Flip - January 1971 (typed by Cindy M.)
Jimmy O'Neil, the host of "Shindig" and one of Bobby's first friends in
show business, takes a look into the past and recalls:

The Bobby Sherman I Knew! (Part 1)
As told to Lindy Franklin

Today, Jimmy O'Neil is a popular disc jockey with KDAY Radio in Santa Monica, California. But six years ago Jimmy was the host of a new kind of musical TV show - a program called "Shindig," which featured an unknown singer named Robert C. Sherman.

Thinking back, Jimmy can recall the very first time he heard the beautiful name "Bobby Sherman!"

I first heard Bobby's name mentioned when Jack Good, the producer of 'Shindig' said we were going to have a new regular on the show," Jimmy remembers. Bobby had been discovered by Sal Mineo, who took him to ABC. Then ABC simply informed us that Bobby would be a regular.

Jack Good objected, as did many of the cast and crew members. Jack said that Bobby wasn't his kind of entertainer because, well, he doesn't always like such clean cut performers. He digs Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and that type. And then, here comes Bobby Sherman, with his hair neatly groomed and wearing the latest Hollywood fashions. But then, I think we would have been skeptical of any new regular.

SECRET TO STARDOM - "When I first set eyes on Bobby," Jimmy continues, "I remember thinking, "well, at least he's good looking!" That was my first impression. Then after I spoke with him, I thought he had a very nice personality. When I finally heard him sing, I thought he wasn't the greatest voice we had on the show, but he certainly could sell a song! And, after all, that is the most important thing. He had a sparkling ability to project this fantastic magnetism, which I, personally, feel is the secret to his stardom."

Just then the phone rings and Jimmy jumps back into the present to do a brief interview for the KDAY Radio! When the interview is over, Jimmy comes back to the subject of Bobby.

"Where was I?" Oh, yes, Bobby had always had it from the very beginning. His parents told me about his boyhood and you could see he had the magnetism probably from the day he could talk! So, at rehearsal, I immediately saw he would fill 'Shindig's' need for a regular boy singer who could win the hearts of all the teenage girls. And without a doubt, Bobby did just that!

"So, after the first show, we were all at ease with Bobby Sherman. There wasn't one second of the entire two years I worked with Bobby when he didn't seem to know exactly what he was doing, and he always did it with such confidence. Bobby is one of the shrewdest, most carefully cultivated entertainers for his age I've ever seen. And I think the reason for that is because he always had the ambition.

"Everyone knows he had his own recording studio and video tape machine in his home. Well, years before the public even know about him, Bobby Sherman "studied" Bobby Sherman until he knew exactly how he looked when he made this or that expression to the TV camera.

ZOOM LENSES - "My favorite story about Bobby is that because of the zoom lenses on TV cameras, the camera can be all the way across the stage and actually have a close-up on you from your chin to your eyebrows. I always had trouble with that when we filmed 'Shindig' because you see, you do different things according to the shot. If they have a close-up you stand perfectly still, moving only your mouth and eyes. But if they are on the long shot, you try to gesture with your hands or maybe take a step forward.

"But I once observed that Bobby always knew! I could tell by the way he'd conduct himself when I watched the studio monitor. Now I knew he couldn't see the monitor, so I asked him one day, 'Bobby, how do you know when they're on a close-up or long shot?' And he thought of something that I'm sure very few entertainers have even thought of.

"If you've ever looked into a TV camera, you've seen there is an iris, besides the lens aperture. Bobby explained that the smaller the iris, the closer the shot. If the iris was fully open, Bobby knew they were shooting a full-length shot, and he'd act accordingly. So, if you ever noticed he always looks straight into the lens when he's singing!"

ANXIOUS TO PLEASE - "Bobby was extremely anxious to please everyone at work. After all, he was building a career and he was very conscious of his reputation. I hardly know a performer today who doesn't go out of his way to be at his very best when he's working. He can be obnoxious off hours, but anybody who's big and wants to stay big has to learn that lesson. When you're working on a television show, it's just like any other job: you're just another employee.

"I can assure you that the crew loved Bobby. And if they hadn't loved Bobby, he would have done everything short of cartwheels to make sure that the situation was corrected! I remember particularly the chief cameraman on our show - Bobby went out of his way to cultivate a friendship with him because he knew that the cameraman could improve upon his looks if he wanted to go a little out of his way. Or, he would give Bobby a tip about some technical thing that would help his performance come off better.

"Bobby was always very much aware of the importance of those he worked with. He was very nice to them and they were very nice to Bobby."

NO CLOSE FRIENDS - "I'll tell you something funny about Bobby Sherman, though. In the two years I worked with him, it never appeared to me that he had any special friends, either pals or girlfriends. Bobby had hundreds of good friends - he made everyone who came into contact with him feel like a friend. But Bobby, I think is obsessed with Show Business. I can hardly recall his expressing interest in anything else. And, I know Bobby's closest associates at any given time are people who are somehow involved with his career. I'm sure he must have some secret life that none of us know about, but believe me, it's very secret.