June 25, 2025 • 48 mins
You know her moves. Now hear her truth. In this electrifying episode, legendary dancer and choreographer Damita Jo Freeman joins Bernie Brown to tell the untold story behind Soul Train fame — from backstage battles and contracts, to dancing with James Brown, meeting presidents, and shocking the Queen of England. Trained by ballet masters but destined for go-go grooves, Damita shares how she navigated racism, sexism, and fame with nothing but talent, grit, and soul. This is more than nostalgia — it’s a masterclass in resilience, cultural history, and Black excellence.
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Coming up on this episode ofthe Logical Lawyer Podcast.
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Oh my God.
But when I went to him, of course GeorgeBalanchine told me in his action way that
this is where I would be, and I told him.
You can't tell me where I wanna go.
I wanna be a go-go dancer.
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I wanna go, go in the, no, I don'tknow anything about all these years.
You never told me I was black,
but I'm black.
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Welcome to Brown's Delight, where mindsunite both day night in uncertain.
He's in life, so gather around.
Let's set things right.
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Welcome to the Logical Lawyer Podcastwith attorney Bernie Brown, retired
Los Angeles assistant city attorneywith decades of legal experience and
also extensive leadership experience.
Serving in top bar associations likethe John M Langston Bar Association and
the Association of Black City Attorneys,Bernie is powered by a deep personal
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testimony that took him from South CentralLA to the courtrooms of downtown la.
Bernie dives into today's toughestlegal, social, and spiritual issues.
He brings facts, answers, and sharpanalysis to cut through all the noise.
So are you ready for ano nonsense perspective?
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Then let's get started with your host.
Attorney Bernie Brown, the Logical Lawyer.
Hello, ladies and gentlemen.
My name is Bernie Brown.
I'm the Logical lawyer.
Today we have an interview withone of the greatest dancers
and choreographers of all time.
Get outta here, my childhoodfriend, to meet Joe Freeman.
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She's.
Yay.
You'll remember her from Soul Train.
She's danced with James Brown andJoe T, and with the Jackson five,
and she's been on American bands.
And she was a private Benjamin andshe's been a choreographer and she's
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met Presidents and Frank Sinatra and
on and.
We grew up together at elementary school,
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so dme, let's get it on.
She's got some really profoundstories, just interesting
experiences to share with us.
DME tell us.
How you became one of thegreatest dancers in the world.
Get outta here.
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If you remember at John Muir Junior High,junior High School, I was a poop or.
With, uh, MS means,
yes,
I wanted to really dance with theboots and everything, but my mother
put me into ballet school andso I stayed in ballet when I was
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eight to 16 with the same people.
And that was George.
Well, he owned the, he was thehead of the New York City Ballet.
So anyway, I've been withhim for all those years.
Wow.
And when you hit 16, you get to chooseto go to the New York City Ballet,
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which I was taught, told all my life.
And then there's the HarlemBallet, which I love.
I really did.
And
also the Utah Ballet, the American Ballet.
But anyway, that's what I was waitingfor, George, balancing to gimme the, okay.
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But he gave me the, okay.
To go into the Harlem Ballet, andI really, really appreciated it.
But nobody told me about the HarlemBallet since I was born in this
ballet world, so I don't know.
Anything about it.
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But he gave me a ticket to go tothe Ford Theater in the hills up
there where the observatory is,and I got a chance to see them.
And the Harlem Ballet wasbeautiful, especially when the
black girl came on with a redoutfit and she was the Firebird.
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Oh my God.
But when I went to him, of courseGeorge Balanchine told me in his action
way that this is where I would be.
And I told him, you can'ttell me where I wanna go.
I wanna be a go-go dancer.
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I wanna go, go in the, no, I don'tknow anything about all these years.
You never told me I
was black, but I'm black.
Well, I just remember when we were so,I, so he was very nice and he told me
the, the bad things and the good thingsabout leaving the ballet company.
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Ballet company looks afteryou as being another.
Now I, so he had a friend called.
Bernstein and he was doinga play called Candied.
So I auditioned for it.
He got me an audition for it.
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So I was 17 going into 18, so Iwas the fir youngest one there.
And they loved my singing.
They loved my dancingand I was in the show.
So did you.
Alright, so then you hadprofessional training.
You didn't just show up on Soul Train?
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No, no.
Oh,
no, no, no.
That was my first professional.
See, I was a junior ballet and then Iwas with the ballet with uh, uh, New York
City and they had a, what do you callit, A school out here and Irena Kaki.
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It was called the hin.
Tina, Tanya Lash, uh, studio, andthat's where all the, you would
see the directors, the producers,the everybody would go there.
But I went there because I wason a, what you call a scholarship
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since I was eight years old.
To 16.
So I was with them for a long time,but I was in the ballet world, which
I love because you played the musicand we had a, uh, live pianist.
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And I learned all these classical musicand then I went home and listened to my
Motown music and got there and the firstperson I wanted to be was Diana Ross.
I have to say Dita, I have to shareone of our childhood stories because we
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were at John Muir Junior High School andinvited us to one of her birthday parties.
It was me and my friend Frank Cash.
I think DME had a crush onFrank Cash, but Oh, definitely
Frank Cash and I couldnot dance a lick, nothing.
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And we didn't know that DME could dance.
We didn't know.
So we show up at the party and at somepoint they turn on the music and demeanor,
starts dancing all over the place.
And we're like, what?
We couldn't believe, like what did she do?
How did she learn how to do all of this?
It was like, it was great.
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But I hear you saying that it tooka lot of training to become the
greatest dancer of all of all time.
Yes.
You have to know the training.
And I took it when I was eightyears old to 16 of the ballet,
and then I joined with, uh, withLester Wilson, with Claude Thompson,
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with, uh, I, Jamie, Jaime Rogers.
I went to those classesand to prove what I can do.
And so I learned what you call thejazz side of, uh, of ballet, but I
didn't tell people about my ballet,so I kept myself quiet all the time.
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Aha.
Tell me this.
But I got into Soul Train.
Before I got into jazz classes.
Well, that was the questionI was just about to ask.
How did you get into Soul Train?
How did you get on Soul Trainwith Don Cornelius and all those?
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Well,
when we graduated from LA High,I didn't go to the graduation
because I was in candid.
I was performing and LenaBernstein hired my mother.
To be my guardian, so to look after me.
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So she took a summer off asabbatical and she stayed with me.
Uh, when I went home, I calledmy girlfriend and that was,
uh, Linda Joy and Jackie.
And we went to, for myfirst club, Maverick's Flat,
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I used to go to Maverick's Flat.
It's where all the youngpeople used to hang out.
Oh
yeah.
And when I walked through thatdoor, it was amazing to me.
When you look at, um, what,what's the John Travolta movie?
Uh, uh, uh, Saturday, nightNight, Saturday Night.
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Nothing like that.
I mean, but it's pieces of it.
But I mean, and who walkedin was, uh, three guys.
That was Campbell Lock, Scooby.
And Perry Brown.
