Lisa Whelchel. The Facts of Life And Other Lessons My Father Taught Me. Colorado Springs, Co.: Multnomah Books, 2001.
This autobiography describes a busy and public life that included much religious devotion. Whelchel was adopted and grew up in Texas. She realized God’s love at age 10.
The future TV star was a shy child. She was enrolled in a summer theater program. The teacher was impressed and recommended, and her parents agreed. That Whelchel should take professional acting instruction. Whelchel studied acting, dancing, mime, etc. for five years. She was very disappointed when she wasn’t picked for a school talent show. She decided to learn ventriloquism to develop her entertainment skills. The next year, as a 4th grader, her act won her public school’s talent show.
A Disney Studio audition happened locally without Whelchel knowing about it. Her teachers and directors wrote enough letters to Disney that they decided to audition her. They loved her and selected her to be a Mousketeer on the “New Mickey Mouse Club” TV show. She did 186 episodes. She also was in live performances at Disneyland. The TV show was canceled when she was 13. She did some movie roles and TV guest appearances. She was faced with a choice of accepted a role on an existing TV series, “Hello Larry” or a role on a new series, “The Facts of Life”. Her choice of “Facts of Life” gave her several years on TV whereas “Hello Larry” did not last as long.
Whelchel’s character Blair was to lose her virginity during sweeps week to boost ratings. Whelchel objected as sex before marriage was against her views and she felt her character was a role model. The producers yielded to her. A later episode involved another character losing her virginity. She asked not to appear on the episode and her request was granted.
The 5’3” inch Whelchel wore high heels so her character would appear taller.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Perfection is Not a Sitcom Mother by Janet Hubert
Janet Hubert. Perfection is Not a Sitcom Mom: From the Fresh Prince TV Mom. Breinigsville, Pa. (no publisher mentioned), 2009.
The author’s father left Chicago’s South Side and Hubert grew up on a three acres farm in Momence, Illinois. In school, since there was no girls track tea,, she tried out and won a spot on the men’s track team. At the relatively late age of 22, Hubert began a dancing career. Running track had developed her thighs and others thought she was too large muscled for ballet. She won an Alvin Alley scholarship. She then worked on Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ tour.
Hubert won the role of Vivian Bank on “Fresh Prince of Bel Air”. The star, Will Smith, wanted the show to focus more on him and wanted most of the cast dropped from the show. NBC refused to do this. Smith tried taking the show to CBS but he couldn’t get a better deal than what NBC offered.
The author states she argued with the show’s writers. She believed they did not understand Black culture and did not respect African American women. She wanted her character to be portrayed as a woman of strong character. She admits this harmed her reputation and career.
Will Smith sometimes remained in his dressing room and made all cast and crew wait while he insisted upon changes to the scripts. It is noted this did not ruin his career.
Hubert enjoyed working with Smith. There was much laughter on the set.
Hubert was signed to a six year contract when the series began. This tended to freeze salaries if the show was a minor hit. Contacts were only renegotiated if the show was a hit. At option time, she was offered to be in 10 of the 20 episodes which was a $100,000 reduction in pay. In addition, she was restricted to appearing on just two shows of any other TV series. She sought to negotiate. The network then decided o remove her from the show and recast her part. She tried calling Will Smith but he did not return her calls.
Hubert states Will Smith slandered her. NBC brought nine lawyers to meet with her. This saddened her as she had always spoken well of Smith. The experience cost her almost $100,000 in legal fees. It also led to her losing a lot of weight.
This was followed by further stress and financial hardships. She appeared in an episode of “Friends”. She found the cast had a family-like atmosphere and were very friendly.
The author recommends people planning on going into acting to have another career available as a fallback.
The author’s father left Chicago’s South Side and Hubert grew up on a three acres farm in Momence, Illinois. In school, since there was no girls track tea,, she tried out and won a spot on the men’s track team. At the relatively late age of 22, Hubert began a dancing career. Running track had developed her thighs and others thought she was too large muscled for ballet. She won an Alvin Alley scholarship. She then worked on Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ tour.
Hubert won the role of Vivian Bank on “Fresh Prince of Bel Air”. The star, Will Smith, wanted the show to focus more on him and wanted most of the cast dropped from the show. NBC refused to do this. Smith tried taking the show to CBS but he couldn’t get a better deal than what NBC offered.
The author states she argued with the show’s writers. She believed they did not understand Black culture and did not respect African American women. She wanted her character to be portrayed as a woman of strong character. She admits this harmed her reputation and career.
Will Smith sometimes remained in his dressing room and made all cast and crew wait while he insisted upon changes to the scripts. It is noted this did not ruin his career.
Hubert enjoyed working with Smith. There was much laughter on the set.
Hubert was signed to a six year contract when the series began. This tended to freeze salaries if the show was a minor hit. Contacts were only renegotiated if the show was a hit. At option time, she was offered to be in 10 of the 20 episodes which was a $100,000 reduction in pay. In addition, she was restricted to appearing on just two shows of any other TV series. She sought to negotiate. The network then decided o remove her from the show and recast her part. She tried calling Will Smith but he did not return her calls.
Hubert states Will Smith slandered her. NBC brought nine lawyers to meet with her. This saddened her as she had always spoken well of Smith. The experience cost her almost $100,000 in legal fees. It also led to her losing a lot of weight.
This was followed by further stress and financial hardships. She appeared in an episode of “Friends”. She found the cast had a family-like atmosphere and were very friendly.
The author recommends people planning on going into acting to have another career available as a fallback.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The Box by Jeff Kisseloff
Jeff Kisseloff. The Box: An Oral History of Television 1920-1961. New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, 1998 (first published 1995).
Sylvester “Pat” Weaver was network President of NBVC who saw the television could both entertain and educate audiences/
Charlie Vanda had the first live Western TV show. It was shown from Philadelphia. A drawback was the horses sometimes tried to eat the microphones.
Charles Douglas created the laugh machine.
Many of the first people in TV expressed a sense of not being sure what to do and creating things as event happened. There was much doubt as well as wonderment over presenting the first TV shows. Many early TV shows were taken from radio shows that already had some structure.
Philo “Phil” Farnsworth invented the first electronic TV picture broadcast in 1927. He built upon previous research in radio, vacuum tubes, and transmitters. Farnsworth’s work would be modified at laboratories run by Farnsworth as well as RCA, Philco, DuMont, and Bard.
The early cathode ray tube, an important element in TV, was developed in 1858 by Julius Plucker and Heinrich Geissler. The Nipkow Disk, which mechanically scanned images and transformed the images into electronic impulses that could be retransformed into the images, was patented by Paul Nipkow in 1884. Farnsworth would create an electronic, rather than mechanical, process.
Long distance wireless communication was developed in 1896 by Guglielmo Marconi in 1896.
Reginald Fessenden designed, and Ernest F.W. Alexander developed, the generation of radio communication in 1906. Lee DeForest vastly improved the reception of radio transmissions by creating the audion tube.
The initial use of radio was for communicating between ships and land. DeForest saw its use for public entertainment purposes. He broadcast show that included Enrico Caruso singing and his mother in law speaking for the right of women to vote. He created regularly scheduled shows in 1915. He is noted for broadcasting news of the wrong person as winning the Presidency in the 1916 Presidential election.
Charles David Herrold began regular program shows in San Jose in 1909. His wife Sybil played records and thus was the first female disc jockey.
David Sarnoff accidentally walked into the wrong office for a job interiw and was hired to be a messenger for the Commercial Cable Company. He studied the business, became a telegraph operator, and recommended selling radios as entertainment devices. Owen Young was the first Chairman of the Radio Corporation of America and David Sarnoff was General Manager. AT&T, Westinghouse, and United Fruit also created radio broadcast companies.
Frank Conrad in Wilkinsburg, Pa. created his own radio station. He played records to promote a local record store. Conrad built his station to win a bet. Westinghouse Vice President Harry Davis observed how Conrad’s station advertised stores. Westinghouse moved Conrad’s transmitter to the Westinghouse station and started the first commercial licensed radio station KDKA. The first broadcast correctly announced the winner of the 1920 President election. Radio stations within weeks were created in Chicago, Newark, and Springfield. There were 28 licensed stations in 1921 and 430 additional a few months afterwards. A priest started WJSV for Will Jesus Save Virginia.
Sarnoff had RCA broadcast a boxing match between Jack Dempsey and George Carpenter. There were 300,000 listeners. Sarnoff then proposed a future, instead of many local stations, but of a National Broadcasting Company. Thus, RCA began NBC. AT&T resisted linking radio stations on its telephone lines. Walter Gifford, who led AT&T, recommended RCA not have a “Jewish General Manager” in Sarnoff. In time, agreement allowed RCA to rent AT&T lines.
Herbert Hoover, head of the Federal Radio Commission, allowed AT&T a long distance (called “clear”) channel which most ended the system of small local stations in favor of radio networks.
George Rignoux and A. Fournier created the first working TV in 1907.
John Logie Baird and Charles Francis Jenkins separately in 1925 filed reports of developing mechanic TV whose 525 lines produced viewable images. Baird’s system, also showed image shading differences and his is considered the original usable TV set.
RCA sold 50 million radios in 1924. RCA was victorious in several patent disputes, primarily because they could better afford lawyers than could their legal opponents. Competing radio manufacturers were required to pay 5% of their sales to RCA. This provided $506 million to RCA in 1926.
RCA fought Farnsworth’s electric TV and buried Farnsworth in legal costs. Vladimir Zworykin had researched TV in Russia and then at Westinghouse where he patented an electric iconoscope camera that produced poor quality photographs. When a Justice Department antitrust suit required RCA to divest itself of Westinghouse, Zworykin went to RCA where he developed an iconoscope TV camera.
