1:04:03
And my mom needed a husband,
but I needed a dad.
1:04:06
My friend Greg MacGillivray...
1:04:08
...who is, like, the father
of the IMAX films...
1:04:11
...he was making
a surfing movie at the time.
1:04:14
I was helping him make movies.
1:04:16
So I was walking down
the beach to see him.
1:04:20
Here's this little kid playing
around the ocean, so I dove in.
1:04:23
I said, "What's your name?"
"My name's Laird."
1:04:26
I said, "What are you doing?"
He said, "Bodysurfing.
1:04:29
You wanna bodysurf?"
1:04:30
I said, "Sure."
1:04:32
I said, "Why don't you hang
onto my neck, we'll bodysurf."
1:04:37
It was love at first sight
with him and I.
1:04:39
We had this physical
connection instantly.
1:04:41
It was a physical, spiritual, mental...
1:04:44
It was, like, "I love this child" thing.
1:04:48
It was just, "I love this child."
1:04:51
And we were just, like, partners.
1:04:54
When we finished,
he grabbed my hand, he says:
1:04:56
"I want you to come up
and meet my mom."
1:04:59
I don't know if he had a choice.
"You're coming with me."
1:05:02
And there was his mother, beautiful
brown-haired, brown-eyed gal.
1:05:07
I went, "Oh, my God."
1:05:09
Mom was like, "Who's this?"
"This is Bill."
1:05:12
You know, give him the nudge,
you know.
1:05:15
Shortly thereafter,
Billy Hamilton, who was known...
1:05:18
... as one of the sport's
most popular and stylish surfers...
1:05:21
... married Joann,
becoming Laird's adopted father...
1:05:24
... and giving him his name.
1:05:28
I was known for being the kid
that ran around and said:
1:05:31
"My dad's Bill Hamilton.
Know who he is?"
1:05:33
These guys are like...
Guys like Gerry Lopez.
1:05:36
"I know who your dad is.
I see him every day."
1:05:38
"No, but do you know
now it's my dad?"
1:05:41
Like, you know,
they knew who he was...
1:05:43
...but I wanted them to know he was
connected to me. This is my dad.
1:05:46
Because if you don't, you might get
a soda can full of sand...
1:05:50
...in the side of your head or...
1:05:54
The young Hamilton family
set about making a life in Hawaii...
1:05:58
... where, despite the paradisiacal
island setting...