Sunday, January 28, 2007 11:34 PM

DRUM BEAT
Grampa Al Lewis on Getting into Show Business

Well, the first thing you have to know is that you really love to perform, that’s what motivates you, because you have to work very hart to make even a little dent in that Business called Show.  What do I mean, “very hard”? You have to be ready to be criticized again and again, rejected and denied work frequently and often.  You’ll have long hours, sacrifices and probably be away from home a lot. That’s the way it goes if you want to be an actor, a performer.  Therefore, you have to love what you do and eventually learn to love the way you do it.

            You have to work at your craft so that you are proficient, so that you can deliver on demand.  And most of all you have to create a deep pride in yourself, knowing that you are an able performer, so no one can put you down.  The producer and director have lots of problems to solve whey they are putting a show, so the performer is generally at the bottom of their priority list.  You may be the best performer they have seen, but if you’re too tall or too fat or too loud or too something for what they think they want, they won’t hire you.  So your personal well being requires you to understand the nature of the business in addition to how to do your job. 

            It’s very important to get experience and exposure.  Enroll in some good classes where you’ll learn how to act, all the elements of performance so that you can adapt to different media.  Then work everywhere.  When I came up, there were more venues available than there are now. I worked in the circus, vaudeville, summer stock, burlesque, musical theater, Yiddish Theater.  Then I began to work in what is now called Off-Broadway, the small theaters that are sprinkled all around the City. Each one of those experiences taught me something.  I built on those experiences and developed confidence.  At the same time, I was meeting new people, friends who would support each other. I also made a list of producers and directors I’d worked with.  I would contact them and ask them for parts.  That showed them how eager I was, and of course it was flattering to them to know how much I wanted to work with them again! Eventually, I ended up on Broadway and in television and movies.  What most people don’t know is that it took years of hard work and determination. I may have looked like an Overnight Success! But it was a long, hard road.

            Probably the most important thing a person can do is to build what I call “a spine.” What’s a spine? The bony thing down your back that holds you up.  Your spine has to become as flexible as rubber and as strong a stainless steel.  It reflects what you think about yourself.  It tells a director where you get off the bus. You want him to know you ain’t getting’ off the bus, you have what it takes.  You can’t be messed with because you know your craft, you are reliable, and you pull your own wagon.

            I have only one rule about quitting.  I quit when I’m not having fun.  Does that mean I can be moody and temperamental? No.  It means that I will honor my feeling if the people around me are under-handed, vicious or truly mean – that I will not tolerate that.  You see, it’s important to care for that inner kid inside yourself, because that kid is the part of you that is playful, spontaneous and hasn’t been straight-jacketed by society.  That’s a very creative energy in human beings and must be respected. That’s why I have the Quit Rule, to protect the essential little boy in me who brings creativity to my work.

Al "Grandpa" Lewis, famous for his role in the classic early sixties series "The Munsters", also a well known actor, comedian, entertainer, book author and acrobat, and his wife, Ms. Karen Lewis, run an inmate pen-pal program as humantiarians. Grandpa and Karen Lewis are honorary lifetime members of the H.A.D. Organization since October, 2002. Grandpa, with his vast knowledge of life, will be regularly contributing articles on a variety of topics, along with his wife. Grandpa has his own radio show, known as "Al Grandpa Lewis Live", which airs every Saturday from 12:00 noon until 1:30 pm on Radio Station WBAI, 99.5FM. If you are interested in writing to an incarcerated individual, through Grandpa and Karen Lewis's penpal program, please feel free to email us at grandpa@hadofnyc.org with your information.