Wow.
Those, all those guys allbecame famous too, right?
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Yes.
On Soul Train.
Yes, they were.
And, and they were the ones that also,uh, made the world of young people.
Loving the dances that we were doing.
And so Campbell was on the floorand when, of course, women were
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cute, we, you know, we wore ourafros and uh, uh, a mini skirt.
Uh, you know, we werecute and we never sweat.
Oh.
And we danced real cute, but men,the guy, they were, ah, ooh, ah.
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I'm going like, oh my God, no,I don't wanna dance with you.
And so anyway, I went withmy girlfriends and they came
in late, so I said, let's go.
So the next day they took meto the climax, which changed
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into what's the new, uh, show?
Uh, they, uh, I mean they, wellanyway, the first was climax.
Mm-hmm.
And, and it, the big placethey even put it in a movie.
Yes.
I've forgotten anothershow with all the guys.
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But I know what you, but he was amazing.
And who walked in?
Three guys.
Campbell Lock.
Scooby-Doo, Terry.
Okay.
They love the women.
So women never danced.
They always did likethat, but I yelled out.
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To Kim on the floor and I said, Hey you.
I said, you can dance.
And he said,
but he used this word pointthat's to me you next.
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I'm gonna dance with him next.
And I looked at my girlfriend.
And he said, you gonna dance with him?
And I went, ah, no, no, no, no.
And so the song was over.
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He came over to me and I startdancing and that's when I did
this nice little, little thing.
But I had girlfriends.
That yelled out to me, dance, copy him.
Do it.
And I just went, okay.
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So he started with this handmovement and the lock, and I
look at him and I went, go, wha.
Bam.
Boom.
Lock, lock point,
lock, lock.
And he stopped for a second and he lookedat me and then he started like competing.
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And so he kept dancingand I kept following.
Now, who jumped in?
What Scooby do?
And Scooby was doing his Scooby dowalk and so I copied him and then
here comes uh uh, Perry Brown.
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He was doing a runawayin his jumper outfit.
And I copy him.
And so I was one girlwith three guys around.
Everybody start backing up andwatching her and I went, oh my God.
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And, but I kept doing it and at theend, the guy said, after this, we gotta
go across the street to fat burgers.
So we could talk.
Alright.
Fat burgers.
That was the place.
That
was the place, but it,they had good hamburgers.
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Yes.
But anyway, that's when I went to Candi.
Now I'm going to perform.
Before I was rehearsing, then I wasrehearsing here, but we performed in San
Francisco and then at the Kennedy Center.
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But in can I got to meet the starand when I looked at her, we became
real friends and very close, andshe always talked to me in a.
Attitude.
And so I kept walking away from her andI heard her voice and she's an opera
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singer and so, but I'm like, have we met?
Do we know each other?
And she said, no, I don't fightthough because I live in Nashville.
And I went, okay.
But then she finally talked.
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I said, you know what?
You sound like Cinderella.
And then she said, quietly, don't telleverybody I'm the voice of Cinderella.
The real first Cinderella
and I went, holy crap,
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Cinderella, right in your presence.
So Cinderella, that's my then LarryKlein, uh, Kevin Klein, he joined.
The show and he was funnyand we got to be friends.
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So you're making friends with allthese people who are big shots
in the industry?
Yeah, I was the baby.
I get a chance to talk and let, uhuh, Mr. Bernstein, he was the nicest.
Person in the world, he wouldnot let me have champagne.
And he always tell my motherit's time for her to go to bed.
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But after the show closed, I wentback home and I went to Mary's Flat
and I met a lady named Pam Brown.
And the first thing she said.
Is that, uh, uh, to be You are a gooddancer and you gotta be on Soul Train.
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Now, I never heard of Soul Train.
I don't even know what SoulTrain is about, so I'm thinking
it's the name of a club.
Where I, me and Campbell wouldbe in a contest, and so she
said Meet at Park Friday.
Campbell came up to me and saidthat I just spoke to a lady
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about Soul Train.
And he said that we're invited to go.
And I went, okay, but nobody's toldme what Soul train what, but I thought
it was very weird to go to a park.
So when I went to the park on a Friday,who walks in the door was Don Ed and
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Tom, uh, uh, his co-partner and Campbell.
Was so excited as he and I saidthat, that's, uh, what do you call
it, a Superfly and, and that shathat's the way they were dressed.
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So anyway, they walked in.
We had to go down the soul train line.
I still didn't know it until he announced.
We all can be on the show.
Let me ask you something.
But anyway, that was my first day.
Saturday was on Soul Trainand I was in this contest.
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We won, but we won to be on the bigcocktail and Campbell was very upset,
but we were asked to come the second day.
But I didn't tell my friends, Campbelltold me, don't tell my friends.
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We went to the climax Saturdaynight and told my friends.
Okay.
Pam Brown told, caught us in theair, what you call a parking lot,
and said if we have any friendsthat is like us, bring them the soul
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train the next day, which we did.
And that was the day Imet this guy named Joe.
That's when Joe Text, he was on a stageand they were playing look for his,
um, vocal, his speech, they play back.
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So when he was playing back, Iwas just playing on the side.
I.
Then he looked down at me and he said,I wanna dance with you on that song.
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And I said, okay, but I'm thinking I'mgonna dance on the floor with the dancers.
And he's just gonnapoint to me or whatever.
But no, when he sang that song, he didn'task him, uh, he didn't ask Duncan either.
He didn't tell anybodywhat he was about to do.
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He grabbed my hand whenhe said, I got you.
He pulled me on the stage andbehind the scene I could see
Don Don Cornelia having a fit,
running back and forth, pointing to me.
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Get off the stage.
There you go.
Get off the stage.
Joe.
Texts kept singing, kept dancing,kept relating to me, so I kept going.
Great.
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That is great.
And that was the beginning ofgoing on Soul Train, which I got
a chance to meet Jackson Five.
Wow.
And you dance with James Brown.
Tell us about,
I got a, to me, Gladys Knight.
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Wow.
The greatest,
all the great, and, and I got a chanceto dance with James, James Brown.
Tell us this James Brown story.
Okay.
The James Brown story.
Story.
He, he had asked Don K,can he dance with me?
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But nobody tells me.
So you see Don K at the top?
Introducing James Brown.
Then you see Don walking down the stairs.
I'm at the end of the stair.
He sells me real quickly.
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Go up the stairs,
and I went, why am I going up to see?
And then he started pointing.
So I just went up the stairsand the music kept going.
I just danced.
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Never heard that song in my whole life.
Wow.
And you were famous for, and Jamessaid he wanted to dance with me.
But instead he kept looking at me.
You look from one side tothe other, up and down.
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Well, you, and you were famous forthat leg, that lip, that leg up.
Hold it up in the, in the skyand, and twirl around on one
leg.
Yeah.
Up.
Campbell was sliding toward me andhe's supposed to stop and go up.
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He did not stop, so I raised my leg.
He went through it.
Oh,
then he popped up
and
then everybody got excited.
