Well, dear reader, the Day Runner Awakens – 1979 it is. I continue to be graylisted and January is a disaster, with only two appointments for the entire month. On the last day of the month I finally meet on a movie called The Radioland Murders. Interestingly, that movie won’t actually get made until the mid-1990s. On February 3 we begin casting Stages, which is moving to the Matrix Theater. Of course as soon as that begins I start getting appointments galore – lots of commercials, one of which I land – also meetings at Warners and other studios. Then we rehearse. But that reading at Warners? It was for a pilot. I read one time – the writer absolutely loves me and wants no one else – doesn’t even want to see anyone else, and I get the job. I don’t meet the network, but it’s CBS and they don’t care about ABC and Paramount’s graylist. I’m to play the son of George Kennedy. It’s a very sweet show, and the writer is a wonderful fellow named Elliot Shoenman. I feel like I’m back. During Stages rehearsals I’m also rehearsing the pilot. On Monday March 5 we begin shooting the pilot and I’m rehearsing Stages at night – that’s my kind of busy. I finish the pilot and it’s one of the nicest shoots ever – the director, Charlie Dubin, is a great guy, and George Kennedy and I have really bonded. Stages rehearsals continue and I have one or two commercial auditions every day.
On Friday March 23: Opening night. Right from the get-go we’re a sellout – audiences love the show and they come, night after night. There isn’t a night that we don’t have to set up extra chairs – this despite tepid reviews. Happily audiences know what they like and they like us. During the third week of the run I shoot two commercials back to back. At the end of the third week several cast members tell me they have to leave the show – rather than recast I make a stupid decision to simply close, which we do despite incredible full houses every night. I don’t really know what I was thinking. On March 18 we have a screening of the pilot, Never Say Never – it has all the charm and fun of the show Elliot Shoenman would go on to create several years later – something called The Cosby Show. Later that night, George Kennedy calls me and tells me what a pleasure it’s going to be doing the series. Only we don’t do the series. CBS, in all its wisdom, chooses a one-joke show called Struck by Lightning instead of us. That show features an actor who was in Stages – Jeffrey Kramer. It lasts about three episodes. If they’d bought our show we would have run for several years, I’m sure of it. Good job, CBS.
I get another commercial that week and shoot it the following Tuesday. I would love to know what all these commercials are, seriously. I know about twenty of them, but it seems like I did more than fifty or sixty. I then agree to do a production of The Man Who Came to Dinner at LACC. I did the show when I went there, and this is the same director and role and I really don’t have to be ther until just before tech and I’m allowed to show up at nine every night because Banjo doesn’t go on until act three. Friday June 3 there’s a screening of the movie I did, Racquet. It’s horrendous. I have a reading for a pilot at Fox, then a callback, and then I test for it. No idea what it might have been. And then nothing. Nothing at all but empty pages – a couple of readings over a two-month period. On August 15 I have a meeting and reading for One Day at a Time to play McKenzie Philips’ boyfriend and then husband. It’s perfect – we know each other, we like each other, we have chemistry and we’re fun together. I read. They call me back just hours later and back I go and read again. Everyone likes me, or so I’m told, and I know Mackie is pulling for me. On Tuesday August 21 it’s another callback for One Day at a Time. It’s maddening – I just want this so bad because it will change everything. And I don’t get it. And to make matters worse, my old pal Mike Lembeck does get it. And guess what? They have no chemistry and it’s just sad and bad.
On September 3 I am requested by the director of Beggarman Thief, at TV movie. I think the director worked with me on one of the commercials. It’s just a small role and one day, and I almost turn it down until I hear my scene is with Jean Simmons. I accepted immediately. My happy memory of that shoot was having Miss Simmons ask me into her trailer to run lines – she thought I was so funny and she finally said, “I can’t keep a straight face with you, you’re hilarious.” That was lovely. On September 17 I go to New York – don’t remember why, but it’s a five-day trip. On October 3 I have a reading for the TV series Angie. I arrive, take one look at the script and see one line of dialogue and I call my manager and tell her I’m leaving, that I’m not doing that crap ever again. She’s read the script and she strongly tells me to stay right where I am and actually read the scene. I don’t want to, but I do. And then I see why she’s been so strong – it’s a GREAT scene, and I it’s all reactions on my part and it’s pretty hilarious. So, I stay and they read and I react and they cast me instantly and I begin the following day. And it turns out to be a brilliant episode and maybe the funniest thing I ever did on TV – all without dialogue.