Farnsworth first patented an entirely electronic TV system. Yet the Federal Communications declined to create a commercial TV license. Thus, the TV system was useless without the existence of TV stations. Philco hired Farnsworth to work with them in Philadelphia creating an experimental TV station. RCA’s fight against Farnsworth led Philco to drop him. He then created the Farnsworth Television Company. Farnsworth finally won the patent dispute and was determined as being the lawful holder of six key patents for TV. RCA, though, received the patent for the iconoscope TV camera that could use both natural outdoor light and studio light.
NBC created a TV studio in 1936 at 30 Rockefeller Center, Studio 3H. Betty Goodwater hosted the first show of acts such as Hiledgarde, a singer, Ed Wynn, a comedian, the dancing Rockettes, and RCA executives wanting to be on the first 20 minute show.
In 1940, RCA and DuMont had TV sets selling in a price range of $200 to $625 with a popular price of $395. The average month’s salary was about $400. 2,500 people in New York owned RCA sets to watch RCA’s W2XBS. Movies from low budget studios were shown as large studios avoided TV. Often the station played music while showing a test pattern. There were 15 minute news programs of Lowell Thomas speaking to one camera and 2,500 TV viewers. Thomas often broadcast from his home without considering his TV viewers would miss him as he did his radio show. Ray Forrest was the regular announcer. Sporting events were also shown.
“Paul Wing’s Spelling Bee” was the first game show.
Allen Bakom DuMont obtained capital from Paramount Pictures to create W2XVT television station in 1939 in Pasaic, which broadcast experimental shows from midnight to 9 am. This was followed by W2XWV in New York that later became WABD. Among their earlier shows were Dennis James as a disc jockey and doing sports interviews as well as broadcasts of Fred Waring’s band.
William Paley at CBS observed the rise of interest in TV. He then created a TV network. His strategy was to lure known TV stars to move to CBS for more money. Arthur Johson began the Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System in 1927. The network lost money until Vitaphone movies became its advertiser. Leon Levy, who co-owned WCAU station with his Isaac Levy, suggested his brother in law Sam Paley buy the network for Sam’s son Bill to run. Sam Paley and his wife Blanche has a WCAU show marketing la Palina cigars called “La Palina Boy”. Sam Paley had no interest in running a network. Bill Paley, though, decided to buy the company himself.
Bill Paley offered local stations better deals to be with CBS then NBC offered. He thus increased CBS from 19 station to 97 in 1935. CBS talent included Al Jolson and Nelson Eddy from NBC as well as newcomers Bing Crosby, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Kate Smith, Fred Allen, and Morton Downey.
NBC broadcast from a tower on the Empire State Building. CBS broadcast from a tower on the Chrysler Building. It was said the CBS bathroom had a great view of New York City.
William Crawford Eggy, a Captain who commanded a submarine, created several independent stations which became KTLA in Los Angeles and WBKB in Chicago. His programs included “Kukla, Fran &Ollie” puppet show and “Wild Kingdom” with Marlin Perkins.
The DuMont network faced network shortages during World War II. Their factory workers became camera operators and studio employees.
CBS worked in developing color TV broadcasts in the 1940s. CBS brought VHF frequencies and RCA sought to keep broadcasting in UHF. The FCC ruled in favor of VHF. VHF more limited the number of stations that could be created.
The House Glass” was a successful variety show. Its success led to the Kraft Theater performing live productions that aired because Cheez Whiz advertised on it. Ed Sullivan then began hosting a variety show.
In 1946, RCA sold 10,000 630TCS sets at $385 each. In 1947, a dozen TV set manufacturers sold 200,000 TV sets. In 1950, Americans owned over 7 million sets.
Gorgeous George’s wrestling on TV is believed to have caused the most people to buy TV sets in the late 1940s followed by Milton Berle. The DuMont network started showing NFL games.
Ernie Kovas first appeared on Philco’s WPTZ in Philadlephia in 1950.
In 1951, “I Love Lucy” was shown live in New York, Detroit, and Omaha with tapes available to local stations.
KTLA began as W6XYZ in Los Angeles in 1941. It developed original programming that competed with network programming. In 1951, it had 22 of the top 27 top Tele-Que rated show. In 1949, it spent 27 consecutive hours on a rescue effort of a girl who fell but perished into a well. This was one of the first uses of TV for news broadcasting. In 1952, it broadcast an atomic bomb test in Nevada. In 1958, it had the first telecopter.
WNBQ in Chicago produced half of the programs on the NBC network in 1951. This included “Stud’s Place” with Studs Terkel that was completely improvised. The McCarthy era controversies ended this show. Dave Garroway had a show “Garroway at Large”.
The DuMont network had 175 affiliates and three “owned and operated” stations in 1955. The network had the first live network show, the first children’s program shown regularly, it began daytime network programming, and had the first football programming.
The character Ralph Kramden began on “Cavalcade of Stars” on DuMont. It also broadcast Bishop Fulton Sheen. FCC regulations kept DuMont from owning stations where the other three networks had TV stations. DuMont only had affiliates in some large markets and lacked affiliates in some smaller markets. The other three networks also had radio networks to bolster their TV programming.
ABC was helped by merging with United Paramount Theaters in 1953 which gave them $30 million. Paramount Pictures owned half of DuMont. Paramount also owned three TV stations including KTLA that showed no DuMont programs. The FCC denied DuMont from purchasing more stations due to Paramount’s station ownership. DuMont sold two stations. Tom Goldstein believes Paramount bought an interest in DuMont and insisted on having the ability to approve further financing. He believes Paramount saw DuMont as a competitor to its movies and sought to contain it. ABC sought to merge with DuMont but Paramount objected. The network declined and in 1958 was gone. The DuMont stations reemerged as the Metropolitan Broadcasting Corporation.
The first drama on TV was “The Queen’s Messenger” which was shown on September 11, 1928. “The Kraft Television Theater” began on NBC in 1947 and showed 650 plays for 11 ½ years. Other drama shows included emerged including “Robert Montgomery Presents” on NBC, “Studio One” on CBS and “Ford Theater” on CBS. ABC had “The U.S. Steel Hour” for two years until it switched to CBS. NBC began color drama broadcasts with “Producer’s Showcase” in 1954.
ABC found success with Western TV series “Davy Crockett” and “Cheyenne”. A half decade later, in 1959, one quarter of TV series including 8 of top 10 shows were Westerns.
Sponsors paid $30,000 a week in sponsoring a one hour drama TV show.
Syndicated TV shows emerged that sold directly to local stations. In 1955, syndicated shows grossed $150 million. The syndicated “Crusader Rabbit” was the first cartoon series made for TV. Jerry Fairbank used multiple cameras at which his syndicated shows could be produced. “I Love Lucy” adopted multi-cameras in order to appear before a live audience.
Roy Rogers was an expert horseman. Gene Autry was not. Fight scenes used doubles. Many fight scenes were choreographed over a few minutes.
Jim Bumgarner was recruited from a bar to do a few scenes in “Cheyenne”. Jack Warner was impressed and signed him to a seven year contract, shortened his name to Jim Garner, and a year later created his TV show “Maverick”.
The last episode of “Maverick” never was shown. It ended with Louis Delgado stating “we’ve been cancelled” followed by Jim Gardner replying, as his character counts money, “fuck ‘em, Louis, we can buy and sell the bastards.”
Jack Warner preferred entertainment over intelligent drama, stating “if they’re looking for messages, have them to go Western Union”.
“Texaco Star Theater” begin in 1948 on radio hosted by Milton Berle. In 1950-51, 61% of TV sets watched Milton Berle. NBC signed Berle in 1951 to a “lifetime” contract. Texaco stopped sponsoring Berle’s show in 1953 as ratings declined but Buick picked up sponsorship, followed by Kraft. Berle hosted “Jackpot Bowling” for a season and in 1957 NBC bought out his contract.
Milton Berle’s associates confirm that Milton Berle not only boasted of but did have a large penis.
“Admiral Broadway Review” with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca began in 1949. It was so successful Admiral sold so many TV sets that they shifted their capital into producing more TV sets and they stopped financing the TV show. NBC Programmer Pat Weaver decided a show could have multiple advertisers. “Your Show of Shows” with Caesar and Coca emerged.
Lucille Kallen denies the stories that Woody Allen and Larry Gelbert wrote for “Show of Shows”. It lasted four years over declining ratings. Sid Caesar decided to do his own show and the show divided, even splitting staff, into two shows, one with Sid Caesar and the other with Imogene Coca. Neither show lasted long.
“I Love Lucy” was one of the first big hit TV shows. Sponsor Philip Morris was concerned when star Lucille Ball became pregnant and her pregnancy was written into the scripts. They had an episode where she gives birth reviewed by a priest, a minister, and a rabbi, who found the show fine. 44 million, or 77% of viewers, watched the birth episode on January 19, 1953. By comparison, 29 million watched Dwight Eisenhower inaugurated as President.
Jack Carter stated that Ed Sullivan prohibited saying “belly button” or “navel” on his show.
Mel Diamand noted Bob Hope respected writers. Red Buttons frequently fired writers. Red Skelton, according to Charles Isaac, fired his heard writer on an annual basis.
George Gobel’s variety/comedy show was a hit in 1954. Gobel’s show closed with him “reminding you that the camera adds 10 pounds, so don’t eat cameras”.