I got excited too because I didn't fall.
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I wanna have one, one little legal part.
Since I am the logical lawyer.
That's right.
You guys, you guys didn't getrich from being on sole trade.
No.
You had to sign a, youhad to sign an agreement.
Tell us about that.
The only time
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later on
an a.
Came up to Soul Train andafter I danced with Joe Tech,
he said, did I get paid for that?
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And I said.
I didn't even get a record.
Nobody asked me nothing exceptbeing on the show, and I've already
danced with Joe Tech three times.
And so he said, did Joe text people?
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No.
So he pointed to the down, canasdown below, and I went, no.
He said, anybody on this showpaid me for anything I said.
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He said, are you serious?
And he went away.
He shook my hand, toldme I was a good dancer.
And we were in the bleachers.
So he walked down andthen I looked at him.
He went straight to Don Kez.
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Then Don looked up at me, not very happy,
and I said, I'm just sitting uphere, and he's mad at me already.
And so I. And the next thing I knew, I hadthree contracts, four, four contracts in
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front of me and, and all he said, sign it.
And I went, no, I don't think so.
I gotta talk to my lawyer.
I, I, I, first, I, I called my mother.
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I had another friend of mine, we calledhim White Boy, and at that time he could
not be on Soul Train, but he came with me.
So he read the, he said it's astandard contract and that you
get this for at being on after.
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I said, I'm not on Africa.
He said, after you sign this,you will be a member of amra.
And I went, okay.
But nobody ever told me what after was on.
So all those many yearsI was on Soul Train.
Right?
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Technically I was supposed be paid.
So you got millions of dollars,
right?
I, I, I only got those for the,it's $200 for each, for each dance.
That was three.
Okay.
And take, um, the only personthat told me, guess who?
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Dick Clark.
Dick Clark, because you wentover to Dick Clark later, huh?
Now, yes, and
I won the contest, but before you,and so therefore I gotta go to Hawaii.
But before you, but, and then I workedfor him in different things, but Dick
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Clark actually hired me in his production.
So anything that he did on television.
He put me in American Music Award.
Wow.
And so that, uh, but I was astand in at first, and then I went
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to the audition for the dancer,but I asked him, can I audition?
And he said, sure, but I don'thave any, I can't put you in.
Because that is a rulethe choreographer chooses.
And I looked at him and I went,I'm not asking you to put me in.
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I'm asking you can I audition?
And so when I audition, thechoreographer came to him, not me,
and just said, where did you find her?
She is the best dancer I've ever had.
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There you go.
So I was still a standin,but I danced on American band
stand.
I was so glad to be a standin.
Because there was a scene when theygave an award to Ella Fitzgerald
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and they gave it a, uh, and whowas giving the award was Lou Roth.
I was a stand-in for Ella Fitzgerald,and they put, they put me in a seat.
Way beyond the, even the halfway circle.
They wanted her to walk down the aisle.
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I knew Ella Fitzgerald had a stroke.
What's the matter with it?
They didn't know.
So I sat at the, for the seat theytold me to sit in and, uh, they
had a stand in to be Lou Raws toand to say, uh, El Fitzgerald.
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So I slowly got up.
I wasn't in a, at theedge, I was in the middle.
So that means I have topretend ready come through.
So when I hit the uh aisle, I walked.
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Very slow.
The director yelled at me, Dita,can you please walk down the aisle?
And I said that I'm not Dita.
I'm Ella Fitzgerald.
I'm walking down the aisle.
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Like Ella Fitzgerald.
Then I heard rumbles on the speakerand they told me, okay, we're
gonna switch Ella from sitting uphere, put her in the first row.
And I went, okay.
In my head.
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Okay, so they mentioned itagain, Ms. Ella Fitzgerald.
I took three steps and Istopped because they had spared.
Going up to the stageand she's by herself.
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So I stood there, so stood, Dick cameout, Dick said, are you costing me money?
And I said, am ID.
Oh, am I, Ella Fitzgerald?
So he said, you're Ella Fitzgerald.
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I said, I can't climb no stairs by myself.
I need to stand in to help meput my arm on their arm and
then dump me up the stairs.
And then at the top they gave.
But Dick, the uh, uh, uh, we vote, he saidthat Ella is not gonna do what I just did.
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And I said, yes, she is.
And so he said, I bet on that.
So we have 50 cents.
So I bet then I, the wordthat Ella Fitzgerald was here.
And you won the bed and she came outof her car and then what they brought
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out of the trunk, a wheelchair, andthen they put her in the wheelchair.
Dick felt so bad.
He was saying that you can be.
Backstage and then we wheel you on.
But Ella Fitzgerald is a strong woman.
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She is not going to be in awheelchair being carried out
on stage where everybody sees.
She said, no way.
The first thing she saidthat I sit in the front seat
where I was.
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So therefore they put her there.
They introduced her to the two standingguys, and then who es her is Lu Ross.
I'm so glad I did that.
Just so interesting, just so insightful.
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But let me ask you, 'cause I think youtold me before, going back briefly to
Soul Train, the Soul Train dancers, theregular dancers didn't get paid a dime.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
Dick, uh, Donez didn't wanna pay us.
He gave, he just gave us chicken.
Uh, uh, Kentucky, but I did thefirst, I asked why we go cont Kentucky
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chicken when we have Golden Bird?
Oh God.
And Golden Bird was opened by a black,uh, uh, a Mr. And Mrs on Normandy.
And so somebody got them to giveus Golden Bird, but he died.
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And then after he died we wentto Kentucky Fried Chicken.
So that was the paymentfor the DA for the dancers.
He didn't like me, but yet.
Don, listen,
I don't know how to explain it.
There's a yes and no love fest.
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Okay?
I always knew what I wanted to be.
I wanted to be a dancer.
I wanna be in show business.
I wanted to be there.
Therefore, my listening and watchingsoupy sales, even Bo the clown, uh
uh, my mother even had engineer Billto say my name on TV for my birthday.
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That's pretty cool.
And my mother even knewthat I loved showbiz.
I loved the Nicholas brother.
I remember your brother loved,uh, the Amos and Andy episode.
I still have our game onmy, on my, what you call it.
I have Bojangles, billRobinson, uh, uh, horn.
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Those people would stroke.
He.
And people forgot what he stroked.
He was the black manwith Wayne, John Wayne.
Does anybody know that?
You do?
Did you know the black, the uh,uh, uh, in the Magnificent seven?
The evil guy was a Mexican guy.
Nobody knew he all thattime he was working.
(37:45):
Okay.
Found out he was black.
And what did he do?
Go in the.
Back part of the studio and hislast movie was with Dean Martin.
Uh, uh, something about it was thesetwo sisters, but it was a good, it was
a good movie for him, but it was blackand white and he played, uh, chauffeur.
(38:06):
Dita, I want to hear about.
Private Benjamin,
private Benjamin, you werenecessarily television.
I, Goldie was the sweetest thing.
