A MORE PERFECT UNION MEMBER

"Over here! Hire me!"

 At my age, so the experts say, it's good, even necessary, to take a few chances,
have a new challenge or two, to keep your mental and physical skills intact.

Yesterday, I took a chance that would be considered financial to any right-thinking person. After a decade of doing background work as a non-union extra, I finally joined SAG-AFTRA. 

If you've been paying attention to the news or even this blog (hah!), you might think that such a move is like joining an anti-war movement the day after Pearl Harbor. But seeing that there have been fewer non-union gigs available, I couldn't possibly work less than I have been for the last year without giving up entirely.

1933: George Raft, Warner Oland, Fredric March,
Adolphe Menjou, Groucho Marx, and James
Cagney join SAG. Now they have great looks.

Union extras have been urging me to join, with everyone telling me that I have a "great look". Well yes, that's true. So why wasn't I being hired? These people were all in my age range, so maybe, as SAG members, they were getting the jobs I could do. 

I'd put off joining for years, despite qualifying early on. Back then, one had to jump through hoops to become SAG, or so I was told. Too, I'd heard horror stories about extras who joined, only to barely work again, if at all. Not being the gambling type, I decided to stay in my non-union lane, believing that more work at lower pay was better than less work at higher. 

That actually worked out for a long time. My spreadsheet shows close to 300 gigs from 2016-2024 -- fewer than many of my colleagues, but still enough to keep me working fairly regularly. As I've mentioned before, the 2024 strike, along with health issues that kept me sidelined for a few months, changed that. In the last year, I've worked three, count 'em, three times.

At least I won't have to go through this for a few
more years.

So why join? It boils down to, Well, what the hell, why not? There are certainly a few reasons why I probably shouldn't, like wondering if I'll make back the entry fee (that's the financial challenge mentioned near the beginning of this piece), along with the biannual dues. I mean, I can afford it at this stage of my life. But is it worth it?

It worked for Chaplin.

Maybe. A while ago, I grew a goatee, which got me a gig. When I showed up on the first of my three-day shoot, they decided I'd look better with just the moustache. Bzzzz went the beard. Thinking it was an interesting change-up, I kept my new look. Last week I was hired for a three-day gig on another production because of the mustache. 

It would be nice if the one-two punch of moustache and SAG membership proves to be the key to a resurgence in employment. If not... well, at least my obituary will describe me as a proud member of SAG-AFTRA. I might not become part of the 2% to 5% of the 160,000 members who make a living at it, but I'm officially retired anyway. 

On the other hand...

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GO JUMP IN A SHARK TANK

Pete begs not to be
replaced by A.I.

One of the most annoying movie trailer tropes of the last 20 years is a dog tilting his head while making a Huh? reaction to a stupid remark, something that was funny when Pete the Pup did it in an Our Gang short over 90 years ago. 

Soon, that hoary old gag may become even more annoying. And as usual, we have A.I. to thank. With each day, more of our furry, winged, and bristled friends are being outsourced to computer wizards to save a few kibbles, bird seeds, and acorns. Which isn't much different from the craft table at low budget movie shoots. 

Just listen to what Benay Karp, the owner of an animal rental company, has to say. “I don’t think I’ve had a call for a woodpecker in probably three or four years, maybe five years. I have a flock of seagulls. I think I’ve only gotten one job for them in the last year, where they used to work all the time.” 

Welcome to the club, my animal colleagues! That A.I.-generated dog in the latest Superman movie proved that you're even more expendable than humans, even if the latest technology didn't convince anybody with the IQ of a chipmunk that it was real. And as I noted in a previous post, neither did A.I. humans in a Disney+ movie.