Everett Grenbaum stated that early TV writers followed radio writing rules. This included the “rule of three joke” which was to use two lines to set up a joke and the third line for the joke. Another rule was to lead up with a situation to a block comedy scene with a climax that made people want to watch the next scene (especially if there was a commercial interruption.) Another rule was a comic needed a sidekick. “The George Gobel Show” challenged these rules, including when Gobel stated “as of Saturday night there have been 300 deaths from driving. You people just aren’t trying.” George Gobel also made news and was protested by some religious groups with his line “there’s an old saying that money can’t buy you happiness. Money can buy you happiness, so pick up a fifth on your way home.”
Hal Kantor reported that Groucho Marx taught him that humor resulted from making a cliché into something different.
Desi Arnaz liked speaking with writers about stories and lines. Lucille Ball never did this.
“I Love Lucy” filmed 38 shows a year.
“Father Knows Best” was originally titled “Father Knows Best?” The sponsor Kent cigarettes had the question mark removed.
Edward R. Murrow’s interview with newsmakers such as Sen. Joseph McCarthy informed the public. Yet his interviews with celebrities and athletes brought in stronger ratings.
The hearings of Sen. Joseph McCarthy were broadcast on ABC and DuMont. The public reactions led to the Senate censure of Sen. McCarthy.
Murrow quit his show “See It Now” after it had him interview Rep. Joseph Pillon. Pillon contended that granting statehood to Hawaii would lead to their electing Communists to Congress.
“Victory at Sea” was a documentary on the Navy during World War II. It was shown in 26 shows over 1951-52.
CBS showed “Harvest of Shame”, a documentary narrated by Edward R. Murrow on migrant farm workers. Ironically, Murrow became the U.S. Information Agency leader where he followed the government’s position in urging the BBC not to broadcast “Harvest of Shame”.
“The Puddle Family” sponsored by Oxydol was the first soap opera on radio. “Ma Perkins” was the first long running radio soap opera as it ran for 28 years
The first TV soap opera was “Vine Street” which began on W6XAO in Los Angeles in 1931. It was argued that housewives would work and listen to radio but they would not sit still to watch a TV soap opera. In addition, TV was limited to a set and required actors memorizing scripts. Radio could be read from scripts and scenes could be situated anywhere.
The first NBC soap opera was “Miss Susan”. It starred Susan Peters, who was in a wheel chair. The show was stressful on Susan Peters and she died after eight months on the show.
The first long running soap operas “Love of Life” and “Search for Tomorrow” both began in September 1951. “The Guiding Light”, which began as a radio soap opera, started on TV in January 1952.
Mary Stuart once wrote his lines inside a coffee cup. She, though, forgot the scene had coffee poured into the cup.
TV impacted viewers. Henry Fonda discovered this when he did a play with soap opera star Larry Haines and discovered that Haines received more first appearance applause.
The patriarchal children’s TV show hosts found commercial success, $25 million of Howdy Doody merchandise sold through 1957. Bob Keeshan, who portrayed Captain Kangaroo, disliked the commercialization of children’s show characters. Still, his show successful sold sugar cereals in commercials.
The author “believes that Chuck McCann is one of the great comedy geniuses of all time.”
William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who had been doing cartoons at MBM beginning in 1938, first brought the cartoon “Ruff and Reddy” to TV followed by Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, and Yogi Bear.
Eddie Kean invented the word “cowabunga” as a word for Princess Summerfall Winter Spring to say. The word caught on.
A four minute “Ruff and Reddy” for TV cost $5,000 and took four to six weeks. A six minute “Tom & Jerry” for MGM movies cost $40,000 and took five to six months to produce.
Alex Anderson, who created Dudley Do Right with inspiration from several sources, explained “plagiarism is only when you steal from one person. I was stealing from everybody.”
Bulova bought the first TV commercial in 1941 for $9.
Shows that had cigarette companies as sponsors often found their shows faced rules that prohibited portraying cigarettes in a negative light. Smokers could not cough. Smoking was to be portrayed as something graceful. Cigarettes could not cause fires. Villains did not smoke.
U.S. Steel objected to the portrayal of the real life lynching of African American Emmett Till in Mississippi. The Southern White Citizen Council stated they would boycott U.S. Steel if the lynching was portrayed on their show. Till’s character was changed from Black to a foreigner and the location was moved to New England.
Martin Mayer reported the costs of creating and transmitting a TV show increased 500% from 1949 to 1959.
ABC created a system where sponsors would purchase commercials of several afternoon shows. The sponsor would reach more people.
A U.S. Senate committee led by Sen. Thomas Dodd found internal network memos that requested more sex and violence on TV shows. It was believed that more sex and violence improved ratings. The committee’s final report was never published, for reasons unknown.
Newton Minor became Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission in 1961. Yet, his influence was limited as he had just one vote on the seven member FCC Board. Minow successfully fought to bring a public TV station to New York but was unsuccessful in getting a public TV station in Los Angeles.
Sylvester “Pat” Weaver was network President of NBVC who saw the television could both entertain and educate audiences/
Charlie Vanda had the first live Western TV show. It was shown from Philadelphia. A drawback was the horses sometimes tried to eat the microphones.
Charles Douglas created the laugh machine.
Many of the first people in TV expressed a sense of not being sure what to do and creating things as event happened. There was much doubt as well as wonderment over presenting the first TV shows. Many early TV shows were taken from radio shows that already had some structure.
Philo “Phil” Farnsworth invented the first electronic TV picture broadcast in 1927. He built upon previous research in radio, vacuum tubes, and transmitters. Farnsworth’s work would be modified at laboratories run by Farnsworth as well as RCA, Philco, DuMont, and Bard.
The early cathode ray tube, an important element in TV, was developed in 1858 by Julius Plucker and Heinrich Geissler. The Nipkow Disk, which mechanically scanned images and transformed the images into electronic impulses that could be retransformed into the images, was patented by Paul Nipkow in 1884. Farnsworth would create an electronic, rather than mechanical, process.
Long distance wireless communication was developed in 1896 by Guglielmo Marconi in 1896.
Reginald Fessenden designed, and Ernest F.W. Alexander developed, the generation of radio communication in 1906. Lee DeForest vastly improved the reception of radio transmissions by creating the audion tube.
The initial use of radio was for communicating between ships and land. DeForest saw its use for public entertainment purposes. He broadcast show that included Enrico Caruso singing and his mother in law speaking for the right of women to vote. He created regularly scheduled shows in 1915. He is noted for broadcasting news of the wrong person as winning the Presidency in the 1916 Presidential election.
Charles David Herrold began regular program shows in San Jose in 1909. His wife Sybil played records and thus was the first female disc jockey.
David Sarnoff accidentally walked into the wrong office for a job interiw and was hired to be a messenger for the Commercial Cable Company. He studied the business, became a telegraph operator, and recommended selling radios as entertainment devices. Owen Young was the first Chairman of the Radio Corporation of America and David Sarnoff was General Manager. AT&T, Westinghouse, and United Fruit also created radio broadcast companies.
Frank Conrad in Wilkinsburg, Pa. created his own radio station. He played records to promote a local record store. Conrad built his station to win a bet. Westinghouse Vice President Harry Davis observed how Conrad’s station advertised stores. Westinghouse moved Conrad’s transmitter to the Westinghouse station and started the first commercial licensed radio station KDKA. The first broadcast correctly announced the winner of the 1920 President election. Radio stations within weeks were created in Chicago, Newark, and Springfield. There were 28 licensed stations in 1921 and 430 additional a few months afterwards. A priest started WJSV for Will Jesus Save Virginia.
Sarnoff had RCA broadcast a boxing match between Jack Dempsey and George Carpenter. There were 300,000 listeners. Sarnoff then proposed a future, instead of many local stations, but of a National Broadcasting Company. Thus, RCA began NBC. AT&T resisted linking radio stations on its telephone lines. Walter Gifford, who led AT&T, recommended RCA not have a “Jewish General Manager” in Sarnoff. In time, agreement allowed RCA to rent AT&T lines.
Herbert Hoover, head of the Federal Radio Commission, allowed AT&T a long distance (called “clear”) channel which most ended the system of small local stations in favor of radio networks.
George Rignoux and A. Fournier created the first working TV in 1907.
John Logie Baird and Charles Francis Jenkins separately in 1925 filed reports of developing mechanic TV whose 525 lines produced viewable images. Baird’s system, also showed image shading differences and his is considered the original usable TV set.
RCA sold 50 million radios in 1924. RCA was victorious in several patent disputes, primarily because they could better afford lawyers than could their legal opponents. Competing radio manufacturers were required to pay 5% of their sales to RCA. This provided $506 million to RCA in 1926.
RCA fought Farnsworth’s electric TV and buried Farnsworth in legal costs. Vladimir Zworykin had researched TV in Russia and then at Westinghouse where he patented an electric iconoscope camera that produced poor quality photographs. When a Justice Department antitrust suit required RCA to divest itself of Westinghouse, Zworykin went to RCA where he developed an iconoscope TV camera.
Farnsworth first patented an entirely electronic TV system. Yet the Federal Communications declined to create a commercial TV license. Thus, the TV system was useless without the existence of TV stations. Philco hired Farnsworth to work with them in Philadelphia creating an experimental TV station. RCA’s fight against Farnsworth led Philco to drop him. He then created the Farnsworth Television Company. Farnsworth finally won the patent dispute and was determined as being the lawful holder of six key patents for TV. RCA, though, received the patent for the iconoscope TV camera that could use both natural outdoor light and studio light.
NBC created a TV studio in 1936 at 30 Rockefeller Center, Studio 3H. Betty Goodwater hosted the first show of acts such as Hiledgarde, a singer, Ed Wynn, a comedian, the dancing Rockettes, and RCA executives wanting to be on the first 20 minute show.
