Riddle Me this and Riddle me That?!

It was a pleasantly warm, dry southern California evening when I slipped into the City Wok for healthy Chinese cuisine (only in southern California right?!). The eatery was buzzing with activity. I spied actor/comedian Frank Gorshen across the room. I’d seen celebrities before but Frank was a legend in my book. He’d had a career spanning several decades as a comedian, often appearing on the Ed Sullivan show and he’d left an indeliable impression on my brain after all those evenings as a kid curled up in front of the set watching Adam West as Batman with Frank as The Riddler. He was the definitive Riddler, a character that Jim Carrey undoubtably borrowed from in his portrayal of the Riddler years later.

As I finished my meal and stepped out into the parking lot Frank was standing on the curb lighting a cigarette. It was just he and I and the stars on a clear night. Not wanting to disturb him I simply stopped and expressed how much I appreciated what he’d brought to the screen in his work. In legendary form he took a puff on his cigarette leaned over and said thanks kid, thanks a lot in a gritty character voice unmistakenly Frank, like a wine with a long east coast finish. A week and a half later he was dead. He seemed so vibrant, but looking back I think he knew he was on his way out and was at peace with that fact. As he stood on the curb that night outside the restaurant he was digesting a memory. I unwittingly provided the icing...

Thinking back on that evening I’m not sure why it made such an impression on me but it did and is in fact a moment in time burned into my brain. I guess cause life is like that, here today and gone tomorrow. Take it all in like a big full course dinner only not so much as to make you sick but just enough to be satisfied. Enjoy every minute, the ups and the downs. It’s always been about the journey. I know that much. For some it’s world travel and sumptuous cuisine and for others the comfort of their favorite chair and a good book. For still others there’s that space somewhere in between.

Life is an amalgam of rhythm and art. There’s art in the stars and the cracks in the sidewalk behind a lost diner. There’s art in everything. There’s rhythm in everything too from the sound of a voice to the wind to the movement of the waves on a beach. It’s all about patterns and numbers. The patterns of our life and discovery of what was and is now present.

Sure there is a dark side to life but that has a pattern as well and an erie art to it but the balance of dark and light in my life keeps the patterns alive as I discover the days unfolding before me... In the days ahead I’m going to strike out on a journey in words that I’m hoping to share on these pages. For those that join me I salute you and welcome your presence for no two eyes see the same thing exactly the same way and that’s what makes life interesting. That’s what makes it a pleasure to wake up in the morning and take in the morning air, well that and a good cup of strong black coffee from a well seasoned Barista...LOL

EVEN SEA SLUGS CAN BE INTERESTING (though a bit slippery to hold…)

While doing laps around the Beverly Hills High School track one afternoon I spied an older gentleman dressed in sweats with a towel tucked around his neck and donning an English driving cap. I felt his energy from the moment I arrived and though focused on my own training I was drawn to him. He appeared to be mumbling to himself and oblivious to the outside world. By the second mile I was acutely aware of his incredible focus. He appeared to be concentrating, working from within on some problem perhaps, but doing so with laser precision. It didn’t hit me till a few laps later that this man was an actor learning dialogue and developing his character on that track.

Somewhere between my second and third mile and this was some years ago, I realized it was Burt Lancaster. To this day that afternoon has made an indelible impression on me. I learned that even after all the success a screen legend enjoys, he still must work hard at his craft and still give 150% in doing so.

My journey thus far has been on both sides of the camera. I’ve tasted success and failure, hard times and good but one constant throughout the journey has always been that the people I meet and places I’ve visited make life interesting…

A chance meeting in an elevator or at a gas station with someone far from the world of entertainment is often a valuable source for character development as an actor as well as a rich addition to the fabric of my journey.

And life is full of “stuff”. My life is no different. The typical acting coach will tell an actor that if they’ve had a bad day or some misfortune or are depressed they should use all that “stuff” in their performance. That same acting coach will also tell you if you’re angry use it or if you’re sad use it and so on. They’ll explain that adding your “stuff” to a performance will make that performance rich. If you’re that actor going through the “stuff”, that turmoil you feel inside may not be so easy to use in an audition or performance. The advice to use your “stuff” may be sound advice. However, we’re not always comfortable wearing all the armor needed to do so. It does get heavy.

So tonight I’m gonna take off my armor,set my stuff aside and relax a little bit before tomorrow's challenges present themselves...Of course all that happens sometime after a long night of rehearsal giving 150%. It's hard work being a murdering adulterer. Oh yeah,that's my character Tony Abbott in "Heaven Can Wait". We open April 23rd at the Conejo Players Theater in Thousand Oaks.