speaker 9: structured that entire thing unbeknownst to us, just. 462 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:38,720 Speaker 8: To have that kind of. 463 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:43,200 Speaker 9: Digital record, which today everybody has it. But back then 464 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:47,600 Speaker 9: there was no internet. So he had his VHS tape 465 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:49,760 Speaker 9: of these twenty girls. And I don't think there was 466 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:52,639 Speaker 9: ever an album cover, and I certainly was no music video. 467 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:55,880 Speaker 8: I just watched all that happen. It was part of it. 468 00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:01,440 Speaker 2: Even Paul at this time is getting uncomfortable with behavior 469 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:04,720 Speaker 2: in this vein as it continues in New York. It 470 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:08,280 Speaker 2: is not only gross, but it feels like it's becoming 471 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:11,640 Speaker 2: a serious problem for the lend Agency's credibility. 472 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:15,720 Speaker 1: Oh shit, if I really want to become that guy 473 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:19,200 Speaker 1: that I keep seeing out at night, John Casablancas, or 474 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:22,399 Speaker 1: I want to become the next Aileen Ford, I can't 475 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:24,560 Speaker 1: be involved with people doing blow with all these girls. 476 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:27,960 Speaker 1: The guy's fucking killing my reputation. I haven't even started yet. 477 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,359 Speaker 2: Okay, so some model agents did blow with the girls 478 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:35,879 Speaker 2: they represented, and they helped them become stars. So far though, 479 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:39,760 Speaker 2: Paul could only offer the doing blow part and not 480 00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:40,760 Speaker 2: the success. 481 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:43,440 Speaker 3: But that was about to change. 482 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:48,720 Speaker 1: And then all of a sudden, one day, I made 483 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:51,320 Speaker 1: a kid into a model, Tina Mason. I made her 484 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:56,640 Speaker 1: into a fucking model. That was my first success. 485 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:01,199 Speaker 2: Tina Mason isn't a household name, but that's not the 486 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:05,480 Speaker 2: standard Paul's talking about here. He's talking about the supply 487 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:10,879 Speaker 2: and demand way the models worked. See, very few women 488 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:14,320 Speaker 2: who were featured in the pages of major fashion magazines 489 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:18,240 Speaker 2: could demand big fees for other jobs. But that's what 490 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:21,520 Speaker 2: Paul wanted, and that's what Tina delivered. 491 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:28,560 Speaker 1: Just different kind of Asiana shyes, curly hair, just different 492 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:31,720 Speaker 1: than what was happening in the marketplace. Just cool, looking, interesting, 493 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:32,520 Speaker 1: looking different. 494 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:36,840 Speaker 2: Paul had long dreamed of booking a model with Mademoiselle, 495 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:40,680 Speaker 2: a leading fashion magazine that was seen as a stepping 496 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:45,479 Speaker 2: stone to the most prestigious magazine of all, Vogue, And 497 00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:48,919 Speaker 2: now Paul got a call from Mademoiselle that they wanted 498 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:50,040 Speaker 2: to book Tina. 499 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:54,160 Speaker 1: Creating your First Little Star. That was my first hit. 500 00:26:55,119 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 1: That was like, oh my god, people are calling me, 501 00:26:58,560 --> 00:26:59,800 Speaker 1: people are taking me serious. 502 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:03,359 Speaker 3: And it changed everything for Paul. 503 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:08,600 Speaker 1: I have to do this. I just fucking meant to 504 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:12,639 Speaker 1: do this. I had that first hit, and then I 505 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:14,800 Speaker 1: wanted a second, and a third, and a fourth, and 506 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:17,040 Speaker 1: a fifth and a sixth, and I knew the only 507 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:20,040 Speaker 1: way that was going to happen get the fuck away 508 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:20,960 Speaker 1: from these maniacs. 509 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:26,080 Speaker 2: Now, there are a few maniacs in this story, but 510 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:30,000 Speaker 2: in this case he's referring to Larry and the guys 511 00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:38,560 Speaker 2: around him. By the time Paul creates his first Star, 512 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:42,359 Speaker 2: Lynde has a fancy office near the south end of 513 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:43,560 Speaker 2: Central Park and. 514 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:46,720 Speaker 5: We're making this agency from scratch. He was right next 515 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:49,160 Speaker 5: door to Carnegie Deli. The whole building. 516 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:52,760 Speaker 2: Carnegie Deli is next to Carnegie Hall, where you can 517 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:56,359 Speaker 2: hear a lot of classical music, but the deli is 518 00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:58,119 Speaker 2: pastrami and cheesecake. 519 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:02,679 Speaker 4: We got a neon sign, Lynn, and we were making 520 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:05,919 Speaker 4: making our old booking table, making the furniture. 521 00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:09,639 Speaker 5: Everything was brand new and sparkling. And when the. 522 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:13,040 Speaker 3: Whole and Umar notices a shift in Paul around this time. 523 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:18,440 Speaker 4: We became partners, so we were always together, and Polly 524 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:21,000 Speaker 4: grew to love this industry. 