HURRAH FOR HOLLYWOOD- or - Reflections on My Years in Tinseltown |
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I have some great memories about my days in Hollywood that I would like to share with you. I came to Tinseltown in the late '50s having left a dull job in the insurance business with no money and minus a wife. I left with a great exit line to her, "The next time you see me baby, you will pay admission!" With that I was off to San Francisco to study acting for two years, acquired a new wife along the way, and arrived in Hollywood to make my name in show business.
My first small part came on Playhouse 90. Remember that series? I was in an episode titled "The Grey Nurse Said Nothing" that starred Angela Lansbury and Hugh Griffith. I was a member of the jury. However, there was one little obstacle to overcome before one could work as an actor, you had to belong to the union (AFTRA). Of course to join the union, you had to have a job, which stopped most young hopefuls before they got started. I was able to have the casting director write a letter to AFTRA saying that they would use me and there was no one available that could do this job. I was in and things were starting to click with CBS.
I began to do bit parts on The Red Skelton Show on a regular basis and worked enough to be included as one of the group of actors known as the "Skelton Players." I even worked myself up to an onscreen credit and my own dressing room. In one of Red's silent spots, the scene opened with Red as "Freddy the Freeloader" looking for a free meal. I was playing "Joe the Laborer" sitting on a park bench preparing to enjoy my lunch. My lunch bucket at my side, I pulled out an orange first and set it down on the opposite side of the bucket and then pulled out a sandwich, which I then started to eat. Watching me, Freddie comes along and placed his hat on the ground at the other end of the bench near the orange and moved to the other side where he placed his thumb under the bench and commenced a painful wail. Naturally, I look up to see what's wrong. Seeing the hobo had his thumb stuck under the bench, I jumped up and lifted that end of the bench up so he could remove his thumb. As I lifted the bench and Freddy pulled his hand away, the orange rolled off into Freddy's waiting hat. Freddie the Freeloader scored again and went away happy. During the next couple of years I worked 20 to 30 shows when he was performing such characters as "Freddy the Freeloader," "George Appleby" or "Dead Eye Dick" and other beloved characters. I got the chance to work with such actors as John Carradine, Stubby Kaye, Marie Windsor, Martha Raye, Buster Crabbe and others.
Also at CBS I continued to obtain work on Playhouse 90 episodes, working with Stephen Boyd, Boris Karloff, and Dame Judith Anderson. On one occasion Stephen Boyd asked me if I wanted to go to lunch with him. We were the only young guys in the cast, so we went across the street to Kelbos, a popular spot with the CBS crew on Fairfax Avenue. Well, in walked his girlfriend at the time, a young starlet named Joan Collins. She was darkly tanned and wore a white sundress. With black hair and blue eyes, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Steve introduced me but I was at a loss for words - one of the few times that ever happened! After lunch we went back to work on a WW I epic. I overheard Dame Judith Anderson talking to Karloff about Boyd's work. They were English and very proud of the young actor who went on to starring roles.
I finally found work at NBC at Burbank. As a matter of fact, I had two parts in one day there. One was a one-day shot for a Shell Oil commercial that was shown on the Steve Allen Show. The casting director wanted to know if I was a good tennis player. "Sure," I said. I would have said I was a champion to get the part. She called me several times that day until she felt assured I could handle myself on a tennis court. Truth be told, I had never even picked up a tennis racket. That night I asked one of my friends to teach me the game. He did his best, telling me to get close to the net, slam everything and hope for the best. The next day I appeared dressed like the best tennis champion in town. The director said, "Fine. Now go over to the corner of the table and pick up the racket, twirl it in your hand and pick up those three tennis balls." Ok, easy enough. I did it; they thanked me; and said that was it. That was it? I had to be a good tennis player for that? And they only filmed my hands with racket and tennis balls? Oh well, I made scale for the work.
The other job I had that day was in The Mikado, a Martyn Green production sponsored by Hallmark. It was a heady experience working with stars Groucho Marks, Helen Traubel, Dennis King and Stanley Holloway of My Fair Lady fame. They had a cast party to celebrate what they thought would be an Emmy Award winning production.
There were other parts of my Hollywood experience I really enjoyed. In 1962 the Screen Actors Guild sponsored a softball league made up of actors, some of them well-known at the time. The only requirement was to have a SAG card. That was a lot of fun. I played on a team with three of Bing Crosby's sons including the twins. Bruce Dern played but refused to wear shoes. Norm Alden was our pitcher. I was an outfielder. Though I don't recall too much about the other teams we played, one of the pitchers was James Garner. He had a good riser and good control of the ball.
One of the funniest incidents occurred when the Hollywood Actor's All-star team played some major league players in a three-inning exhibition for charity. To see Willie Mays, Ernie Banks and Mickey Mantle was exciting. James Garner was a starter for the All-Stars, but after a couple of hits they brought in a ringer. The professional players were told he was one of the Western actors on the Gunsmoke series. Actually, he was a legendary pitcher known as "The King." I don't know if anyone remembers The King and His Court. They were a traveling exhibition team on the order of the Harlem Globetrotters. No one could hit the King when he was serious. Willie Mays batted three strikes and sat down; Ernie Banks likewise. Even Mickey Mantle could not get a hit. I don't remember the score, but I do know we had a great time.
With that, and a couple of minor roles in some soap operas, I survived for the seven years I was in Hollywood. In my best year I made $3,000. There were some lean years before that. With the casting calls, the plays and the study groups, I was kept busy. One of the few things we would look forward to was the Monday night fight at the Olympia.
One night I was at one of the clubs on La Brea when Jayne Mansfield walked in with Mickey Hargitay. I don't know if they were married at that time or not. They had been drinking and were arguing. She excused herself and on her way to the powder room passed by where I was seated. She gave me one of her sexy squeals and told me to wait right there for her. When she came out, she grabbed yet another guy and left. The lady dumped Hargitay and me at the same time!
Meeting people like John Vivyan (Mr. Lucky), Lucille Ball, Dana Andrews, Johnny Mathis, Richard Boone and all the rest were highlights of my time in Hollywood. I didn't achieve the big success I sought after during those seven years, but I would not have traded the experience. I have no regrets.
Except one perhaps: Unlike my friend George Sanders who later in life wrote Sanders Price Guide, I didn't collect the stars' autographs. He was in Hollywood a long time and asked for autographs from any of the stars he came into contact with, which was very smart.
It didn't occur to me, or any of the young actors who were my companions at the time,
A word about an actor's life. Taking acting classes and making casting calls was my career. In order to support a family and myself I had to find gainful employment in the evenings and on weekends. First and foremost I had to be available for acting opportunities, diligently working for that "big break." When I questioned leading actor Vincent Price one day about what it took to be successful as an actor, he said, "First you have to have money to support yourself; second, you need contacts to know what's going on; third, talent does not guarantee your success, but it helps."
Thinking about the auction value of all those autographs I could have obtained in person during my years as an actor, I have listed several of them below. |
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Hollywood - to borrow a line that's already been used - Thanks for the memories!
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During the party, I had the good fortune to see a master comedian at work.
Groucho would start by telling the great Wagnerian soprano 
It was a shabby arena but it was cheap. About four or five of us young actors hung together. Quite frequently, one of the Three Stooges would show up and want to sit with us - 
to ask the stars with whom we worked with to pen their signature on an album leaf or sign a photograph. Live and learn. Had I known then what I know now, I could have had 
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BRIEF BACKGROUNDS
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