Fast Forward to the present!

I am skipping forward for about 25 years. My acting career has been fairly lucrative, I have been able to raise my daughter to adulthood, I have 25 years vested in SAG which means I have cheap health insurance at 65 for life and a decent pension to go along with Social Security Retirement and still get occasional residuals.

So, while I didn't fail in La, my career never achieved the promise it had when I first arrived in Hollywood. I had my ups and downs, was a series regular on a few pilots that were not picked up, did many top of the show guest spots. {IMDB link at the bottom of this page}. But, just when it looked like I was going to have a breakthrough, like I had in New York, I would suffer a setback. Sometimes due to my own doing, I have a big impulsive mouth which hurt me, being a military veteran, US Navy,  and a political conservative in a sea of liberalism.

Being a new father in a new marriage put pressure on me that I didn't have in New York. Where timing worked for me in NY, it worked against me in Hollywood.While I was able to make a living in LA, it was a struggle to maintain that level without falling into the abyss. It is strange that while my daughter was growing up, I was able to maintain a living as an actor and provide her with health insurance but as soon as she turned 21 is when my career seemed to collapse. I thank God it did not happen when she was very young because I don't know what I would have done. I didn't go to college and have no skills outside of acting.

Now, I am 68 years old, living on Social Security retirement, a Screen Actors pension and a occasional pension. I no longer have an agent that can get me in the room with a phone call. BTW, I auditioned for a good commercial agent last week and received a call today for a call back. I never had the much luck with commercials, I did a few, but I feel that my advanced age may make me more useful for commercials. We shall see.

There has been much good though in spite of the frustrations.My college graduate daughter is grown and supports herself and hopefully will give me grand children someday. I have been able to keep in great physical shape, having a lot of free time gives me the opportunity to work out every day to pass the time. I still have my acting hook in the water, and my acting is as sharp as ever, maybe better as the pressure is off.

I just finished doing a play and it felt great to turn on an audience again. I will always stick with it because I love the act of acting.

IMDB for John Del Regno

Where is the anti-war movement?

Where are all those demonstrators during the Viet Nam war and the Iraq war? Our government is considering getting involved in the Syrian civil war on the side of Islamic extremists , who are more of a threat to US security than the Assad regime.

Those days of America going to the rescue of say: South Vietnam being invaded by North Vietnam or a possible future nuclear attack from Saddam , are over because of you anti-war people.  These anti-war demonstrators ignored all of Saddam's atrocities but are so sad because of Assad's atrocities.

Is it just political for these people? Not much demonstration when Clinton bombed the hell out of Yugoslavia, when they were absolutely no threat to us. But after 9-11, when this country was attacked by Islamic extremists , after over 30 years of  Terrorists attacks by different groups from different countries within the Islamic world, the anti-war people demonstrated vigorously. Where are you now?

The top commander of the US military has subtly stated that this is a impossible mission. Russia, Iran and maybe China will use this opportunity to humiliate the US.

Hollywood is creatively Bankrupt!

Who's running the film business? With one mega budget flop after another, somebody should get fired.This is what happens when hustlers,ass kissers and scumbags rise to the top of the business. And now that they have conned their way to the top, they have no idea what to do. So, they revive and copy what has been done in the past.

With the CGI technology they are able to create huge explosions and giant monsters but at the expense of a good story , interesting characters and good acting.

I recently saw WWZ, with Brad Pitt. As usual, the special effects were the best part of the movie. But as for the story, if you have seen one zombie picture, you have seen them all. As for Mr. Pitt, his performance was similar to what he did in "Money Ball" . This underplay, unemotional persona which passes as real in movies nowadays is boring. In real life people are much more animated.

It seems with some actors when they have success early in life ,  stop growing as an actor. Young actors now will do anything to get a part in film or Tv, except work on their craft. They take acting lessons and maybe do a couple pf plays and think they are ready for the big time.Why not, they see Pitt phoning it in and getting away with it, why not them.

Acting is a skill that has to be practiced and developed . Musicians, athletes, dancers,pool players, golf players, all have to practice. Actors practice by doing theater as much as possible.

Now it seems, if a part requires dynamic acting, the producers have to go to other countries to get accomplished actors doing American accents.

A lesson to be learned!

        The IRS scandal, the AP source scandal, and the Benghazi cover up are all examples of what happens in this political correct, Orwellian control of the government, the news and entertainment and the universities.
All these enlightened people who preach diversity and open mindness, as long as you agree with them. Using old Soviet Union tactics to brainwash and control the people.
          Let this be a lesson, if the government targets you, you have no recourse, unless you are rich,maybe.
Take the IRS scandal: Sure, a few heads will roll, but what about the rest of them.Only like minded get promoted and get jobs in the above mentioned organizations. So, to clean up the mess, you have to fire all of them.
           Of coarse , that won't happen. Our democracy is now a sham, when the people's representatives pass a law, the government picks and chooses what laws to enforce to give a certain political party a majority.
            I should just keep my mouth shut as this may put the final nail in my acting career. But I am 68 years old, a US Navy vet, and I don't give a sh**.

Nature intervenes 32 1983

After a couple of weeks at wife's aunt, we settled into an apartment in Hollywood. The Gage Group was getting me out on several interviews but something unexpected happened that changed all priorities.

My wife had an appointment with a doctor and we were both suspicious of what it was. I waited in our car while my wife was seeing the doctor. She came out, sat in the car and said she was pregnant and what should we do? I asked why are you leaving it up to me, you're carrying it. She said it was mine also.

