MY LAST L.A. DAYS

Published by Rick on Tagged Uncategorized

It became pretty clear about 25 years ago today that things in LA weren’t going to get better, that I wasn’t going to be a comedy star, and on top of that I was being pressured by my dad to give it all up and go back to school to learn some other trade. He got my brother involved to some degree, convincing him to use some of his doctor’s salary to sponsor me through whatever school I chose to finish my education. My dad was looking at things through his own perspective as a high school dropout who still got a Ph D. He once said the only two times I ever disappointed him were when I got a vasectomy and when I dropped out of college.

I would get a bit of a reprieve around this time in 2000, as my brother hired me to perform at the reception for my niece’s bat mitzvah. I had an interesting audience to play for, as there were my niece’s friends, all in their teens, and their parents, and GRANDparents. Somehow I managed to find things that could appeal to all of those age groups, and I got several encores for my efforts. The next day, my brother merely said, “You’re doing exactly what you should be doing, and I wouldn’t want you to give that up,” and handed me a check for $1000.

In the meantime, the one side thing I was doing that was worthwhile was my freelance stage managing gigs at the Zephyr Theatre on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. While it didn’t pay much, it was an opportunity to see a different side of show biz. By 2000, I had been doing it for six years, having inherited the gig from my then-wife, In most cases, the productions I was stage managing featured actors who were on their way up the ladder, and possessing varying degrees of talent. I do remember one play I stage managed that featured in its cast Dan Castellenata, the voice of Homer Simpson. One of the people in the audience for that one was Nancy Cartwright, who voiced Bart Simpson. I didn’t talk to them a lot, but they both seemed nice people.

A lot of celebs would show up at different productions for support, some that I had met before. One time, Lily Tomlin was there with her partner, and we had run into each other many times over the years. We were having a chat during intermission, and the manager of the theatre walked by to tell me there was some work I needed to be doing. I got mad and the guy backed off a little, but it was still a bit humiliating. I also got some flack another time by letting Smokey Robinson in for free, as he was showing up at the last minute and I needed to start the show.

There were some not so wonderful stage moments, mostly because there were quite a few dreadful plays I had to spend a few days rehearsing, usually for only two or three actual performances. One in particular was a supposed comedic insight into the struggling actor syndrome, where one scene had a barrage of sound and light cues. I was having difficulty coordinating them all together, and after 4 or 5 screw-ups, the director came into the sound booth, did the entire segment flawlessly, then said to me, “So what’s the problem?” I said, “Well I didn’t write the fucking play.” He left me alone after that, and in every subsequent run through of that scene, including the actual performances, I was perfecto.

Not to say I didn’t have my share of screw ups. There was a one-man show which had several sound and light cues back to back, and one night I did such a horrible job the performer actually broke character to chastise me. There was also a time when the sound system went out about ten minutes before the show was supposed to start, and the director became a total pain in the ass. I somehow managed to fix it in time, but the director chose to hang out in the booth and bad rap the performers. He was a frequent user of the venue, and he had been there enough times that I actually had his cel phone number. I called him the next day to tell him not to hang out in the booth again. He reluctantly agreed.

Overall, it was a fun experience, and the actors were mostly nice people. I even continued doing gigs for the theatre after I had begun working in UK. The last time I did it was in January 2001.

June 6th, 2025



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