EXPERIENCES OF A HOLLYWOOD EXTRA

CHAPTER 10 - MADE FOR TV MOVIES

Hospital Board Meeting
Scene from "And the Band Played On"
I'm a hospital administrator chairing a meeting.


Jury Scene
Scene from "In the Line of Duty - the Price of Vengeance"
Courtroom Scene with me as a jury member.
This chapter on made for TV movies will include movies made for cable and movies made specifically for video, as well as movies made for commercial TV. I will do my best to identify which were made for commercial TV, which for cable, and which for video. I'm not sure if any of them were made specifically for video, but since there are a few that I'm not sure about, I'll include this category. The made for TV movies I've worked on include the following in chronological order: Made for TV movies generally are made on smaller budgets and tighter schedules than feature films and therefore days are not as long nor scenes shot quite so many times. I enjoyed working on made for TV movies more than feature films but not as much as on TV drama series and sitcoms.
KISS OF A KILLER
"Kiss of a Killer" was a made for TV movie starring Eva Marie Saint and Annette O'Toole. I worked on this show only four or five hours and scenes were filmed in a chapel for a funeral scene and in the hallway of the hospital as a doctor. When the show aired, I was seen singing "Amazing Grace" along with everybody else at the funeral, but my hallway scene was not shown. The scenes were filmed at a closed hospital at Alvarado and Sunset in Los Angeles. I believe the name of the hospital was St. Vincents. It was while working on this movie that I heard other extras discussing the demise of the Screen Extras Guild, which was being absorbed into the Screen Actors Guild. Needless to say, they were unhappy.
STORMY WEATHERS
"Stormy Weathers" starred Cybill Shepherd and the scenes I worked on were shot at the old Herald Examiner building in downtown Los Angeles, the Herald Examiner being a now defunct metropolitan newspaper. I was scheduled to work on it one day, so I called Kathy of Cenex during the day and she cast me on a show for the next day. When I was asked to return for a second day of "Stormy Weathers", I had to decline since I already had work for the next day. When I got home, Kathy had left me a message saying my call for the next day had been cancelled and that I would be paid for two hours work per Cenex policy on cancellations by the production company. I immediately called Star Casting and told them that I had been asked to return to "Stormy Weathers", had declined, and now could work a second day after all. They immediately cast me for the second day.
Scenes in which I participated included crossing scenes inside, which was the inside of a police station and a scene outside where I was walking along the sidewalk and nearly bumped into Cybill Shepherd's character as she was exiting a car and going into the building. I was seen on the inside scenes only from the neck to the knees, in a close-up walking between the principals and the camera. The scene with Cybill Shepherd entering the building picked up a second after I had passed, so I was not seen there.
IN MY DAUGHTER'S NAME
"In My Daughters's Name" used me for only one scene, shot near Mulholland Drive on a cold, clear Saturday night after it had rained most of the day. This was a made for TV movie starring Donna Mills and John Getz. Only two extras were used that night. I was to be a highway patrol officer and the other extra was to be a tow truck driver. We almost had to switch roles because my uniform shirt wouldn't fit me. But since I wore a jacket over it, it turned out not to matter. The scene I was in took place after Donna Mills' character had been in an automobile accident. She and her husband, played by John Getz, were passing by the patrol car as I was writing a report. It was a good role, as I was only about five feet behind the principals. After the scene was shot, I rode from the location of the scene to the location headquarters, about half a mile, with Donna Mills, the other extra, and a couple of crew members. John Getz chose to walk the half mile.
SINATRA
"Sinatra" was a two part made for TV movie, It was a biographical sketch of Frank Sinatra's career from his youth until his comeback in the mid 50's. The day I worked on the show, the scenes were shot at the Long Beach Municipal Airport. We all had badges that allowed us access to parts of the airport and to the runway not accessible to the general public. The first scene I was in was interesting to do. The scene was of Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, and two or three other of Sinatra's people landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York City and exiting the airplane. The actors playing Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, and the others, along with several extras got aboard an airplane like those commercially used in the late '40s. The airplane taxied along the runway and came to a stop, and then we got off. I was filmed going down the stairs from the plane immediately following the Sinatra and Gardner characters. But when the movie aired, the scene ended just before I went out the door.
