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Ode to a Deceased Ex-husband
Vintage Las Vegas comedian Cork Proctor, my muse, my partner — I guess my soulmate — and ex-husband, passed away at 91 on June 6, 2024.
Cork Proctor’s last coherent sentence to me was, “When I die and people ask you what happened, I want you to tell them you got tired of my bullshit and smothered me to death with your big tits.”
Cork and I had been in and out of each other’s lives for 38 years — 46 if you count the 8 years between the time we met and the time he actually called me for a date.
To quote the Grateful Dead, “What a looooooooooong, strange trip it’s been!”
I met Cork Proctor in 1979 at the Las Vegas Press Club, where he was roasting the news director of the radio station where I worked in radio sales.
We eyed each other and Cork said, “Hey, why don’t you come and see my show tomorrow night? I’m over at the Royal Inn.
Inside I’m smiling, thinking, Well, I just might do that.
The Press Club Roast event was on a Sunday. The following evening, Monday, I showed up at the Royal Inn casino, kind of dressed well to see this cute comedian…
And in front of a closed stage curtain, I see an easel with a show card on it: “SHOW…
