From the Tiger Beat Archives, May 1967
Lesley was born in the Chelsea section of London, England. Her first job in America was for an actor. She then worked in San Francisco as a nanny, but got bored with the everyday routine and longed to get back to the excitement of working in Hollywood. Lesley tells you, in her own words, what it’s like to keep house for Mark Lindsay:
“When I came back from San Francisco, I went to a placement agency who told me to two boys in the music industry needed a housekeeper. This was in November, 1966. I really didn’t want to be a housekeeper, but the agency said, ‘what if you go up and see about it anyway.’
At the time, Terry Melcher and Mark were living together, so I had to go to Terry Melcher’s office for the interview. His secretary explained that the boys had never had a housekeeper before and I would be something of a substitute mother and take care of them.
The interview was over in about two minutes and I left in a daze. I couldn’t believe I had the job. I didn’t know who Mark Lindsay was and the secretary said he’s a singer and he’s got a ponytail. I thought, “oooooo, he’s going to be a moron and he won’t wash.”
The day I started work, Mark was out of town and it was a month before I met him, I liked Terry immediately and got on fine. I thought, “well, if the other boy is okay, I’ll stay, but if he doesn’t wash and it’s just awful, then I’ll leave.”
The first time I met Mark was late at night and Terry wasn’t coming home. He had rung and said, ‘I’m on my way home.’ I went and combed my hair and put on a fresh apron. When I answered the door I thought, “Ooooooo, he’s gorgeous!”
I was very formal. He said, ‘good evening, what’s your name?’ I said, ‘my name is Lesley.’ He said, ‘Oh, I’m Mark Lindsay.’ I said, ‘welcome home,’ and he said, ‘thank you.’ I asked him if he wanted dinner and he said ‘no’ so I said good night to him. We didn’t see much of Mark for about two or three months because he was touring a great deal.
After that. I got to know Mark better. When you live with someone you really get to know them. Mark, I think, is a very, very private person. He’s not a moody person, but there are times when I know automatically to ‘stay out.’ I mean don’t approach, don’t intrude upon his mood.
Maybe he’ll be up in the morning having breakfast and listening to the radio or playing records. There may be a very silent look on his face and I know that I mustn’t intrude. If you do intrude and you ask him a question, you have to repeat yourself about three times, because he’s in a world of his own.
A DEEP PERSON
Other times I’ll try to be serious. Say were organizing a party, I’ll say, ‘let’s make out the guest list, what are we going to have, what kind of a party…’ And he won’t really be in the mood to discuss it. So, he’ll talk to me in about a thousand different accents and we end up laughing and not really getting much done.
On the surface, Mark is the easiest person in the world to know. When you’ve been around him for a while, you realize you probably don’t know him at all. You want to know them, yet you don’t want to intrude on this certain privacy, because everyone needs that, especially when you live so close together. I walk around very timidly at certain times, because I’m here and I don’t want to force myself upon him. So, I wait for him to put his hand out in friendship.
A GREAT ‘BOSS’
Mark is about the easiest person I’ve ever worked for. Like one morning we had some fish for breakfast, because English people like it in the morning quite a lot. So I said, ‘I suppose you wouldn’t like fish for breakfast’and he said, ‘Oh I eat anything, anytime.’
Mark always starts off with a good breakfast. His favorite breakfast is Virginia ham or bacon. He always has eggs, sometimes boiled, or fried, and omelet. He lets me fix them however I feel, he isn’t choosy. Then the rest of the menu is cottage cheese, tomato, tea and that’s about it.
He likes yogurt very much, so sometimes all substitute yogurt mixed with fruit for cottage cheese. His favorite drink now is raspberry juice, I have to order it by the gallon!
Mark is a very thoughtful person and when we first moved into this apartment, he was eager to have a party so all the Raiders would know where we are. He wanted to give the other Raiders the feeling that if they needed somewhere to, or needed someone they could come here, since they don’t have permanent homes here.
RAIDER FRIENDS
The rapport between the Raiders and me is marvelous. I got what I call my ‘Aunt Kate’ side where I’m sort of a substitute mother. I’ll sew on a button or I’ll help with a problem or cook dinner for them. The only problem is I’m always so busy serving and running around doing things I don’t get much of a chance to talk to them individually.
Mark enjoys entertaining his friends but he usually leaves most of the party details to me, not because of any lack of interest, but lack of time. When we first moved in, we had a party to get to know the other Raiders as a ‘family.’ We don’t think about having the Raiders over, we talk about having the ‘family’ over. That includes Sharon, of course, Paul and the other boys.
PLANNING PARTIES
When I plan a party, I usually start by setting a mood. For our first ‘family’ party the apartment was looking bare, so we put grass out on the terrace, had lots of plants brought in, twinkle lights all over the ceiling, little tables with little gold chairs, candles and flowers, it all looked like a small Parisian restaurant!
Unfortunately, that idea didn’t work out too well because it seems the guys can go into a restaurant any day and be waited on formally, they want a home! So, the next time we had a party I turned my bedroom, which joins the living room with closing doors, into a nightclub atmosphere. I took all the furniture out and stored it. Then I put streamers all over the ceiling and put little tables everywhere in one big banquet table in the living room. Everything else was done in red, white and blue and it was one of the nicest parties we’ve ever had.
SONG FOR LESLEY
It was late one evening and Mark called me into the living room and said, ‘I want you to hear something.’ He played a musical track for me and then he asked how I like it. I told him I liked it and he said, ‘good, because that’s the background music to the song I’m writing for you.’ I remember I just sat there, kind of stunned. I didn’t know what to say. When the actual record was finished Mark and Terry played it for me and I really loved it. It was so funny!
Things like that embarrass me. Like I get embarrassed when Mark brags about me. I was down at a ‘Happening 68’ taping and I was in the dressing room when Mark introduced me to a friend of his from Mississippi and he said, ‘Lesley’s a really good cook! You’ve got to come over and try some real English food!’ Well, I sat there and blushed, feeling very embarrassed because I don’t think I’m a great cook.
MARK’S SPECIAL THANKS
A couple of things Mark really likes and I always do are keeping fresh flowers in the house and meeting him at the airport. Picking him up at the airport has become, to me anyway and I think to him, a very special thing I do. I always take him something, whether it’s one flower or whatever. Like one time I turned up and gave him a little toy airplane. Sort of silly, but it’s a token saying, ‘Welcome home.’
One of the very nicest things about Mark is his way of saying thank you. He has a special smile, the way his eyes light up and he’ll say something like, ‘Gosh! Did you do that?!’ Or he’ll tell me how nice something is. Even if it’s something small, he’s very appreciative and that’s something money can’t buy. It’s the special way he says thank you, the special way he looks, the special smile that so sincere. These are the things that make Mark the very special person he is.”
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