Try telling that to Kevin O'Leary, who you may know from the series Shark Tank, where budding entrepreneurs do a 21st-century version of Oliver Twist's "Please, sir, may I have some more?" O'Leary was cast as Gwyneth Paltrow's husband in the upcoming movie Marty Supreme starring Timothy Chalamet. His takeaway from the experience: too many extras!:

“Almost every scene had as many as 150 extras. Now, those people have to stay awake for 18 hours, be completely dressed in the background. [They’re] not necessarily in the movie, but they’re necessary to be there moving around. And yet, it costs millions of dollars to do that. Why couldn’t you simply put AI agents in their place? Because they’re not the main actors. They’re only in the story visually. [You could] save millions of dollars, so more movies could be made. The same director, instead of spending $90 million or whatever he spent, could’ve spent $35 million and made two movies.”

O'Leary laughs at the how the extra on the right
will be replaced by A.I. one day.

O'Leary misses a few important things. Like, as I've said before, today's A.I. "actors" don't look like real, honest-to-gosh humans, even in the background. Second, there is no way hiring those extras cost an extra $35-million. And third, since O'Leary probably tells inventors to do their research, he should do the same. The reported budget for Marty Supreme was $70-million -- still a lot but 20-mill less than his guesstimate. And perhaps a quarter of that budget went to Chalamet alone. Funny how O'Leary doesn't accuse rich actors of contributing to bloated movie budgets. 

O'Leary's favorite character from
It's a Wonderful Life.

But that's how the well-heeled roll (or walk). O'Leary -- estimated to be worth at least $400-million -- probably applauded Amazon's plans to lay off 600,000 human beings in favor of robots because it increased the company's stock value. You can bet he'll turn around and bitch about those same 600,000 collecting unemployment and voting for politicians who want to lower the price of healthcare. And fatcats wonder why young people are embracing socialism!

Bob the Duck, Maude the Squirrel, background actors, Amazon workers -- they're all the same to Kevin O'Leary. As long as he and his brethren can watch their bank accounts swell like the Goodyear blimp, life is good. Hey, wonder how much he made for being in Marty Supreme. Whatever it was, you know he wasn't worth it.

    

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STRICTLY ON BACKGROUND, PT. 67: "BLACK RABBIT"

 I've shaken hands with Tea Leoni on Madam Secretary. Given breakfast advice to
Michael Weatherly while working on Bull. Stepped aside for Jennifer Lopez on Shades of Blue. But Black Rabbit was the only time I made one of the stars laugh -- on purpose, too! 

The date was April 24, 2024. My role as "Airport Traveller" was only the fifth gig since the end of the writers & actors strikes about a year earlier. The production was codenamed Gary the Dog, maybe to prevent over-enthusiastic bunny-philists from submitting. (Tip for budding backgrounders: if a title sounds unfamiliar, just Google it and you'll always find out what it really is. It's not like this is a secret or anything.)

The search also revealed that the stars were Jude Law and Jason Bateman. Well, hell, that sounded pretty good, since my last time working on a production with A-listers was Only Murders in the Building a year earlier -- no offense to three of my previous gigs, Blue Bloods, The FBI, and Law & Order. (I also worked on a PSA for the American Cancer Society which for reasons unknown never aired. Sheesh, renal cancer surgery for nothing!)

Taking the subway to the airport on the Upper
West Side is definitely easier than a cab on the
Long Island Expressway.

I played the "Airport Traveller" role on two other shows, Homeland and Bull, both filmed at JFK Airport. This time, the Jacob Javits Center was standing in for JFK. Hey, a Democrat's a Democrat.

Only a streaming service like Netflix would drop
the dough required on a space this size for
a couple dozen people.

Our holding area was a cavernous room for the number of people who were booked. A few one-person "tents" were set up for anyone needing to change into wardrobe. As usual, your correspondent arrived dressed for camera. As I've noted before, all I need for most of these things are a pale blue shirt, khakis, jacket or coat, and decent comfortable shoes. I tend throw in a hat, too, in order to stand out while still fitting in. 

After a couple of hours of hanging around, we were brought outside and put in our spots. A woman and I were placed near the "airport" entrance. Looking around, I could see Jude Law talking to Jason Bateman, who was also directing this episode. Bateman eventually walked toward us and reconnoitered with the cinematographer, who was to our left. Bateman would be exiting the "airport" while the woman and I were walking in. 

