Bitter sweet success 27

The shoot, for the pilot on CBS, could not have gone better for me. I had one scene where I pick the pocket of another character and the actor playing the role didn't realize what I did and it was all caught on camera. The producers and everybody involved thought it was great and my position was secure.

There was a particular incident that I remember. We were shooting a scene inside a bar and an actor I knew from Jimmy Rays came in to do extra work. Now this particular guy would tell me that I was a fool for working for no money when I was doing Off-Off Broadway. When he saw me , he came over and congratulated me for being smart and to do some extra work. I didn't say anything but as the day went on and he saw that I was not only a principle but a regular, he asked to be excused saying he was sick.

This actor could not accept that someone he thought was inferior to him, rise to the top while he languished doing extra work which is the dregs of show business. I never saw this actor again.

Getting this job changed my life, mostly for the better but there were some negative consequences. Up to this time all my close actor friends were struggling, working as waiters or cab drivers like my self. We would comfort each other in our misery of the struggle.

Now I went from a struggling actor to the fast track of the business. Friends that I got drunk with, friends that I performed plays with me in the outer reaches of off off, shunned me and treated me with suspicion as if I had betrayed them. They assumed that I had changed so they beat me to it by not saying hello when we ran into each other, unless I acknowledged them first.

I should have been more understanding. I felt they were not happy for me so I retaliated by walking away from a lot of old friends who I felt were not true friends but jealous of me.

In looking back, I am sorry for the way I acted to their insecurity. I know how painful it can be to give everything you have to make it as an actor and get nowhere. How painful it can be to see some one that you think you are better than, all actors think they are the best, have some success while you languish in shit jobs. Laying awake at night, worried that you will end up in poverty with no children, alone and broke.

I know because I felt that way.

Filming on the Streets of NY 26

The day came for the first day of shooting for "Baker's Dozen"TV pilot  for CBS Television. I was nervous as this was my first job on film to be shown across America and  possibly a life changing venture.

The first scene I was to shoot was the scene I had auditioned . I was determined to play moment to moment and create the illusion of the first time. This is essential in film, to be spontaneous and in the moment.

So here I am in my own trailer on Broadway and 45th Street waiting to be called to the set. I looked over my scene and was sure of all my intentions and what my character wanted. The knock at the door came and the ad escorted me to the set, passing onlookers behind barricades. I felt like a star, as the spectators looked at me with respect and awe. I got hold of myself and not let it go to my head. After all, I haven't shot anything yet.

We shot the first scene and it went great basically because I was working with a great actor, Ron Silver. We hooked into each other and created a relationship between the 2 characters, Ron's Detective Locasale and mine, Jeff Diggens the pickpocket.

After we rapped my scene, the producers Sonny Grosso and his partner Bud Jacobson came over to me and complimented on my performance. This enabled me to relax and enjoy myself for the rest of the shoot.

All the theater I had done over the past 7 years paid off. The scenes I had in the pilot were easy compared what I had created on stage. The major difference is the lack of rehearsal. In theater there is usually 4 weeks of rehearsal but on TV the only rehearsal is right before you shoot while the crew is setting up the scene.

SCORE 25

So now I had someone in the industry representing me, Lynn Kressel at least for this project, Bakers Dozen.

A couple of days later I had another call back with the producers to read with the lead actor in the pilot, Ron Silver . Again the waiting room was full of actors auditioning and I recognized a few from the previous auditions. I nodded my head hello and received a cautious response in return. Every actor in there knew that a job like this could change their whole life and the tension in the room was thick. Strangely, I wasn't that nervous, maybe because going this far in the process was a morale victory.

I went in and again I gave a good audition and a day later Lynn's assistant called me in the state of amazement. I was going to Network, CBS to audition again. She said that the producers wanted me for the role but the network had to approve of me. She seemed astonished that I was getting a network audition being that I had no film or TV credits . This was a choice job, not only because it was a sold TV pilot for CBS, but also it was to be shot on the streets of New York.

The day came for the big network audition. When it was my turn to go in I was ushered into a small theater with about 75 seats and everyone of them was filled by different employees of CBS. This would have been a good house for most of the Off-Off Broadway shows I performed.

