Live in Front of a Studio Audience

My thoughts on the All in the Family and The Jeffersons episodes that aired live this week.

We all know I am a classic TV junkie. I grew up in front of the TV. I know TV actors and their credits like sports fans memorize their favorite teams and players stats. I do that with actors' credits and their awards.

So as you can probably guess, I was excited to watch Live in Front of a Studio Audience on ABC this past week. What did I think? Loved it! I am hoping we will see more based not he ratings for this one.

I loved the audience reactions. They were loud and not sweetened like today's sitcoms. These days, the three-camera sitcoms are still shot in front of a live studio audience, but then they "fix" or "sweeten" the audience reactions in post production. So they sound muted, to me anyway. Often times, if the audience doesn't laugh where the producers want a laugh, they will add one in. In the Norman Lear days (the 1970s), the audiences were loud and boisterous, especially on his shows. They would applaud and go nuts over some of the lines.

I've read many articles and interviews where younger television viewers don't like the live studio audiences. They call it canned laughter, which it is not.  But we've got a whole generation now raised on the single camera comedies like The Office and Modern Family. They don't like the studio audience shows. To me, that's what a sitcom is!

On to the show...Loved Marissa Tomei as Edith. Loved Woody Harrelson as Archie Bunker. They were great, Trust to the characters while bringing their own spin to them. Ellie Kemper and Ike Barinholtz were good to although they didn't have as much to do. And frankly they are a little old to be playing the children of Marsisa Tomei and Woody Harrelson.  But I am quibbling here.

Tomei was a hoot as Edith. Loved her high pitched voice and the running around. Harrelson got the vernacular and dialect of Archie down just right. And not importantly, they were not imitating the threat Jean Stapleton and Carroll O'Connor.

Jamie Foxx was hilarious as George Jefferson. I loved how he had the swagger and the mannerisms of George. However, to me, he was doing an impression of Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson as opposed to bringing his own take to the character. He was doing a sketch character. And that makes sense since he got his start on In Living Color. And I wasn't too thrilled with how he broke the fourth wall and pointed out his flubbed line instead of just repeating the line and going on as one does on stage. But that's just me.  It was funny to see Woody Harrelson break and turn his back to the audience when that happened. And Marissa Tomei just stayed in character as Edith, you could see she was stifling a laugh but staying as Edith. It does make live TV fun, but again really?

For me, the highlight of the night was the appearance of Marla Gibbs as Florence. I jumped out of my seat and cheered when they opened the door and revealed her. YESSS!!! And double bonus whammy for us classic TV fans, she was reunited with her 227 co-star Jackee!

Oh! And how fabulous was Jennifer Hudson singing The Jeffersons theme song!?

All in all I loved the night and I hope we get some more. That's TV!

Pretty Women from Sweeney Todd

Pretty Women from Sweeney Todd sung by me in The gift of Song benefit at Repertory East Playhouse in April 2013. Part of a tribute to Sondheim evening.

I survived not one but two total wrecks in one month

You read that right. Four weeks ago, on Valentine's Day, I totaled my 2014 Honda Accord. After three weeks in a rental, I finally bought a new car on Monday, a 2015 Nissan Altima. On Tuesday, approximately 24 hours after driving the Nissan off the lot, I hit a car that pulled out in front of me and totaled the Nissan.

It's been two days. I have no car. I'm waiting to hear from the insurance company.  I don't know what is going to happen to my insurance rates. I don't know what's going to happen with the insurance. Will they pay for the second accident like they did the first?

Four weeks ago, I was on my way to San Diego. It was early afternoon and it was raining (as it did pretty much all through February). I was performing in Crazy For You at San Diego Musical Theatre. We were about three weeks into the run so I had been going back and forth between LA and SD a couple times a week. And often in the rain. I was on the 73 southbound in the farthest left lane approaching a steep downhill decline just before the Laguna Beach exit. I saw a CHP vehicle pulled over in the left shoulder and an overturned white SUV in the middle of the median. I hit my brakes to slow down and lost control of the car. I turned the steering wheel toward the median hoping I wouldn't skid or spin into traffic. I spun 180 degrees and landed in the median and then the car rolled over on its side and down the hill to the northbound side of the median. It wasn't over. I spun another 180 degrees so I was now facing south in the northbound side. Thankfully, I stopped, landing upright in a ditch.

