Theater LIFE D WORDS BY TRAVIS HAIRGROVE AND PHOTOS BY LAURIE WHITE KING
‘ At a theater near him ’
Actor / director Bill Salamon shares passion with others
“ I Salamon says self-effacingly .
don ’ t know what ’ s the matter with me . I ’ ve just always stayed busy ,” Bill
For more than 40 years , Salamon has acted and directed in numerous stage productions . His voice has been heard over the radio , and he has presided over Christmastime festivities as Santa Claus .
Nowadays , he also heads up an improvisational comedy troupe and showcases Hunt County visual and performing artists at the Texan Theater ’ s weekly Hump Day Happy Hour .
Like many people in theater , Salamon was “ bitten by the showbiz bug ” early in life , and before that , he started out as an avid “ people watcher .”
“ When I was growing up in Garland in the ‘ 60s , my parents were in the restaurant business and I worked with them . Those places were always full of drunks and other wild characters ,” Salamon said . “ There was Lonesome Joe , who always sat by himself in the corner , looking half asleep . There was Jim and Daisy Green , who were always drinking their Pearl Beer , and there was the guy I got into a fight with when I was 12 and already working there . I loved it .”
Although the people he encountered through work provided a constant source of inspiration , young Salamon also enjoyed watching impressionists like Frank Gorshin do impersonations of celebrities on variety programs like the Ed Sullivan Show . This led to Salamon amusing himself and his family as he tried his hand at impersonations . This early bit of showmanship eventually culminated into an incident in which he unintentionally drew an audience .
“ We were visiting Six Flags one day , where they had one of those Kodak photo booths . When I was in there , I looked into the camera and started imitating Red Skelton and dancing around the way he did ,” Salamon recollected . “ But , what I didn ’ t realize was that there was a monitor outside the booth that was showing people what I was doing inside .
“ When I stepped out , I got applause from an audience that had formed around the booth , and my dad was laughing and saying , ‘ Son , you had everyone gathered around and laughing .’ It was one of the funniest things ,” Salamon said .
GREENVILE LIFE 20 SUMMER 2022