In 1940, RCA and DuMont had TV sets selling in a price range of $200 to $625 with a popular price of $395. The average month’s salary was about $400. 2,500 people in New York owned RCA sets to watch RCA’s W2XBS. Movies from low budget studios were shown as large studios avoided TV. Often the station played music while showing a test pattern. There were 15 minute news programs of Lowell Thomas speaking to one camera and 2,500 TV viewers. Thomas often broadcast from his home without considering his TV viewers would miss him as he did his radio show. Ray Forrest was the regular announcer. Sporting events were also shown.
“Paul Wing’s Spelling Bee” was the first game show.
Allen Bakom DuMont obtained capital from Paramount Pictures to create W2XVT television station in 1939 in Pasaic, which broadcast experimental shows from midnight to 9 am. This was followed by W2XWV in New York that later became WABD. Among their earlier shows were Dennis James as a disc jockey and doing sports interviews as well as broadcasts of Fred Waring’s band.
William Paley at CBS observed the rise of interest in TV. He then created a TV network. His strategy was to lure known TV stars to move to CBS for more money. Arthur Johson began the Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System in 1927. The network lost money until Vitaphone movies became its advertiser. Leon Levy, who co-owned WCAU station with his Isaac Levy, suggested his brother in law Sam Paley buy the network for Sam’s son Bill to run. Sam Paley and his wife Blanche has a WCAU show marketing la Palina cigars called “La Palina Boy”. Sam Paley had no interest in running a network. Bill Paley, though, decided to buy the company himself.
Bill Paley offered local stations better deals to be with CBS then NBC offered. He thus increased CBS from 19 station to 97 in 1935. CBS talent included Al Jolson and Nelson Eddy from NBC as well as newcomers Bing Crosby, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Kate Smith, Fred Allen, and Morton Downey.
NBC broadcast from a tower on the Empire State Building. CBS broadcast from a tower on the Chrysler Building. It was said the CBS bathroom had a great view of New York City.
William Crawford Eggy, a Captain who commanded a submarine, created several independent stations which became KTLA in Los Angeles and WBKB in Chicago. His programs included “Kukla, Fran &Ollie” puppet show and “Wild Kingdom” with Marlin Perkins.
The DuMont network faced network shortages during World War II. Their factory workers became camera operators and studio employees.
CBS worked in developing color TV broadcasts in the 1940s. CBS brought VHF frequencies and RCA sought to keep broadcasting in UHF. The FCC ruled in favor of VHF. VHF more limited the number of stations that could be created.
The House Glass” was a successful variety show. Its success led to the Kraft Theater performing live productions that aired because Cheez Whiz advertised on it. Ed Sullivan then began hosting a variety show.
In 1946, RCA sold 10,000 630TCS sets at $385 each. In 1947, a dozen TV set manufacturers sold 200,000 TV sets. In 1950, Americans owned over 7 million sets.
Gorgeous George’s wrestling on TV is believed to have caused the most people to buy TV sets in the late 1940s followed by Milton Berle. The DuMont network started showing NFL games.
Ernie Kovas first appeared on Philco’s WPTZ in Philadlephia in 1950.
In 1951, “I Love Lucy” was shown live in New York, Detroit, and Omaha with tapes available to local stations.
KTLA began as W6XYZ in Los Angeles in 1941. It developed original programming that competed with network programming. In 1951, it had 22 of the top 27 top Tele-Que rated show. In 1949, it spent 27 consecutive hours on a rescue effort of a girl who fell but perished into a well. This was one of the first uses of TV for news broadcasting. In 1952, it broadcast an atomic bomb test in Nevada. In 1958, it had the first telecopter.
WNBQ in Chicago produced half of the programs on the NBC network in 1951. This included “Stud’s Place” with Studs Terkel that was completely improvised. The McCarthy era controversies ended this show. Dave Garroway had a show “Garroway at Large”.
The DuMont network had 175 affiliates and three “owned and operated” stations in 1955. The network had the first live network show, the first children’s program shown regularly, it began daytime network programming, and had the first football programming.
The character Ralph Kramden began on “Cavalcade of Stars” on DuMont. It also broadcast Bishop Fulton Sheen. FCC regulations kept DuMont from owning stations where the other three networks had TV stations. DuMont only had affiliates in some large markets and lacked affiliates in some smaller markets. The other three networks also had radio networks to bolster their TV programming.
ABC was helped by merging with United Paramount Theaters in 1953 which gave them $30 million. Paramount Pictures owned half of DuMont. Paramount also owned three TV stations including KTLA that showed no DuMont programs. The FCC denied DuMont from purchasing more stations due to Paramount’s station ownership. DuMont sold two stations. Tom Goldstein believes Paramount bought an interest in DuMont and insisted on having the ability to approve further financing. He believes Paramount saw DuMont as a competitor to its movies and sought to contain it. ABC sought to merge with DuMont but Paramount objected. The network declined and in 1958 was gone. The DuMont stations reemerged as the Metropolitan Broadcasting Corporation.
The first drama on TV was “The Queen’s Messenger” which was shown on September 11, 1928. “The Kraft Television Theater” began on NBC in 1947 and showed 650 plays for 11 ½ years. Other drama shows included emerged including “Robert Montgomery Presents” on NBC, “Studio One” on CBS and “Ford Theater” on CBS. ABC had “The U.S. Steel Hour” for two years until it switched to CBS. NBC began color drama broadcasts with “Producer’s Showcase” in 1954.
ABC found success with Western TV series “Davy Crockett” and “Cheyenne”. A half decade later, in 1959, one quarter of TV series including 8 of top 10 shows were Westerns.
Sponsors paid $30,000 a week in sponsoring a one hour drama TV show.
Syndicated TV shows emerged that sold directly to local stations. In 1955, syndicated shows grossed $150 million. The syndicated “Crusader Rabbit” was the first cartoon series made for TV. Jerry Fairbank used multiple cameras at which his syndicated shows could be produced. “I Love Lucy” adopted multi-cameras in order to appear before a live audience.
Roy Rogers was an expert horseman. Gene Autry was not. Fight scenes used doubles. Many fight scenes were choreographed over a few minutes.
Jim Bumgarner was recruited from a bar to do a few scenes in “Cheyenne”. Jack Warner was impressed and signed him to a seven year contract, shortened his name to Jim Garner, and a year later created his TV show “Maverick”.
The last episode of “Maverick” never was shown. It ended with Louis Delgado stating “we’ve been cancelled” followed by Jim Gardner replying, as his character counts money, “fuck ‘em, Louis, we can buy and sell the bastards.”
Jack Warner preferred entertainment over intelligent drama, stating “if they’re looking for messages, have them to go Western Union”.
“Texaco Star Theater” begin in 1948 on radio hosted by Milton Berle. In 1950-51, 61% of TV sets watched Milton Berle. NBC signed Berle in 1951 to a “lifetime” contract. Texaco stopped sponsoring Berle’s show in 1953 as ratings declined but Buick picked up sponsorship, followed by Kraft. Berle hosted “Jackpot Bowling” for a season and in 1957 NBC bought out his contract.
Milton Berle’s associates confirm that Milton Berle not only boasted of but did have a large penis.
“Admiral Broadway Review” with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca began in 1949. It was so successful Admiral sold so many TV sets that they shifted their capital into producing more TV sets and they stopped financing the TV show. NBC Programmer Pat Weaver decided a show could have multiple advertisers. “Your Show of Shows” with Caesar and Coca emerged.
Lucille Kallen denies the stories that Woody Allen and Larry Gelbert wrote for “Show of Shows”. It lasted four years over declining ratings. Sid Caesar decided to do his own show and the show divided, even splitting staff, into two shows, one with Sid Caesar and the other with Imogene Coca. Neither show lasted long.
“I Love Lucy” was one of the first big hit TV shows. Sponsor Philip Morris was concerned when star Lucille Ball became pregnant and her pregnancy was written into the scripts. They had an episode where she gives birth reviewed by a priest, a minister, and a rabbi, who found the show fine. 44 million, or 77% of viewers, watched the birth episode on January 19, 1953. By comparison, 29 million watched Dwight Eisenhower inaugurated as President.
Jack Carter stated that Ed Sullivan prohibited saying “belly button” or “navel” on his show.
Mel Diamand noted Bob Hope respected writers. Red Buttons frequently fired writers. Red Skelton, according to Charles Isaac, fired his heard writer on an annual basis.
George Gobel’s variety/comedy show was a hit in 1954. Gobel’s show closed with him “reminding you that the camera adds 10 pounds, so don’t eat cameras”.
Everett Grenbaum stated that early TV writers followed radio writing rules. This included the “rule of three joke” which was to use two lines to set up a joke and the third line for the joke. Another rule was to lead up with a situation to a block comedy scene with a climax that made people want to watch the next scene (especially if there was a commercial interruption.) Another rule was a comic needed a sidekick. “The George Gobel Show” challenged these rules, including when Gobel stated “as of Saturday night there have been 300 deaths from driving. You people just aren’t trying.” George Gobel also made news and was protested by some religious groups with his line “there’s an old saying that money can’t buy you happiness. Money can buy you happiness, so pick up a fifth on your way home.”
Hal Kantor reported that Groucho Marx taught him that humor resulted from making a cliché into something different.
Desi Arnaz liked speaking with writers about stories and lines. Lucille Ball never did this.
“I Love Lucy” filmed 38 shows a year.
“Father Knows Best” was originally titled “Father Knows Best?” The sponsor Kent cigarettes had the question mark removed.
Edward R. Murrow’s interview with newsmakers such as Sen. Joseph McCarthy informed the public. Yet his interviews with celebrities and athletes brought in stronger ratings.