Uh, I remember it was called thedailies as uh, uh, uh, I was telling
Bernie this situation that when Igot on private, Benjamin Goldie would
(38:27):
always ask me, you wanna see the ies?
And I looked at her and Iwent, because mean race.
So at lunchtime.
Betty, you are the only onethat's not going to the dailies.
And I went to her that every,everybody's going to the dailies.
Everybody said that I don't gambleand, and I'm not into horse racing.
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So to me.
And then she started telling thedirector and the producer the thinks,
and she took me into the roomwhere the dailies are and you
get to see what you're shooting.
You see your fearexpression and everything.
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And that's when Goldie start telling me,okay, look at the way I'm looking at the.
The person, now you gotta cheatand look this way because of
the camera, it's gonna be here.
She taught me how to be in movie starin, in, in, with camera and everything.
And being with ShirleyMcClain for three years.
Do you know.
(39:33):
The people I met, Elizabeth Taylor.
Debbie Allen, Elizabeth,uh, what's Debbie?
Debbie Reynolds.
Do you know Frank Sinatra?
Met?
You're meeting stars, but you Red Fox.
His cartoon and me, I justrolled it up, threw it away.
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It was on a napkin.
You just did.
And after I did that,I went, are you crazy?
Am I off?
Because now
I'm not shown.
But let me, we're running outta time.
I want you you to tell that story aboutJimmy Carter and the Secret Service.
And the dressing room.
(40:19):
Oh,
okay.
Our president, Jimmy Carter, butwe were performing with Shirley
McLean at the Kennedy Center.
I have a very quick chain, but Ihave to take all my clothes off and
then put on the costume backstage.
There were these men in suitsand they were around my.
(40:40):
Dressing table and they're lookingaround and I'm just going, uh,
you're not supposed to be here.
The guys looked at me andsaid, we're not moving.
This is where we're gonna besecret, sir. And so I'm going
like, please turn your eyes.
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I'm naked.
That means no underwear, no nothing.
I'm bug naked.
Who knew?
So anyway, uh, I finished the show.
I bowed and everything likethat, and I went straight to the
elevator that takes you down.
I was mad.
I had my, uh, robe on because I don'tknow why these guys are in the back.
(41:24):
And so anyway, the manager yellsin the, um, down the elevator.
Dita, come back up.
No, I don't wanna come back up.
Come back up.
Shirley, want you back up.
So I got back in the, in the elevator.
And I, uh, went up and I was stillvery happy, but the door opened up.
(41:49):
And guess who was standing there?
Mr. Uh, uh, uh, president Carter and Amy.
Hmm.
And I went, Mr. President.
And Shirley was saying, oh, this is myother dancer and I'm going, and then I saw
(42:12):
those guys and I'm going like, oh my God,
the guys saw.
And the next day he was inviting Shirley.
We all going to the White Houseto have with a a, a Mrs. Potter
(42:35):
and I've worked, we went to the OvalOffice and on the rug, they have a giant
United States, the eagle, the flag andeverything, and we're not allowed to.
Um, that's Shirley Lee and usand two other, uh, security
people in the White House.
So we're waiting for, so what did I do?
(42:58):
Drop down to the floor and madeangels on the rug and I said,
I'm in the White House America.
There you go.
In the White House.
In the White House.
Oh
wow.
And also with Shirley, I didn't tell youthis, I met the Queen that's on Google.
(43:20):
You'll see it all the time performingfor the Queen and Bob Hope.
Was saying, oh, you should bring yourcamera and take a picture with the queen.
Now.
Uh, nobody told me we'renot supposed to do that.
But anyway, Bob Pope and all theseother celebrities, they fo you
know how you stand in line and thequeen comes to each of us and tells
(43:42):
us we are good and we bow to her.
And we were taught that.
And so anyway, she was walkingdown and this is before the king,
before her son was getting married.
And so I had my camera, buthe was in the back of me.
Bob Hope saw it, and he wassaying I was just playing.
She take, don't take thecamera and I'm looking No.
(44:07):
And everybody is shaking their head no.
And I'm going, don't do it.
So the PR and the queen passed by'cause we in a line and she stopped.
And she looked at me.
She didn't say anything first.
Then she said, you are a good dancer.
And I went, thank you.
And then she went down furtherand talked to Shirley and I was
(44:30):
saying, see the rocks on her neck?
She had all the glitter,the crown, everything a man.
Start laughing.
He said, you're so charming.
And I went, I said, and he said,you could see the rest at the
Buckingham Palace, the bridge.
They have a place there where youcould see the jury of the queen.
(44:51):
And I was, and he was laughingand he was in a military outfit
and there were other military.
And so he kept walking.
And so, uh, who, uh, Bob Hope or CleoLane, they were whispering to me.
What was I saying to the king?
And I said, the king of what?
That's the queen's husband.
(45:14):
And I went, I'm talkingto the Queen's husband.
Okay.
Oh my.
That's great.
D we have to go now, but Yes, I hear you.
You wrote a book.
Tell us, what's the name of your book?
Yes,
here's my book.
Okay.
My book.
I wanna show this one person.
(45:38):
Can you see me?
I don't think they can see.
See it, but Well, maybe they can.
It's a picture of me you see, and Frank,when we were in junior high and, and
the other person was
Darelle
from Solid
Gold.
That's great.
Thank you for putting me in your book.
You say the name of your, say the nameof your books so everyone can hear it.
(46:00):
Name of my book is, are
You Girl on Soul?
Great.
Great.
Well, we wanna thank you, Dita.
You're, and anybody wants to get
it, they can get it at the Amazonand or you or my website dancer, Joe.
Alright.
Thank you so much, Dita.
But I just wanted to say, when youhave a dream fight and grab it because
(46:27):
nobody's gonna get that dream, but you.
I had a dream and Martin LutherKing had a dream to, and he
pursued his and we can do ours.
That sounds logical, totally logical.
I am the logical lawyer.
I welcome your comments atthe Logical lawyer@gmail.com.
The webpage is the logical attorney.me,and the book is a prosecutor's analysis
(46:52):
of Personal Supernatural experiences.
Alright.
Thank you so much Dina.
You are a phenomenon.
Well, that's a wrap for thisepisode of The Logical Lawyer.
If you found this insightful, be sure tolike, follow, subscribe, leave a review,
and share it with others who appreciatestraight talk and sharp analysis.
(47:13):
Got a question or topic for Bernie.
We'd love to hear from you.
Connect with bernie@thelogicallawyer.me.
That's at the Logicallawyer.me, and you've got it.
So until next time, stay informed.
Think critically, and asalways, keep it logical.
Oh, Bernie Brown, withknowledge profound in the realm.
(47:41):
Seek.
Coming up on this episode ofthe Logical Lawyer Podcast.
(00:04):
Oh my God.
But when I went to him, of course GeorgeBalanchine told me in his action way that
this is where I would be, and I told him.
You can't tell me where I wanna go.
I wanna be a go-go dancer.
(00:25):
I wanna go, go in the, no, I don'tknow anything about all these years.
You never told me I was black,
but I'm black.