In the evening another scene was shot of a crowd welcoming Sinatra at another time and place. I was placed inside the airport, so far from the cameras that those of us inside were mere dots in the background. It was memorable though, because the Landers earthquake occurred that night and those of us inside the airport could feel it. Later we found out that those standing by the airplane did not feel the earthquake.
Lunch was served outside an empty hangar at the airport, and I was inadvertently served first, although the extras were supposed to be served last. The AD said that I might as well eat since I already had my food. Later our holding area was an airport cocktail lounge. Of course they weren't serving. When the long day was over all of the extras had to change from their 40's wardrobe back into their own clothes. There were two trailers provided, one for the men and one for the women. The trailers were so crowded that I changed outside in a dark area, because I just wanted to get out of there and go home. The day had been particularly long because I got there an hour early due to a misunderstanding, and being fit with wardrobe and having our hair cut to 40's styles added to an already long day. As is typical in movies, "Sinatra" provided a long day, relatively good pay, but little screen time.
THE SWITCH
"The Switch" was a made for TV movie starring Gary Cole in a biographical dramatization of a man who was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident. This man had access to a "switch" with which he could choose to end his life. The movie was about his going through this moral conflict and finally accepting his condition and making the best of it. I was in a very good scene at the very beginning of the movie. Along with another extra, I was a doctor running through a hospital hallway pulling a gurney onto which Gary Cole's character was strapped with a "halo" or neck brace. At one point Cole asked us to take it easy because the neck brace was tight and it hurt him if we pulled the gurney too roughly. That was one of my better close ups. Other than that, it was a pleasant and relatively short day. The filming was done in an out of service hospital in East Los Angeles.
ELVIS AND THE COLONEL
"Elvis and the Colonel" was the story of Elvis Presley's relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Beau Bridges played Colonel Parker. I was seen briefly in the background of one scene and worked on a couple of others where I was not seen. It was a long day at the CBS Studios in Studio City. At one point, shooting had to be stopped a couple of times because of the noise of airplanes taking off from the nearby Hollywood-Burbank airport. Beau Bridges pretended he was an anti aircraft gunner shooting these planes down. He was quite heavy for this role, and I've seen him since much slimmer. It amazes me how actors can put on weight for a role and be able to subsequently lose it.
I met a couple of interesting people while working on "Elvis and the Colonel" as well as seeing John again, the extra with whom I had worked in "real life" and who subsequently got the speaking role in "Dave", which I mentioned in Chapter 4. Another extra that I visited with briefly looked exactly like actress Susan Lucci, and was very aware of the resemblance and hoped to use it to her advantage. Another extra was the gal I mentioned earlier who was working on her Master's degree in Psychology and was writing her thesis on filmmaking through the eyes of an extra. I have forgotten the name of the actor who played Elvis, but he was a friendly guy. I happened to pass him while leaving at the end of the day, and he told me it had been nice working with me. I thought that was nice of him.
MAJORITY RULES
I worked one day on "Majority Rules", which starred Blair Brown as the first woman President of the United States. I was cast as one of several secret service agents responsible for guarding the president. As such, I was seen looking outward as the president was making a speech and most people were looking at her. It was a good scene and I would have liked to work more in that role. Unfortunately, as I stated in Chapter 3, I was asked to work on it on a Saturday on which I had plans to go to Palm Springs for a surprise 50th birthday party for the wife of a long time friend of mine. Due to these plans, I declined the work. "Majority Rules" was a made for cable movie.