I sat there and carefully surveyed the damage in the car and then checked to make sure that I was okay, remembering from Boy Scout First Aid that you never move a body from an accident in case something is broken or injured. I checked myself and realized I was okay so I unbuckled the seat belt and attempted to open the door. I couldn't see out the windows because all the air bags had deployed. Then I heard the CHP officer outside asking if I was okay. When I said yes, he asked if I could open the door and I couldn't so he helped me get it open and I stepped out.

I had a scratch on my left hand and my right had hurt really bad in the joint at the base of my thumb. Otherwise, I felt fine.  I waited in the CHP vehicle for a tow truck, called my insurance company. I found out that I was the third vehicle in a row to go off the road at that same point that day. I got one of  my fellow actors to meet me at the tow yard and I went to urgent care where they put my hand in a splint.  I was told I might have a fracture. The next day I saw an orthopedic surgeon who said it was arthritis. Really? Arthritis? I love getting older!

Anyway, my insurance got me a rental and eventually determined the damage would cost over $14,000. So they paid off my outstanding car loan and the remainder was sent to me in a check. This past week I went to Carmax and picked out a 2015 Nissan Altima and used the check as a down payment and financed the rest. On Monday, I picked up the car.

Approximately 24 hours later, I was making a lefthand turn onto Burbank Blvd as the light changed from green to red. About 500 feet down Burbank a woman pulled out of her parking spot as I was approaching and I hit her sending me into traffic where I rolled over turning upside down. There I was strapped in nice and tight in my seat, hanging upside down and with no view because all the airbags deployed.  Once again I did a quick inventory of my body and realized I felt fine. I let myself out of the seat belt and gently got down on the ground (or ceiling of the car) and then I heard voices outside the car door, We opened the door and about three or four people walked me to the curb, including the woman I had hit.   People brought me water and made sure I was okay. One man asked me questions to make sure I was okay. You know like, what's your name, where do you live, what's today's date who's the president.

Reports were filed. Witnesses were interviewed. My car was towed. And now I wait. I'm pretty sure I was not at fault. The main police officer did tell me that mine and everyone else's stories seem to corroborate. So I think I am not at fault. But my main concern is what will this do to my insurance? Will they pay for the whole thing like the last time? Or now that I've totaled two cars in one month, will they not cover me?

Making matters worse, I don't have a full time job anymore. I have a couple of different part time jobs and they both depend on me having reliable transportation. Not to mention that I'm also an actor who has to get to auditions on a regular basis. So I need a car for that. What will this do to me financially?

So I wait. Its also hard when you live alone. I have no one here with me. No  one to distract me. I'm on my own.  I want to send big "Thank Yous" to my friends Tom and JP who each seperately got me out of the house yesterday. And to Ariella for checking on me today and offering to take me anywhere I might need to go like the grocery store. And I do know that I am EXTREMELY LUCKY to be healthy and relatively unscathed from this. TWICE NOW!!! I have a guardian angel watching over me for sure!

And I'm thankful to the universe for keeping me safe. I am very, very grateful to the people who were so nice to me Tuesday at the scene of the accident. All I could think was TWICE IN ONE MONTH!!! WHY?! I just got this car yesterday! This can't be happening! What now?

But I'm here and I'm not hurt. Thank you!!

I Used to Love the Emmys. What Happened? :(

When I was growing up, I didn't have many hobbies. I didn't play sports. I wasn't in many clubs. There was Boy Scouts and I played the cello in my school orchestra and in high school I got involved in the drama club. But otherwise I watched TV. Tons of it.

Every night of the week. My life revolved around the TV listings in the newspaper (We didn't get TV Guide growing up but I did subscribe to it as an adult).

I've discussed in some of my earlier blogs my love of television and my lifelong obsession with it. And I still love it. I love the technology. But to be truthful I miss old school network TV. For me, that is real TV. In my opinion, streaming and pay cable and all the other various outlets are not TV. I'll say that again. Streaming. Is. Not. TV.

There I said it. Call me old fashioned. Call me an old timer who can't accept change. But I believe that the only real TV is still the broadcast networks. TV is on a schedule. A show airs at a specific date and time and that is when you watch it, or record it.

