HOLLYWOOD MUSEUM’S LAUNCH FETE FOR THE BOOK “A LETTER IS BETTER! THE ART OF THANK YOU”

Throughout each year, I attend several events at the Hollywood Museum. Most of them are for the purpose of introducing a new exhibit. And they’re all fabulous.

But on a few special occasions, the equally lovely fetes are right in the lobby. And I recently went to one of those. It was to celebrate the release of a new book, A Letter is Better! The Art of Thank You, written by Erica Gerard Di Bona, who is known to be a constant letter writer. If her last name is familiar, that’s most likely because you’ve seen it on your TV a zillion times—her husband is prolific television producer Vin Di Bona, who created America’s Funniest Home Videos, and has produced a myriad of other shows.

I love a supportive man, so Vin is right up there with Carl Reiner, who was always so proud of the singing of his wife Estelle, and of course, the most supportive guy ever, Mr. X, who not only came to most of my TV show tapings, but is actually the person who created my cable series, Karen’s Restaurant Revue! (And then, as I was about to go through the curtain for my first appearance on The Tonight Show, he got to sarcastically say, “Yeah, Kah, you were right—doing a cable show was a bad idea.”)

And Vin Di Bona and I have a mutual very dear friend, Paul Gilbert, so I really wanted to meet Vin, especially after Paul told me that he’s a “great guy.” And he was absolutely lovely. It’s always fun, (and a bit rare,) to meet an uber-successful person who’s also very nice. So Vin was the highlight of the event for me. (And he told me that he had just been talking about Paul that day!)

But the entire event was good, right from the get-go, as it always is at the Hollywood Museum. There was a makeshift bar on one side of the space, with nice bartenders, and a pretty buffet set-up on the opposite end of the lobby. The fare was different than any I’ve ever seen there before, which was fun because I’m a fan of diversity. There were three kinds of finger sandwiches, caprese bites, (with a choice of tomatoes or blackberries on the skewers with the mozzarella chunks,) tiny onion tarts, and a whole bunch of delish desserts. I’m either ashamed or proud to admit that I ate a handful of mini strawberry shortcakes in cups! The pièces de résistance were bite-sized cranberry scones. (My friend Roz said, “The cookies are hard,” so I explained, “That’s because they’re scones!”)

There was a plethora of speeches from the happy assemblage, including E.T.’s Dee Wallace and Hollywood Museum Founder Donelle Dadigan. I was the most entertained by artist Shepard Fairey, (whose credits include designing that famous Obama “Hope” poster.) He said that he and Erica had met on the Board of Trustees at The Rhode Island School of Design, (RISD,) where he went to college. I actually love that place, having gone to both the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College. I used to drive by RISD, and think about all the gifted artists who must be behind those walls! (I love having things in common with talented people. For example, Vin also lived in Rhode Island, and he and I both attended UCLA, as did Mr. X, also in the Master of Fine Arts program some time after Vin. And yes, I did go to all three of those colleges, and even one more!)

The gist of the many tributes was that Erica writes wonderful “thank you” letters, and the recipients are so lucky. Erica herself quipped that “a letter is so much better than anything.” She told us that she doesn’t start her letters with “thank you,” preferring to end with it. (But I do both!) I was happy that she and I agree on the usage of exclamation points when others say no to them! (See?)

I also appreciated that she said to write a letter “on anything” and “in any method that you can.” Erica and my mother would have gotten along great because the latter used to write her missives on the backs of paper placemats from the restaurants my parents ate in while traveling! One of her old pals still mentions how much he always loved receiving those.

My favorite quote of the night came from Vin. About the sound of his wife’s typing, he said, “It’s like hearing children laugh in a playground.” What an absolutely charming and loving way to put it.

When the speeches were over, guests could purchase the books, and Erica signed them all in the “Blondes Only Room.” (The hair color rooms, which are my fave part of the Museum, date back to when the building was the Max Factor Salon. I featured them on a television special I hosted on The Travel Channel way back in the day, and have adored them ever since.)

I got a gander at one of the books, and found it to be very interesting. And it’s not a little coffee table book—it has sooo much substance! There’s even a section for “Young People,” complete with advice on “How to Address an Envelope!” I love life lessons that we might think are basic, but are far from it these days.

I also love that “Thank You” is mentioned right in the title, A Letter is Better! The Art of Thank You, because I’m a stickler for saying that phrase! I actually just thanked a PR person for always thanking me for my reviews. My mother used to semi make fun of my signature, “Thank you so much!,” but I mean it every time.

Speaking of my little mo, (which I do a lot,) I have to say that, as a supreme letter-writer herself, she would have really liked Erica’s book. And she would have enjoyed her collection of typewriters, as well. I’m now the proud owner of my parents’ vintage one, so perhaps I should show it to Erica sometime. I should also pick her brain about how to put a good book together because I’ve been finding some of my mom’s letters around my house recently, and they are a riot! One in particular has become famous among my friends, and it’s been suggested many times that I should publish a book of them so more people can laugh until they cry.

Apropos of Erica’s book about saying “Thank You, “I’ll leave you with this little poem that I used to recite with my young students when I was a teacher. (See if you can spot the big mistake in it.):

“Hearts like doors will ope with ease
To two little words, and the words are these:
Thank you, sir, and if you please.”

Do you see the mistake? Those are six words, not two! I didn’t write it, of course, because in addition to always expressing gratitude, I can also count! But I do very much believe in the sentiment. I know that Erica Gerard Di Bona does, as well. I just wish that everyone did.