JOYRIDE
"Joyride" was the production name for a TV movie starring Jeff Bridges, Rosie Perez, and Isabella Rossellini (daughter of Ingrid Bergman). The scenes I worked on were at the Northridge Mall (before the Northridge earthquake that put the mall out of service for some time). The scenes were all walking around it the mall so far in the background that I was sure I would never be seen. I never found out under what name the movie was finally released and never saw it. Off camera, we hung out in a holding area that wasn't air conditioned. It was very hot because we wore winter clothing and it was extremely hot outside. I spent some time chatting with a coed from UCLA working as an extra part time. It was particularly hot when we had to go outside to the catering truck for lunch.
NO PARACHUTES
"No Parachutes" was also a production name for a TV movie. Anthony Dennison and Jo Beth Williams were the leads, although Anthony Dennison was the only one there on the day that I worked. I heard no more about this movie after the day I worked and don't know if it was ever released or, if so, under what name. In the morning the scenes were shot inside a coffee shop and I was a patron paying my bill and walking out the door. I walked between the camera and the actors, sitting in a booth. If seen, it would probably be from the neck to the knees. In the afternoon, the scenes were shot in a park adjoining a lake. I was on a blanket sitting with a woman in the background behind where the main action was occurring. It was another typically dull day.
AND THE BAND PLAYED ON
"And the Band Played On" was a made for cable movie and was a docudrama about the fight against AIDS. In the morning I had a prominent seat at a conference table with about five speaking actors and five extras. I sat at the head of the table. The scene was about a debate over whether a vaccine for Hepatitis B should be tested against AIDS and if funding should be provided for such testing. The most prominent actor in the scene was Ken Jenkins, a character actor who had appeared in many movies and whose latest role had been a lead on the TV series "Homefront". The people at the conference table were all cast as physicians and/or hospital administrators. Ken Jenkins' character was the leading proponent for funding the testing with the other actors debating various other positions. At the end of the scene a vote was taken with a show of hands, and the funding was defeated. I was told to raise my hand against the funding.
Although I was cast on this show by Bill Dance Casting, both Kathy and Veronica, my primary casting directors at Cenex, called to say they had seen me on "And the Band Played On" in that scene, with Veronica joking that I had voted the wrong way. The only other time a casting director had called me about having seen me in a scene, was when Kathy called me about "Body of Evidence". It is not uncommon for casting directors to look for people they cast on shows, but it is uncommon for them to call you to tell you they saw you. I was flattered.
Later that day and into the evening I worked on another scene in a different role. This time I was in the audience at a conference where a speaker from France was discussing AIDS. I was mostly seen getting up and walking out at the end of the speech, but it was not seen nearly as prominently as in the earlier scene. It was more typical in that one had to really look to find me.
The main thing I remember about off camera is a nice visit with Ken Jenkins. I had worked with him on the TV drama "Homefront" and found him to be one of the friendly actors I've worked with and a true professional. A very large number of very prominent actors worked on "And the Band Played On" in relatively small roles and at low pay. Like Ken Jenkins told me, they took these parts because they believed in the cause, the fight against AIDS.
SCANNER COP
"Scanner Cop" was a production name for a movie that I worked on, but don't know what became of it. If it was aired, it was under another name, and I believe it was a made for cable show but am not positive. As was "Kiss of a Killer" the scenes were shot at a closed hospital near Alvarado and Sunset in Los Angeles. I believe the hospital was St. Vincents. I remember working in one scene, as a doctor in the hallway of the hospital. One of the principals, as I mentioned earlier, was a gal who had been a regular on the TV show "Hunter", but I don't remember her name. The only excitement off camera were the rampant rumors that there were ghosts on the fourth floor, so of course all the extras had to take the elevator to the fourth floor and look around. Personally, I didn't see any ghosts.
COUPLES
I don't know what became of "Couples", a production name of a movie shot in Griffith Park. The director was Betty Thomas, who had been a regular actor on the TV series "Hill Street Blues" and who had become a successful director. It was a short day, and I was finished shortly after lunch at around 1pm. I remember there were a lot of kids in the scene.
