Today, on what would have been Margie’s 89th birthday, seems as good a time as any to share that I’ve started a production company! Say hello to Margie Grove Productions - a bespoke production, talent, and touring management company that aims to elevate artists and creatives.
Margie Grove pays homage to 2 trailblazers in my life: my grandmother, Marge Fortner, and my father, Roger Epperson, whose first entrepreneurial venture was selling avocado groves in Rancho California.
Follow my clients incredible work @margiegroveproductions !
My iconic, gorgeous, chaotic, strong, witchy, feisty, sensational gramcracker passed away peacefully last night. She loved drama, Gucci, horses, and Willie Nelson but nothing compared to the fierce and protective love she had for her “puppies and her puppies’ puppies.” Her children and grandchildren.
There are thousands of stories I could tell you about the life of this glamorous, outrageous, colorful woman.
In the 60s, she would steal from grocery stores to put food on the table as a single mom of 4 kids. In the late 70s, Scorsese hit on her at a gala, in front of his wife. In the 90s, she named her cat OJ Simpson… post verdict. She was shocking and funny and left no prisoners in this life (including 3 husbands). I worshipped the ground she walked on - her spiritual guidance, her fortitude, her wicked wit, and her “fuck it” attitude. I love you, Gramcracker! Take care of you. Say hi to my dad! 🤍
The photos in my camera roll for 2023 aren’t of vacations or fancy things. They’re screenshots of medical notes, X-rays of collapsed lungs, progress videos of physical therapy, and pictures of my dad smiling after each of his 6 (or was it 7 or 8?) surgeries. It’s evidence of the unwavering love I have for my dad. It’s proof of the time I had left with my dad. Hiding in the hospital room at night with the lights off because he wanted to watch just one more episode of the West Wing with me even though it was after visiting hours. Cheering him on during PT and adjusting his pillow every 5 seconds. Sleeping on a cot next to his bed when the nurses were short staffed so he would want for nothing. I’m so lucky I had those months to show him just how much I love him. To say to him everything I needed to say. To push away all the noise in life and devote myself to his care. I don’t know quite how to grieve for the man who gave me everything. Some days I feel like I’m doing all of it wrong. Most days I just feel so utterly lost and alone. But I know I am grateful, and he would be proud of me.
“No man is a failure who has friends”. This was my dads favorite quote from It’s A Wonderful Life. And my dad was everyone’s best friend. He went out of his way to make sure everyone felt welcome and like they were in on the joke. He lived by two very important virtues - be positive, and do unto others as you would have done unto you. The Golden Rule. He was someone who always practiced what he preached. Yet he was also the life of the party and the guy you wanted on your team. He could make an entire room explode with laughter, turn two strangers into lifelong friends, and capture anyone’s unwavering attention with a wild story.
But I wish you all could have known my dad. My dad was our whole world. Our successes were his successes and our failures were his too. He was so involved in mine and my brothers life. He didn’t just drive us to school every morning, he was the Tuesday morning greeter at our middle school, helping every student out of their car, giving them a firm handshake, and telling them to have a great day before they climbed up the hill to class.
He wouldn’t just attend my high school plays and shows, he would get there an hour early to be the first in line at the box office so he could get a good seat. He didn’t just tell my mom to have a great day at work, he’d bring all his friends to visit her at the winery she managed after Saturday golf, and encourage them to buy wine from Sheri. Everything he did, he did for me, my mom, and my brother.
My dad and I were always on the same wave-length. We have the same competitive nature that had us losing our voices after USC Football games, whether we were watching them together at the Coliseum or talking to each other on the phone from different coasts. We both have the same quick wit that kept my mom and brother on their toes. We both had insatiable drives, which helped him to become the revered business man he is, and helped me achieve all of my wildest dreams. And we both had the same disposition that looked at the glass as half full, found the silver lining in everything, and made the best of every bad situation. What an extraordinary honor to have my dad live on in me.