The hearings of Sen. Joseph McCarthy were broadcast on ABC and DuMont. The public reactions led to the Senate censure of Sen. McCarthy.
Murrow quit his show “See It Now” after it had him interview Rep. Joseph Pillon. Pillon contended that granting statehood to Hawaii would lead to their electing Communists to Congress.
“Victory at Sea” was a documentary on the Navy during World War II. It was shown in 26 shows over 1951-52.
CBS showed “Harvest of Shame”, a documentary narrated by Edward R. Murrow on migrant farm workers. Ironically, Murrow became the U.S. Information Agency leader where he followed the government’s position in urging the BBC not to broadcast “Harvest of Shame”.
“The Puddle Family” sponsored by Oxydol was the first soap opera on radio. “Ma Perkins” was the first long running radio soap opera as it ran for 28 years
The first TV soap opera was “Vine Street” which began on W6XAO in Los Angeles in 1931. It was argued that housewives would work and listen to radio but they would not sit still to watch a TV soap opera. In addition, TV was limited to a set and required actors memorizing scripts. Radio could be read from scripts and scenes could be situated anywhere.
The first NBC soap opera was “Miss Susan”. It starred Susan Peters, who was in a wheel chair. The show was stressful on Susan Peters and she died after eight months on the show.
The first long running soap operas “Love of Life” and “Search for Tomorrow” both began in September 1951. “The Guiding Light”, which began as a radio soap opera, started on TV in January 1952.
Mary Stuart once wrote his lines inside a coffee cup. She, though, forgot the scene had coffee poured into the cup.
TV impacted viewers. Henry Fonda discovered this when he did a play with soap opera star Larry Haines and discovered that Haines received more first appearance applause.
The patriarchal children’s TV show hosts found commercial success, $25 million of Howdy Doody merchandise sold through 1957. Bob Keeshan, who portrayed Captain Kangaroo, disliked the commercialization of children’s show characters. Still, his show successful sold sugar cereals in commercials.
The author “believes that Chuck McCann is one of the great comedy geniuses of all time.”
William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who had been doing cartoons at MBM beginning in 1938, first brought the cartoon “Ruff and Reddy” to TV followed by Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, and Yogi Bear.
Eddie Kean invented the word “cowabunga” as a word for Princess Summerfall Winter Spring to say. The word caught on.
A four minute “Ruff and Reddy” for TV cost $5,000 and took four to six weeks. A six minute “Tom & Jerry” for MGM movies cost $40,000 and took five to six months to produce.
Alex Anderson, who created Dudley Do Right with inspiration from several sources, explained “plagiarism is only when you steal from one person. I was stealing from everybody.”
Bulova bought the first TV commercial in 1941 for $9.
Shows that had cigarette companies as sponsors often found their shows faced rules that prohibited portraying cigarettes in a negative light. Smokers could not cough. Smoking was to be portrayed as something graceful. Cigarettes could not cause fires. Villains did not smoke.
U.S. Steel objected to the portrayal of the real life lynching of African American Emmett Till in Mississippi. The Southern White Citizen Council stated they would boycott U.S. Steel if the lynching was portrayed on their show. Till’s character was changed from Black to a foreigner and the location was moved to New England.
Martin Mayer reported the costs of creating and transmitting a TV show increased 500% from 1949 to 1959.
ABC created a system where sponsors would purchase commercials of several afternoon shows. The sponsor would reach more people.
A U.S. Senate committee led by Sen. Thomas Dodd found internal network memos that requested more sex and violence on TV shows. It was believed that more sex and violence improved ratings. The committee’s final report was never published, for reasons unknown.
Newton Minor became Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission in 1961. Yet, his influence was limited as he had just one vote on the seven member FCC Board. Minow successfully fought to bring a public TV station to New York but was unsuccessful in getting a public TV station in Los Angeles.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Eddie Munster aka Butch Patrick by Helen Darras
Helen Darras. Eddie Munster aka Butch Patrick: The Untold Story of His Early Hollywood-a, Could-a, Should-a: An Authorized Biography. East Setauket, N.Y.: (no publisher listed), 2007.
Butch Patrick portrayed Eddie Munster on “The Munsters” which premiered in 1964. He was born in 1953 to parents who divorced shortly after his birth. Butch did not see his father again until he was 8 years old. His mother remarried and her new husband adopted Butch.
Butch’s mother took her 2 year old daughter to a modeling agent. She brought Butch along. The agent liked Butch’s look and took some pictures of him as well. Acting jobs emerged. The agent changed Butch’s last name of Lilley to Patrick.
Butch’s first movie was “The Two Little Bears” in 1961. He worked for six weeks and missed many of his Second Grade classes. Butch got billing over another child actor in the movie, Donnie Carter. Donnie already had several acting credits. Donnie was upset and pushed Butch into a banister and knocked out a tooth. After that, Patrick did not want to act again. Yet, the TV show “General Hospital” gave him a recurring part. Patrick found live television upsetting yet he did it. The experience led him to later expect other actors to perform well in one take.
Patrick discovered that, as a child actor, he was required to be provided with three hours of education in 20 minute minimum segments with one hour for lunch and one hour of free time. A child whose school work was poor could be denied a work permit.
“The Munsters” pilot was filed with Happy Derman in the role of Eddie Munster. Universal dropped Derman, who would do two TV episodes on other shows and then leave acting.
Several hundred children auditioned for the role. Patrick won the job. Patrick’s mother and step father Ken Hunt moved to Washington, D.C. as Hunt played baseball for the Washington Senators. Patrick lived with his aunt and uncle while filming “The Munsters” and flew back and forth between Los Angeles and Washington on weekends. This was a tough adjustment for a 11 year old. Patrick earned more money than did Hunt.
Beverly Owen portrayed Marilyn Munster, who as Lilly Munster’s sister technically probably shouldn’t have had Munster as her character’s last name. Owen wanted to return home to New York. She was replaced after 13 weeks by Pat Priest. This was the first time a successful TV show replaced a character with a new actor where the ratings did not decrease. 27 year old Pat Priest played a 17 year old.
“The Munsters” was successful because many people could identify with the tales of social outcasts trying to live normal lives.
Patrick’s character wore a hair piece, fake eyebrows, and make up. A dwarf served as his stand in for lighting purposes while Patrick was being schooled. By law, he had to leave the set by 4 pm following a 7 am start. Clens was used to take off the make up. The ears were for one time use and discarded.
Patrick received $650 for each episode. None of the actors in “The Munsters” received residuals on the many reruns past the first ten reruns. 25% of his earnings were placed in a trust fund. The trust fund was to be made available upon age 21. Patrick asked the court at age 19 for the trust fund since the voting age had been lowered to 18. The court gave him the money, which he promptly spent.
Patrick does receive residuals from his movies and for an episode he did of “The Simpsons”. He once received a residual check for his Simpsons role for eight cents.
Patrick dated Lisa Loring who was on the series “The Addams Family”. Many compared the two shows. Patrick notes “The Munsters” were monsters living as normal people and “The Addams Family” were normal people living as monsters.
Cast member Fred Gwynne refused to attend Monday script readings as he viewed them as non-essential. Gwynne was also having personal problems as his son had drowned a year before the show began. Ironically, his wife as well as cast member Al Lewis’s wife and Butch’s mother were all pregnant and expecting children around the same time.
Cast member Yvonne DeCarlo had car expert George Barris create a Monster-style Jaguar for her. DeCarlo gave Patrick a cigarette box for Christmas. DeCarlo’s husband, Bob Morgan, played a police officer on the show. Morgan had been run over by a train while filming a stunt in the movie “How the West Was Won”. DeCarlo kept working and took the role on “The Munsters” to help with her husband’s recuperation.
Spot, the fire breathing Munster pet, once set Patrick’s fake hair and eyebrows on fire. Patrick often had the line “gee, Spot”, where he was then too young to realize its double entendre meaning.
Mel Blanc and Bob Hastings had un-credited roles as the voice of Charlie the Raven.
When Leo Durocher, manager of the Chicago Cubs, appeared on an episode, Patrick asked Durocher to sign his stepdad Kenny Hunt. Durocher gave Hunt a spring training look and Hunt was signed for the Cubs’ triple A team.
The exterior of the Munsters house was on the Universal lot on Colonial Street. Universal began tram tours in 1964 which helped keep Universal solvent. The trams received priority over the outside filming.
Patrick avoided alienating his siblings and relatives and never had them visit him on the set. He didn’t want them to feel he was gloating. Visitors were allowed only during script readings on Mondays and Tuesdays. Visitors were not allowed during filming to avoid their making sounds.
After “The Munsters”, Patrick found it hard to get roles and the roles he received weren’t very good, in his opinion. Patrick turned to drugs and reckless behavior, which included shoplifting and aborted pregnancies.
After “The Munsters”, Patrick did six episodes of “My Three Sons” and was in the TV series “Lidsville”.
In 1969, Patrick filmed the movie “Wild Pack” in Brazil. He was stunned when, after no advance warning, the shooting include chopping off a live goat’s head while it was next to him. The movie’s producer was involved in a nasty divorced and decided not to release the movie so his ex-wife could not get any money from it.
Patrick was on an episode of “The Dating Game”. He went on a chaperoned date afterwards. He discovered it was the chaperones who needed chaperones.
Patrick learning while filming “Ironside” that star Raymond Burr read his lines off a Teleprompter while the rest of the cast had to memorize their lines.
Butch Patrick portrayed Eddie Munster on “The Munsters” which premiered in 1964. He was born in 1953 to parents who divorced shortly after his birth. Butch did not see his father again until he was 8 years old. His mother remarried and her new husband adopted Butch.
