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My blogs
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Industry | Arts |
| Occupation | Actor, university teacher/MT coordinator, director |
| Location | 2105 Riverwood Ave., Lumberton, NC, United States |
| Introduction | "New York Bound" We moved to New York in August 1973. My friends and I, Ron, Connie, and Kathy (Kate), had rented a U-Haul van to make the journey from Wichita, Kansas to "The Big Apple". We arrived on the 10th. Connie cried some and Ron honked his horn a lot. It was a hot summer and we would sweat a lot while playing Bridge most days sitting around the kitchen table. I had saved up $278 (not really enough even then) to cover all of my expenses for the New York City move. So, when I got to the city it was imperative that I get a job as soon as possible. It took 3 days to get that first job at Gimbels department store on E. 86th St and Lexington Avenue.It was a brand-new building (which is now apartments). It was walking distance from the apartment that we miraculously got on E. 87th St. between York and East End Ave. It was a part-time job, so I brought home about $85 a week after taxes. I only worked 3 nights a week and all day Saturdays. (This, I thought, would allow me more time to pursue my acting career). I was able to do one show, “Bah Humbug” a New Musical that cost me more than I could afford. But I did get a girlfriend. |
| Interests | It was the newest deparment store in Manhattan and on the fashionable upper East Side. Gloria Steinem would frequently shop in the boys department where I worked. My next job was working at the Charles Jordan shoe store at 55th and Fifth Avenue. It was very exclusive, one of a half a dozen stores in the world at the time. My wardrobe was lacking, to say the least. I had black pants, a shirt, two ties and a black velvet jacket that I had been wearing out since my college days-the elbows were wearing thin. It was a little embarrassing, but the manager, who was one of Charles Jordan's mistresses, liked me. My girlfriend at the time, Wendy Malick, had a roommate that got me the job interview. It was a good paying job but we worked strictly on commission so the competition between the sales staff was like nothing I had ever experienced. That dog eat dog competition was never my strong suit. Whoever walked in from 5th Avenue had to be approached by the next sales person on the list. |
| Favorite movies | The name was quickly crossed off by the person following you so, depending on how many sales clerks were available, it could sometimes take an hour before your name showed up again. It was a crapshoot. Celebrity wives like Bianca Jagger and Unis Shriver (I sold her some shoes), would walk in off the street. One day the wife of Israeli prime minister, Rabin, came in and we had to lock the doors and get everyone out- the Secret Service insisted. They did a quick interview with all of the employees. |
| Favorite music | Our top clerk was from Lebanon and so he stayed downstairs in the stockroom while she was there. The French manager waited on her. On one occasion a fairly well-dressed but frumpy woman with very large feet walked in. She didn't look like a great perspective customer (Yes, I like the other dogs, was learning to be jaded and judgmental), but my name was next on the list. She liked me and bought 10 pairs of shoes totaling well over $1000- my biggest sale ever! With my 11% commission I had had a very good day. She asked me to call her Mrs. B. Then she had me ship the shoes to a store called B Altman, a well known department store on at 34th and Fifth Avenue. As It turns out her husband had named the store after her and she was an active administrator there. She would then call me on the phone, ask me to ship a dozen or more shoes to her every week in her size- 12 C. I was starting to make enough money to go out to dinner or for drinks – it was that good taste of New York City life. But, after seven weeks I quit to take my first Actors Equity job. I went from $600 a week to $110 a week.! It was humbling but such a good thing to start touring with a children's production. It was my first break- I was now a low-paid union actor. We toured 9 states from South Dakota to Alabama. Amazingly, when I got home from the tour, I had a commission check from the shoe store waiting for me. It was because of the shoes I had mailed to Mrs. B before I left the job. The check (only my second) was for $800. That was like a fortune to me. I couldn't save any money from the tour especially when I had to send $67.50+ to pay for my rent every month. I shall never forget the feeling from that wonderful unexpected windfall. |