Gretchen(Len Daniels) Gretchen

My name is Gretchen, and I now live a very happy and normal life with my husband Rob and our two girls. It wasn't always this way, but I've made sure that my previous years, especially those of the 50's and 60's didn't leave any long lasting scars to completely ruin my life.

As I look back on those years, I recall with much trepidation, the earliest instances of my childhood, being brought up in the early 50's, as a child star. I think that when I was born, my parents, being highly involved in show business themselves, realized that in order to carry on with their own lives as performers, that I should join them on the stage, and make me part of their act. My father was a magician and my mother was his assistant. They told me that I was born quite by accident; as a result of the aftermath of a wild party that they had attended that included a lot of drinking and drug use. I never really got the impression that my parents wanted me only as a happy addition to their existence. I didn't realize this until I was in my teens.

It was then that my father took me aside to show me the movie films of my very early childhood when I guess I was only about 3 years old, that I could see that I was being groomed to enter some form of show business. I would be getting hairdos and attending speech classes to prepare me for the little dancing and singing skits that my acting school would put on to show the parents that their money was being well spent. I could barely walk and talk, let alone perform, but I endured it, not because I wanted to please mother and father, but because I would be punished if I didn’t comply with their wishes. As I grew up I became very unhappy with all the restrictions that were put on my life and me. My only associates were to be other children studying as I was or adults already in show business. This made me feel as though I was being controlled and I didn't like it.

I made my feelings known on my eighteenth birthday, and my parents accused me of denying them the satisfaction of seeing me become some sort of "big star" as they put it.

In essence they laid a poorly disguised "guilt trip" on me, and I took offence to this. I walked out of the house and went over to my aunt's house a couple of blocks away. My aunt, who always thought pretty much the same way as I about my thoughts, sat me down and explained the reason for my parents’ lack of understanding. It seems as though their life had always been an uphill battle for recognition in the world of entertainment, because neither of them ever had any help when they were growing up and learning to advance in their field. They became successful through their own initiative, and they didn't want me to have to trudge the same road,
so their intent was to make it easier for me to accomplish stardom. I explained to my aunt that I never wanted to become anything other than a normal woman, going through all the tribulations and sufferings that other people do.

Although they may think that I have a gift, I believe sincerely that a person is born with talent, and all the training in the world can't make an untalented person become something that they themselves don't desire. I don't desire to become famous.

My aunt offered me her spare bedroom to use for a short time until I could get myself on my feet. I thrived rapidly without the influences of my mother and father, and began to acquire new friends, many of which I grew to like a lot. One gentleman, in particular, seemed to pick up on my advances and we started dating. I found out that he also lived with overbearing parents and also made his getaway at 18. He joined the marines and spent 4 years traveling the world that made for interesting conversation when we were together. I grew fond of him and we soon settled down as husband and wife. I think the fact that I had an ally to vent my frustrations on, was the catalyst that solidified our relationship. We can truly say that we've reached our apex in life.

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