![\"Chalres](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/105299670-e1482779476683.jpg\")
<\/a>Chalres Aidikoff with Sean Penn, one of the many celebrities on his wall.<\/p><\/div>\n
Charles owned and ran his eponymous screening room on Rodeo Drive since before most of us were born!\u00a0 It seemed like he was pals with everyone in town.\u00a0 For as long as I knew him, Sunday was family and friends day at his place.\u00a0 And no one loved the movies more than Charles.\u00a0 He sat in the back row of his private fifty-three seat theatre, and watched every film along with the rest of us.\u00a0 But he was usually seeing each one for at least the second time!\u00a0 I asked him how he could bear to watch some of them again, and he answered, \u201cI love movies.\u201d\u00a0 Period.\u00a0 That really explained it all.<\/p>\n
One year, we discovered that we\u2019d both be in Brooklyn at the same time, so he suggested that we get together and go around to all his old haunts there.\u00a0 (And he was already eighty-three at the time! That man had more energy than anyone ever!) So, Charles and a mutual gal pal came over to my house in Midwood there, hung with my parents for awhile, (he and my father were in heaven talking about the old days,) and then he drove us all over the borough. We saw the house he grew up in, (I can still hear him telling me, in his inimitable style, it was at \u201cCropsey and Stillwell Avenue,”) and we visited Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay, Bensonhurst, and Bay Ridge.\u00a0 (Or what I refer to to as \u201cthe real<\/em> sections of Brooklyn!\u201d)\u00a0 He then drove us around Manhattan, showing us where he first thought of starting his screening room, before moving out here to Los Angeles, (luckily for us.)<\/p>\n Just walking into his place on Rodeo Drive was special.\u00a0 The walls were adorned with tons of pictures of Charles with every ilk of famous person imaginable, going back decades.\u00a0 He loved his celebrities!!!\u00a0 And everyone loved him<\/em>.\u00a0 Every time I\u2019ve ever mentioned \u201cmy pal with a screening room\u201d to anyone in Hollywood, they always say, \u201cCharles?\u201d<\/p>\n Chales with one of his many commendations, along with grandson, Josh.<\/p><\/div>\n And he was appreciative of regular person kindnesses, too.\u00a0 He always lauded me for giving him holiday and birthday gifts.\u00a0 He and I were both appalled by how few people he hosted on a regular basis ever gave back!\u00a0 Plus, he always had candy out for his private screenings, and some of us brought extra treats every few weeks.\u00a0 Whenever I<\/em> did, instead of taking it for granted, Charles made sure to thank me, and wonder aloud why so many people never thought to do it.<\/p>\n And no one enjoyed a night out more than Charles.\u00a0 Always!\u00a0 That man loved a party!\u00a0 And he always dressed-up for them.\u00a0 He never missed any of mine, and I bumped into him at many events and fetes in Beverly Hills.\u00a0 My pals and I always chuckled that he loved them so much.\u00a0 (The parties, not my pals, although those too.\u00a0 Trust me!\u00a0 That man appreciated beauty and fun.)<\/p>\n One year, he even threw my birthday party at his screening room!\u00a0 He actually insisted on it; he<\/em> was even more into it than I<\/em> was!\u00a0 I had always wanted to have one there, but, as Charles was very popular, I never wanted to ask because then everybody else would bug him, too.\u00a0 So, I was shocked when he practically begged me to have it there!\u00a0 And it was fabulous.\u00a0 Mr. X constructed a plastic dance floor in the party room, and we ran several episodes of Karen\u2019s Restaurant Revue, my TV show at the time, throughout the night.\u00a0 People could party for a bit, then go into the theatre and watch me for awhile, and then go back to partying.\u00a0 It was all great, and I promise you\u2014no one had more fun than Charles.\u00a0 When I thanked him profusely for throwing me the fete, he answered, \u201cNo, thank you<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n He included me in on so many of his outside events, too, which I really enjoyed, especially his many black tie banquets.\u00a0 One year, he even invited me to all the Golden Globes parties! That was a blast. \u00a0 And he loved volunteering me to review restaurants for my show.\u00a0 I met a lot of people I still currently know through Charles Aidikoff; he was truly someone who bought people together.<\/p>\n<\/a>