y Levvy Carriker and Juli Ragsdale Michael Childers’ iconic photo of Joe Dallesandro
Michael has raised over $12 million dollars for AIDS charities, museums, social service organizations and performing arts foundations. He founded “Divine Design” in 1992 for Project Angel Food, still the largest design event on the West Coast. It was emceed by Elizabeth Taylor and starred Bette Midler. He co-produced the 2002 Palm Springs International Film Festival. He produced a tribute for BAFTA/LA honoring his late partner, John Schlesinger, at the American Cinematheque. On stage were Sally Field, Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Jon Voight, Steven Soderbergh, and others in 2001. He was the sole producer of the 2003 BAFTA/LA Britannia Awards (British Oscars). He produced Live at the Lensic - famous Broadway and cabaret singers performing a benefit for Santa Fe, New Mexico AIDS organizations/Zeckendorf Foundation (1996-98). He was Awarded a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Fame by Lily Tomlin in 2008 for his artistic and charitable achievements. He created and produced eight “One Night Only” productions for various charities in the Desert. He conceived and co-produced a gala benefiting the Palm Springs Art Museum in <strong>March</strong> 2006 - emceed by Eric Idle, with awards to Dal Chihuly, Robert Graham, and James Galanos; and a performance by Lucie Arnaz and orchestra. He co-produced the sold out Palm Springs Museum Performing Arts Council Gala with K.D. Lang in November of 2006. We arrived at Michaels studio just on time. Traffice as a bit heavy as it is Season but the skies were blue with gorgeous white billowing clouds above the mountains. Juli and I both reminded ourselves of the beauty and peace of Palm Springs. I was so excited to meet Micheal as I have never met him in person. We just have known a lot of common friends so I had lots of stories and questions. Levvy: How do you like living in Palm Springs? Michael: I’m happy here! I thought I would be living in London the rest of my life. Surprise, suprise! J: TI’m glad that you are here! M: But if you can’t live in London, live in Palm Springs! L: Two extremes, almost. Palm Springs is not too bad. (laugher) M: No, no. And it has gotten much better than 1998, 1999! There is an article in the New York Times I just saw online today that says about how hip it is. I have a girlfriend of mine who is visiting here this week and she is doing an article for W about the new hip Palm Springs. L: That’s what is going on now. All these big Summer pool parties, Spash House...and that’s what is happening now. Even Vegas turned into pool parties. M: I know and Leonardo...and Brad Pitt...and all these celebrities. L: And I have not seen Leonardo yet! Least not since in LA. M: And that is a great house! I knew it when David Lee owned it. David Lee, producer of Frasier. He restored the Donald Wexler House and really did it up. It did belong to Dinah Shore I think. When she had it it was so tacky and fru fru with white fluff carpet and he does this transformation turning it back into this stunning museum showstopper. Really a spectacular house. L: I saw that one photo and I was like, “Wow!”. I could live there. M: Yeah, so, we like all this new stuff. New restaurants, new downtown, new Uptown and North End of town...and that’s hoppin’ up there. I just love it. L: Yeah, we live up there. We are in TRIO pretty often, and we sit right by one of your photographs. M: Oh yeah, the photos at TRIO. J: And at Lulu. We had a party upstairs at Lulu this week and we had fun partying with one of your photos from the original film, Grease. M: Up there? I remember it. And my dear friend, Willie Rhine is opening up a new restaurant. He is going to use some of my photos up there. I’m not sure what kind. Has to be different from the other ones. L: I am Randal Kleiser’s publiscist (director of Grease) and we were at a <strong>LIVE</strong> Magazine mixer at Lulu and he saw one of your photos of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John and he said, “That’s from GREASE!”(laughter) M: It’s all true, it’s all true! L: It’s a small world. I’ve know Randal since like 1991. M: Yeah, I wish he would get a place down here. He loves it down here. M: Well Your magazine’s looking good. L: Thank you Michael, I did an article on One Night Only last issue. This is the current issue (hands it to Michael). This is funny too, because what inspired Juli and I to make this magazine was a magazine called “Interview”, I don’t know if you have ever heard of that? (laughter) M: Andy Warhol? I was one of the founders of that, yes.