A Good Friend
On October 1, 2018 I lost a good friend. Charlie passed away at the age of 89 from prostrate cancer. We first met in the fall of 1992 when I pitched him my idea of creating a painting from his famous photo to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Miracle Mile in time for the 1994 Commonwealth Games that were being held in Victoria, BC that year.
Building Trust In Each Other
Charlie listened to what I had to say and was quick to point out that over the years many people had used his famous photo without his permission. His faith in me in making this commemorative happen remains one of the highlights of my career. One of the defining moments in our relationship was the look on Charlie’s face when I showed him an image from the original footage of him in the act of taking his historic shot (as depicted in the image above).
Another Memorable Moment
In September of 2016 my wife and I hosted a dinner to celebrate Doug Norman’s 80th birthday. Doug and his good wife, Marg, resided in Chicago; however, Doug was born in Vancouver and witnessed the Miracle Mile first hand as a young boy. It was his favourite moment in time. Unbeknownst to Doug, we also invited Charlie and his wife, Doreen, to dinner that night. When Doug found out who Charlie was, he was over the moon.
