One night way some time back when my career had taken a serious dive, I came quick aroused in the middle of the night, straight from the depths of a dream, and had to wake up Jamie right then and there to share the incredible news. An epiphany: I'd missed my calling. I should have been an actor. I'd just had a dream wherein I was more brilliant than Brando in "On The Waterfront". "I coulda been a contender..." brought tears to my eyes. Jamie had to see this. "Wake up, J! You gotta see this!" So, Jamie shakes herself awake and glares at me like "this better be good".
"Listen to me, J. Just listen to me."
I had her undivided attention and launched into that famous speech certain I was once again about to out Brando Brando. The look on J's face was pure horror as she realized her husband, always threateningly close to the edge, had now truly passed over it.
"I coulda been a contender..."
"Stop it."
"It was you, Charlie, it was..."
"Stop it!"
"The extra cash wouldn't hurt."
"You're not serious."
"You could coach me."
"Good night, Gracie."
That was a good couple of decades ago. I haven't acted since, and my career, while not exactly booming, is no longer on life support.
PS:
Just for the record. Way back in 1973, Shirley Rich, a well known casting director, was casting my first national drama for PBS - The Resolution of Mossie Wax. She offered to send me out on acting calls. Pass. I told her, "Uh, uh. I'm having too much trouble learning how to be me let alone trying to figure out how to be somebody else."
No comments:
Post a Comment