SHOW BIZ
After college and "The Chessman" years, I was accepted by the Totem Pole Playhouse in Fayetteville Pennsylvania to be an "apprentice." That simply meant that I would be learning my craft under the watchful eyes of the owner/director, Bill Putch and his wife Jean Stapleton (Yes, pre-Edith of "All in the Family"). This was the summer of "The Twist," eagerly executed many nights on the porch of the building where most of the actors lived. (After the evening performance, of course.)
As an apprentice, you did a lot of backstage work, handling props, painting scenery, any odd job. And you appeared in one or two shows. The one I remember appearing in was "Oklahoma" with Ms. Stapleton as Aunt Eller. And I also remember reporting for work with the other apprentices to paint scenery on the morning of August 6th, 1962 to discover that Marilyn Monroe had been found dead on the previous day. Everyone was in shock.
Near the end of the summer stock season, I was approached by a nice lady who asked me to join a Children's Theater group based in Pittsburgh. I took the job and did about five shows with them. None particularly memorable. I do recall being an ugly step-sister in "Cinderella."
But also, in Pittsburgh was (at the time) the prestigious Pittsburgh Playhouse. I submitted a resume and was hired as a crew member and allowed to audition for productions. I did "Bye, Bye Birdie," "The Taming of the Shrew" with Jonathon Frid (soon to be Barnabas in "Dark Shadows" on TV) and a review, the name of which I don't recall. But one of the sketches was with Judy O'Day and me playing beatniks. (Later, as Judith O'Day, she attained some notoriety in the cult classic, "Night of the Living Dead.")
A friend at the playhouse was hired as director for a summer stock company in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania and in turn hired me for two shows. The juvenile lead in both "The Fantasticks" and "Five Finger Exercise" (I really chewed the scenery in that one.)
The next step was the big move.....To New York City. Friends (Bob Tananis and Judy Knaiz) that I had met at the Pittsburgh Playhouse were ready for the move as well. So the three of us did it, arriving in September. Bob and I roomed together on West 71st and Judy checked into the Barbizon Plaza. I recall that Bob and I paid $50 a month for our apartment............. Not anymore.......... By early November, Judy had a place of her own (and a TV) so it only followed that on November 22, 1963, the three of us sat all afternoon and most of the following day in her new apartment to hear of the latest news on the assassination of JFK. We cried a lot in this right of passage.
As the years went by
, Bob became a successful male model but passed away quite young from AIDS. Judy when on to play Gussie Granger in the movie of "Hello Dolly" with Barbra Streisand. (pictured below with Walter Matthau) Some wonderful memories,
As an apprentice, you did a lot of backstage work, handling props, painting scenery, any odd job. And you appeared in one or two shows. The one I remember appearing in was "Oklahoma" with Ms. Stapleton as Aunt Eller. And I also remember reporting for work with the other apprentices to paint scenery on the morning of August 6th, 1962 to discover that Marilyn Monroe had been found dead on the previous day. Everyone was in shock.
Near the end of the summer stock season, I was approached by a nice lady who asked me to join a Children's Theater group based in Pittsburgh. I took the job and did about five shows with them. None particularly memorable. I do recall being an ugly step-sister in "Cinderella."
But also, in Pittsburgh was (at the time) the prestigious Pittsburgh Playhouse. I submitted a resume and was hired as a crew member and allowed to audition for productions. I did "Bye, Bye Birdie," "The Taming of the Shrew" with Jonathon Frid (soon to be Barnabas in "Dark Shadows" on TV) and a review, the name of which I don't recall. But one of the sketches was with Judy O'Day and me playing beatniks. (Later, as Judith O'Day, she attained some notoriety in the cult classic, "Night of the Living Dead.")
A friend at the playhouse was hired as director for a summer stock company in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania and in turn hired me for two shows. The juvenile lead in both "The Fantasticks" and "Five Finger Exercise" (I really chewed the scenery in that one.)
The next step was the big move.....To New York City. Friends (Bob Tananis and Judy Knaiz) that I had met at the Pittsburgh Playhouse were ready for the move as well. So the three of us did it, arriving in September. Bob and I roomed together on West 71st and Judy checked into the Barbizon Plaza. I recall that Bob and I paid $50 a month for our apartment............. Not anymore.......... By early November, Judy had a place of her own (and a TV) so it only followed that on November 22, 1963, the three of us sat all afternoon and most of the following day in her new apartment to hear of the latest news on the assassination of JFK. We cried a lot in this right of passage.
As the years went by
, Bob became a successful male model but passed away quite young from AIDS. Judy when on to play Gussie Granger in the movie of "Hello Dolly" with Barbra Streisand. (pictured below with Walter Matthau) Some wonderful memories,
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