Growing up we just had the Big Three networks, ABC, CBS and NBC. CBS being the king of them all! And the Emmys for me were an annual ritual where I could see all my favorite TV stars. It was fun and entertaining. There were only the 3 networks and PBS and some syndicated shows. Five nominees in each category. Sometimes less. The only awards given out were for Comedy, Drama, Movies and Mini-Series and Variety Shows. And the categories were Show, Directing, Writing and Acting. That was it.

Now there are so many awards given out they have separate ceremonies for the creative arts and technical awards and the guest stars, etc etc etc...

And there's reality show categories, competition and lifestyle and here's my biggest qualm...first they added cable TV and now streaming and as a result the networks are being shutout! And I don't know any of these actors. They're all from the UK or Australia or they're movie stars! And the ceremony is really long and really boring.

I don't care about them at all anymore. I want to root for my favorite shows but they're not even invited to the party these days. And the ratings go down every year. This year was the lowest rated Emmys ever! Granted, all broadcast TV shows go down year after year after year because of the fractured world of modern TV. None of the big events get the ratings they used to get when there were just three channels, (except the Super Bowls).  Seriously, remember when Miss America and Miss Universe were a big event? Not even on broadcast anymore. Or all the Bowl games and parades on New Years Day? Where are they now?

But also, the people watching broadcast TV don't know see any of their shows represented.

Look. I love streaming as much as the next guy. I have Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. But even I barely watch the tip of the iceberg in their original programming because there is just too much of it. If I ran the TV industry, (which let's face it you know I should!), I would have separate awards shows for streaming, cable and broadcast. The Emmys belong to the broadcast networks. How much longer do you think they will continue to broadcast the Emmys if they're not even represented at the awards show?

I want my TV back the way it was. I used to look forward to the Emmys every year.  Not anymore. Its just not TV. :(

The Show Must Go On - The Actor's Nightmare

Actors...Ever have that dream where you're on stage and you don't know you're lines, you blocking or even what the show is that you're doing? Of course you have. We all have.

Well this weekend, I nearly lived it for real. That's right! I went into a new musical that I had never seen, read nor even heard about with 24 hours notice and no rehearsal. And I survived.

Friday night art 5:00 I received a message from an old colleague at Acme Comedy Theatre whose wife is in a new musical opening that evening in about 3 hours. One of the lead actors was in the emergency room and they knew nothing about his condition, ailment, when or if he would be back in the show. He had been asked to do it but he's not a singer (although I think he could have handled this character's one song). His wife asked if he knew anyone that could sing and act and jump in on a moment's notice.  And that's how I ended up in a new musical.

I was up for the challenge. It's been a while since I've done something like this, gone on as a replacement with little to non rehearsal. And I felt my mind needed it to prove that my mind was still agile enough at my age,

I was told that the show's composer was prepared to go on in the role that evening. I could simply come and watch the show and then jump in to Saturday night's show. I arrived at the theater an hour and a half later. It was very deja vu for me. I did two shows at the at theater 14 and 15 years ago and had only been back on a couple of occasions since both over a decade ago. So weird to be there again after all these years and to walk in the theater and see a signed poster if one of those shows with my autograph hanging on the wall house right. My very first show in Los Angeles was in that space.

So, I arrived and watched as they ran the composer through what would be my scenes. I was handed a copy of the stage manager's script and went in search of a FedEx Office to make a copy. As I went through the script I noticed that my character was named Cindy, not Sidney as was I had been told. I was confused. Turns out this was an older version of the script before my character's gender was changed. (Not the only one either, a formerly male character had been changed to a female so it evened out in the end).  Why the stage manager had an old version of the script was beyond me, but who am I to question.

So I went up to the booth to watch the show. I still knew nothing about this show called Mary of the Avenue. When Sidney came on stage I turned on the recorder on my phone so I could have a recording of the song I had to learn. I watched the show, and after made arrangements with my scene partners to meet at 5 on Saturday before the show.

I went out with friends and stayed out way too late (that's a story for another time). Cancelled my work hours on Saturday and stayed in so I could focus on my lines. Now the good news is that I play a reporter so I could use a clipboard in certain scenes when I was on the scene reporting to my TV audience. That way I was able to put the pages of the script for that scene on the clipboard and use it as a crutch when I was on stage.  I showed up at 5 and we ran my scenes a few times and then I went to the booth to learn my song. I definitely needed to have my script in my hand for that!