I read and I got some good laughs from the CBS audience.

When I left, I went over to Jimmy Ray's to unwind and check my answering service. There was a call from Nina, Lynn Kressel's assistant, to call right away. When I called Nina sounded like she had seen a ghost. " You got It" You got it" she said in amazement.I got off the phone  and mentioned to a couple of actors hanging out that I just was cast in a TV series for CBS. They looked at me with suspicion as if I was just another bullshitting actor. I didn't care and walked dreamily uptown with no destination in mind.  I was happy but not  surprised.

IMDB for Baker's dozen

Trying out for the Big Leagues 24

Sorrows of Stephen finally closed at the New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater after 195 performances. I wasn't that surprised as the replacements were not as good as the original cast members. John Shea, the original Stephen in the show , was replaced by Don Scardino a nice enough actor but without the easy charm of John Shea. The attendance went down and this exciting and happy time in my life was over.

I had thought I would get a job in one of the other equity theaters around town but it was as if I never worked at the Public and now back to where I was before, without an agent or prospects.

I did have that audition,that I got myself, coming up for a new CBS pilot called "Baker's Dozen" a comedic cop show . I worked on the scenes I was to read at every spare moment I had and when the day came, I was ready.

I went to Lou Digiaimo's office for the audition and the waiting room was full of every different type of actor as several parts were being cast. I waited for my turn as actors went in one at a time and came out a few minutes later. I watched as they went in ,head held high ready to impress, and when they came out of the audition, head down with a slight look of dismay on their face. It is obvious when they come out of the room, which actors thought they did well and those that didn't.

When it was my turn, I took a deep breath. This is important to do in order to bring maximum oxygen to the brain. I went into the room and was introduced to Sonny Grosso, the producer. Sonny was a former narco cop and the film, The French Connection, was about his police career . He also was the producer of the film, The 7-Ups.

I read the two scenes and when I finished , Sonny had a smile on his face. Lou said .thank you very much and I walked out. I think my shoulders were more slouched than normal but that is normal after a audition as you not sure how well you did. No one fell out of their chair laughing but I felt I did what I wanted to do with the character and was satisfied that I was able to show these people that I am alive in this world and put it behind me as a morale victory.

Two days later I received a call from Lou's assistant to come back the next day for a call back.The assistant asked who my agent was and I told him I didn't have one at the moment. He just gave me the time and place and didn't react to my lack of representation.

I went on the call back and this time the room had about 10 people there to watch my audition including Bill Persky, a established TV director from Hollywood. I wasn't too nervous as by now I had the material memorized and was confidant that I had the character.

I auditioned and felt again that I accomplished what I wanted with the character. The next day I received another call from Lou Digiaimo's himself saying that I would be getting another call back and that I needed someone to negotiate for me if I was to go further in the casting process.

Wow, this was real, they wouldn't be asking me back again if they were not really interested in me for the project. But who do I get to speak for me, I had no relationship with any agents.

I called some of the actors I was friendly with from "Sorrows of Stephen" and Bill Converse, a Yale Graduate and understudy for Stephen, said I should call Lynn Kressel, at the time a top commercial casting director. He said she had seen the show and commented to him how much she enjoyed me in the show.

I called and Nina, Lynn's assistant, said that Lynn was going to manage 5 actors. I asked what about me and I was brought in to interview with Lynn Kressel, who agreed to represent me for this project.

Now I had a well known person in the industry to represent me. It was now 1981 and have been pursuing acting for the last seven years and now all my hard work may be paying off.

One door closes and another opens 23

The show was deep into it's run and I had to keep working on the character to keep it fresh. There is a tendency, I think, for actors in a long run to go on automatic pilot. They may have done the scenes hundreds of times and may feel tired or depressed sometimes and not concentrate on playing moment to moment but, "phone it in".

I was determined not to fall into that trap because there was a different audience every night and I didn't want anyone to think," this guy stinks." I would change my "moment before" occasionally which slightly colored my performance. Of coarse there are certain parameters that you have to honor such as the pacing and blocking but within that area I was able to be spontaneous every night.