Butch’s mother took her 2 year old daughter to a modeling agent. She brought Butch along. The agent liked Butch’s look and took some pictures of him as well. Acting jobs emerged. The agent changed Butch’s last name of Lilley to Patrick.
Butch’s first movie was “The Two Little Bears” in 1961. He worked for six weeks and missed many of his Second Grade classes. Butch got billing over another child actor in the movie, Donnie Carter. Donnie already had several acting credits. Donnie was upset and pushed Butch into a banister and knocked out a tooth. After that, Patrick did not want to act again. Yet, the TV show “General Hospital” gave him a recurring part. Patrick found live television upsetting yet he did it. The experience led him to later expect other actors to perform well in one take.
Patrick discovered that, as a child actor, he was required to be provided with three hours of education in 20 minute minimum segments with one hour for lunch and one hour of free time. A child whose school work was poor could be denied a work permit.
“The Munsters” pilot was filed with Happy Derman in the role of Eddie Munster. Universal dropped Derman, who would do two TV episodes on other shows and then leave acting.
Several hundred children auditioned for the role. Patrick won the job. Patrick’s mother and step father Ken Hunt moved to Washington, D.C. as Hunt played baseball for the Washington Senators. Patrick lived with his aunt and uncle while filming “The Munsters” and flew back and forth between Los Angeles and Washington on weekends. This was a tough adjustment for a 11 year old. Patrick earned more money than did Hunt.
Beverly Owen portrayed Marilyn Munster, who as Lilly Munster’s sister technically probably shouldn’t have had Munster as her character’s last name. Owen wanted to return home to New York. She was replaced after 13 weeks by Pat Priest. This was the first time a successful TV show replaced a character with a new actor where the ratings did not decrease. 27 year old Pat Priest played a 17 year old.
“The Munsters” was successful because many people could identify with the tales of social outcasts trying to live normal lives.
Patrick’s character wore a hair piece, fake eyebrows, and make up. A dwarf served as his stand in for lighting purposes while Patrick was being schooled. By law, he had to leave the set by 4 pm following a 7 am start. Clens was used to take off the make up. The ears were for one time use and discarded.
Patrick received $650 for each episode. None of the actors in “The Munsters” received residuals on the many reruns past the first ten reruns. 25% of his earnings were placed in a trust fund. The trust fund was to be made available upon age 21. Patrick asked the court at age 19 for the trust fund since the voting age had been lowered to 18. The court gave him the money, which he promptly spent.
Patrick does receive residuals from his movies and for an episode he did of “The Simpsons”. He once received a residual check for his Simpsons role for eight cents.
Patrick dated Lisa Loring who was on the series “The Addams Family”. Many compared the two shows. Patrick notes “The Munsters” were monsters living as normal people and “The Addams Family” were normal people living as monsters.
Cast member Fred Gwynne refused to attend Monday script readings as he viewed them as non-essential. Gwynne was also having personal problems as his son had drowned a year before the show began. Ironically, his wife as well as cast member Al Lewis’s wife and Butch’s mother were all pregnant and expecting children around the same time.
Cast member Yvonne DeCarlo had car expert George Barris create a Monster-style Jaguar for her. DeCarlo gave Patrick a cigarette box for Christmas. DeCarlo’s husband, Bob Morgan, played a police officer on the show. Morgan had been run over by a train while filming a stunt in the movie “How the West Was Won”. DeCarlo kept working and took the role on “The Munsters” to help with her husband’s recuperation.
Spot, the fire breathing Munster pet, once set Patrick’s fake hair and eyebrows on fire. Patrick often had the line “gee, Spot”, where he was then too young to realize its double entendre meaning.
Mel Blanc and Bob Hastings had un-credited roles as the voice of Charlie the Raven.
When Leo Durocher, manager of the Chicago Cubs, appeared on an episode, Patrick asked Durocher to sign his stepdad Kenny Hunt. Durocher gave Hunt a spring training look and Hunt was signed for the Cubs’ triple A team.
The exterior of the Munsters house was on the Universal lot on Colonial Street. Universal began tram tours in 1964 which helped keep Universal solvent. The trams received priority over the outside filming.
Patrick avoided alienating his siblings and relatives and never had them visit him on the set. He didn’t want them to feel he was gloating. Visitors were allowed only during script readings on Mondays and Tuesdays. Visitors were not allowed during filming to avoid their making sounds.
After “The Munsters”, Patrick found it hard to get roles and the roles he received weren’t very good, in his opinion. Patrick turned to drugs and reckless behavior, which included shoplifting and aborted pregnancies.
After “The Munsters”, Patrick did six episodes of “My Three Sons” and was in the TV series “Lidsville”.
In 1969, Patrick filmed the movie “Wild Pack” in Brazil. He was stunned when, after no advance warning, the shooting include chopping off a live goat’s head while it was next to him. The movie’s producer was involved in a nasty divorced and decided not to release the movie so his ex-wife could not get any money from it.
Patrick was on an episode of “The Dating Game”. He went on a chaperoned date afterwards. He discovered it was the chaperones who needed chaperones.
Patrick learning while filming “Ironside” that star Raymond Burr read his lines off a Teleprompter while the rest of the cast had to memorize their lines.
Monday, January 25, 2010
All Things at Once by Mika Brzezinski
Mika Brzezinski with Daniel Parsner. All Things at Once. New York: Weinstein Books, 2009.
The author writes how about the difficulties she faced when attempting to accomplish too many things before she was ready to do them all. She has since learned how to better pace herself.
The author has been in broadcast news for over 20 years. She balanced her career with having a family with children. This proved demanding upon her time and energy. She had heard the advice that people with television careers should not have children, and she rejected that. Her mother had given up her career as an artist to raise her.
Brzezinski had a cable access show in high school, summer internship at a network, and a college TV show. She started doing voice over after graduating from Williams in 1989. Her first steady, though part time, media job was working on a Vermont TV show for $100 per show. She learned that being nervous and sweating under live TV camera lights didn’t look well to viewers.
She next worked an overnight shift at ABC News for $200 a week and no benefits. She observed there were few role models then for women seeking airtime. After nine months at ABC, she went to work for a year at WTIC-TV in Hartford, Ct. in 1990 for $18,000.
The author notes that “raw tape is like a truth serum” as it includes the film footage viewers don’t see. By looking at the raw tape, one can learn how the broadcaster and crew work to get interviews and produce what is finally seen.
The author then moved to WFSB in Harford, a CBS affiliate. Her husband, Jim Hoffer, ironically was hired by ABC affiliate WTNH in New Haven.
Brzezinski became pregnant while working at WFSB. The reaction of the news director was “this will be great for ratings!” She was a $40,000 a year anchor in 1995 and her daughter was born in 1996. The birth was covered by both WFSB and WTNH.
Brzezinski was offered a $150,000 network job in New York at CBS on her 30th birthday. The year of balancing a baby and a new job proved challenging and physically draining. A second pregnancy added to her hectic schedule. Her husband meanwhile found a job at WABC in New York.
At CBS, Brzezinski was occasionally on the CBS “Evening News” Saturday. She recalls panicking during a news interview with news figures she had known since childhood and feeling she had let people down by not providing the interview she had desired.
CBS management wanted the author to lose weight, cut her hair, and change her makeup. She was told she wasn’t “presenting well”, comments she admits “demoralized” her.
Brzezinski went to MSNBC to host “Homepage”. NBC spent $25,000 on new clothes for her. They had her hair dyed bright blonde and attired her in short skirts, tight blouses, and had her wear high boots.
Brzezinski returned to CBS News. She was covering the plane crashes at the World Trade Center when the towers collapsed. This was followed by two and a half weeks of long hours covering the continuing story of the terrorist attacks and its aftermath. After this, Brzezinski worked on numerous stories for several news programs, only to be let go by CBS. She was told it was for “subjective” reasons by an executive who explained his hiring decisions were based on “I know it when I see it.” Brzezinski felt depressed after this. She accepted a job doing small scripted cut-ins for MSNBC.
Brzezinski received a job on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show with Joe Scarborough, who wanted to hire her 30 seconds after meeting her. After a year on the show, MSNBC gave her a full time contract.
The author writes how about the difficulties she faced when attempting to accomplish too many things before she was ready to do them all. She has since learned how to better pace herself.
The author has been in broadcast news for over 20 years. She balanced her career with having a family with children. This proved demanding upon her time and energy. She had heard the advice that people with television careers should not have children, and she rejected that. Her mother had given up her career as an artist to raise her.
Brzezinski had a cable access show in high school, summer internship at a network, and a college TV show. She started doing voice over after graduating from Williams in 1989. Her first steady, though part time, media job was working on a Vermont TV show for $100 per show. She learned that being nervous and sweating under live TV camera lights didn’t look well to viewers.
She next worked an overnight shift at ABC News for $200 a week and no benefits. She observed there were few role models then for women seeking airtime. After nine months at ABC, she went to work for a year at WTIC-TV in Hartford, Ct. in 1990 for $18,000.
The author notes that “raw tape is like a truth serum” as it includes the film footage viewers don’t see. By looking at the raw tape, one can learn how the broadcaster and crew work to get interviews and produce what is finally seen.
The author then moved to WFSB in Harford, a CBS affiliate. Her husband, Jim Hoffer, ironically was hired by ABC affiliate WTNH in New Haven.
Brzezinski became pregnant while working at WFSB. The reaction of the news director was “this will be great for ratings!” She was a $40,000 a year anchor in 1995 and her daughter was born in 1996. The birth was covered by both WFSB and WTNH.
