I just wrote my heart out for 20 fucking minutes!!! And the writing disappeared! I hate when that happens…but I am willful, people! So… J I’m watching THE IRISHMAN tonite. Yeah, I know, all y’all saw it months ago…but see, I had a beef with SAG about dues in December and they didn’t send me… Continue reading STELLA
A BIO FOR OLGA
(An author named Olga first wanted to include a chapter in her next book about me. The more she learned about me. the more determined she became to devote the entire book to describe my life’s arc. Weeks passed with frequent exchanges by email; then I left for India to shoot a film. When I… Continue reading A BIO FOR OLGA
A KENNEDY MEMORY
I’m in the throes of departure and discovery as I approach Christmas 2004. In two weeks, I will return to Vietnam for the first time in 35 years. I have much on my emotional plate, can you dig it? Tonight I received a phone call from a gathering of old friends in Washington, DC; celebrating… Continue reading A KENNEDY MEMORY
WOMEN IN CAMMIES
What is this latest fashion look about, women in camouflage? Is it somehow related to our being at war And is it connected to so many women, bearing arms in combat zones these days? I can remember a time in the 70’s that it first occurred. I can remember seeing a hot redhead in tailored… Continue reading WOMEN IN CAMMIES
RECOGNITION
I’m smiling as I think about and remember my counterpart, T.U. Dai. Nguyen Van Dai… Americans will intuitively pronounce it correctly. Those literate in Vietnamese will miss a diacritical mark that makes this a hard D…rather than a soft Yieee. I’m about to purchase a t-shirt from a company that creates and sells to sentimental… Continue reading RECOGNITION
HARD LABOR
I’m a union man, have been since 1971. I pay dues to three separate unions that govern the conditions under which I work as an actor; SAG, AFTRA and AEA. I believe in the value of collective bargaining and organized labor. But I feel that the pendulum has swung too far to the left and… Continue reading HARD LABOR
SCARY MOVIES
Boy, did I see a classic Holloween movie this evening! I am fond of fright classics, like the original Nosferatu, by Murnau and Bela Lugosi’s Dracula series, the colorful Hammer Studio films with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, for example. And you’ve gotta toss in Aliens, and Night of the Living Dead, and maybe even… Continue reading SCARY MOVIES
THE WHO AT THE GREEK
John Entwhistle is dead. That should come as no surprise – that he lived so long might raise eyebrows. Yet tonight, I saw, live for the first time, one of my all time top three rock groups. Missed The Beatles (but none of their music) – saw The Stones at Madison Square Garden in the… Continue reading THE WHO AT THE GREEK
GOD AND SARAH
Those that can, do. Those that can’t, teach…or perhaps, those that can’t, feel compelled to critique those that can. I’ve never before discussed critical responses to my work, which have generally been positive. My job is to do The Work and the job of critics is to critique it; however, in our brave new cyber-world,… Continue reading GOD AND SARAH
FRIDAY THE 13TH
TRISKADECAPHOBIA MY ASS. Last nite, I had over a friend of many years who’s going thru a difficult patch. I grilled steaks and veggies and we sat up talking well into the nite, laying waste to the bottle of Jamesons Cask Strength he’d thoughtfully brought along. I’m always grateful for the chance to… Continue reading FRIDAY THE 13TH