(00:51):
Welcome to Brown's Delight, where mindsunite both day night in uncertain.
He's in life, so gather around.
Let's set things right.
(01:12):
Welcome to the Logical Lawyer Podcastwith attorney Bernie Brown, retired
Los Angeles assistant city attorneywith decades of legal experience and
also extensive leadership experience.
Serving in top bar associations likethe John M Langston Bar Association and
the Association of Black City Attorneys,Bernie is powered by a deep personal
(01:33):
testimony that took him from South CentralLA to the courtrooms of downtown la.
Bernie dives into today's toughestlegal, social, and spiritual issues.
He brings facts, answers, and sharpanalysis to cut through all the noise.
So are you ready for ano nonsense perspective?
(01:53):
Then let's get started with your host.
Attorney Bernie Brown, the Logical Lawyer.
Hello, ladies and gentlemen.
My name is Bernie Brown.
I'm the Logical lawyer.
Today we have an interview withone of the greatest dancers
and choreographers of all time.
Get outta here, my childhoodfriend, to meet Joe Freeman.
(02:17):
She's.
Yay.
You'll remember her from Soul Train.
She's danced with James Brown andJoe T, and with the Jackson five,
and she's been on American bands.
And she was a private Benjamin andshe's been a choreographer and she's
(02:40):
met Presidents and Frank Sinatra and
on and.
We grew up together at elementary school,
(03:01):
so dme, let's get it on.
She's got some really profoundstories, just interesting
experiences to share with us.
DME tell us.
How you became one of thegreatest dancers in the world.
Get outta here.
(03:24):
If you remember at John Muir Junior High,junior High School, I was a poop or.
With, uh, MS means,
yes,
I wanted to really dance with theboots and everything, but my mother
put me into ballet school andso I stayed in ballet when I was
(03:47):
eight to 16 with the same people.
And that was George.
Well, he owned the, he was thehead of the New York City Ballet.
So anyway, I've been withhim for all those years.
Wow.
And when you hit 16, you get to chooseto go to the New York City Ballet,
(04:12):
which I was taught, told all my life.
And then there's the HarlemBallet, which I love.
I really did.
And
also the Utah Ballet, the American Ballet.
But anyway, that's what I was waitingfor, George, balancing to gimme the, okay.
(04:33):
But he gave me the, okay.
To go into the Harlem Ballet, andI really, really appreciated it.
But nobody told me about the HarlemBallet since I was born in this
ballet world, so I don't know.
Anything about it.
(04:53):
But he gave me a ticket to go tothe Ford Theater in the hills up
there where the observatory is,and I got a chance to see them.
And the Harlem Ballet wasbeautiful, especially when the
black girl came on with a redoutfit and she was the Firebird.
(05:15):
Oh my God.
But when I went to him, of courseGeorge Balanchine told me in his action
way that this is where I would be.
And I told him, you can'ttell me where I wanna go.
I wanna be a go-go dancer.
(05:37):
I wanna go, go in the, no, I don'tknow anything about all these years.
You never told me I
was black, but I'm black.
Well, I just remember when we were so,I, so he was very nice and he told me
the, the bad things and the good thingsabout leaving the ballet company.
(06:02):
Ballet company looks afteryou as being another.
Now I, so he had a friend called.
Bernstein and he was doinga play called Candied.
So I auditioned for it.
He got me an audition for it.
(06:24):
So I was 17 going into 18, so Iwas the fir youngest one there.
And they loved my singing.
They loved my dancingand I was in the show.
So did you.
Alright, so then you hadprofessional training.
You didn't just show up on Soul Train?
(06:46):
No, no.
Oh,
no, no, no.
That was my first professional.
See, I was a junior ballet and then Iwas with the ballet with uh, uh, New York
City and they had a, what do you callit, A school out here and Irena Kaki.
(07:10):
It was called the hin.
Tina, Tanya Lash, uh, studio, andthat's where all the, you would
see the directors, the producers,the everybody would go there.
But I went there because I wason a, what you call a scholarship
(07:33):
since I was eight years old.
To 16.
So I was with them for a long time,but I was in the ballet world, which
I love because you played the musicand we had a, uh, live pianist.
(07:53):
And I learned all these classical musicand then I went home and listened to my
Motown music and got there and the firstperson I wanted to be was Diana Ross.
I have to say Dita, I have to shareone of our childhood stories because we
(08:17):
were at John Muir Junior High School andinvited us to one of her birthday parties.
It was me and my friend Frank Cash.
I think DME had a crush onFrank Cash, but Oh, definitely
Frank Cash and I couldnot dance a lick, nothing.
(08:40):
And we didn't know that DME could dance.
We didn't know.
So we show up at the party and at somepoint they turn on the music and demeanor,
starts dancing all over the place.
And we're like, what?
We couldn't believe, like what did she do?
How did she learn how to do all of this?
It was like, it was great.
(09:01):
But I hear you saying that it tooka lot of training to become the
greatest dancer of all of all time.
Yes.
You have to know the training.
And I took it when I was eightyears old to 16 of the ballet,
and then I joined with, uh, withLester Wilson, with Claude Thompson,
(09:21):
with, uh, I, Jamie, Jaime Rogers.
I went to those classesand to prove what I can do.
And so I learned what you call thejazz side of, uh, of ballet, but I
didn't tell people about my ballet,so I kept myself quiet all the time.
(09:47):
Aha.
Tell me this.
But I got into Soul Train.
Before I got into jazz classes.
Well, that was the questionI was just about to ask.
How did you get into Soul Train?
How did you get on Soul Trainwith Don Cornelius and all those?
(10:07):
Well,
when we graduated from LA High,I didn't go to the graduation
because I was in candid.
I was performing and LenaBernstein hired my mother.
To be my guardian, so to look after me.
(10:30):
So she took a summer off asabbatical and she stayed with me.
Uh, when I went home, I calledmy girlfriend and that was,
uh, Linda Joy and Jackie.
And we went to, for myfirst club, Maverick's Flat,
(10:58):
I used to go to Maverick's Flat.
It's where all the youngpeople used to hang out.
Oh
yeah.
And when I walked through thatdoor, it was amazing to me.
When you look at, um, what,what's the John Travolta movie?
Uh, uh, uh, Saturday, nightNight, Saturday Night.
(11:19):
Nothing like that.
I mean, but it's pieces of it.
But I mean, and who walkedin was, uh, three guys.
That was Campbell Lock, Scooby.
And Perry Brown.
Wow.
Those, all those guys allbecame famous too, right?
(11:39):
Yes.
On Soul Train.
Yes, they were.
And, and they were the ones that also,uh, made the world of young people.
Loving the dances that we were doing.
And so Campbell was on the floorand when, of course, women were
(12:01):
cute, we, you know, we wore ourafros and uh, uh, a mini skirt.
Uh, you know, we werecute and we never sweat.
Oh.
And we danced real cute, but men,the guy, they were, ah, ooh, ah.
(12:23):
I'm going like, oh my God, no,I don't wanna dance with you.