I have several pilot interviews, and a lot of commercial interviews but don’t get anything. On November 13 Cindy Williams calls me from the set of Laverne and Shirley – they’ve just done their run-through and the producers have cast an extra to play an organ player in a roller rink. He’s a disaster. Cindy asks if I can come right over and do it. Of course I do. We do the filming in front of an audience and I’m just basically sitting and playing and at least I’m amusing about it. After the audience leaves the put the camera on me and throw me lines and I do looks and I make stuff up and it’s all in the show. It airs a week later and I have no billing whatsoever. I call my manager and am furious. But they make it right by offering me a huge guest shot on the show two weeks later. It’s a memorable episode and lots of fun. And happily, my graylisted ABC and Paramount can do not a damn thing about it because Cindy wants me and Cindy gets me.
On Friday, December 11 I get a call from Buck Henry – he loves Nudie Musical and me and he’s also close with Cindy. He’s about to direct a movie at Warners and offers me one of two roles – I choose and the year ends and suddenly it’s a new decade – 1980.
Yesterday was a very interesting day. I got almost nine hours of sleep, got up, and soon thereafter went and had a patty melt with no fries or onion rings. Then I picked up a package – my twenty-dollar speaker for my laptop. I hooked it up and it worked fine – not a great speaker but it did the job. Then I played through all my songs from the LA show, then did some work on the computer. I assigned more songs and created a new What If for the Kritzerland show – I think it’s pretty funny. Then I relaxed until the two actors came over to read-through and hear the LA show. Because of the nature of the show, there was really not that much to read – more listening, but for me a chance to hear the structure and see how the flow felt. It was fascinating, as these things tend to be. The first two numbers worked like gangbusters, just a really good one-two punch. The third number felt wrong and I decided to move up the first little blackout sketch one position earlier – that will set that up right away and then it segues much better into the third song. That’s the joy of modular shows – you just rearrange until it’s right. The rest of the act felt pretty damn good to me, but I could see right away we needed a couple of song set-ups, which I’ll write. Not every song needs them, but when we have three or four numbers in a row, they’re absolutely necessary. The blackouts all work, and the longer sketch plays nicely and my monologue about the Pan Pacific Auditorium works really well and is very affecting. And the end of the act will be terrific, you can just tell.
Then we dove into act two – it has a charm opening, a reprise of an act one number and that seemed to be okay, but then things got problematic quickly. One long seven-minute song didn’t play at all – it was a showstopper but not in a good way. It was so apparent and the reasons for it not working for this show were blatant. Then there was a verrrrrrry long monologue – some cuts had already been made, but we’re going to have to be merciless – it just needs to be very focused and on point with no real diversions and some of the repetition has to go. Five minutes tops. Then we had another song that just didn’t land in the context of this show. It just stopped all the momentum. And then we had a song that also just didn’t do what it was supposed to do – that one I absolutely want in the show and later I had a long chat about it with the lyricist and she and the composer will take another shot at it. Again, it’s all about storytelling, clarity, and the points you’re trying to make. One sketch didn’t thrill me, but I think if we beat it out and make it really fun for the actors that we might make it work. It’s an “if” right now, but we’ll definitely rehearse it. So, after we were done we discussed everything, but I’d already decided the seven-minute song had to go (its writer will not be happy, but this song wasn’t written for this show, it was written for an album he’s doing – I’m sure it works fine for that, but it just doesn’t for this show. The other song I will cut for now but hold just in case I find a place or moment that works for it. One of my songs will get moved much earlier in the act, where it’s needed, but I’ll just have to keep playing with the second act order.
Then I went to Gelson’s and got a salad from the salad bar, came home, and ate it. And I also booked the signing for Patrick Bronstein Presents, which is April 9.
Today, she of the Evil Eye is coming. After she’s done, I’ll relax, eat, do some work on the Kritzerland show and start reordering the LA show. Then I’m sure I’ll watch something.
Tomorrow is the same. Monday I meet with our choreographer and our costume person, and the rest of the week is meetings and meals and working on the two shows.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, eat, hopefully pick up packages, work on shows, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite ice cream concoctions? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have concluded The Day Runner Awakens.