EXPERIENCES OF A HOLLYWOOD EXTRA

CHAPTER 13 - MATLOCK

Closing credits of Matlock.

Poor quality picture with me in background.

"Matlock" was a courtroom drama that starred Andy Griffith as Matlock, and had a good supporting cast and always had excellent guest stars. It had been on the air for a while, usually as a one hour drama. The episode I worked on was a two hour special and was the last "Matlock" to be filmed in Hollywood. Since then, Andy Griffith has moved back home to North Carolina and occasionally films a two hour "Matlock" movie in North Carolina.

I worked on "Matlock" for three days, with the filming being done at Universal Studios. The extras hung out in a corner of the sound stage, not far from where the set was, so we had to be extra quiet, and Jeff, the 2nd AD was constantly reminding us of that. Jeff was a short man whom I remember well, because I worked with him on three shows, including "Matlock", and he seemed to think I had the right look for the scenes I was in. He placed me in the second row of the courtroom for all my scenes, behind the DA's table.

The set for all three days was a courtroom, and I was a courtroom spectator. I had to bring several suits, because several days of courtroom activity were to be shot. There were no trailers are dressing rooms provided for extras to change clothes, so the extras had to improvise or use the large restrooms nearby. I really didn't like using the restrooms, so when I could, I changed in a dark corner of the sound stage, hoping nobody would walk by. One gal had an even more unique way of changing clothes. She changed right out in the open in front of everybody, yet her modesty was preserved perfectly. For example, if she had to change skirts, she would don a pair of slacks under her skirt, remove the skirt, don the second skirt, and remove the slacks. She did it in such a way that even the most voyeuristic of people would never get an eyeful.

When the show aired, I was shown throughout in the background, wearing my various suits depending on the "day". I always was placed in the second row, behind the DA's table, but one or two seats different from one day to the next. One day I sat next to Rene Auberjonois, a guest star on this episode that eventually turned out to be the murderer. He sat quietly between takes, reading a book. Another day, the scene had Matlock himself sitting in the gallery while his daughter, played by Brynn Thayer, was the defense attorney. A model/extra was sitting between Andy Griffith and me. She was from North Carolina and got into a discussion with Andy about North Carolina. He was so engrossed in the conversation that it took some doing for the director to get the next scene started. When the verdict came in and the defendant was found not guilty, another win for Matlock, I was to shake hands with the defendant and congratulate him as he left the courtroom. I did this, but when the episode aired, I was not seen as other people were in the way. The biggest surprise for me in watching this episode of the show was at the end, when the credits were being broadcast. Still pictures of each of the main characters, cut from scenes in the show, were shown. When the deputy DA, played by Julie Sommars, was shown, there I was big as life behind her and over her left shoulder.

Julie Sommars, whose character was also Matlock's love interest as a regular on the show, was one of the nicest people of the actors I've worked with. She was always very pleasant and would say good morning. Even coming to the craft service table with her hair in curlers, she always had a smile and good morning for everyone.

Andy Griffith was an interesting man. He was very impatient in that he hated to shoot a scene more than once. When the director would say, "let's shoot this again", he would say, "Why, what was wrong with that?". I liked that, because it gets boring shooting the same scene over and over again as is often done on feature films. It was obvious that he was the boss, being both executive producer and the star of the show. He also shot longer scenes than usual. He would give a whole summation to the jury during one shot, often going for ten minutes or more of dialog without a break. This contrasts with the shorter scenes usually shot, with less dialog having to be memorized at a time.

At one point, during a break, Andy Griffith and I happened to walk out the door from the sound stage at the same time. I commented on his nearly white pin stripe suit, which was Matlock's trademark suit on the show, worn nearly all the time. He started to explain the history of the use of that suit, how boxes of suits were sent to him and how many he would use during a season. I really enjoyed listening to him as we walked down the alley, but when it came time for me to turn toward the rest room where I was headed, he kept walking toward his trailer and talking. Finally he looked back, and saw that I had turned away and shrugged his shoulders. I felt a little bad that I had turned away while he was talking, but didn't want to follow him to his trailer.

The first time I saw how an actor can turn emotions on and off was on "Matlock". Brynn Thayer, who played Matlock's daughter and a lawyer, had a scene where she blew her top at the judge and went storming out of the courtroom. I was surprised to see how real it looked, yet she relaxed and smiled as soon as the scene was over. I'll give another example of this in Chapter 14, "The Fifth Corner". I gained a new respect for the talent required of an actor during my 2-1/2 years as an extra.

One reason I enjoyed the three days working on "Matlock" was that we never had to work late. Andy Griffith always wanted to be finished by dinnertime, and the only times we had to work even a little bit later was if some filming was being done that didn't require his presence. Also for the first time, I began to run into other extras with whom I had worked before and began to develop some friendships. I was sorry that "Matlock" was leaving and that I wouldn't have another opportunity to work on it.