BOBBY AND MARILYN
"Bobby and Marilyn" was a made for cable movie about the supposed relationship between Bobby Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe. The scene I was in was filmed in downtown Los Angeles. It was a nightclub scene where a female singer was performing and we were seated at tables watching her as Bobby Kennedy came in with some friends. Since the scene was to have taken place in the early 60's, the director wanted several people to be smoking. As I don't smoke and don't like being around cigarette smoke, I refused to smoke. They compromised and allowed me to sit with a lit cigarette in an ash tray. Between takes I had to repeatedly extinguish and relight the cigarette. I was filmed at the beginning of the scene with a waitress delivering martinis to my "date" and me. When the movie aired, the woman I was with was shown, but all that could be seen of me was my arm. Off camera it was a rather dull day.
CIA 2
"CIA2" was filmed in the hills near Valencia and my work consisted of one scene in the background during an occurrence in a small rural town. Once again, "CIA2" was a production name, and I don't know whatever became of it. Off camera I managed to slip off of a bridge and soak one shoe in a muddy creek.
LUSH LIFE
"Lush Life" scenes on which I worked were filmed at the Paramount Studios on Melrose in Hollywood. I basically worked in three scenes, two in the daytime and one at night. The first scene was walking down a "New York" street in the background. This is the only scene where I saw myself when the movie was aired. Next I was to drive a New York taxicab down the street, but the cab I had went belly up, so it was removed from the scene. At night I was in another scene walking down the street. Kathy Baker, who was a regular cast member of the TV show "Picket Fences" was in "Lush Life" and was in the scene shot at night. The night scene was shot more than six hours after lunch, so we were fed Subway sandwiches just before shooting it.
COLUMBO
"Columbo" was one of a series of made for TV movies based on the old TV drama series of the same name. It stars Peter Falk in the title role. The scenes on which I worked were shot at a hotel in Woodland Hills, and the guest star was Faye Dunaway. The first scene I worked on was walking down the hallway of the hotel and crossing paths with Faye Dunaway's character, who was walking the other way. The camera was to my back. In the evening there was a bar room scene where several of us extras were in the background, but they removed most of us, partly because Faye Dunaway didn't want people in her eyeline as it distracted her.
At dinner, I sat across the table from Ron Olsen, a local newsman who was in a cameo role as a TV reporter. Another thing that stuck in my mind about that day was an extra that bore an uncanny resemblance to boxer Mike Tyson. He was very much aware of this resemblance and hoped to make use of it some day. In the extra's holding area during the afternoon a representative from SAG came by and distributed a booklet of rules and regulations covering SAG extras. She distributed these only to those extras who were SAG members, so when I asked if she had an extra copy, she said that she couldn't give me one. After she left another extra who had taken a copy of this booklet gave me her copy, saying she already had another copy at home. She said that she took this copy only to give to me, because she thought that it was stupid for the SAG representative not to give me a copy. I used this booklet as a reference in the early chapters of this book.
RIDE WITH THE WIND
I worked on the TV movie "Ride With the Wind" on a SAG voucher. This is because it was a rush call, where I called in during the morning and was sent out as a last minute replacement for a SAG extra. There were only about 15 extras on the call, so every one worked on a SAG voucher. The movie starred Craig T. Nelson, who was on hiatus from his series, "Coach". The scenes were shot in a wing of a VA hospital in Westwood that had been closed. Some of the other buildings in the VA complex were still in use, and some of the veterans were interested in the filming. I was filmed in only two scenes. The first was as a doctor walking down the corridor of the hospital with another extra also dressed as a doctor. I was also filmed walking outside later on, but could not find myself in that scene when I saw the movie.
The other extra in the first scene with me was Bill. Bill is around 40 years old with prematurely white hair, is about 6'-3" tall and the women consider him very good looking. I've worked with him many times, and to this day still see him often in the background of various shows. He apparently is well educated, but determined to become an actor, from what others have told me. Off camera, the day was rather leisurely, and we were well fed at lunch.