Theoretically, a simple shot. The reality was several takes. After the third, Bateman asked my colleague and me -- in all sincerity, as if he were genuinely unsure -- "This looks like an airport, right?"

The woman replied "Yes," while I chimed in, "It would fool me, and I'm here." That was when Jason Bateman laughed. Probably from exhaustion, but a laugh nonetheless. 

Fifteen months passed before Black Rabbit finally aired. As you can tell, fedoras come in handy when you want to be noticed. That's Bateman inside the "airport" wearing a jacket over a t-shirt walking toward the door. 

I hoped making the star/director laugh would be in my favor when working on another episode, but it was not to be. I guess Bateman didn't catch my name.

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STRICTLY ON BACKGROUND, PT. 66: BEHIND THE SCENES

 Having not worked in three months, I'm starting to wonder if my days as background have come to an end. So while taking photos like many of the ones below is against the rules, I'm at the point where I ask myself, What are they going to do -- fire me?

Productions with period wardrobe divide the changing rooms into men and women. However, if you're providing your own everyday choices, you change in little tents like these. Usually, they like what I bring. But when I need to change in these tiny tents, it always feels like it takes twice as long as it does when I'm home. Size matters.

Some TV shows have fans that keep track of where location filming is being done, and often take pictures of us when we're on a break. While working on And Just Like That, I took pictures of them. None of the background take it seriously because we know damn well these people are waiting for Sarah Jessica Parker come out and wave hello. But an extra can dream, can't he?

A still-existing sign at the former Arthur Kill Correctional Facility, where I worked on The Crowded Room.  I find the idea of telling prisoners not to use profanity to be pretty funny.

Even if the skies aren't overcast, these big lights are still used to illuminate the filming going on inside buildings. Ever wonder why those home reno shows on HGTV seem to have blinding sunlight pouring through the windows? Now you know: it isn't sunlight.

Just because the scene takes place in a bedroom doesn't mean it's a real bedroom. I don't know if this set was part of the production I worked on. Maybe if you've watched enough TV, you could tell me what it's from. If you look hard, you might be able to see tree branches outside the left window. Scroll to the next photo to see what it looks like on the other side.

Yes, it's true what they say: show business is phony baloney. Or, in this case, phony baloney trees. But it looks like the real deal even in hi-def. The magic of television!

A shot of the outside of a large New York apartment set. I can't even guess how much the electric bills for studios run. ConEd must thank God for the New York TV and movie industries.

Unless filming is done inside a real apartment, house or office, the image of the building across the street is a very large photo like the one here. I don't think the enlargement is done at CVS.

As we wrap up our behind-the-scenes tour, I feel it my duty to remind you there's a lot of hanging around between takes as you're waiting to be called for your turn to shine. 

And even when you're working in a fancy Long Island home like the one here, there's only so much oohing and ahhing you do before reading a book or scrolling through your phone or catching some snooze time. If the idea of sitting around like this for up to hours at a time before it's you do 20 takes of a scene is appealing, then background work is for you! 

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STRICTLY ON BACKGROUND, PT. 65: MORE NEVER BEFORE SEEN!

Five more selfies when I didn't make the final cut. Should I take such treatment personally? Hell, yes!

MANIFEST (9/11/18): "Hospital Patient".  Arrived at 12:37 p.m. at Silvercup Studios, wrapped at 9:58 p.m. Never got out of holding. My only memory is admiring the faux airplane used in another episode on an adjoining set. 

If you wonder why these shows hire more people than they need, it's often because the producers have to justify the weekly budget they've been given. Now you know the rest of the story.

THE DEUCE (2/28/19): "Diehard Porn Fan". Casting agents and directors ask the same question when hiring extras: Does

this person look the part? That's how I got this gig. (One of my colleagues thought I looked like a sleazy lawyer, but to each his own.) The scene took place at a 1980s porn convention, so I wore my authentic '80s tie along with my other personal wardrobe. 