And so anyway, I went withmy girlfriends and they came
in late, so I said, let's go.
So the next day they took meto the climax, which changed
(12:44):
into what's the new, uh, show?
Uh, they, uh, I mean they, wellanyway, the first was climax.
Mm-hmm.
And, and it, the big placethey even put it in a movie.
Yes.
I've forgotten anothershow with all the guys.
(13:05):
But I know what you, but he was amazing.
And who walked in?
Three guys.
Campbell Lock.
Scooby-Doo, Terry.
Okay.
They love the women.
So women never danced.
They always did likethat, but I yelled out.
(13:30):
To Kim on the floor and I said, Hey you.
I said, you can dance.
And he said,
but he used this word pointthat's to me you next.
(13:51):
I'm gonna dance with him next.
And I looked at my girlfriend.
And he said, you gonna dance with him?
And I went, ah, no, no, no, no.
And so the song was over.
(14:13):
He came over to me and I startdancing and that's when I did
this nice little, little thing.
But I had girlfriends.
That yelled out to me, dance, copy him.
Do it.
And I just went, okay.
(14:35):
So he started with this handmovement and the lock, and I
look at him and I went, go, wha.
Bam.
Boom.
Lock, lock point,
lock, lock.
And he stopped for a second and he lookedat me and then he started like competing.
(14:59):
And so he kept dancingand I kept following.
Now, who jumped in?
What Scooby do?
And Scooby was doing his Scooby dowalk and so I copied him and then
here comes uh uh, Perry Brown.
(15:22):
He was doing a runawayin his jumper outfit.
And I copy him.
And so I was one girlwith three guys around.
Everybody start backing up andwatching her and I went, oh my God.
(15:44):
And, but I kept doing it and at theend, the guy said, after this, we gotta
go across the street to fat burgers.
So we could talk.
Alright.
Fat burgers.
That was the place.
That
was the place, but it,they had good hamburgers.
(16:05):
Yes.
But anyway, that's when I went to Candi.
Now I'm going to perform.
Before I was rehearsing, then I wasrehearsing here, but we performed in San
Francisco and then at the Kennedy Center.
(16:25):
But in can I got to meet the starand when I looked at her, we became
real friends and very close, andshe always talked to me in a.
Attitude.
And so I kept walking away from her andI heard her voice and she's an opera
(16:50):
singer and so, but I'm like, have we met?
Do we know each other?
And she said, no, I don't fightthough because I live in Nashville.
And I went, okay.
But then she finally talked.
(17:10):
I said, you know what?
You sound like Cinderella.
And then she said, quietly, don't telleverybody I'm the voice of Cinderella.
The real first Cinderella
and I went, holy crap,
(17:34):
Cinderella, right in your presence.
So Cinderella, that's my then LarryKlein, uh, Kevin Klein, he joined.
The show and he was funnyand we got to be friends.
(17:55):
So you're making friends with allthese people who are big shots
in the industry?
Yeah, I was the baby.
I get a chance to talk and let, uhuh, Mr. Bernstein, he was the nicest.
Person in the world, he wouldnot let me have champagne.
And he always tell my motherit's time for her to go to bed.
(18:18):
But after the show closed, I wentback home and I went to Mary's Flat
and I met a lady named Pam Brown.
And the first thing she said.
Is that, uh, uh, to be You are a gooddancer and you gotta be on Soul Train.
(18:40):
Now, I never heard of Soul Train.
I don't even know what SoulTrain is about, so I'm thinking
it's the name of a club.
Where I, me and Campbell wouldbe in a contest, and so she
said Meet at Park Friday.
Campbell came up to me and saidthat I just spoke to a lady
(19:06):
about Soul Train.
And he said that we're invited to go.
And I went, okay, but nobody's toldme what Soul train what, but I thought
it was very weird to go to a park.
So when I went to the park on a Friday,who walks in the door was Don Ed and
(19:31):
Tom, uh, uh, his co-partner and Campbell.
Was so excited as he and I saidthat, that's, uh, what do you call
it, a Superfly and, and that shathat's the way they were dressed.
(19:53):
So anyway, they walked in.
We had to go down the soul train line.
I still didn't know it until he announced.
We all can be on the show.
Let me ask you something.
But anyway, that was my first day.
Saturday was on Soul Trainand I was in this contest.
(20:19):
We won, but we won to be on the bigcocktail and Campbell was very upset,
but we were asked to come the second day.
But I didn't tell my friends, Campbelltold me, don't tell my friends.
(20:39):
We went to the climax Saturdaynight and told my friends.
Okay.
Pam Brown told, caught us in theair, what you call a parking lot,
and said if we have any friendsthat is like us, bring them the soul
(21:03):
train the next day, which we did.
And that was the day Imet this guy named Joe.
That's when Joe Text, he was on a stageand they were playing look for his,
um, vocal, his speech, they play back.
(21:26):
So when he was playing back, Iwas just playing on the side.
I.
Then he looked down at me and he said,I wanna dance with you on that song.
(21:48):
And I said, okay, but I'm thinking I'mgonna dance on the floor with the dancers.
And he's just gonnapoint to me or whatever.
But no, when he sang that song, he didn'task him, uh, he didn't ask Duncan either.
He didn't tell anybodywhat he was about to do.
(22:12):
He grabbed my hand whenhe said, I got you.
He pulled me on the stage andbehind the scene I could see
Don Don Cornelia having a fit,
running back and forth, pointing to me.
(22:33):
Get off the stage.
There you go.
Get off the stage.
Joe.
Texts kept singing, kept dancing,kept relating to me, so I kept going.
Great.
(22:53):
That is great.
And that was the beginning ofgoing on Soul Train, which I got
a chance to meet Jackson Five.
Wow.
And you dance with James Brown.
Tell us about,
I got a, to me, Gladys Knight.
(23:15):
Wow.
The greatest,
all the great, and, and I got a chanceto dance with James, James Brown.
Tell us this James Brown story.
Okay.
The James Brown story.
Story.
He, he had asked Don K,can he dance with me?
(23:41):
But nobody tells me.
So you see Don K at the top?
Introducing James Brown.
Then you see Don walking down the stairs.
I'm at the end of the stair.
He sells me real quickly.
(24:04):
Go up the stairs,
and I went, why am I going up to see?
And then he started pointing.
So I just went up the stairsand the music kept going.
I just danced.
(24:24):
Never heard that song in my whole life.
Wow.
And you were famous for, and Jamessaid he wanted to dance with me.
But instead he kept looking at me.
You look from one side tothe other, up and down.
(24:47):
Well, you, and you were famous forthat leg, that lip, that leg up.
Hold it up in the, in the skyand, and twirl around on one
leg.
Yeah.
Up.
Campbell was sliding toward me andhe's supposed to stop and go up.
(25:13):
He did not stop, so I raised my leg.
He went through it.
Oh,
then he popped up
and
then everybody got excited.
I got excited too because I didn't fall.
(25:35):
I wanna have one, one little legal part.
