After a 32 year career working in various capacities in the computer software industry, I decided to take an early retirement effective November 1, 1991. I knew I couldn't suddenly go from working from 40 to 60 hours a week to nothing, so I wanted some part time work. My career had been stressful at times, and one thing I wanted was part time work that would not be too demanding or stressful. I wanted income to supplement my pension, my wife's salary, and income from investments, but it didn't have to be high paying work. I wanted to be able to meet people and to work with various people. One of my daughters had worked briefly part time as an extra while she was in college. She suggested that being an extra would be ideal for the things I was looking for.
My first job as an extra was in February of 1992 and my final job was in August of 1994, although I haven't completely ruled out working again if the right circumstances come about. I never made a conscious decision to quit. It's just that I developed other interests that consumed my time plus the fact that my favorite casting directors were no longer working in the industry. As time went on, I realized that many months had gone by since I had last worked.
Ever since I began working as an extra, and even more so after I stopped working, people would ask me about what shows I had been on and what the work was like. Often I couldn't remember some of the details off the top of my head. So late in 1995 I decided to try to organize my experiences into the form of a book, and to be able to use that book for reference and to jog my memory. I also knew that eventually I would forget some things, in fact I already have forgotten some. The original purpose of the book, therefore, was to aid me in recalling some of my experiences as a Hollywood extra. I also planned to provide copies of the manuscript for any family or friends that might be interested.
As I got into drafting the manuscript, I began to wonder if there was a market for selling the book. I thought there might be. The general public might have some interest in what it's like to be an extra. I think people who know me may have some interest. Some have already said they would buy the book. Casting directors that I have worked with may find my experiences of interest. And people that I've mentioned in the book may want to see what I've written about them.
Except for directors, actors, and other people who may be well known to the general public, I made a decision not to include last names. I don't know the last names of some of the people I mention, and others I've chosen not to mention to protect their privacy. For example, I knew the last names of casting directors who gave me their business cards, but did not know the last names of others. I knew the last names of some of the extras I worked with, but others I knew only by their first names.
As I read through my manuscript, I get the impression that some parts will be considered boring by some readers, while other parts may be quite interesting. I think this is good, because life as an extra could be quite boring at times and extremely interesting at other times, and this book will provide a flavor of this. So if as you're reading the book, you begin to get bored, bear with me, it gets better.
The first six chapters of the book are primarily for informational purposes. For people that work in the movies and television, these chapters may be nothing new. But for others, they may be useful as background to put the rest of the book in perspective.
The remaining chapters describe the actual experiences that I had during the 2-1/2 years between February of 1992 and August of 1994. I had never taken any notes during this time, because I had no idea that I would be writing a book. So what I have written is completely from memory, and I know there may be some interesting experiences that I've forgotten. To supplement my memory, I've used mileage records that I kept for income tax purposes to jolt my memory as to when and where I worked on various shows. I also have many of the shows I worked on in my videotape collection and have used these for reference.
While describing my experiences, I sometimes mention how well I was seen on the screen when the show aired. I felt somewhat uncomfortable doing this because it may seem egotistical to talk about yourself being seen on the screen. But that is one of the reasons many extras do this work, so they can see themselves, so it is appropriate to discuss this. I also have tried to describe experiences both on and off camera, the interactions I had with other people, things I observed, and impressions I came away with.
I have put together a glossary of some of the terms I use in the book unique to the movie and TV industry. This glossary is not intended to be an absolutely accurate definition of these terms, as one might find in a dictionary. It is only my understanding of the terms and is clearly from the perspective of an extra and one who is not an expert in all aspects of the industry.
The remaining chapters, after the first six, are organized by type of production. Categories include feature films, TV movies, TV Dramas, Sitcoms, and Commercials. Within these categories, they are organized in the order that I worked on the production. For those productions that I worked on several times, the sequence is determined by the first time I worked on the show. I wrote so much about some shows that I decided to put them in separate chapters.
It is my wish that those reading this book enjoy it as much as I did writing it.
This page was last updated on September 14, 2003
