"We are born astride a grave - WaynesWorldStage.com

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After that night in the dressing room atthe Willoway Playhouse, I never saw GeorgeScott again until one evening at the Theatre Baron 45 th Street in New York. It must have beenabout six years later, around 1962. I was sitting atthe bar by myself when George came in. I wassurprised that he even recognized me. He satdown next to me and asked how I was doing. Aswe talked, I could not resist asking him aquestion. I had worked with a number of actorswho became famous, but never saw any of themafter they became famous. "George," I asked,"How does it feel now that you've made it?" Helooked at me and said, "The only thing that Ihave ever made that was worthwhile was AvaGardner." He then explained how he idolizedAva Gardner on the screen. During their briefaffair, he said that he would lie in bed at nightand look at her. "Jesus Christ, that’s AvaGardner in bed with me. I just fucked AvaGardner."It was at this same bar that I overheard aconversation that I would never forget. As withmost of the people who <strong>com</strong>e to New York asactors, I began to get that hopeless feeling. Irealized that an actor has no control over his life.I was sitting at the bar next to three other actors.One says, "God it's been a bad year. I did a fewsmall parts in a film. I did the lead in a Broadway112
show, but it closed in two weeks. Really a badyear."The actor next to him says, "That soundslike a really good year. I did a few showcases andhad an audition for a soap. At least I got a fewcallbacks."The third one looked at them both andsaid, "Both of you guys had very good years. Ididn't have a part last year. I never even had anaudition. In fact I've never had a part. I wish Icould get out of this business."All right, I didn't hear that conversation.It's actually an old theatre joke. But it's notfunny, it’s very sad. The Bible makes reference to“not hiding your light under a bushel basket,”but it offers no advice as to how to get an agent.113
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The Cover PhotographThis is a pictu
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When a working New York City actorb
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in 1968 at the Pocket Theatre on Se
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had the idea of little league sport
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the wheel to make sure that our min
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What could I do? My father was goin
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would personally guarantee that it
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Like most of us at the time, I was
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good.” I was working around the c
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We all tried to communicate with al
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my better eye in an effort to stren
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uckled another laced…” It just
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"He and his girlfriend went upstate
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Chapter 2Wayne University would hav
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pictures of naked people were doing
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Let me throw in a bit of trivia. Th
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this is never mentioned in the anti
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old newspapers. No one else knew of
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pay, I had to purchase a bunch of i
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Presbyterian Church. It was intende
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Francisco, are all remembered as ma
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apologized, took a bow, and went ou
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still considered myself a devout Ch
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single beds, but I apparently slept
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I disagreed with much of what he wa
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Fred Barnett worked for his father,
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to stay and for the next five weeks
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very nervous. I only had a few doll
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of the producers of Lorraine Hansbe
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surprise, when I offered him a job,
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open The Vanguard Playhouse and the
Page 68 and 69: A new, unknown Detroit actor hadaud
Page 70 and 71: I would have to wait until I got to
Page 73 and 74: Chapter 4So here it is, the fall of
Page 75 and 76: an into Chuck. He asked if we could
Page 77 and 78: Canyon. As a former ministerial stu
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Page 81 and 82: I then returned to the papers and t
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Page 85 and 86: I then moved into the space we were
Page 87 and 88: extensive search, I settled on a yo
Page 89 and 90: collected deposit bottles and bough
Page 91 and 92: open the top half of the door. One
Page 93 and 94: and spray-paint them. A very inexpe
Page 95 and 96: day and night for several months re
Page 97: After a few days in Detroit, I was
Page 100 and 101: able to find out if I was going to
Page 102 and 103: kasha?" I inquired. "The germ of ba
Page 104 and 105: meet me. After arriving in the moun
Page 106 and 107: ight. I apologize. Thank you." I ha
Page 108 and 109: When the season was over, Joan and
Page 110 and 111: lab. I don't remember what Joan's j
Page 112 and 113: that I could comprehend the extent
Page 114 and 115: When I told Modernage that I wasqui
Page 116 and 117: an agent. I didn't. I'd never been
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Page 122 and 123: of punching the guy out. This was n
Page 124 and 125: actors are signed to contracts. Nor
Page 126 and 127: The Festival finished the season bu
Page 128 and 129: something drastic to get his attent
Page 130 and 131: Not wanting the audience to miss an
Page 132 and 133: young couple spend the night in the
Page 134 and 135: When Joan returned, she and I went
Page 136 and 137: I got a call from a director with w
Page 138 and 139: would not do my bit. Sure enough, w
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Page 142 and 143: from Ulysses. The implication was t
Page 144 and 145: shoes. When asked why he became an
Page 146 and 147: The next morning she left me in the
Page 148 and 149: ealized that we were the most theat
Page 150 and 151: ules specified that producers had t
Page 152 and 153: asked if she could speak with me pr
Page 154 and 155: through a farmers’ market with a
Page 156 and 157: office would be open at 10pm. This
Page 158 and 159: University. I didn't know what to d
Page 160 and 161: "Hey, what about me?" I shouted. I
Page 162 and 163: "rape" was meant in a classic sense
Page 164 and 165: NO, NO, NO, OH GOD, NO! PLEASE!THIS
Page 166 and 167: leave the show. I did not want Mich
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lists at all of the state homes thr
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164
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Michele's pleated skirts, and I pra
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een so moved by the time she spent
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question him. That policeman then c
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One of them returned and handed me
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phone, she was frightened and didn'
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couldn’t help but to wonder and h
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I took Michele to another psychiatr
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kind of private school for children
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Solomon and Ashemedai. I played Ash
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and watch me perform. Lyn would smi
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the first floor, and the blinds wer
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Twenty-eight years later, her mothe