525 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:23,000 Speaker 5: I don't think when he first got in, and I 526 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:25,760 Speaker 5: hope I don't. I don't know. I feel agree with that. 527 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:27,720 Speaker 4: I don't think when he got into this industry he 528 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:30,600 Speaker 4: understood what he was getting into. I thought he got 529 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:32,840 Speaker 4: into it with the same mentality that these guys were 530 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:34,840 Speaker 4: financing it, which was like. 531 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:37,600 Speaker 5: Ooh, girls, girls, girls, you know. 532 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:42,480 Speaker 4: And I believe by meeting me and explaining to him 533 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:45,040 Speaker 4: that it's just not about that, and he knew that. 534 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:46,360 Speaker 5: I was never about that. 535 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:50,680 Speaker 4: I was always about the craft of being an agent, 536 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:56,000 Speaker 4: the craft of making a model, the craft of taking 537 00:28:56,040 --> 00:29:00,240 Speaker 4: someone who never in their wildness dream taught their life 538 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,960 Speaker 4: could change because of what you did for them. 539 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 5: And Paulie grew into that. 540 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:11,200 Speaker 2: Paul's growing up. He's finding a direction for his life 541 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:13,880 Speaker 2: that goes beyond the search for the next hit of pleasure. 542 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:18,280 Speaker 2: His sister Deborah is still fighting cancer. Life is short 543 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:20,959 Speaker 2: and painful, and he doesn't want to waste it on 544 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:25,200 Speaker 2: this doomed ride with a lend agency. And so Paul 545 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:28,600 Speaker 2: knew he had to call Larry and tell him this 546 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:29,720 Speaker 2: wasn't working. 547 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:34,080 Speaker 4: Paulie stood up to these guys like, Nah, it's not 548 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:37,000 Speaker 4: going to happen, Like this is a real company, a 549 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:39,800 Speaker 4: real agency, and MEISA, real models and NISA not just 550 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:41,760 Speaker 4: playdates for you guys. 551 00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:44,360 Speaker 5: You know, you just can't come in here. 552 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:46,920 Speaker 4: You know, whenever you guys want and ask for, oh, 553 00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:49,000 Speaker 4: get ten girls to come out with us, to go 554 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:52,040 Speaker 4: to dinner and party, No, that's not going to happen. 555 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:55,760 Speaker 2: Paul made the call to Larry, the one you remember 556 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:59,560 Speaker 2: from earlier, the one that Paul just knew went very badly. 557 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:03,880 Speaker 2: And after he made that call, Omar was with Paul 558 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:05,600 Speaker 2: and they went out to a club. 559 00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:07,800 Speaker 5: We were out partying that night. 560 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:12,240 Speaker 10: We were out at club Area like a Canal in 561 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:15,440 Speaker 10: Hudson downtown, and we had come out of area and 562 00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:19,120 Speaker 10: for the first time in so long, I didn't want 563 00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:20,760 Speaker 10: to go back to the hotel with them. 564 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:24,080 Speaker 4: I'm like, nah, I think I'm gonna just go home, guys. 565 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:27,280 Speaker 4: So we took a cab. Billy Word was with us, 566 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:30,320 Speaker 4: and I remember when the cab got to twenty eighth Street, 567 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:32,760 Speaker 4: I'm like, guys, I don't feel like doing this, Like 568 00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:34,080 Speaker 4: I'm just gonna. 569 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:37,520 Speaker 2: Go home, and Paul eventually went home too. He headed 570 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:41,080 Speaker 2: back to his room in the Wellington Hotel, tramping down 571 00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:46,080 Speaker 2: the halls and then slowly opening his door. Now there 572 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:49,160 Speaker 2: are different versions of what happens next, and in fact, 573 00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:52,920 Speaker 2: Michael says nothing at all happened, but he wasn't there 574 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:57,320 Speaker 2: at the hotel. And what Paul says is some bodyguards 575 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:00,800 Speaker 2: came out of the closet with guns and soon they 576 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:03,920 Speaker 2: had him laid out with his pants around his ankles, 577 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:07,800 Speaker 2: and they even had a gun barrel up his ass. 578 00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:10,720 Speaker 1: And then the final door opened and it was laring, 579 00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:17,680 Speaker 1: and he said, where are you going? Man? I remember 580 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:20,200 Speaker 1: looking up to him going Marry, I ain't going anywhere, brother, 581 00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:22,520 Speaker 1: I'm staying with you. I'm with you, brother. I don't 582 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:24,160 Speaker 1: know what I was thinking. I don't know what I 583 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:24,719 Speaker 1: was thinking. 584 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:29,280 Speaker 2: In that moment, Paul gives up on his dream of 585 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:33,920 Speaker 2: being a legitimate agent. He very much just wants to 586 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:35,680 Speaker 2: live to see the sunrise. 587 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:40,720 Speaker 1: I'm with you, brother, I am with you. I'm sorry 588 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:43,520 Speaker 1: you didn't have to come all this way. I'm sorry. 