Brzezinski was offered a $150,000 network job in New York at CBS on her 30th birthday. The year of balancing a baby and a new job proved challenging and physically draining. A second pregnancy added to her hectic schedule. Her husband meanwhile found a job at WABC in New York.
At CBS, Brzezinski was occasionally on the CBS “Evening News” Saturday. She recalls panicking during a news interview with news figures she had known since childhood and feeling she had let people down by not providing the interview she had desired.
CBS management wanted the author to lose weight, cut her hair, and change her makeup. She was told she wasn’t “presenting well”, comments she admits “demoralized” her.
Brzezinski went to MSNBC to host “Homepage”. NBC spent $25,000 on new clothes for her. They had her hair dyed bright blonde and attired her in short skirts, tight blouses, and had her wear high boots.
Brzezinski returned to CBS News. She was covering the plane crashes at the World Trade Center when the towers collapsed. This was followed by two and a half weeks of long hours covering the continuing story of the terrorist attacks and its aftermath. After this, Brzezinski worked on numerous stories for several news programs, only to be let go by CBS. She was told it was for “subjective” reasons by an executive who explained his hiring decisions were based on “I know it when I see it.” Brzezinski felt depressed after this. She accepted a job doing small scripted cut-ins for MSNBC.
Brzezinski received a job on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show with Joe Scarborough, who wanted to hire her 30 seconds after meeting her. After a year on the show, MSNBC gave her a full time contract.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Voice-Over for Animation by Jean Ann Wright and M.J. Lallo
Jean Ann Wright and M.J. Lallo. Voice-Over for Animation. Burlington, Ma.: Focal Press, 2009.
Voice-over is non-visual speaking used in several media, from movies, TV, radio, games, etc.
Voice-over in animation often starts with a script, then records the voice-over, and then creates the animation to fit the vocals. There is no set industry standard method on using storyboards, backgrounds, changing colors, etc.
Professional animators advise people entering the field to be passionate about their work and to keep at it even though it is a tough field. Men get 70% to 75% of the voice-over employment. Things that will destroy a career are having a bad or negative attitude, poor acting ability, not following directions, not being versatile, having the wrong type of voice (except an accent will limit hirings for that accent), being late for work, not being flexible, and not professional.
Most voice over employment requires membership in SAG or AFTRA. There is a one production exception and a financial exception that is difficult to obtain. The financial core exception status allows non-union work yet the union, realizing this reducing its strength when granted, seldom grants this exception.
Some cartoons are recorded in Canada. This is sometimes done to avoid paying foreign broadcast residuals that are required to be paid for American recorded cartoons.
Voice professionals recommend exercising before doing voice over work. This relaxes the body and reduces stress on the vocal cords. It is recommended to exercise one’s voice. Practice speaking with a relaxed and open throat and using visualization to help guide vocal changes. Relax to avoid feeling nervous. Use god posture to assist your voice. Breathe by inflating your diaphragm to 80% to 85%. Breathe enough to have enough air without running out while speaking. Avoid using a nasal voice when pronouncing vowels before m, n, or ng. Avoid emitting too much air that causes plosives for letters b, c (k sound), d, g, k, p, and t. Plosives can create a popping noise in microphones. Avoid sibilance with s words by putting the sides of the tongue along the inner molars and keeping the tongue tip around a quarter inch from the upper teeth, and perhaps standing a little further away from the microphone.
Staying healthy with proper eating and rest, being relaxed, drinking water to keep vocal cords moist, noting that menthol and eucalyptus can freeze and shrink the vocal cords, caffeine can constrict the throats and/or sinuses, some juices can cause mucus for some, smoke and smoking can hamper vocal cords, taking breaks when speaking, noting that aspirin things the blood and can cause vocal cord hemorrhaging if yelling is required, stop speaking when hoarseness occurs, and avoid touching the face and wearing ear muffs during cold to ward off ear and throat infections.
If a voice is strained, biting a green apple lubricates the mouth. Lemon herbal tea with no sugar helps some minor problems. Raspberry zinc lozenges can help sore throats. Other remedies for vocal problems include a handful of salted potato chips with water as well as warm ginger root with lemon rind.
Drinking two glasses of water a day before eating or drinking helps, as does singing in the shower and humming to oneself.
There are different kinds of microphones. Omni-directional or non-directional microphones receive sound the same from any direction. Bidirectional microphones receive sound from its front and back. Supercardioid, hypercardioid, or shotgun microphones receive sound from a narrow corridor but do so far a long distance. Cardioid microphones receive sounds from a 120 degree radium in front and are the ones more frequently used in voice over work.
There are several kinds of hand or stand microphones. Dynamic or moving coil microphones, used often in voice-overs, are mostly non-directional but can be directional when higher frequencies are omitted. Condenser, electrostatic, or fixed plate microphones also are often used in voice-over work, are most costly but receive a crisp sound. Electric condenser microphones tend to pick up more background noise. Ribbon microphones receive sound from two directions yet can fail with a nearby loud sound.
Boom microphones can reduce popping sounds. D-Esser booms can muffle sound and are usually positioned in front or to the side of what is being recorded.
Microphones are usually placed 3 to 14 inches from the mouth, with louder voices requiring more distance.
A held microphone should be vertical or slightly angled to the mouth about one inch below the lips and not touching the face. Do not breathe into the microphone. Avoid the cord as cord noises can affect the sound.
Avoid making noises with the script. A script can be marked with vocal instructions, such as notes on changing pitch.
Improvisation helps learning about developing characters. It is advised to say the first thought, always agree with your improvisation partner, and remember to make your improvisation partner look good. Some cartoon companies allow voice-over actors to improvise.
It is advised to study comedy to learn the rhythm of humor and how it can result from exaggeration, discomfort, tension, parody, whimsy, etc.
Voice-over can sometimes be improved by risking a new voice or adding a wrinkle to an old voice.
Getting into a bent knee process can lower a voice.
Vibrating the uvula can help make some animal sounds.
Using emotion and energy helps voice over work.
When reading copy, keep your eyes on the copy, don’t self-evaluate during a reading, aim for being heard clearly, tend for exaggeration, maintain a high energy level, if you require more energy place your arms over your head for additional energy, avoid decreasing energy and pitch at the end of sentences (even though sentences often will decrease in pitch), aim for intensity over volume, establish a rhythm, be consistent but variable in range and pace. Visualize the dialogue, emphasize adjectives, smile for vocal warmth, speak naturally, and don’t overlap another’s voice. To speak like a person who has been running, breathe three times before speaking.
To appear professional, always be friendly, don’t focus on mistakes but keep moving forward, have a set cell phone number to be quickly reached, have a fax to receive copy keep paper business records, write thank you notes, develop specific vocal skills, take classes, and be willing to work for scale when there is no other work. Learning dialects broadens one’s appeal for more work. Learn specific characteristics of a dialect.
Comedic voice-over often exaggerates their voices.
Most demos for animators last about 90 seconds. Some are for 60 seconds. Laser printer packaging is recommended. Paper sleeves are often preferred. Make certain your demo plays, as some don’t. Have a short but personalized cover letter informing how you can be of use to them.
Do not hire agents who ask for marketing cost payments or who are connected to acting schools. When you have an agent, check with the agent weekly. Be friendly. Let the agent handle negotiations.
Some voice over actors obtain notice through volunteering in vocalizing Reading for the Blind or on You Tube.
A home studio for attempting Internet castings should include a USB microphone that fits the computer you’re using, such as the AKG 400 series or Samsung USB, recording and editing software such as Sound Forge, headphones or computer monitor speakers, a mic stand, preferably with a boom, and an adjustable stand. A professional studio can be created for under $2,000 to include microphone cable, USB interact, analog studio mixer, timing stopwatch, soundproofing, and a patch phone.
During taping, remember only a director can stop a tape. If you make a mistake, don’t stop unless the director says to stop. If you don’t understand what a director seeks, request a line read from the director.
When finished, ask the engineer for a CD copy, but don’t be offended if the request is denied. It is easier for the engineer to make a copy at that time. Offer to pay for it, although you’ll likely get it as an emailed MP3 file for free. Tape it when it airs. Give you agent a copy.
Automated dialogue replacement replaces original dialogue.
Dubbing involved recording a foreign film into another language.
Voice-over is non-visual speaking used in several media, from movies, TV, radio, games, etc.
Voice-over in animation often starts with a script, then records the voice-over, and then creates the animation to fit the vocals. There is no set industry standard method on using storyboards, backgrounds, changing colors, etc.
Professional animators advise people entering the field to be passionate about their work and to keep at it even though it is a tough field. Men get 70% to 75% of the voice-over employment. Things that will destroy a career are having a bad or negative attitude, poor acting ability, not following directions, not being versatile, having the wrong type of voice (except an accent will limit hirings for that accent), being late for work, not being flexible, and not professional.
Most voice over employment requires membership in SAG or AFTRA. There is a one production exception and a financial exception that is difficult to obtain. The financial core exception status allows non-union work yet the union, realizing this reducing its strength when granted, seldom grants this exception.
Some cartoons are recorded in Canada. This is sometimes done to avoid paying foreign broadcast residuals that are required to be paid for American recorded cartoons.
Voice professionals recommend exercising before doing voice over work. This relaxes the body and reduces stress on the vocal cords. It is recommended to exercise one’s voice. Practice speaking with a relaxed and open throat and using visualization to help guide vocal changes. Relax to avoid feeling nervous. Use god posture to assist your voice. Breathe by inflating your diaphragm to 80% to 85%. Breathe enough to have enough air without running out while speaking. Avoid using a nasal voice when pronouncing vowels before m, n, or ng. Avoid emitting too much air that causes plosives for letters b, c (k sound), d, g, k, p, and t. Plosives can create a popping noise in microphones. Avoid sibilance with s words by putting the sides of the tongue along the inner molars and keeping the tongue tip around a quarter inch from the upper teeth, and perhaps standing a little further away from the microphone.