The production built a convention set at Resorts World Casino in Queens; I was there from 7:26 a.m. to 10:48 p.m. A 40ish Jamaican woman and I pretended to be a couple, believing it would catch the director's eye. We were wrong. But now I know to submit to any production looking for a diehard porn fan, so some good came of the experience.

THE SURVIVOR (5/29/19): "1950s Coney Island Pedestrian". Arrived at 6:15 a.m.  via transportation provided by the production, wrapped about 13 hours later, home at 8:39 p.m. One of my colleagues came straight from an overnight shoot; by early afternoon, he was literally asleep on his feet. That's dedication!

Directed by Barry Levinson (my second of three gigs with him at the helm), and starring Ben Foster, who quite understandably got pissed off at a really annoying freelance paparazzo who turns up at every location shoot in town. I really like the outfit they gave me. Damn shame you can't see me in the movie.

EXTRAPOLATIONS (10/16-17/2021): "Congregant". Filmed on Staten Island at
Broadway Stages, formerly the Arthur Kill Correctional Facility. Extrapolations was an Apple anthology miniseries taking place in 2047 when climate change has forever changed the way humans live. This episode took place in Florida, when flooding from the Atlantic Ocean is seeping into buildings like the synagogue where our scene took place. (It was constructed on a soundstage on the property, not in the former prison itself.) 

The set was flooded with a few inches of water; everyone wore tall green boots. Sitting directly in front of me in the pew was Judd Hirsch, while David Schwimmer sat the opposite end. A Broadway actress whose name I can't recall introduced herself to the young woman to my left and to me. She was very friendly, totally unassuming. That's how you know who the real stars are. 

The wardrobe, provided by the production, was supposed to be similar to 1990s fashions, because I guess people in 2047 would be into the retro look. To me, I vaguely resemble Nick Lowe on a windy day. When the episode of Extrapolations aired, the camera tracked along the first two rows; it was edited so that the shot ended just before it got to me. Two days of climate change for nothing! Except two paychecks. 

RIPLEY (5/10/22): "Early 1960s Upscale Businessman." That is some killer wardrobe. Early call time, though. I left home at 4:12 a.m. to get to holding (Altman Building on West 18th) by 5:30 a.m. We were driven to East 44th Street at 8:33 a.m., where a handful of us walked back and forth past Brooks Brothers for two and a half hours before being wrapped. The star, Andrew Scott, was probably there, but I don't remember, since I wouldn't have recognized him. 

Two years later, it landed on Netflix. Great series. But all that was left of our scene was a shot of the back of somebody's head (not mine) walking past the Brooks Brothers sign. You should've seen me head to toe in that trench coat, suit, scarf, and fedora. Probably the most upscale of all my upscale looks.

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STRICTLY ON BACKGROUND, PT 64: NEVER BEFORE SEEN!

Once in a while, my Android phone puts together a series of photos that are connected in some way or another. Many of them feature me in costume in productions where I can't be clearly seen or didn't make the final cut. Five of them follow, along with the titles and official character descriptions.

HOMELAND (9/26/16) "Prison Guard". The worst case of miscasting since John Wayne as Genghis Kahn in The Conqueror. What little memory I have of this gig isn't worth passing on, other than I was directed to escort a prisoner down a hallway away from the camera. Gee, I wonder why. 

Future appearances on Homeland were the more appropriate "Onlooker" or "Protester". During one of the latter gigs, I accidentally bopped Claire Danes on the top of her noggin as she snaked through the crowd. The next take, she let me know I was there by running her hand on my hip, which remains one of the highlights of my background work. Maybe my life.