Since I am the logical lawyer.
That's right.
You guys, you guys didn't getrich from being on sole trade.
No.
You had to sign a, youhad to sign an agreement.
Tell us about that.
The only time
(25:56):
later on
an a.
Came up to Soul Train andafter I danced with Joe Tech,
he said, did I get paid for that?
(26:16):
And I said.
I didn't even get a record.
Nobody asked me nothing exceptbeing on the show, and I've already
danced with Joe Tech three times.
And so he said, did Joe text people?
(26:37):
No.
So he pointed to the down, canasdown below, and I went, no.
He said, anybody on this showpaid me for anything I said.
(27:00):
He said, are you serious?
And he went away.
He shook my hand, toldme I was a good dancer.
And we were in the bleachers.
So he walked down andthen I looked at him.
He went straight to Don Kez.
(27:23):
Then Don looked up at me, not very happy,
and I said, I'm just sitting uphere, and he's mad at me already.
And so I. And the next thing I knew, I hadthree contracts, four, four contracts in
(27:45):
front of me and, and all he said, sign it.
And I went, no, I don't think so.
I gotta talk to my lawyer.
I, I, I, first, I, I called my mother.
(28:05):
I had another friend of mine, we calledhim White Boy, and at that time he could
not be on Soul Train, but he came with me.
So he read the, he said it's astandard contract and that you
get this for at being on after.
(28:27):
I said, I'm not on Africa.
He said, after you sign this,you will be a member of amra.
And I went, okay.
But nobody ever told me what after was on.
So all those many yearsI was on Soul Train.
Right?
(28:47):
Technically I was supposed be paid.
So you got millions of dollars,
right?
I, I, I only got those for the,it's $200 for each, for each dance.
That was three.
Okay.
And take, um, the only personthat told me, guess who?
(29:12):
Dick Clark.
Dick Clark, because you wentover to Dick Clark later, huh?
Now, yes, and
I won the contest, but before you,and so therefore I gotta go to Hawaii.
But before you, but, and then I workedfor him in different things, but Dick
(29:32):
Clark actually hired me in his production.
So anything that he did on television.
He put me in American Music Award.
Wow.
And so that, uh, but I was astand in at first, and then I went
(29:53):
to the audition for the dancer,but I asked him, can I audition?
And he said, sure, but I don'thave any, I can't put you in.
Because that is a rulethe choreographer chooses.
And I looked at him and I went,I'm not asking you to put me in.
(30:17):
I'm asking you can I audition?
And so when I audition, thechoreographer came to him, not me,
and just said, where did you find her?
She is the best dancer I've ever had.
(30:40):
There you go.
So I was still a standin,but I danced on American band
stand.
I was so glad to be a standin.
Because there was a scene when theygave an award to Ella Fitzgerald
(31:01):
and they gave it a, uh, and whowas giving the award was Lou Roth.
I was a stand-in for Ella Fitzgerald,and they put, they put me in a seat.
Way beyond the, even the halfway circle.
They wanted her to walk down the aisle.
(31:25):
I knew Ella Fitzgerald had a stroke.
What's the matter with it?
They didn't know.
So I sat at the, for the seat theytold me to sit in and, uh, they
had a stand in to be Lou Raws toand to say, uh, El Fitzgerald.
(31:46):
So I slowly got up.
I wasn't in a, at theedge, I was in the middle.
So that means I have topretend ready come through.
So when I hit the uh aisle, I walked.
(32:07):
Very slow.
The director yelled at me, Dita,can you please walk down the aisle?
And I said that I'm not Dita.
I'm Ella Fitzgerald.
I'm walking down the aisle.
(32:27):
Like Ella Fitzgerald.
Then I heard rumbles on the speakerand they told me, okay, we're
gonna switch Ella from sitting uphere, put her in the first row.
And I went, okay.
In my head.
(32:47):
Okay, so they mentioned itagain, Ms. Ella Fitzgerald.
I took three steps and Istopped because they had spared.
Going up to the stageand she's by herself.
(33:10):
So I stood there, so stood, Dick cameout, Dick said, are you costing me money?
And I said, am ID.
Oh, am I, Ella Fitzgerald?
So he said, you're Ella Fitzgerald.
(33:30):
I said, I can't climb no stairs by myself.
I need to stand in to help meput my arm on their arm and
then dump me up the stairs.
And then at the top they gave.
But Dick, the uh, uh, uh, we vote, he saidthat Ella is not gonna do what I just did.
(33:56):
And I said, yes, she is.
And so he said, I bet on that.
So we have 50 cents.
So I bet then I, the wordthat Ella Fitzgerald was here.
And you won the bed and she came outof her car and then what they brought
(34:18):
out of the trunk, a wheelchair, andthen they put her in the wheelchair.
Dick felt so bad.
He was saying that you can be.
Backstage and then we wheel you on.
But Ella Fitzgerald is a strong woman.
(34:40):
She is not going to be in awheelchair being carried out
on stage where everybody sees.
She said, no way.
The first thing she saidthat I sit in the front seat
where I was.
(35:00):
So therefore they put her there.
They introduced her to the two standingguys, and then who es her is Lu Ross.
I'm so glad I did that.
Just so interesting, just so insightful.
(35:24):
But let me ask you, 'cause I think youtold me before, going back briefly to
Soul Train, the Soul Train dancers, theregular dancers didn't get paid a dime.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
Dick, uh, Donez didn't wanna pay us.
He gave, he just gave us chicken.
Uh, uh, Kentucky, but I did thefirst, I asked why we go cont Kentucky
(35:49):
chicken when we have Golden Bird?
Oh God.
And Golden Bird was opened by a black,uh, uh, a Mr. And Mrs on Normandy.
And so somebody got them to giveus Golden Bird, but he died.
(36:09):
And then after he died we wentto Kentucky Fried Chicken.
So that was the paymentfor the DA for the dancers.
He didn't like me, but yet.
Don, listen,
I don't know how to explain it.
There's a yes and no love fest.
(36:33):
Okay?
I always knew what I wanted to be.
I wanted to be a dancer.
I wanna be in show business.
I wanted to be there.
Therefore, my listening and watchingsoupy sales, even Bo the clown, uh
uh, my mother even had engineer Billto say my name on TV for my birthday.
(36:59):
That's pretty cool.
And my mother even knewthat I loved showbiz.
I loved the Nicholas brother.
I remember your brother loved,uh, the Amos and Andy episode.
I still have our game onmy, on my, what you call it.
I have Bojangles, billRobinson, uh, uh, horn.
(37:22):
Those people would stroke.
He.
And people forgot what he stroked.
He was the black manwith Wayne, John Wayne.
Does anybody know that?
You do?
Did you know the black, the uh,uh, uh, in the Magnificent seven?
The evil guy was a Mexican guy.
Nobody knew he all thattime he was working.
(37:45):
Okay.
Found out he was black.
And what did he do?
Go in the.
Back part of the studio and hislast movie was with Dean Martin.