I did the show. The announcement that I was going on as a replacement was not made until intermission. The producer thought that if he made the announcement prior to the start of the show that the audience would be conscious of me looking down at my script periodically, but if he said nothing they wouldn't be as aware of it and it would be even more impressive when they found out that I was a last minute sub with no rehearsal time nor no knowledge of the show whatsoever until approximately 24 hours before going on. It worked! They totally fell for it.

Although I was never told about the curtain call. Well, no worries, I thought. I'll just ask who I follow and where I go. Great.  No problem. Worked out fine. And then when we all took our group bow...the music started playing and the cast started singing one of the songs from the show...and not my song! What?! After all that? I get through the show without incident and then that gets thrown at me. What is this song. Do I stand here like an idiot and just grin at the audience? Do I move my lips and make it look like a bad ventriloquist act or bad dubbing on a foreign film? No! I'm going to try and sing a long. A song I don't know. A song I've only heard once. And so I opened my mouth and sang. I followed along. The melody was pretty easy to pick up and as for the words I just a split millisecond behind the cast. Seriously. I was basically echoing them but only barely.

When I walked off stage, I went into the dressing room and said I wish someone had told me that I had to sing in the bows! The composer /producer came backstage and apologized for thinking to tell me and teach me the song. But then also noted how I just dove in and sang along and he couldn't believe how I appeared to know the song, Only his trained eye could tell that I was actually about a split second behind the cast.

So I did it. I went on again today and it was better. Next weekend I'll be onstage without a crutch, totally off book. But for now...Phew! I've still got it!

Oy! The Pain! Getting Older Can Hurt

I've been back to dance class the last couple of weeks and its reminded me of some of my boast brags on facebook a couple years ago when I was taking this class regularly. I was proud of how at my age I could not only keep up with everyone but not really feel any pain and I still had great agility at age 52 53.

Well now I'm 56 and those days are over! Hell! When did this happen to me? My knees occasionally give out but not always. And they've been okay lately. Knock wood! God forbid I curse myself by saying that and I get up from this chair and my knee gives out and I fall flat upon my face.  My joints hurt me.

My back has been in pain on two occasions. The first was two years ago and it last over a week. And it was painful! I went to the doctor and got two prescriptions: one muscle relaxer and one pain killer. I'm still enjoying those. (Just kidding!)

Reminds me of a story...when I was in my mid 20s I had surgery and my parents let recuperate at their house while I was on leave from my job. I had been given Tylenol 3 with Codeine by the surgeon as a pain killer. The surgery was on Monday. Saturday afternoon, my father walked into my room and saw that I had taken a dose of the pills and he asked if I was still in pain. I said no. Then he asked why I was still taking the pills. I told him because the doctor prescribed them and I hadn't finished the prescription yet. He said, that's not something to play around with. Those things can be addictive. If you're not in pain, then you shouldn't be taking them anymore. So I stopped. I got schooled. And I've never been a big pill popper. In fact, I don't think I have an addictive personality.
Back to our main story...

The second time I had bad back pain was a couple months ago. Same pain in the small of my back. Really intense. But it went away in a few days.

The Big A word is what has hit me...Arthritis! I have arthritis! Why? How? I'm too young. I work out regularly at the gym but for several months now I have not been able to do bench presses because of my right shoulder. Its not the weight. Its the movement. Literally. I can't lift my right arm over my head without pain. Now the pain has moved down to my right elbow. Arms curls hurt like hell on the inside joint of my right elbow. Ouch!

Some times my fingers or hands will go numb. I'll wake up in the middle of the night with a shooting pain down my arm to my thumb. What is this fresh new hell? Am I turning into old man?

NO!! Look at me! I am not an old man. I mean, seriously, look at me! I'm still young. I look damn good for my age. I can't tell yo how many times I'll see someone or meet someone and think to myself they are older than me, only to find out that they are in fact a few years younger than me. And then I think to myself, "How can that be?". And then I think to myself, in all modesty and humility, "I look damn good for my age."