(laughter) L: Yes you inspired us. That is why <strong>LIVE</strong> Magazine is the size it is. M: Andy said, “Mike, I want you to take beautiful, glamorous pictures for my magazine....I said, “Well, are ya gonna pay?” (Andy) “Uhhhhhh (burst of laughter)....No, but I will make them big and beautiful for you.” M: And I said, “Well what kind of people do you want?” (Andy) “I want the beautiful people! Beautiful pictures, beautiful people....And if they are rich!.....And if they are rich AND beautiful then you can get even more space. (chuckles) So those are the two categories, Rich and Beautiful. Those were fun days. M: Have you seen One Night Only, the show (www.jfsdesert.org/ono.html)? You should come! I think we are sold out. Let me work this out for you. L: Oh, we would be thrilled. M: This year is Back to the Sixties. Which is fun! Do you have the cast list? L: I do! It’s huge! What a great line-up! And they so match the era you are doing. I love that you are supporting the Jewish Family Services. What a great organization. M: Well they do a lot of things. And it is not just for Jewish people. It’s wellfare, taking people to the doctors...I had a friend here who needed psychological counselling because he had a traumatic event in his family and he’s not Jewish and they took him and gave him free counselling for 6 months. That’s a pretty great thing. That’s a good thing. And they also help with HIV counselling, and tied in with DAP (Desert AIDS Project). So it is across the board. L: I love that someone is doing something for ‘mental issues’. The word is so taboo. We probably all have something! So what else do you have on your plate right now? M: Well, I have a show coming up at Melissa Morgan Fine Art (www.melissamorganfineart.com). That is coming up. (<strong>March</strong> 8, <strong>2015</strong>, 1-3pm, An Afternoon Tea with Michaels Childers’) A big ad just came out today in Palm Springs Life Magazine, of my new work, called Mythic Moves. Beautiful sort of abstracts. It’s sort of spacey and very spiritual. It is very unlike anything I have ever done. L: What sizes are they? M: Well, they are all about five and a half feet high, so large scale. Yeah. And after that I am doing things for Digicom (www.digicomfilmfestival.com Tuesday, May 5, <strong>2015</strong>at Palm Springs Convention Center). Do you know Digicom? I am helping David Vogel do that. We have forty high school students studied video and photography and they are coming here. L: From Palm Springs High School? M: I think from all high scools, and from Cathedral City, mainly. And we are putting on a photo show with models, and break dancers and this and that, and a couple of Fire Eaters. The students can film it and photograph it. And thenTaylor Sherrill is doing a motorcycle ad and having food photography and show them all how the lighting will work. It could be fun! L: Wow, I didn’t know that actually. I had heard of it, but I didn’t know it was that complete. M: Yes, I didn’t know that group too well, but I voluteered to do that. I am very into Arts Education. Anything having to do with Arts Education. All this is coiming right up! See, I have been away for three weeks to Australia and New Zealand on vacation so I still think it is the beginning of February! But One Night Only is the big one. It is something I created 11 years ago here. And did it for different organizations and the first one, we were so lucky! We nailed Lily Thomlin as the emcee and we had some great people and we proved ourselves that we could do a great show, so therefore it became this big thing every year since 2002. Yes, we have been doing it that long! And JFS (Jewish Family Services) has been a great sponsor. They leave me alone and they love me and we raise a lot of money for charity and that is great. It is an expensive show to put on. It costs almost $300,000. L: That is a lot of money. M: Well, Nancy is flying in entertainers, and we have to put them up in hotels...cars fetching them, and limos, it is a lot. And there are a lot of people. How many are coming from the East Coast? I think twelve or thirteen? L: A lot of logistics there! So you created One Night Only. M: Yes, and it’s gotten bigger and bigger. And we make well over a quarter million profit a year. L: Wow, that’s a lot of services. M: Well, it makes a good profit. And I am a big theater fan. I love performers. I wish I could sing or be a performer. This is my way of staying in show business. And all the people who come to sing, I am a big fan of. L: Thank you so much Michael for your time. It has been truly a great pleasure!
Change language