I did 195 performances of "Sorrows of Stephen" at The New York Shakespeare Festival and every one had my full concentration, even when I was sick. There were a few and I mean few performances when the show fell flat. But even with the new cast members coming and going, audiences mostly responded positively toward the show.

About 5 months into the run I decided to move back to the City, Manhattan. I had grown up in the City on 28 St. and Second Avenue but because of the slow moving gentrification of the City, my family moved to Astoria, Queens when I was 16 and now I would return at 35 as a working actor.

I found a small studio apartment on 48 St between 8th and 9th avenue that I could afford just 2 blocks from Jimmy Rays. I would  party to the wee hours of the morning, sleep most of the day and do the show at night. This was my routine and I was loving it, until a notice was put up on the call board that "Sorrows of Stephen" would be closing in 2 weeks.

After 6 months of acting heaven, was I destined to go back to cab driving? I had not secured an agent and no promising projects on the horizon. I would have to swallow my pride and go out and look for work like every other actor. I had hoped during the run that I would be offered another job. I was sure it would happen, everybody I talked to about my performance said I was great and one of the main reasons the show was successful. But it didn't happen and now I am to be just another unemployed actor.

I was offered a couple of OFF-Off Broadway shows for no money but I couldn't bring myself to commit . I heard that a well known film producer and CD were beginning casting for a comedy TV show to be shot in New York. I knew this producer and CD had seen Sorrows Of Stephen so they had to have seen me.

I decided to do what is considered forbidden, I would call the CD myself. I called and asked for LD the CD. The person on the phone asked ,"who is calling" and I said John Del Regno. The voice said to hold and the CD got on the phone. I was surprised as I expected to leave a message which probably would never be returned.

I told the CD that he saw me in Sorrows Of Stephen at the Public and could I audition for the CBS pilot he was casting. The CD said he didn't remember me but he gave me an appointment to come in a read for him.

I immediately went and picked up the sides and poured over them . The character was a pickpocket and the dialogue was simple and easy for me. Whether I got the part or not, I would use this opportunity to show these TV people who I was.

Living the Dream 22

The play opened Off-Broadway to some pretty good reviews. Some of the cast received great reviews with the critic going into detail praising the dynamic comedic performances of some and saying about me that I  "evoked laughter". That's good enough for me, actors from Jimmy Ray's thought I had the best review as evoking laughter is as good as "scintillating" or" exquisitely charming".

This was a great time for me, making a living at something that I had been doing for nothing and getting some notoriety around New York. I would take a date to Studio 54 and the security ,at the door, let me in before the long line waiting out side because , hey, I was in a hit Off Broadway show.

Around this time I made some serious mistakes concerning my over all career. I still had no agent but I didn't care because as far as I was concerned , I had made it. Instead of seeking out agents or asking for recommendations from working actors that I was in contact with, I acted like a sailor who has been out to sea too long. But I was lighting up the audience every night that consisted of film directors and producers. I felt it was just a matter of time, let them come too me.

After a couple of months into the run it became apparent to me that this strategy was not working. The other cast members would be getting auditions for Tv and film and I would get nothing. It became a revolving door with actors coming and going as the original cast left to do other acting jobs in film and Tv and their parts were filled by graduates of the famous and expensive acting schools, especially Yale Drama.

The play ran for 6 months. All during that time I did 195 straight performances without missing one. I went on whether even if I was sick. In fact I had caught salmonella poisening from bad chicken during the run which lasted 2 weeks. I was afraid to miss a show, what if my Yale graduate understudy was good, they would replace me, some guy off the street.

Some thing happened thousands of miles away from the Public that affected my standing at the Public for future productions. The Iranian Hostage crisis developed during the run of the show. I'm not going to go into detail what was happening on the global stage but I felt that America was the victim.

The conflict I was having was that everyone and I mean everyone, actors, crew, directors and writers at the Public sided with Iran. I would argue with them because I felt the US was in peril and would suffer for Carter's weak response for years to came . I have been proven right .

These were the ones that had benefited the most from being American. I was all over the world when I was in the Navy and felt fortunate that my grandparents took the risk to come to America.I didn't care if they went to Harvard or Yale, they were uneducated in the ways of the world.
This gave me a some kind of a rebel reputation which I did my best to live up to.