<$BlogRSDUrl$>

Drooling on the Pillow

Friday, January 28, 2005

Samuel Johnson and Anson Williams 

Tonight on A&E I watched them bio Ron Howard and then run a show about Happy Days. You know what Sluggo was thinking about? Glad you asked.

In the late '70s I was in Raleigh, North Carolina doing Finch in a dinner theatre production of How to Succeed . . . One night we were told that Dean Smith, the legendary coach of the North Carolina Tarheels was in the audience. I was told by the producer to ad lib a tribute to Smith. That's exactly what he said. 'Mike, ad lib a tribute to the coach.' Forget the fact that whatever I came up with would not exactly be an ad lib. Forget the fact that he was asking me to send Frank Loesser (one of my especial theatrical heros) spinning in his grave. Just the idea that this guy could waltz into the dressing room and demand that I prostitute my art to his smutty, smudgy, cheap, sucking up to local hero, blah, blah, blah.

So I did it. I honestly can't remember where I stuck it in, or what thin tissue of sense I made of it. It was part of the scene with Biggley that includes the song "Groundhog" and I said "Well, maybe we could try using the Four Corners" referring to a defensive scheme Smith was famous for that was rendered obsolete by the shot clock.

It was the second biggest laugh I ever got in my life. Standing ovation. Laughter, applause, laughter, applause. Mr. Smith pinched my cheek on the 'joydit'* line after the show.

Oh, yeah. Happy Days.

It may not have been the next day, but it was soon after that that Anson Williams, 'Potsie' on Happy Days, came to the show. We were fairly jazzed by the fact, which I blush to admit today, but there you are. We thought the show was pretty good. But Happy Days was the biggest thing on TV at the time. I seem to remember he was escorting Miss North Carolina, but I could be wrong about that. Never the less, Mr. Williams expressed his opinion on the show by not only not coming back afterwards, but by skipping the joydit line.

I wish Mr. Williams happiness in his life and sincerely hope it is everything he would wish. For him and all those he cares about. I know nothing bad about him. As opposed to Tom Bosley. At the same time, I admit, I wasn't altogether unhappy to see that he hasn't aged in exactly the same way that Cary Grant did. I try to be a good person, but, even after 10 years out of the business, I'm stuck with theatrical as my brand of pride.

It put me in mind of the anecdote about the incomparable Samuel Johnson when someone remarked on the vanity of the actor Garrick. He said that if he had been subject to the flattery inflicted on his actor friend he would have hired large men with poles to knock people out of his way as he walked down the street.

It's true. And I wouldn't have been any different. There is almost no defense against the stroking a hot young actor receives. That any of them maintain any sense of proportion about themselves is a testament to the human spirit.

Still, would it have killed him to come back stage?

*If you remember the days of dinner theatres, especially those (like in Raleigh) where, once the food is cleared, the stage descends on a 30' x 30' elevator, you remember that after the show the cast lines up in the lobby and the audience files out shaking hands and murmuring "'Joyd it, 'joyd it" to each member of the cast.
Posted by: Sluggo / 10:12 PM
|
Weblog Commenting and Trackback by HaloScan.com Listed on BlogShares