Famous Alumni
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Topic: Famous Alumni
Posted By: dboris
Subject: Famous Alumni
Date Posted: 10/15/08 at 1:08pm
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Some one just posted about one of thier young actresses moving up to a professional company, so that brings us the question, do any of your theatre's have famous alumni.
My theatre's biggest claim to fame was Micheal Landon, who did a show with us back before he became famous, and before he changed his name to Micheal Landon. We also had Laurie Beechman in our production of The Fantasics back in the 70's.
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Replies:
Posted By: TonyDi
Date Posted: 10/15/08 at 2:03pm
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Yeah, the company I worked with for about 18 - 20 years had one in particular who used to always come back just to "touch" where he did a lot of his early work. None other than JIM VARNEY - yep, Ernest P. Worrell. Jim used to come in, in the middle of rehearsals and was always polite enough to ask if he could watch and would occasionally "offer" a suggestion or two. There used to be a place backstage where he apparently scrawled his name and he always used to go back and literally TOUCH it, kind of like having to touch something to validate himself or whatever. But then they remodeled the theater completely inside and it got covered over with insulation (we were at the outside brick for years) and wall covering. He used to breeze in sometimes whenever he was in town - he actually went to Tates Creek High School in Lexington, KY and Univ. of KY and did a lot of his early work here. Then he moved on to bigger things.
He once came into town and dropped by. I was there and he was always VERY friendly and easy to talk to - of course those were the days when he was drinking pretty heavily and into the wacky ta'backy a lot. So he was always pretty mellow. Said he was in town to "buy a DeLorean" - that fancy high priced sports car with the gull-wing doors. Said he just got finished making Disney millions of dollars!! I told him I was sure he got his piece of that action too. He just smiled broadly! Pretty nice guy though. NOT a bad dramatic actor - he could have been but was so pigeon-holed with Ernest - though it made him rich and famous. Sad he died too young - right when he was beginning to be taken seriously. He was a benefactor to the theater for a tidy sum of money when we were fund raising to redo the place. Still laugh at his antics as Ernest though.
TonyDi
------------- "Almost famous" |
Posted By: Spectrum
Date Posted: 10/15/08 at 3:02pm
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For being a rather small community in the heart of Iowa, Marshalltown has its fair share of actors making a name for themselves. Not all were involved with the community theatre, but Marhalltown is the starting place for Jean Seberg (Otto Preminger's Saint Joan, Lilith, The Mouse That Roared, Airport), Mary Beth Hurt (Interiors, The World According to Garp - Jean Seberg was her childhood babysitter!), and Toby Huss (he was Nitro, the whacked out electrician in Down Periscope, Still Breathing, Bedazzled, HBO's Carnivale, Rescue Dawn). Oh, and Jan Eddy (The Villain, Fire Down Below, Seinfeld), who I shared a stage with back in the early '70s. ------------- Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional. |
Posted By: teridtiger
Date Posted: 10/24/08 at 5:21pm
| When I lived in Philadelphia, I worked at a theatre who boasted Grace Kelly as a famous alumni - The Old Academy Players. They even have a picture of her displayed proudly in the lobby. |
Posted By: tristanrobin
Date Posted: 10/25/08 at 4:57pm
| From our organization came Richard Gere, Matt Malloy and Callista Flockhart. |
Posted By: chelserin
Date Posted: 10/26/08 at 1:26pm
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He may not be a household name yet, but I went to school with Cheyenne Jackson who has been in several Broadway shows including playing Elvis in All Shook UP. Also the local community theatre can boast of having Hillary Swank as an Alumni. Her name is even written on the bathroom wall. "Hillary was here". |
Posted By: JoeMc
Date Posted: 10/27/08 at 12:10am
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We don't have 'Alumni' here as such, mainly because a lot who have become house hold names, possibly would be unsure what it means?
I suppose you can count heath Ledger, when he was at Grammar School, up the road. But I can't remember him, he trod the boards fleetingly, as a young bloke. For that matter, I can't understand why all the fuss, to name a new performing arts Complex after him, here in Perth?
on the other hand I suppose there is Rolf Harris, who was taught to paint backdrops, at our Playhouse theatre, years before he became somewhat famous.
There has been heaps of others, who only will become famous, within their own lunch box - like me?  ------------- [western] Gondawandaland "Hear the light & see the sound! TOI TOI CHOOKAS {may you always play to a full house!} |
Posted By: Nanette
Date Posted: 10/27/08 at 7:23am
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None from our theatre ... yet (we're only a couple of years old)! However, a number of folks with whom I attended a performing arts college have made it in their own avenues of the arts. ------------- In a world of margarine, be butter! |
Posted By: jaytee060
Date Posted: 10/27/08 at 6:19pm
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Gavin Creel worked at our CT including directing and starring in a production of COMPANY. ------------- "REMEMBER ME IN LIGHT" |
Posted By: Pamw
Date Posted: 12/31/08 at 4:51pm
Joanne Woodward came frome Greenville Little Theatre in Greenville, SC where I learned my craft. ------------- Pam |
Posted By: John Luzaich
Date Posted: 4/21/09 at 4:01pm
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There are a lot of people from our area that are working in the business, not all famous. We have quite a few in the Twin Cities, Chicago and New York. As far as our area of Iowa, Annabeth Gish was a co-chair of our fund raising campaign in '93-'94. Gary Kroeger appeared in a couple of our shows recently and he was on Saturday Night Live '82-'85. Tom Pardoe directed & choreographed our Pippin two years ago. He appeared at Carnegie Hall, several Broadway shows and teaches at UCLA's musical theatre summer camp. Robert James Waller ("Bridges Over Madison County" author) taught at our college. Nancy Price is theatre patron & contributor and she wrote "Sleeping With the Enemy" (book and made into a movie with Julia Roberts). Mark Nadler is a singer/songwriter & pianist in New york and won several New York MAC Awards. ------------- John cfct@cfu.net http://www.osterregent.org http://www.facebook.com/osterregent |