Uh, uh, something about it was thesetwo sisters, but it was a good, it was
a good movie for him, but it was blackand white and he played, uh, chauffeur.
(38:06):
Dita, I want to hear about.
Private Benjamin,
private Benjamin, you werenecessarily television.
I, Goldie was the sweetest thing.
Uh, I remember it was called thedailies as uh, uh, uh, I was telling
Bernie this situation that when Igot on private, Benjamin Goldie would
(38:27):
always ask me, you wanna see the ies?
And I looked at her and Iwent, because mean race.
So at lunchtime.
Betty, you are the only onethat's not going to the dailies.
And I went to her that every,everybody's going to the dailies.
Everybody said that I don't gambleand, and I'm not into horse racing.
(38:52):
So to me.
And then she started telling thedirector and the producer the thinks,
and she took me into the roomwhere the dailies are and you
get to see what you're shooting.
You see your fearexpression and everything.
(39:13):
And that's when Goldie start telling me,okay, look at the way I'm looking at the.
The person, now you gotta cheatand look this way because of
the camera, it's gonna be here.
She taught me how to be in movie starin, in, in, with camera and everything.
And being with ShirleyMcClain for three years.
Do you know.
(39:33):
The people I met, Elizabeth Taylor.
Debbie Allen, Elizabeth,uh, what's Debbie?
Debbie Reynolds.
Do you know Frank Sinatra?
Met?
You're meeting stars, but you Red Fox.
His cartoon and me, I justrolled it up, threw it away.
(39:58):
It was on a napkin.
You just did.
And after I did that,I went, are you crazy?
Am I off?
Because now
I'm not shown.
But let me, we're running outta time.
I want you you to tell that story aboutJimmy Carter and the Secret Service.
And the dressing room.
(40:19):
Oh,
okay.
Our president, Jimmy Carter, butwe were performing with Shirley
McLean at the Kennedy Center.
I have a very quick chain, but Ihave to take all my clothes off and
then put on the costume backstage.
There were these men in suitsand they were around my.
(40:40):
Dressing table and they're lookingaround and I'm just going, uh,
you're not supposed to be here.
The guys looked at me andsaid, we're not moving.
This is where we're gonna besecret, sir. And so I'm going
like, please turn your eyes.
(41:01):
I'm naked.
That means no underwear, no nothing.
I'm bug naked.
Who knew?
So anyway, uh, I finished the show.
I bowed and everything likethat, and I went straight to the
elevator that takes you down.
I was mad.
I had my, uh, robe on because I don'tknow why these guys are in the back.
(41:24):
And so anyway, the manager yellsin the, um, down the elevator.
Dita, come back up.
No, I don't wanna come back up.
Come back up.
Shirley, want you back up.
So I got back in the, in the elevator.
And I, uh, went up and I was stillvery happy, but the door opened up.
(41:49):
And guess who was standing there?
Mr. Uh, uh, uh, president Carter and Amy.
Hmm.
And I went, Mr. President.
And Shirley was saying, oh, this is myother dancer and I'm going, and then I saw
(42:12):
those guys and I'm going like, oh my God,
the guys saw.
And the next day he was inviting Shirley.
We all going to the White Houseto have with a a, a Mrs. Potter
(42:35):
and I've worked, we went to the OvalOffice and on the rug, they have a giant
United States, the eagle, the flag andeverything, and we're not allowed to.
Um, that's Shirley Lee and usand two other, uh, security
people in the White House.
So we're waiting for, so what did I do?
(42:58):
Drop down to the floor and madeangels on the rug and I said,
I'm in the White House America.
There you go.
In the White House.
In the White House.
Oh
wow.
And also with Shirley, I didn't tell youthis, I met the Queen that's on Google.
(43:20):
You'll see it all the time performingfor the Queen and Bob Hope.
Was saying, oh, you should bring yourcamera and take a picture with the queen.
Now.
Uh, nobody told me we'renot supposed to do that.
But anyway, Bob Pope and all theseother celebrities, they fo you
know how you stand in line and thequeen comes to each of us and tells
(43:42):
us we are good and we bow to her.
And we were taught that.
And so anyway, she was walkingdown and this is before the king,
before her son was getting married.
And so I had my camera, buthe was in the back of me.
Bob Hope saw it, and he wassaying I was just playing.
She take, don't take thecamera and I'm looking No.
(44:07):
And everybody is shaking their head no.
And I'm going, don't do it.
So the PR and the queen passed by'cause we in a line and she stopped.
And she looked at me.
She didn't say anything first.
Then she said, you are a good dancer.
And I went, thank you.
And then she went down furtherand talked to Shirley and I was
(44:30):
saying, see the rocks on her neck?
She had all the glitter,the crown, everything a man.
Start laughing.
He said, you're so charming.
And I went, I said, and he said,you could see the rest at the
Buckingham Palace, the bridge.
They have a place there where youcould see the jury of the queen.
(44:51):
And I was, and he was laughingand he was in a military outfit
and there were other military.
And so he kept walking.
And so, uh, who, uh, Bob Hope or CleoLane, they were whispering to me.
What was I saying to the king?
And I said, the king of what?
That's the queen's husband.
(45:14):
And I went, I'm talkingto the Queen's husband.
Okay.
Oh my.
That's great.
D we have to go now, but Yes, I hear you.
You wrote a book.
Tell us, what's the name of your book?
Yes,
here's my book.
Okay.
My book.
I wanna show this one person.
(45:38):
Can you see me?
I don't think they can see.
See it, but Well, maybe they can.
It's a picture of me you see, and Frank,when we were in junior high and, and
the other person was
Darelle
from Solid
Gold.
That's great.
Thank you for putting me in your book.
You say the name of your, say the nameof your books so everyone can hear it.
(46:00):
Name of my book is, are
You Girl on Soul?
Great.
Great.
Well, we wanna thank you, Dita.
You're, and anybody wants to get
it, they can get it at the Amazonand or you or my website dancer, Joe.
Alright.
Thank you so much, Dita.
But I just wanted to say, when youhave a dream fight and grab it because
(46:27):
nobody's gonna get that dream, but you.
I had a dream and Martin LutherKing had a dream to, and he
pursued his and we can do ours.
That sounds logical, totally logical.
I am the logical lawyer.
I welcome your comments atthe Logical lawyer@gmail.com.
The webpage is the logical attorney.me,and the book is a prosecutor's analysis
(46:52):
of Personal Supernatural experiences.
Alright.
Thank you so much Dina.
You are a phenomenon.
Well, that's a wrap for thisepisode of The Logical Lawyer.
If you found this insightful, be sure tolike, follow, subscribe, leave a review,
and share it with others who appreciatestraight talk and sharp analysis.
(47:13):
Got a question or topic for Bernie.
We'd love to hear from you.
Connect with bernie@thelogicallawyer.me.
That's at the Logicallawyer.me, and you've got it.
So until next time, stay informed.
Think critically, and asalways, keep it logical.
Oh, Bernie Brown, withknowledge profound in the realm.
(47:41):
Seek.
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