SHELTER (March, 2017): "Stampede Victim". This was promoted by NBC as a "television event", meaning a mini-series that was to air over five consecutive evenings. The premise was 24 hours in the last functioning Brooklyn hospital during a Category-5 hurricane and a mass shooting on the LIRR. I was one of the bloodied and bruised characters in the shooting. The set was a former psych hospital-turned-senior daycare center in New Jersey. 

Most of the extras started work on the pilot episode on a Wednesday, when we learned the show was already one day over schedule. Within a couple of hours of the chaotic filming, many of us knew Shelter (which was also known as Mt. Ararat and at least one other temporary title) would never get picked up. And we were right! Our scheduled five-day shoot went on for nine; I bowed out after the eighth as the ridiculously long hours were making me literally sick. Still, I'm sorry Shelter didn't get picked up -- background would have worked three to five days a week for the series' entire shooting schedule.

THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL (8/17/17): "1950s Upscale Businessman". My fifth gig on Maisel sticks in my memory for wearing authentic 1950s woolen clothes for a Christmas scene shot on a hot, humid August night. It would have been worth it if I had actually been on camera rather than just hanging around outside in midtown until roughly two in the morning. 

I went home feeling like crap and woke up feeling like shit. Risking future work on Maisel, I called in sick for what was supposed to have been the second of a two-night shoot. Still, they continued to hire me for the series' entire run, when I had much better luck in future episodes. 

ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA (12/18/2017): "Prisoner". Director Bill Stiller chose the extras, and asked us to come in for an inspection before he made his final decision. We lined up at the production office in downtown Broadway, where he looked at each of us up and down, up close and personal. When we showed up for work the following week, Stiller shook hands all around. Background played trustees; part of the set was the prison kitchen where some of us worked. 

The prison set at Astoria Studios looked quite authentic, right down to the props in our cells. After shooting our scene, I sat on a flight of stairs directly behind Stiller as he directed Benicio del Toro and Paul Dano; having been doing extra work for just over a year, it was a heady experience. But not so heady that I didn't start to feel tired and, in a bold move, walked into my cell and took a nap. When I awoke, Stiller was still filming the same scene. I don't know what episode I worked on, but look for a tall guy making soup at a stove with his back to the camera way, way, way in the background. Good luck.

MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN (3/9/18): "1950s Town Hall Attendee" giving grief to a character based on Robert Moses, played by Alec Baldwin, who didn't disappoint (make of that what you will). Willem Dafoe was in the scene, too, which was pretty cool. I was sitting fairly close to him as he shook hands with Baldwin before filming began; it seemed to be the first time they ever met.

Directed by Edward Norton, this scene was supposed to have ended around 1:00 a.m.; instead, most of us wrapped at 4:45 a.m. as the filming continued after we left. To add insult to injury, I was just out of camera range in the final cut. At least I got to work on what was considered by the people who were there as a legendary shoot. Again, make of that what you will.

Part 2 of "Never Before Seen!" to follow...

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STRICTLY ON BACKGROUND, PT. 63: AIME LEON DORE NEW BALANCE COMMERCIAL

My second commercial was shot on May 8, 2024, only the sixth gig since the end of the writers and actors strikes last year. At least it provided me three different opportunities to be seen, although it helps to hit pause on two of them.

Before going on, perhaps it's necessary to explain just what Aime Leon Dore is. According to Currant Magazine, Aimé Leon Dore was founded in 2014 by Teddy Santis, who, without any background in fashion, started an urban menswear line in Queens, New York. With his Greek background, his love for 90s hiphop and urban culture, he created a streetwear line that would later be known as an elevated and urban preppy streetwear brand. 

Of course, it didn't stop me from
modeling one of his caps.

The closest I am to "urban" is living in Manhattan. And as for preppy, all you need to know is that I look terrible in Polo shirts. So naturally I would be cast in an Aime Leon Dore commercial... as a bodega customer, wedding guest, and some guy watching a pick-up basketball game. Anything but "urban preppy". Otherwise, nobody would buy this stuff.