Then I cross my fingers and throw salt over my shoulder and turn and spin three times and spit to make sure to ward off any evil spirits that will cause me to wake up the next morning looking ten years older. I don't want to curse myself by saying I look good. Although my hair has really started going gray in the last year.

And what happened to my nice tight little ass?!!! Holy crap! Are my ass cheeks starting to sag a bit?! My shelf life is running out! I need to find a husband and now before everything falls apart and I'm not attractive to anyone. LOL

Truth be told, as I've gotten older I seem to be getting more attention paid. Maybe aging isn't such a bad thing. Whoever ends up with me just better be prepared to put up with the occasional cries of pain and sagging body parts.

P.S. in addition I used to be a pretty good dancer. Not a trainer dancer but I could pick up choreography pretty quickly when I was in rehearsals for a show. Not so much anymore. The other night, I couldn't remember how the dance combo started. I had to keep asking my friend April, "What's the first step?" Oh boy!

Pet Peeves (or am I just a cranky old man?)

I thought I'd write about something a little different today. Instead of my career or what's going on in my life. I thought it would be fun to write about my pet peeves and I would love to hear from some of you and hear your pet peeves.

People who use the bike path in the park to jog, walk their dogs, take a nice leisurely stroll with the entire family walking side by side across the path sometimes pushing a baby stroller (Well the joggers aren't so bad, they will stay out of your way but they have their own path!) Seriously, at some points there is a walking/jogging path right alongside the bike path. The bike path is clearly marked with directional signs painted periodically. Get off my path!

People who stand in line at the checkout and don't get their money or credit card out until the cashier is done ringing their transaction..and keep the rest of us waiting while they search in the purse or bag for their wallet and then pull out their money/cards. Excuse me!?  You've been standing in line all that time you couldn't have your money/card ready to go in your hand before you got there. I always have my card in my hand as soon as I get in line. If I'm paying in cash, I have my wallet in my hand with my fingers prying it open for quick access to my bills.

On The Road:
Not using turn signals to make a turn (or waiting until you're already in the turn to turn on the signal)
Not pulling all the way into the median when making a left turn. Seriously! Get out of my lane!
Texting!
Driving in the wrong direction in the parking lot lane. Real? You can't see the arrows painted showing the direction of travel and the fact that all the parking spots are angled in the opposite direction of the one you're driving. Oh! And you can't see that I'm coming directly at you?
Backing your car into a parking spot in a parking garage. No! Please! I've got all day to wait for you to maneuver in to that spot.
Waiting for someone to pull out of a spot so you can have it keeping all of you behind you waiting. Bonus peeve for waiting while someone is slowly loading their car with bags, children, strollers, etc. Especially if there are more parking posts just a few feet or yards down.
And do these people never take into consideration that maybe their action has a domino effect? Like maybe we are backed up all the way into the street and now there might be some blocking traffic.

People talking loudly other cell phones in public places. Go someplace private if you want to have a personal conversation. It happened again just last night in Ralph's. This woman was talking very loudly on her phone, clearly business stuff. She was going on about ideas and lawsuits, etc... Go do business in your office!

The gym...
Those who sit on a weight bench and have phone conversations without doing any sets for 10 - 15 minutes. Really? Get off the damn bench and let someone else use it!

Or the ones who reserve a machine while they're off working somewhere else. Really? I understand someone people like to circuit train. That's okay. But some will use a machine in one area and then go off somewhere else to work on another machine and leave their towels, water bottles, etc on the first machine so no one will use it.

Then there's the guys who grab a bunch of dumbbells (like three or four sets) and pile them up on the floor around their bench while they work.  This means that no one else can use any of them while they use them. I saw this once years ago in my old gym where a guy had several sets around his bench. Others asked if they could share with him and he refused. It also left no room for anyone to walk around. The managers had to get involved because he was being a real dick about it.

Speaking of which, put your damn weights back on the rack! Every gym I've ever been to has signs posted reminding guests to do so, but they don't . Sometimes, its like walking a minefield or you can't find what the weights you want because they're lying on the floor somewhere.

More pet peeves...

Talking with food in your mouth
Not closing your mouth when you chew
People who say "Also too." It's redundant!
"Ain't" As my mother used to say There's no such word as ain't.


Am I a grumpy old man or do you agree? What your pet peeves? Leave in the comments section below.