PENTHATHLON
"Pentathlon" was the production name of a movie. I don't know to what, if anything, it has been renamed, or what venue it has been or will be shown (e.g. cable, commercial TV, or video). It was about the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and starred David Soul, who had been the Hutch of the TV series "Starsky and Hutch". The scenes I worked on were filmed at Citrus College, a local community college only four miles from my home. This and the fact that I worked at the higher union base rate made this a pleasant two day job for me. This was one of the shows where locals were also recruited for crowd scenes and were not paid, but were given lunch.
The first day was a relatively long day and I worked on basically two scenes. The first was in the stands of the football stadium during track and field events. I don't know if I would be seen at all, but I was somewhat close to where David Soul was sitting. After lunch I was seated on a grassy knoll watching a martial arts match and again don't know if I was seen. Between the higher base and the overtime it was a profitable day.
The next day, which was Saturday, was also pleasant, but for a different reason. After breakfast, extras were placed in the swimming venue, which was indoors and much smaller. Since this was to take place in Tokyo, mostly Asian extras were placed for this scene, and I got to go home after only two or three hours. As always, we were paid a full day's pay even though we were only there briefly.
IN THE LINE OF DUTY - THE PRICE OF VENGEANCE
"In the Line of Duty - The Price of Vengeance" was a made for TV movie based on the true story of the murder of an LAPD detective. Michael Gross starred as the detective who was killed, and Dean Stockwell was his partner. The real life widow of the murdered detective was present on the set during filming. I was a jury member in the murder trial. I was seen in close ups twice, probably the best close ups of me in the 2-1/2 years I worked as an extra.
I worked two days on the movie and off camera it was typically dull. It was interesting working with Dean Stockwell, because as a 13 year old kid in Sioux City Iowa, I had worn a green wig and walked around town with a sandwich board advertising the movie "The Boy with Green Hair", which starred a 13 year old Dean Stockwell. The 2nd AD was named Mike, who may or may not have been the same Mike who had been on "Dave", as I mentioned in Chapter 9. At any rate, he was calm and pleasant on this job.
Months later, my son was on a scuba diving vacation in Belise, Mexico. On his last day there, he was in the bar with friends and the movie was playing on the TV. They weren't paying close attention to the movie, but when my scenes came on, my son said, "that's my Dad!". No one believed him until he showed a wallet sized family picture that he had.
CYBERTRACKER
"Cybertracker" is another one of those movies I worked on which I know very little about. I don't know which venue it was shown on or under what name it was shown. Apparently "Cybertracker" was a production name. The scenes I worked on were shot outdoors at an office building in Woodland Hills on a Saturday. Since I haven't seen the show, I can't say how well I was seen. In one scene I was a member of the press at a press conference. In the other scene I was one of many scrambling away from a shooting. The day was less than eight hours, but it was hot outside, and I was constantly looking for shade.
OUT OF THE DARKNESS
"Out of the Darkness" was a made for TV movie starring singer Diana Ross and was a story about mental illness. It was another short day, beginning at 1PM and ending around 6PM or 7PM, with no meal served. Scenes were shot at the La Brea tarpits in the Wilshire district of Los Angeles, both inside and outside a museum. The only scene I worked on was inside the museum, just walking in the background. I saw the movie and couldn't find myself.
BOUNTY HUNTER
"Bounty Hunter" was a made for TV movie, and the scenes that I worked on were shot at LAX, the Los Angeles International Airport. It was a long day, nearly 12 hours, and many scenes were shot. I remember being in four scenes, none of which were very prominent. One showed a close up of my shoulder and was used to frame the actors who were confronting each other outside the terminal. Others included going through the security gate as a gun was being pulled, standing in line at a ticket counter, and wandering through the terminal. All were very brief. Although the day was long, it was not as boring as some because we were kept pretty busy. I saw the movie on TV, but did not save the tape.
