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Love Astor was born in 1951 and raised in New York, New York. The daughter of Robert 'Robbie' Astor, the business mogul, and June Koch, the film star. As a child, Love made a name for herself on Broadway, but as a teenager, she delved into the world of rock 'n' roll.
LILIAN WILLIAMS (former acting coach, the Williams School of Musical Theatre): Oh, yeah, I remember Love Astor.
We met for the first time in '55, probably. '56 at the latest. Into the school came her mother, June (Koch), dressed to the nines. Think Jackie Kennedy. There's no way that woman wasn't going for the First Lady look. Honestly, you might have mistaken her for a politician's wife rather than an actress. At her side was this beautiful little girl. "This is my daughter, Love," June said, nodding to her look alike. Love, like her mother, had this long, thick black hair that fell all the way down her back. Her eyes were this stunning sea green color. To this day, they still remind me of the beach. And her cheekbones were sharp, so sharp the rich pay to have theirs come even remotely close.
"What can I do for you, June?" I asked, expecting her to request more lessons for herself, but no. Imagine my surprise when she said, "Love here has the potential to be a great singer, but she needs to be trained. You could help refine her voice, could help turn her potential into skill."
It came as a surprise, because Love was so young at that point, no older than four. Most children start theatre training between six and eight, but June wanted her children to be like her and Robbie: extraordinary. Usually, I'd refuse to train a child that young, but then June had Love sing one of Judy Garland's songs. "Over the Rainbow," if memory serves, and her delivery was smooth, polished. I thought, This kid is going to be somebody when she's older, and I . . . I want to play a part in making her somebody.
So we started training, and by the mid '60s, she was getting casted on Broadway. Playing a part in Camelot, Fiddler on the Roof, Dames at Sea, and Cabaret. A few of the parts were written for older women, but the '60s were a different time. No one batted an eye at a teenage girl being cast as a woman. And Love, she put everything she had into each and every part, earning her the love and attention of many. Hell, not even critics had anything bad to say about her . . . until her brother died.
─── ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ───
On December 1, 1969, the U.S. Selective Service System conducted a lottery to determine the draft order for 1970. Stephen Astro, born March 14, 1949, was assigned lottery number 12.
LOVE ASTOR (singer, Daisy Jones & The Six): For the first eighteen years of my life, I lived at the whims of my mother. "Sing, Love. Eat better. Try harder at school," she commanded, and I would without hesitation or reserve, because I had been made into a sponge, made to take in whatever orders she wanted. Then, my brother, my dearest friend in the whole world, got drafted, and it changed things. Stephen promised that he would return from Vietnam, that he'd be back before we even realized he was gone, but that was a lie. For eight months, there was radio silence, then word came that he died in Laos.
There was no body, so we buried an empty casket. And that . . . that broke me. I couldn't bear the thought of him forever being lost, so I looked for something to quiet my mind, to numb the pain. That led me not only to the rock scene but to everything that came with it — drugs, alcohol, sex, and everything in between.
DALE WRIGHT (former bouncer, The Blue Room): I worked at The Blue Room from 1969 to 1974. It was a real sketchy club, bringing in folks from the seediest pockets of the boroughs, but goddamn was there good music. It (the music) drew in tons of better-off folks whose names I don't remember, but I remember Love Astor. The first time I saw her, I was kicking out a junkie and in walks this bright-eyed, super skinny girl. She had the longest hair I've ever seen, and it was tied into some odd braid about her head. Her smile too . . . her smile was something else. It made you feel like you were the only person in the world. She was with some guy who was probably three times her age. He looked at her like she'd hung the moon, but she shed him by the end of the night and left on the arm of a roadie.
After that first time, she started coming in more and more. Four or five times a week, and each time, she's make it a habit to talk to me and the rest of the club staff, to get to know us. Love was a real people person, you see. She was always happy, and wanted those around her to be happy, too. There was an innocence to her, a naïveté, which was why I made sure to keep an eye out for her. God knows no one else there was.
ೄྀ࿐ NOTES FROM E ˊˎ-
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Hope y'all like the prologue 🖤
Posted: February 26th, 2023 Word Count: 893 words Edited: TBD