589 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:47,520 Speaker 1: And could you please have them remove the gun out 590 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:55,360 Speaker 1: of my ass? And he said, hey, let's go grab 591 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:59,800 Speaker 1: a bite like it was fucking nothing. I said, yeah, 592 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:02,040 Speaker 1: let's do that. He goes call a couple of girls. 593 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:04,520 Speaker 1: Come on, we'll meet him over at the wherever Chipriani. 594 00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:05,080 Speaker 5: Is whatever whatever. 595 00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:09,440 Speaker 1: I said, okay, gun Laird, and we went out for 596 00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:12,480 Speaker 1: like a nightcap, like a fucking three in the morning cheeseburger. 597 00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:13,080 Speaker 7: Whatever. 598 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:17,680 Speaker 2: It's a beautiful tableau, that image right there, just two 599 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:22,880 Speaker 2: men having a late night bite. Paul feels so trapped 600 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:25,680 Speaker 2: he knows he can't get away from Larry now. 601 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:30,760 Speaker 3: But then a few months later. 602 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:35,480 Speaker 2: Larry's divorce is working its way through court and the 603 00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:38,640 Speaker 2: judge makes a significant ruling. 604 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:42,719 Speaker 7: The court hired a receiver to watch the calf. 605 00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:45,760 Speaker 2: I really wish I could have been there when this 606 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:52,600 Speaker 2: receiver started tallying receipts. It's one ferrari, one wheelbarrow full 607 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:59,920 Speaker 2: of roses, cocaine, penthouse, sanitary wipes for gun barrels, cheeseburger, cocaine, 608 00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:01,440 Speaker 2: more cocaine. 609 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:05,040 Speaker 6: And then everything was shut down and that was it. 610 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:07,520 Speaker 6: There was no one could spend any money. Our money 611 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:10,400 Speaker 6: was cut off. They caught off Larry's money, my money, 612 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:11,479 Speaker 6: our salaries, everything. 613 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:17,959 Speaker 2: The lend agency is one hundred percent broke. 614 00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:20,400 Speaker 1: I got a phone call from Larry and he said, 615 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:25,040 Speaker 1: you know what, I'm getting a divorce. And I said, 616 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:34,600 Speaker 1: you're married and he said yeah. I said, oh shit, 617 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:39,040 Speaker 1: and he goes, my wife's putting everything into receivership and 618 00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:42,120 Speaker 1: Fitz Morris won't give me any more money. So you 619 00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:45,120 Speaker 1: got to get out of the hotel tomorrow. And we're 620 00:33:45,120 --> 00:33:49,040 Speaker 1: having the Ferrari brought back tomorrow, and all the bank 621 00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:54,760 Speaker 1: accounts are being closed today. And I go, Larry, I 622 00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:58,520 Speaker 1: got eighty bucks on me. He goes, I don't know 623 00:33:58,520 --> 00:34:00,000 Speaker 1: what to tell you. 624 00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:05,240 Speaker 5: I said, shit, shit. 625 00:34:05,840 --> 00:34:12,240 Speaker 1: Indeed, within twenty four hours, I was out on the street. 626 00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:15,680 Speaker 5: We had a roller coaster of Shenanigans. 627 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:19,759 Speaker 1: It was an opportunity occasionally, or somebody wanted to get 628 00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:21,480 Speaker 1: some hope. How would you like to meet one of 629 00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:23,799 Speaker 1: the richest cats on the planet and he'll pay it 630 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:26,759 Speaker 1: thousands of dollars. You got to go sleep with him? 631 00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:29,320 Speaker 3: That's next on Model Wars. 632 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:38,560 Speaker 11: Model Wars was a production of iHeart Podcasts and Campside Media. 633 00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:42,120 Speaker 11: Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 634 00:34:42,160 --> 00:34:46,000 Speaker 11: get your podcasts. Model Wars was executive produced and hosted 635 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:50,120 Speaker 11: by Vanessa Gregoriotis. Our senior writer was Michael Kenyon Meyer. 636 00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:50,920 Speaker 3: Julia K. 637 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:54,160 Speaker 11: S Lavine was our producer and reporter. Our senior producer 638 00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:57,560 Speaker 11: was Lily Houston Smith and our assistant editor was Emma Simonov. 639 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:00,480 Speaker 11: We had story and production help from show She's Millowitz, 640 00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:04,360 Speaker 11: Ali Haney and Blake Rook. Our production manager was Ashley 641 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:08,080 Speaker 11: Warren and our studio recordist was Ewan Lyi Tremuen. Sound design, 642 00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:12,680 Speaker 11: mix and engineering by Mark McCadam. iHeart Podcasts. Executive producers 643 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:15,759 Speaker 11: were Jennifer Bassett and Katrina Norbel. The show was also 644 00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:19,239 Speaker 11: executive produced by Rachel winter In. Campside Media's Josh Dean, 645 00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:22,400 Speaker 11: Adam Hoff, and Matt Share. If you'd like to access 646 00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:25,400 Speaker 11: behind the scenes content from Model Wars and Campside Media, 647 00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:28,880 Speaker 11: please go to join campside dot com. That's j O 648 00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:32,359 Speaker 11: I N C A M P s I d E 649 00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:35,719 Speaker 11: dot com. If you enjoyed Model Wars, please rate and 650 00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:37,879 Speaker 11: review the show wherever you get your podcasts. 651 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:39,560 Speaker 3: Thanks so much for listening.