SKATE PROJECT
A movie was made about the incident where figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was assaulted prior to the national championships and Olympics. Tonya Harding was implicated in the conspiracy and her character was the main character in the movie. The production name was "Skate Project", and it subsequently was shown with another name, which I have forgotten. I saw the movie and didn't see myself in it; nevertheless it was a long, interesting and pleasant day.
The ice skating scenes were shot at the Anaheim Pond, which is a fairly new sports arena across the freeway from Anaheim Stadium. It is the home of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks ice hockey team. Alexandra Powers, who had been a regular as an attorney on LA Law, starred as Tonya Harding. The more elaborate skating scenes were shot using stunt doubles who were world class ice skaters and bore a resemblance to the people they were portraying. Of course, these scenes were shot from a distance. For close up skating scenes, Alexandra Powers did her own skating, and I was somewhat surprised at how much at home she seemed on skates. Obviously, she had skated before.
Although I spent much of the day in the stands except for the lunch break, I enjoyed the day because of the superb skating I was watching and the fact that the Anaheim Pond is only 24 miles from where I live. I did have one action, where I threw a bouquet of flowers at the feet of "Nancy Kerrigan", but couldn't see myself when the movie aired.
WHERE ARE MY CHILDREN
"Where Are My Children" was a made for TV movie about a woman whose three children were taken away from her when she was serving a short jail sentence for the unauthorized hitching of a ride on a navy plane. A corrupt judge, crooked adoption agencies, and an incompetent attorney were responsible for her children being sold in a child selling racket. Most of the movie revolved around her efforts to find her children over the next 20 years. Marg Helgenberger played the woman, and Corbin Bernsen played a man who eventually became her husband and was supportive of her efforts. Marg Helgenberger had been a regular on "China Beach" and Corbin Bernsen on "LA Law".
The scenes I worked on were shot inside and outside at the Wilshire Ebell theater in Los Angeles. They were shot on a Saturday and were among the last few times I worked as an extra and the last time I worked on a movie. The first scene I was in was at a banquet where Marg Helgenberger's character was receiving an award for her efforts on behalf of missing children. I was at a table adjacent to where the main characters were and was seen applauding when the film aired.
As often happened, at the end of a long day when I was tired and more or less hiding so as not to have to do any more work, I got my best scenes. The scene was to be shot outside at night and was to show Bernsen's and Helgenberger's characters outside after she had received the award. A man named Jeff was the 2nd AD, with whom I had worked before on "Matlock" and a sitcom called "Getting By" and he always seemed to place me in prominent spots. This time he picked me from a crowd of people, along with a young woman, and we were to begin a scene standing in a foursome with Corbin Bernsen and Marg Helgenberger. While they were setting up the cameras the four of us chatted, and I found the actors to be quite sociable, especially Marg Helgenberger. Marg had simply introduced herself to me by saying, "I'm Marg". She then asked my name and I said "Ryal". Of course people always do a double take when they hear that name, so I had to spell it. She had the "award" she had won, so I handled the prop, which was very realistic looking.
Since I was placed so prominently, I expected I would be seen pretty well, but it turned out I was actually seen better in the inside scene. When the scene was shot, my "date" and I were to turn and walk away from the actors, and the scene began with this, so we were not seen chatting. When I saw the movie, it showed Corbin Bernsen patting my shoulder and Marg Helgenberger waving goodbye as we turned to walk away. As the scene continued, and the actors moved on to their next action, my back was seen briefly walking away. But the scene was fun to work on, and one of the last times I really enjoyed working as an extra.
SUMMARY
One thing about working on either feature films or made for TV movies is that at the time of filming you often don't know if the movie will have the same name when it's released or when it will be shown. That's why, particularly on made for TV movies that I'm not sure when or if some have been released. But I enjoyed working on some of the made for TV movies, especially those with short days.

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