Danny Glover, in St. Paul to introduce Jeri Brunoe's "Salmon Woman" at the Ordway, wasn't completely dressed when he arrived for our interview.
He was late getting to St. Paul Hotel's Cedar Room because he had overslept during a Saturday nap. Completely understandable for two reasons: Glover flew into the Twin Cities from Salt Lake City where he is shooting a movie, and he gets up to exercise at 5:30 a.m.
The actor and activist — "Salmon Woman" was a benefit for the American Indian Prison Project Working Group — arrived wearing an expensive suit and shirt, with his tie draped around his neck. Still groggy from his nap, Glover took a few minutes to tie the cravat. Nancy Kelly, AIPPWG's D.C.-based research evaluation policy lead, and yours truly played the roles of Glover's human mirrors because he told us he wanted to look turned out on camera.
After I finished smoothing his collar, I told Glover that I should go on Twitter and say that I had helped Danny Glover put on his tie.
"A better tweet," said Kelly, "would be, 'I just got done dressing Danny Glover.' If you want to get him some publicity, that would be the tweet!"
Kelly's quip brought a smile to Glover's face.
The actor had a loquacious answer to each of my questions, right up until the one about Mel Gibson. Glover and I disagreed about when my Mel Gibson queries should cease and he snapped at me pretty well. When I post the video of the interview, it will be important for readers to know how much laughing we did after the kerfuffle. In fact, Glover asked me to give him a hug and I was honored to do so. As a result, I can report that he feels like a man who gets up to exercise at 5:30 a.m. He's in terrific shape.
Glover draws a crowd
Danny Glover might still be talking to me if Nancy Kelly hadn't interrupted.