From Showbiz to Sunday School
By Sharon Wyatt
SOMETIMES IT IS NOT ALL THAT SERIOUS (Part three)
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF LONG LUNCH BREAKS (Part One)
I worked on “No Time” a lot, and always had a very good time. Everyone was very congenial, and like Bobby there were silent bits for me to do as well. Thank heavens without risk to any part of my anatomy! Laurie Siggald played a waitress in the show, and she and Sammy Jackson were sort of an item, but I think it was more a leading man leading lady kind of affection than anything else that brought them together.
One day we were madly shooting trying to finish before everyone went on overtime. Laurie was behind her counter doing her lines and dying on the vine, as she had drunk too much tea. I was working with her, and was tickled every time she looked at me. Finally, she had a few fleeting moments in which to make her way off the set, out of the stage door, and down the road to the ladies room. After completing her task, she had returned via the same route, and back before the camera, ready to resume her role as a calm collected waitress on an Air Force Base. Laurie was standing on her mark completely poised as this well trained ballerina could be, with one, or should I say two hitches. While the camera was rolling and Laurie was doing her close-up, I looked down behind her to notice two sopping wet apron sashes dripping toilet water all over the floor. Lori was so stately and lovely, and she would handle this like the lady she was. But that’s not to say we didn’t roar all the way to my house about her forgetting to lift her sashes in her mad rush.
The duration of the show was short-lived, I believe it was just 26 shows filmed. I guess there was a big advantage to being an extra, for even those shows that were unmercifully canceled by the sponsors, there was always something else being filmed, and more work to look forward to as an extra. Sadly, and I cannot continue without mentioning this, there were very good shows canceled. While some trite ones went along merrily. Oftentimes this was due to the fact that the show was placed in a poor timeslot, or up against a hit production, but enough of this maudlin subject for now.
THE ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGE OF LONG LUNCH BREAKS
The holidays were approaching and it is during this time that works seems to be the heaviest. Perfect timing, I’d say. But it didn’t allow much extra time for Christmas shopping, that was precisely why an extra long lunch hour was greatly appreciated. One extended lunch hour I will never forget, even though I’ve forgotten the name of the darling gal I spent it with at the Broadway Hollywood, once a landmark department store. We were working at Columbia Studios, so it was just a short hop to the Boulevard. We had three hours before we had to report back for work, and long Christmas lists to be completed so the time was not our own. We hurriedly parked and raced into the store. There was a time when it just wasn’t Christmas until I had spent time in the Broadway Hollywood.
So, this proved to be a pleasurable, even though we were slightly under pressure. You see we still wanted to go across the street to the Brown Derby for lunch when we finished our spree. Along with having gifts to buy for so many, we also wanted to shop for holiday dresses for ourselves. With all our rushing about in the intensity to find just the right thing for uncle Willy, mother, dad, Auntie Mame, etc., we neglected to notice a rather strange looking little fellow following us from one floor to another. The store was absolutely madness so he blended into the crowd. After we had pretty well filled our lists and feeling quite good about ourselves, we proceeded to the better dresses department, even though we had pretty well exhausted our funds, and put a strain on our checkbooks. Nonetheless these two undaunted shoppers headed for the cocktail gowns. I have forgotten to mention that our call at the studio this day called for very smart clothes, dressed for a ….
(Continued next month)
