It dawned on me as I wrote yesterday about my affair with Diana Ross, that I have known several famous people in my life. Here are some of them:
1. Jeff Meek. He is a local boy who appeared on a soap opera for several years. I think it was General Hospital. He also appeared in several movies. I remember one in which he was dragged to a frigid death through a stream by a horse as Kurt Russell looked on and did nothing. He also had a couple of TV shows. Yes, his own shows. In one, he was a karate detective living in Hawaii and Lee Majors (the bionic guy) was his sidekick.
2. Michael Cudlitz. I appeared with him in a local production of Showboat. I was Cap'n Andy. He was an Angry White Guy. He has appeared in A River Runs through (got a lot of close-ups). Also, he has appeared in a lot of episodic television. He once beat up the bald guy in LA Law because he thought he was gay. He was also in Band of Brothers.
3. Marco Barricelli. The finest Shakespearean actor I ever knew. Also, the only Shakespearean actor I ever knew. He appeared in the same episode of LA Law as Michael Cudlitz, playing an environmental lawyer.
4. The Schultz Boys. Both Garth and Jason played with the Skeletones, a local Ska Band that did fairly well for a time. I think Jake may still be playing with them. But Garth left and joined up with Green Day to lead its touring brass section. He's now married to the daughter of my 6th grade teacher.
5. What the hey! Now that I think about it, I also know Paul Hammond, leader of the Skeletones and former student of mine. He played the victim in a murder mystery role-playing activity in one of my classes, in which I had to break up a pretend fight between him and one his "murderers." It was worse than breaking up an actual fight. He was already making records and playing gigs at the time, so school was unimportant to him.
6. Speaking of Rock Stars, Victor K, of Camper van Beethoven.
7. This bald guy that played Hajj in Kismet to my Wazir. He shows up all over the place.
8. My cousin Larry does special effects work in the film business.
9. My former student Marlan. Also in special effects.
10. My former teaching colleague, Matt. Also in special effects.
To be continued...
5 comments:
Jody: Editor of well-respected Cinefex magazine and author of many The Makings Of books.
Don S: Owner of said magazine
You're listed in the acknowledgments of a an author who writes bodice-ripping historial novels.
Ok, so not music or tv but famous one way or another
I know Marco Barricelli. I was in A Midsummer Night's Dream with him. He was Lysander to my Hermia. A few years ago I saw him in a play in San Francisco and went backstage afterward to say hi.
I met Garth and Marie Schultz last fall on a trip to Lake Mojave. We talked about you.
I knew Christine Jorgensen. She was Dean's grandmother's best friend.
I partied once with Cleavon Little in San Diego.
I met Alan Hale in a Marie Callender's in Valencia. He was wearing his Skipper cap.
Garth once toured as Iggy Pop's trombone player. Iggy had him wear a banana suit.
Chris D. of the LA punk scene's Fleshtones was a guy I knew waaayyyyy back when.
Don't forget Mike of Mike and Spike's Festival of Animation, bless his purple half-beard.
Maybe Brushes With Greatness would be a good blogfest.
My nephew Bomber was in Kindergarten Cop. He was only five-ish then, but he still gets a residual now and again.
Famous peeps I did shows with are, in order of famousness: Dorothy Lamour (a very sweet lady who wore a see through mumu during curtain call), Juliet Prouse (whose legs made an entrance all by themselves), Jack Carter (bought us beer one night at a dump bar after a show), Jon Cullum (Tony Award winner), Ron Ely (Tarzan), Paul Lukather (actually, he was fired and I replaced him after a few rehearsals. He was the guy in "Dinosaurus. Later, he played a Nazi in the LA run of Tamara. He took my passport at the door. I think he recognized me).
A band I was in opened for the Buffalo Springfield and Eric Burdon and the Animals once at the Fabulous Swing Auditorium in Equally Fabulous San Bernardino. The only Buffalo left in the Springfield was Dewey Martin (or was it Webber? One of 'em made surfboards), who was the drummer and they had added a fluegel horn to the lineup.
Oh! I forgot! I worked with Billy Barty in a version of Rumplestiltskin. He could do a mean headspin.
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