By Danny Allen

Hello RSR readers… Sorry of my absence of columns as of late, but I had a medical procedure done. When you are in your late 70’s like I am, it takes longer to recover. I have been reading so much lately on Charlie Sheen because I was confined to my hospital room at Mount Sinai Hospital on Miami Beach. Great staff, but horrible food…. I am home now and thanks to many of your RSR emails for letting me know you enjoyed my columns. Your words are appreciated and always welcomed.

In 1985, I met Oliver Stone who had come to fame off his work in writing the screenplay for Al Pacino’s Scarface at a party through a producer buddy of mine name Al Ruddy who produced The Godfather amongst many other big productions. Oliver, and I hit off right away and we sat for hours talking about old Hollywood where he asked me repeated questions which I was full of stories to tell. Before the end of the night was out, Stone invited me to the set of his first really big movie he directed (he did others before like The Hand with Michael Caine), but none was a big budget as Platoon.

The minute I walked on the set, they were filming the intense scene where Tom Berenger who played Sgt Barnes walks in on Charlie Sheen, Francesco Quinn and others getting high and cuts Sheen in the face. It was a very good scene, After Oliver got done shooting it, the entire cast and crew gave the actors involved a standing ovation. When things quieted down, Oliver took me over to meet his star Charlie Sheen who came across very smart and we actually went to lunch. During which, he talked about his future and never wanting to be broke along with, putting in great performances like his father Martin Sheen had done for many years.

When the news broke that the lawsuit between Sheen and Warner Brothers was settled an old chum of mine from my early days in Hollywood called and simply said, “Charlie is one smart cookie and Warner Brothers gave him a settlement fit for a King.” There was never a doubt in my mind that a lot of what Charlie was doing over the last year was actually planned by him to keep his name in lights and it sure did work… Now, Charlie needs to get back to his outstanding acting career right away and win his first Oscar… I will be rooting for him all the way to the stage to make his acceptance speech…