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Those were my first jobs as an actor, small TV roles. Then I went to California when I was 20. It was only supposed to be for the summer, to meet people and extend my network, but I got some auditions and landed some parts on TV shows that summer.
After that I decided to stay in California taking 6 months off from New York. My agent thought it would be a good idea because I was getting some momentum, so I did, and I stayed in Cali. I landed a couple of more parts, and then a few months after that - I got the part for the pilot of Happy Days. That was the progression of events.
As we know, Happy Days, which you just mentioned is one of the shows a lot of people think of when hearing your name plus it was a very well loved show across many countries. What was it like to be part of such a successful show at such a young age? What do you remember the most from that time?
It was an amazing shift in my world. First getting the pilot, then you wait to see if its going to go on the air, which we found out very quickly. Then we started shooting. So it was happening at an amazing pace and it’s almost like a blur. It was surreal. Like, “is this really happening?”
You never know if the show is going to be a success. At first, you just don’t know, but I felt so good about the cast and the behind the scenes people like our director Jerry Paris, and Executive Producer - Garry Marshall. And especially the chemistry we had as a cast.
I was feeling really really good about the show and I was having a wonderful time creatively, and we all got along very well. Eventually, by the third year we became the number 1 show in the country. Then it went really crazy. It was like being thrown into the twilight zone because your life is turned upside down in many ways.
It was great, but you had to learn to adapt. So many things change. I was only 20 years old when I started on the show, so it was a lot to adapt to. They don’t teach you anything about that in acting class. How to deal with sudden fame and the success of a show, so it was a learning experience. Luckily I had great support with the people in the cast, wonderful people like Ron Howard who grew up in the business. He was a rock steady influence on all of us.
It was a whirlwind, but it was exciting, and what I remember most is the camaraderie and creative collaboration. We were also very serious about the work. We wanted it to be the best it could be. And we worked hard at it. I remember a lot of the sessions that we had, with the writers, the producers and our director, when we were in rehearsals, and trying to solve problems, and making the script better. I loved that.
There were some really great moments from that... some of the behind the scenes - that’s what I remember the most.
You guys were the pioneers of many of the shows that came after. You are a veteran in this industry, what advice do you have for those souls out there who want to become actors? It can be an overwhelming process for many of them or those who have the wrong expectations.
People have asked me this in the past, and the thing that keeps coming back to me is that you have to really love it - so much that you can’t imagine doing anything else. That this is all you’ll ever do. You need to have passion, because it’s so hard - the business itself with the competition. Sometimes talent is not enough. It can be unfair. You have to learn about it, whether by going to class and continuing to work on the craft. If you are not 100% committed then find something else you enjoy.
So true, if you don’t love what you do , it’s going to be a little bit hard for sure.Now let’s talk about some of your first movies/TV Shows. If we start with the 70’s…What do you remember the most from those years and can you share any memorable stories with us?
Well the 70’s… it was 1973 when I went to LA, when I started getting booked on shows…and some of them were dramatic… I did one called “Emergency!” where I played a paraplegic. I was doing quite a bit of drama, but of course "Happy Days" was a comedy, so it was hard to pursue drama after that. So the 70’s were dominated by the pilot of Happy Days in 1973, and then we went on the air in January of 74. I did several other shows when I had time, during the hiatus of the show. I did “Huckleberry Finn” with Ron Howard, and I played Tom Sawyer, then I did a couple of TV movies.. I also started doing some plays in different parts of the country.