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summer. The new sitter was from a g
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Zero Mostel, who was a very large m
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Lyn moved in with me. Life was good
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He said, "Please don't be angry wit
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estaurants. I made safe lights out
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We arrived at the falls and got a m
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agreed to meet at a bar in Manhatta
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Matthew seemed to know from the sta
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a little auto focus Olympus camera.
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her uncle. He had a very large plac
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My watermelon heart broke. I ran an
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I answered a used car ad in the pap
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passed away shortly after surgery.
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emained close friends, but Jim beca
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difficult to keep people when you c
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together. We then voted on the vari
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dictator, Sukarno, was about to be
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inhaled. I was hooked within a week
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little extra income. He would care
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carrying Christopher in her arms. L
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me what happened." Before we finish
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232
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the night on the eastern end of Pen
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twenties, Matthew ran the Long Isla
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One of my new employees was fromCal
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made themselves at home. They were
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I had saved a supply cabinet that h
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This is not just a credit union; th
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246
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kids happy in the process. Within a
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any money, only about three hundred
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was done on time and delivered to a
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was a bit stunned, but from that ti
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Baldev Duggal, the founder and owne
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lawyers and accountants advise new
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was to be C.O.D. The first order wa
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Lyn's father's health was beginning
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Michele had been at the new school
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We all knew that the Walshs would n
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My business was doing well, but our
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the nursing home and have no rent t
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272
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friend had divorced his wife, quit
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that I needed. The computers did no
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There was an article in The New Yor
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one so many times. He asked for my
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Lynne was not overjoyed at the pros
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After each fight, we would then arg
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Business was good. Lynne and I deci
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dropped dead that night. I would ha
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Alex Vadell was also a master. Soon
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ignored each other, but the dogs ne
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294
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end. I always had Michele as an exc
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ecome more aware of the extent of d
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had no difficulty in figuring out t
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From what I could gather, at thebeg
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garbage dumps that still had used c
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Theatre Row tenants. As of July 198
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Lynne and I had a wonderful time in
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By the end of the first week of Jud
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eturn, they got the use of the thea
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disorder was out of remission. She
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During the rehearsal, most of theau
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esponse, and we walked up Eighth Av
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space. Do they understand the fact
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six months. How could I turn down a
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went to get something to eat. When
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Lynne and I didn’t fully apprecia
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"My department at Lehman Brotherssp
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Make sure our film recorder can dow
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other times when I thought that I w
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there was no slide work, he could d
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the marriage was over? Kaput? I hop
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As large as this new apartment was,
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We, of course, would then go to the
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seem to me to show a lack of faith.
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later in hope that I would be aslee
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I couldn’t help but think how sad
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from the rental of the co-op, and I
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my arm down so fast that I had no t
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Shannon and Jeff told me about a sh
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mentioned that I did not have room
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floors, cleaned the bathrooms and t
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interested because there was not mu
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from old Theatre Magazines from the
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362
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laid off twenty-five percent of the
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But as much as I love Lyn, my child
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More MemoriesWhen I told Barry LaVi
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Alice Davies. Cliff Ammon telling m
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High School RomanceI hope I didn't
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to evaluate the speed and angle of
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I told my friend that it was a part
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Paris with The Paper Bag Players. H
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happy about their streets being fil
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HeresyForty-five years after my cal
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