I met her in Detroit a long time ago at a party for author Harold Robbins.

Michelle—although she called herself Mickie then—was one of the models hired for the occasion to promote Robbins as the real life incarnation of the irresistible stud he wrote about in his bestselling novels. The deception did not work. Robbins was a blowhard who grabbed his crotch a lot and made lewd comments. The women stampeded away.

Mickie was sleek and doe-eyed, African American,…