All of my scenes were shot in the West Village within blocks of each other, from 10:30 a.m. to 8:40 p.m. on a beautiful spring day. The background was mostly young, hip people, with a handful of geezers like me. We provided "color", I suppose, while the kids were what were supposed to bring the customers. And for what the New Balance sneakers are going for, I hope they have well-paying jobs.

The first scene we filmed was at the West 4th Street Courts, where three of us old folks watched a pick-up basketball game featuring players from their 20s to early 50s. It was far more fun and exciting than the few Knicks games I caught at Madison Square Garden in the past. The guys were giving it all they had; I often had to duck as the ball went flying toward us. I can be seen -- barely -- a few different times here. This was two hours well spent, and one of the most fun gigs I've had that didn't involve mid-century wardrobe.

I had better luck in the wedding scene. The a.d. told the "guests" to go over the top in our glee, and by God over the top I went, throwing confetti like I was being paid to -- which, as I think about it, I was. Not much else to say, other than it was filmed at a church whose name I can't recall, and that this was a good-looking couple. And, brother, they knew it.

The final scene we shot, which comes earlier than the other two in the final cut, was filmed in a bodega. We're all pretending to watch something on the store's TV. I thought it was supposed to be a game, but in the finished product it was an Aime commercial. I'm in the back row, third from the left, wearing the Aime Dore Leon baseball cap. The guy in the white AIME jacket in the middle reacts strongly to the commercial, while we respond with a subtle side-eye. Mine is so subtle that it doesn't look I'm doing anything unless you look really carefully. Not that you'd necessarily want to.

And no, I wasn't allowed to keep the Aime Dore Leon hat.

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The commercial as it's seen on YouTube:

AND JUST LIKE THIS

If only they were this well-dressed now.

 The number one rule when in background work is DO NOT  APPROACH THE LEAD
ACTORS. The second is DO NOT TAKE PICTURES ON THE SET. 

While on location, burly security guys enforce the first rule. Yet the second doesn't apply to anyone else. Professional paparazzi, amateur shutterbugs, fans, stans, and tourists -- all have the unofficial OK to whip out their cameras and phones to snap and film to their hearts' (and photo agency and TikTok accounts') content. Yesterday's job on HBO's ...And Just Like That was one of the better examples of this odd phenomenon. 

Not one of the crazies, honest.

We spent the morning working in Washington Square Park. The weather was comfortable and sunny; despite the relative early time, the park was already beginning to fill with tourists, people on their way to walk, NYU grads in their caps & gowns (which, coincidentally, was what many of the young extras were playing), and crazy people. In other words, just another spring day in New York.

Productions like this in New York have diametrically opposite effects on locals and out-of-towners. For the former, it's OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE, GET OUT OF MY WAY! For the latter yesterday, it was OH MY GOD, SARAH JESSICA PARKER! Happy to make your day, folks.

I think Sarah Jessica Parker was jealous of my hat,
and decided to one-up me.

Most of the professional photogs know the score, and keep out of the way as
best they can, usually snapping photos only between takes. We background folks can occasionally be seen, well, in the background. Yesterday was my turn. 

I'm on the right waiting for my cue. The woman on the far left is background, too. The person in the orange t-shirt is probably a p.a., while the woman in the NYU grad in the cap & gown is either background or the real deal, since many of them were also in the park. The guy on the bench? Who knows. At some point, it becomes difficult to tell the wheat from the chaff. (There's a doll in the stroller, since babies can never follow the script.

As I mentioned earlier, there was no shortage of folks taking videos during filming. Some have YouTube and TikTok accounts. At least one of them captured me, first fiddling with my belt as the shot was being set up, then walking around the fountain after getting the cue:

This gives a pretty good idea of what happens on a set, with dozens of people involved in a scene featuring only a few actors. All the non-crew members and photographers are background actors (including the bubble guy). You'll notice an Asian couple on the left waiting to cross after SJP and the other actress pass. It's gotten so that, while watching TV or movies, I know exactly when background will appear behind the leads. 