Staying healthy with proper eating and rest, being relaxed, drinking water to keep vocal cords moist, noting that menthol and eucalyptus can freeze and shrink the vocal cords, caffeine can constrict the throats and/or sinuses, some juices can cause mucus for some, smoke and smoking can hamper vocal cords, taking breaks when speaking, noting that aspirin things the blood and can cause vocal cord hemorrhaging if yelling is required, stop speaking when hoarseness occurs, and avoid touching the face and wearing ear muffs during cold to ward off ear and throat infections.
If a voice is strained, biting a green apple lubricates the mouth. Lemon herbal tea with no sugar helps some minor problems. Raspberry zinc lozenges can help sore throats. Other remedies for vocal problems include a handful of salted potato chips with water as well as warm ginger root with lemon rind.
Drinking two glasses of water a day before eating or drinking helps, as does singing in the shower and humming to oneself.
There are different kinds of microphones. Omni-directional or non-directional microphones receive sound the same from any direction. Bidirectional microphones receive sound from its front and back. Supercardioid, hypercardioid, or shotgun microphones receive sound from a narrow corridor but do so far a long distance. Cardioid microphones receive sounds from a 120 degree radium in front and are the ones more frequently used in voice over work.
There are several kinds of hand or stand microphones. Dynamic or moving coil microphones, used often in voice-overs, are mostly non-directional but can be directional when higher frequencies are omitted. Condenser, electrostatic, or fixed plate microphones also are often used in voice-over work, are most costly but receive a crisp sound. Electric condenser microphones tend to pick up more background noise. Ribbon microphones receive sound from two directions yet can fail with a nearby loud sound.
Boom microphones can reduce popping sounds. D-Esser booms can muffle sound and are usually positioned in front or to the side of what is being recorded.
Microphones are usually placed 3 to 14 inches from the mouth, with louder voices requiring more distance.
A held microphone should be vertical or slightly angled to the mouth about one inch below the lips and not touching the face. Do not breathe into the microphone. Avoid the cord as cord noises can affect the sound.
Avoid making noises with the script. A script can be marked with vocal instructions, such as notes on changing pitch.
Improvisation helps learning about developing characters. It is advised to say the first thought, always agree with your improvisation partner, and remember to make your improvisation partner look good. Some cartoon companies allow voice-over actors to improvise.
It is advised to study comedy to learn the rhythm of humor and how it can result from exaggeration, discomfort, tension, parody, whimsy, etc.
Voice-over can sometimes be improved by risking a new voice or adding a wrinkle to an old voice.
Getting into a bent knee process can lower a voice.
Vibrating the uvula can help make some animal sounds.
Using emotion and energy helps voice over work.
When reading copy, keep your eyes on the copy, don’t self-evaluate during a reading, aim for being heard clearly, tend for exaggeration, maintain a high energy level, if you require more energy place your arms over your head for additional energy, avoid decreasing energy and pitch at the end of sentences (even though sentences often will decrease in pitch), aim for intensity over volume, establish a rhythm, be consistent but variable in range and pace. Visualize the dialogue, emphasize adjectives, smile for vocal warmth, speak naturally, and don’t overlap another’s voice. To speak like a person who has been running, breathe three times before speaking.
To appear professional, always be friendly, don’t focus on mistakes but keep moving forward, have a set cell phone number to be quickly reached, have a fax to receive copy keep paper business records, write thank you notes, develop specific vocal skills, take classes, and be willing to work for scale when there is no other work. Learning dialects broadens one’s appeal for more work. Learn specific characteristics of a dialect.
Comedic voice-over often exaggerates their voices.
Most demos for animators last about 90 seconds. Some are for 60 seconds. Laser printer packaging is recommended. Paper sleeves are often preferred. Make certain your demo plays, as some don’t. Have a short but personalized cover letter informing how you can be of use to them.
Do not hire agents who ask for marketing cost payments or who are connected to acting schools. When you have an agent, check with the agent weekly. Be friendly. Let the agent handle negotiations.
Some voice over actors obtain notice through volunteering in vocalizing Reading for the Blind or on You Tube.
A home studio for attempting Internet castings should include a USB microphone that fits the computer you’re using, such as the AKG 400 series or Samsung USB, recording and editing software such as Sound Forge, headphones or computer monitor speakers, a mic stand, preferably with a boom, and an adjustable stand. A professional studio can be created for under $2,000 to include microphone cable, USB interact, analog studio mixer, timing stopwatch, soundproofing, and a patch phone.
During taping, remember only a director can stop a tape. If you make a mistake, don’t stop unless the director says to stop. If you don’t understand what a director seeks, request a line read from the director.
When finished, ask the engineer for a CD copy, but don’t be offended if the request is denied. It is easier for the engineer to make a copy at that time. Offer to pay for it, although you’ll likely get it as an emailed MP3 file for free. Tape it when it airs. Give you agent a copy.
Automated dialogue replacement replaces original dialogue.
Dubbing involved recording a foreign film into another language.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Call Me Crazy by Anne Heche
Anne Heche. Call Me Crazy. New York: Washington Square Press, 2001.
The author was sexually abused from when she was a baby. Sexual abuse is something that happens to one sixth of all minor females. Only about one tenth ever will discuss it. Heche copes by splitting her personality into two, and later in adulthood, into three.
Anne Heche grew up in a strict household where a sister had died and was seldom mentioned. Her bisexual father contracted hepatitis while claiming it was from eating raw fish with a mother who insisted they had never eaten raw fish. Anne was raped by her father while her mother never intervened. The author contracted herpes at age eight. Her parents didn’t believe in doctors, which meant her mother preferred to keep her father’s secret hidden.
Anne Heche’s father taught his children to be creative. When her father boasted of being friends with Teri and Brooke Shields, young Anne began wondering if her own father would love her more if she were an actress like Brooke Shields.
The family fell into hard times. Each family member sought additional work. Anne was a baby sitter for a family that owned a dinner theater. They agreed to let Anne audition with an equal chance against other auditioners. She won a part and became the local theater group’s youngest actor. While working in theater, she heard about homosexuality and came to realize her father and his male roommate were gay. Her father died of AIDS in 1983.
Anne Heche went into therapy, including illegal LSD therapy based on the ideas of Dr. Timothy Leary. In exploring her inner mind, she found herself feeling as if she were her own feces.
Anne Heche moved to Los Angeles. During her first week there, she got a role on the TV series “Murphy Brown”. A few weeks later shoe won the lead in a play. She met musician Lindsay Buckingham and dated him for about a year.
Heche appeared in the movie “Volcano” and then “Stripping for Jesus”. She met Ellen DeGeneres and they dated. When she announced she was bringing Ellen DeGeneres as her date to the “Volcano” premiere, she was warned she would be blacklisted from movie roles. Some blamed the poor attendance figures for “Volcano” on her announcement she was gay. Her next movie’s co-star Harrison Ford called to support her. They filmed “Six Days Seven Nights” together.
The public relationship took its toll on Ellen DeGeneres, who became depressed as her TV show’s ratings dropped./ Anne hid what she wanted from Ellen DeGenere,. Heche broke into another personality who was gathering people on a spaceship to Heaven. Heche was hospitalized.
The author was sexually abused from when she was a baby. Sexual abuse is something that happens to one sixth of all minor females. Only about one tenth ever will discuss it. Heche copes by splitting her personality into two, and later in adulthood, into three.
Anne Heche grew up in a strict household where a sister had died and was seldom mentioned. Her bisexual father contracted hepatitis while claiming it was from eating raw fish with a mother who insisted they had never eaten raw fish. Anne was raped by her father while her mother never intervened. The author contracted herpes at age eight. Her parents didn’t believe in doctors, which meant her mother preferred to keep her father’s secret hidden.
Anne Heche’s father taught his children to be creative. When her father boasted of being friends with Teri and Brooke Shields, young Anne began wondering if her own father would love her more if she were an actress like Brooke Shields.
The family fell into hard times. Each family member sought additional work. Anne was a baby sitter for a family that owned a dinner theater. They agreed to let Anne audition with an equal chance against other auditioners. She won a part and became the local theater group’s youngest actor. While working in theater, she heard about homosexuality and came to realize her father and his male roommate were gay. Her father died of AIDS in 1983.
Anne Heche went into therapy, including illegal LSD therapy based on the ideas of Dr. Timothy Leary. In exploring her inner mind, she found herself feeling as if she were her own feces.
Anne Heche moved to Los Angeles. During her first week there, she got a role on the TV series “Murphy Brown”. A few weeks later shoe won the lead in a play. She met musician Lindsay Buckingham and dated him for about a year.
Heche appeared in the movie “Volcano” and then “Stripping for Jesus”. She met Ellen DeGeneres and they dated. When she announced she was bringing Ellen DeGeneres as her date to the “Volcano” premiere, she was warned she would be blacklisted from movie roles. Some blamed the poor attendance figures for “Volcano” on her announcement she was gay. Her next movie’s co-star Harrison Ford called to support her. They filmed “Six Days Seven Nights” together.
The public relationship took its toll on Ellen DeGeneres, who became depressed as her TV show’s ratings dropped./ Anne hid what she wanted from Ellen DeGenere,. Heche broke into another personality who was gathering people on a spaceship to Heaven. Heche was hospitalized.
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