On our way back to the apartment, we talked about what this would mean for us, new to California and dependant on my acting career which was unstable at best. We had a choice and we decided to go for it ,no matter what. I was 37 years old at the time and this could be my last chance to be a father. So we chose to be parents.

I knew at this point my life would change dramatically. Up til then I had pursued my career with reckless abandon, not fearing the future because I was living in the moment, forgetting about the past and not thinking of the future.

That would all change now. I got butterflies in my stomach, it feels like stage fright. What if I failed? What would happen to my child? Can I handle the responsibility after leading a Bum's Life for the last 10 years? This put a pressure on me that I didn't have before. The stakes were raised  and I called the bet.

Luckily for all involved ,I was able to get guest spots on TV series. After Madam's Place I got a guest shot on The Jeffersons which was in it's final year after 200 episodes. The character was a thief who robs George Jefferson and on the first rehearsal, sitcoms usually rehearse for a few days before taping, I played the character like I was doing The Godfather.  Afterwards, I could feel that the producers were not that pleased in what they saw.

The next day I came into rehearsal and they completely changed my character. It went from a thief to a drunken bum which was much funnier. The taping went very well for me and now I had a good piece for my demo reel besides Baker's Dozen.

The two jobs that I got in Hollywood so far, Madam's Place and the Jeffersons insured that I would be keeping my SAG health insurance ,which not only would be covering me but my wife and my future child's birth.

IMDB The Jeffersons : Change of a dollar

First score in Hollywood 31

The next month, July 1982, I took an old car, that was in the family, and took off for Hollywood. Driving across the country I felt a sense of freedom,traveling across the open road. You have to drive a couple of hundred miles west before you are free of the concrete jungle and out into the open country. I liked being on the open road and thought if I failed in Hollywood , I would drive one of those big rigs across the country.

Not that I had any doubt at all that I would make it big it Hollywood. After all, the first TV job I read for I got a TV series. Out in Hollywood where they produce tons of series, I would certainly get one right away. I needed to because the money was almost gone and now I was supporting a wife.

Day dreaming along the way, I planned to be bi-coastal. After making a couple of nice scores in La, I would return to New York and do nothing but Broadway plays and films.

When we finally arrived in La, after 12 adventurous days on the road, we crashed at Robert Pastorelli's apartment in the heart of Hollywood. I knew Bobby from New York, we were in Gray Spades together at the Ensemble Studio Theater directed By Risa Bramen.

We had the same agent , The Gage Group, and unwinding at his apartment, he received a call from the Gage Group to go on a audition. Bobby told them I had just arrived and they were able to get me in on the audition. I didn't expect any action so quick, my first day in Hollywood, but glad to see the move was already paying off.

The character I was reading for was a nervous guy and when I read for the casting director, Molly Lapata, I pushed and I could see the CD wince and I immediately pulled back within myself. I explained to her that I just drove in that day and was not ready to audition. I think she forgave me for my lousy reading as she had me in for other things ,which I got.

After a couple of days I had another audition for a show called "Madam's Place" , a show where the lead character was a puppet. I got the role and taped it and it went very well.

Off and running in Hollywood.

IMDB for Madam's Place

Go West Young Man 30

After my interview with Laury Oppendum, the casting director of Hill Street Blues, I talked over her suggestion, about going to Los Angeles, with my agents at The Gage Group. They said ,why not? They indicated if I did well in Los Angeles, it would help me in New York when I came back, as actors with Tv and film credits were sought out to do Broadway plays. The Gage Group was very highly regarded in Los Angeles so I would have top notch representation there.

Since Sorrows Of Stephen , I had expected to get calls to at least audition for different plays at the other public funded equity theaters in New York besides The Public Theater. It was almost 2 years since I did Stephen, yet not one call from them. I was offered several Off-Off plays but I turned them all down. I wasn't ready to go backwards and I felt I would be selling myself short by working for nothing after the success of Sorrows of Stephen and my breakout in Tv with Baker's Dozen.

I talked to my new wife about La and she mentioned she had an aunt in La and we could crash there until things began to roll. Actors that had been to La always talked about how much they hated Los Angeles and missed New York . Their main complaint was the isolation. You could work with someone in La, develope a relationship during the shoot and when the project is wrapped everyone goes their seperate ways ,scattered all over Los angeles, and never see them again unless you crashed into them on the road.

In New York, you kept in touch with people by just walking down Broadway. Even when I still lived in Queens, I would take the subway to the City and get out on 57st. and Broadway. I would walk from 57st to the Equity lounge on 46st and Broadway. On the way I would run into actors that I had worked with and we would stop and gab for a moment. Up at the Equity lounge, actors would hang out and use the phones. It was fun and very social.

I had one good friend in Los angeles, Robert Pastorelli who was in Gray Spades with me at the Ensemble Studio Theater. He had gone out there after Gray Spades and had already done a couple of guest spots on Tv. He said , come on down, you will get more work than you can handle.

The agents said if I go I should leave soon, it was June 1982, and the hiatus would be over after the 4th of July and the tv production would begin for the new season.

Everything seemed to be pointing west. I got an old Toyota that was still in the family and at the end of June we drove out of New York toward Hollywood.

This ends the first chapter of my life as an actor. In looking back I think I succeeded in my gamble. I went from a totally green actor who was in the first play I ever saw, in 1973, to going to Los Angeles as a working actor with a substantial resume and great representation in 1982.