It sounds strange but if we do our jobs right, you're aware of us even if you don't necessarily see us. Unless you're one of us. Then that's all you see.

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STRICTLY ON BACKGROUND, PT. 62: ODDS & ENDS

 As of this writing, I find myself in a work slump, having gotten only two background gigs since the end of the strikes. It was concerning, until looking over my work spreadsheet. After returning to work following my covid vaccination, I worked only seven times in 2021. But the following year was my busiest ever; perhaps I'm on the same trajectory. Or MAYBE IT IS ALL OVER FOR ME!!! Until I find out for sure, here are some that range from Is that him? to Nah, I don't see him at all.

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON: February 19, 2022, Cardinal Hayes High School for Boys, Bronx, NY. I had been booked to be part of a 1930s radio audience for a project titled Grey Horse. That was good enough, seeing that I love doing period pieces. But when learning it was the code name for Killers of the Flower Moon -- that was a thrill and a nine-tenths. We spent two days shooting at the auditorium of the school, which was Martin Scorsese's alma mater. 

We were actually on set only about an hour the first day, and three hours the next. Scorsese directed the "radio actors" and, when it was time for our reaction shots, left us in the hands of his assistant. But we saw enough of him in action both times to feel like we were part of the cool crowd. As for where I am -- see the grey-haired woman in the middle of the shot in the front row? Go three rows directly behind her. I've enlarged it for your oohing and aahing pleasure.

MR. & MRS. SMITH: June 7, 2022, Tompkins Square Park, first episode of the series. These are my own clothes, and one of the rare times I got wear sunglasses. When we returned the following Monday to shoot other angles, they gave me a different wardrobe. It was for naught; this was my only on-camera appearance on the episode. And the entire season, come to think of it. Guess I made quite the impression!

MAESTRO: July 7, 2022, Carnegie Hall. Another period scene, this time 1943. We were watching Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Symphony for the first time. Cooper not only looked like Bernstein, he, rather than the A.D., did most of the talking to us. He was clear in his direction, and effusive in his thanks, helping to make this one of my favorite gigs ever.  It's too bad you really don't have a chance to see how authentic we all looked. It comes as no shock I was able to find myself; I'm circled in red. Let me save you the trouble of saying it: Pathetic. (I worked on another Maestro theater scene, which took place 1947, but almost nothing of it made the final cut -- but I looked for me!) 

THE GIRLS ON THE BUS: October 6, 2022, Briarcliff Manor, NY. Through the
magic of television, I was an Iowa caucus goer at a Westchester County school gym. I was in four shots, but posted the only one where I'm easy to see. If you watch this episode, look for me in and outside the gym. Or you can just enjoy the show. Yes, that might be the better choice.

THE FBI: January 8, 2023, Fidelity Triangle, Brooklyn. My first post-strike gig, as an attendee of a park dedication. But since this is The FBI, there's also an attempted murder by a terrorist. It was good to get back to work, even if it was chilly with occasional drizzle and a round of sleet. I got to show off my acting "skills" when reacting to gunfire, but audiences were denied my moment of drama in the final cut. Just a coincidence, I'm sure. All they saw of me was at the beginning of the scene (on the rear left), and a crane shot of my scalp (not here, though). And I even wore a suit and tie for the occasion! Total time from arrival to departure: 6:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m -- my kind of workday.

BLUE BLOODS: January 24, 2024, Brooklyn Masonic Temple. My second (and, so
far, last) post-strike gig. My fifth time on Blue Bloods, and first in seven years to the month where Tom Selleck was present. It's a meeting of cops and a representative of the Teamsters. In the first shot, I'm in the first row, right side, second from the left, head turned to the woman sitting next to me.

When it came time to shoot the reverse angle, some of us were shuttled to the other side of the room. I can now be seen in the third row, peeking over Selleck's head. The scene doesn't last more than four minutes, but we were on the set at least 90 minutes. It was long enough to know that even at age 79, Selleck could still kick my ass. 

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