Posted on 03/01/2012 4:00:00 PM PST by iowamark
Marketing executive Arthur Sando tells THR about his lengthy debate with the conservative activist at The Brentwood; they said goodbye around 11:30 p.m., 50 minutes before Breitbart was pronounced dead.
Andrew Breitbart spent his final hours much like he lived most of his life: passionately talking politics.
Breibart, the 43-year-old conservative pundit and provocateur who died suddenly early Thursday while walking near his Los Angeles home, had stopped into The Brentwood, a nearby bar and restaurant. There, he struck up a conversation with Arthur Sando, a marketing executive who didn't know Breitbart but likely was the last person to talk extensively with him before he died.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sando says he arrived at the bar in the tony Brentwood section of L.A. around 10 p.m. and soon the empty seat next to his was filled by a man with a familiar face.
"I tried to figure out how I knew him," says Sando, a veteran publicity and marketing executive who has worked at CBS, King World Prods and Turner Broadcasting. "He was on his BlackBerry. And I said 'Andrew?' I told him I had seen his work."
Sando says the duo quickly struck up a conversation that would last a little less than two hours.
"He was friendly and engaging," Sando recalls. "I said, 'You can't be very happy with the slate of Republican candidates' and he said, 'Why would you say that?' I said, 'Well, they're talking about contraception,' and he said, 'The conversation is being framed by the liberal media.' I said, 'Well, the media isn't writing Rick Santorum’s speeches for him.' We had a back-and-forth for awhile until we said we weren’t going to agree on some things."
The friendly debate continued in the bar as Breitbart sipped red wine, says Sando. "We just hit it off, he was delightful. There were other people who sat down and joined the conversation."
Sando also mentioned that he hadn't seen Breitbart as a guest on HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher recently; Breitbart told Sando he enjoyed going on Maher's show because it taught him how to deal with a hostile audience and how to react when getting booed.
Breitbart had stopped in for a drink but wasn't there to meet anyone in particular, Sando says. Nor were there any signs of health or other problems.
"He wasn’t drinking excessively," Sando recalls. "He was on his BlackBerry a lot."
After the two hours, Breitbart said he was leaving. "We exchanged contact information," Sando says. "We were going to get together."
Sando says he was "shocked" to read Thursday morning that Breitbart, who had a history of heart problems, had collapsed while on a walk near his home in the same neighborhood as the bar. Breitbart was rushed to a hospital and pronounced dead at 12:19 a.m., according to Reuters, less than an hour after leaving The Brentwood.
The exact cause of death has not been revealed but initial reports said it was natural causes.
"There were no signs that anything was wrong," says Sando. "It's very sad."
In California you do not have to appear to be “under the influence”. You merely have to have had a drink.
Who was insinuating? The article said he was drinking wine.
What state do you live in? Can you get arrested for drunk driving without appearing to be drunk or acting drunk? Well you can in CA. CA state DUI laws are tough.
I praised Breitbart for walking [if that was the case]. You crucified me for praising his decision.
“When I heard about this, my first thought was to wonder if someone with an umbrella walked by him on his way home.
I’m still wondering.”
My thought was a man with a syringe, but I’m with you.
As you've zip, zero, unbelievably no apparent understanding of what I replied to...originally on this thread.
Go back and read what I replied to.....and get back to me, or not.
You want to fight about it,,,Why, I'm not sure.
I stand by what I said.
I’m not fighting. But you sure seem insecure.
I'm an ex SoCal. : )
Well, but can we agree? No drinking and driving. It doesn’t hurt either of us.
And, we do not know the details.
Well, but can we agree? No drinking and driving. It doesn’t hurt either of us.
And, we do not know the details.
And yes...no drinking in excess while driving.
A minor quibble.
You say “in excess”. That was the point! There is no “in excess” in CA. You drink, you cannot drive.
Is it like that in OK?
RIP Andrew. And so sorry for his big family. They must be missing him so.
There is one thing that may have saved him. If you’re overweight with a heart condition and a Type A personality, PLEASE get a walking buddy at all times.
There was a talk show on the car radio tonight. The comment was: If we get to see the video of Obama in college then he probably died of natural causes. If we never see the video then he was whacked.
______________________
I was thinking that the vids better be released this week.
I heard that too. It was a caller to Michael Savage.
Please...stop the drama.
If I mis-quoted your post, please show it and I will offer a sincere apology for mis-quoting.
Really? All the articles I've read say that wine, especially red wine (which is what he was drinking) actually is good for the heart, you know, the French paradox and all that.
You CLEARLY are ignorant of CA drunk driving laws. You do not know CA law on drunk driving.
Case in point: Does one have to appear intoxicated? NO!
You lose, Taiwan!
I think you responded to the wrong person . I said nothing about walking or driving .
True story: my husband and I took a walk and stopped at the neighborhood pub - when it was time to leave and the owner realized we had walked, he said he would NOT have served us if he had known that! Figured we couldn’t cross the street on foot - we had a great laugh over that one.
The bar (Brentwood Restaurant & Lounge) is at 148 South Barrington Avenue, Los Angeles, CA. Someone who has visited it told me it is very dark inside.
Nice neighborhood for a walk.
I am highly suspicious of the circumstances of Mr. Brietbart's death. Something stinks.
Go back and look, little missy. I responded to the person who was dissing me.
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