In the sixth grade I had a secret crush on Lisa Kempson. Being a dopey kid dopey with love, I drew a picture of her on a piece of classroom manila art paper and wrote 'Lisa' on it. Well, Lisa caught sight of it and immediately asked if it was a picture of her. Embarrassed and trapped, I blurted out, "No, it's Lisa Martinelli, she's in the movies."

Elsa Martinelli passed away today.

In case you're curious: yes, Lisa and I *did* go on to briefly have a silly little sixth grade 'romance'.

[By the way: no idea how I knew Martinelli's name when I was 12 years old (the movie Hatari showing on TV?), not surprising that I mixed up the name Elsa with Lisa in that moment. By the way, Elsa Martinelli and Lisa Kempson *did* look alike: dark hair, brown eyes, Natalie Wood-esque; my 'type', I guess.]

Photo: Paramount Studios | 1957