Special Effects! Reviews! Photos! Movie Clips!
(And a whole lot more!)
And when you're done, don't forget to go to the "Links" page,
and see more interesting related sites!
I sincerely hope you enjoy it!
If you do, please let me know
and go to the "Contact Me" page,
and please write some comments in my Guestbook!
I would really appreciate it!
Thanks!
All photography and video on this site © by
Hiram Jacob Segarra, except where noted.
People visiting this site have commented favorably on the many
photos from various places that I have taken throughout the years.
Therefore, any photographs on this site are available
for sale in any size if so desired; Contact me for details.
The Latest...
I had a fantastic experience working 15 hours on the set of
The Education of Charlie Banks
on Monday, July 24, 2006.
This film was directed by none other than Fred Durst of
Limp Bizkit fame. It was his first time directing a movie,
and he did an amazing job. Everything was flowing very smoothly, and we got a lot done in that time.
Besides talking all day to Fred (who was extremely nice to me and set me up prominently in the scene), I also spent
a lot of time speaking with Jason Ritter (son of the late great
John).
Jason was very down-to-earth. I was very comfortable and relaxed talking to him, and it seemed as if he were a friend
of mine for years. We talked about many things, including his Dad and how his career was going,
including how disappointed we were about the cancellation of Joan of Arcadia
Jason told me I would have made a great "God"!! If you've ever watched the show, you'll know what he was talking about.
It's funny he said that, because I had always wanted to play that part on the show. If you ever saw it, you'll know that
every week there was a different actor playing God, and even several during each episode. His comment made me very happy.
Speaking of Joan,
Chris Marquette is also in the film. It was like a mini-reunion! Finally,
Eva Amurri (daughter of Susan Sarandon) is also in the cast. She was there,
but wasn't in any of the scenes that day. Like Jason and Chris, she was just hanging out.
Anyway, to see some photos
from that day's shoot, click here
I want to let you all know that I now have an Online Photography Portfolio
to help showcase my photography. Many of the photos in it have never been seen before or shown even on this site (although you might recognize a few).
A lot of it came about because for the last few years, I have been taking photos around the city for my wife Carol to use
in this big project she was working on (for those of you who don't know, she has been a Graphic Artist with the NYC Dept. of City Planning for many years).
Over 13 years ago, we both worked together on the New York City Zoning Resolution, which is over 1,000 legal-sized pages
of NYC zoning laws.
This latest project was the Zoning Handbook , which is
a guide to the Zoning Resolution.
Carol designed the cover and did all the text inside, plus all the charts and graphics. She was the leader of the project, and I am
very proud of her (it literally couldn't have been done without her), and I'm very happy that many of my photographs got inserted (I even get a nice credit).
And there was an article in the Sunday New York Times of March 19th
about the Zoning Handbook, and they even mentioned Carol by name! To read the article, click here
They did a great printing job, too.
Plus, anyone in the city can buy this book.
Anyway, I've been very busy building up my professional photography credits. Besides all of my photos in this book, I'm also about to be published in The Tablet.
And of course I've been shooting Baby Showers, Baptisms, Weddings, Parties, etc.
Plus, anyone in the city can buy this book.
To see my Online Photography
Portfolio, click here
I hope you like what you see.
Please leave any comments in my Guestbook
You know I would really appreciate that!
Thanks in advance!
I recently needed help with something, and didn't know what to do about it.
It was something beyond what any person could do for me. I needed a minor miracle.
So I said a novena to St. Rita of Cascia and she answered my prayers. In return, I promised to spread her devotion and the news of her help to me.
To see the prayer that I said to her, click here
To read a biography of St. Rita, click here
To me, St. Rita is like the female version of St. Jude, because they also call her the "saint of the impossible".
There are many amazing miracles attributed to her. Plus, St. Rita's body has never decomposed either, and she's been dead
for 549 years!
And if you want to say the novena to her, you're in luck, because her feast day is May 22nd. So you would start the novena
on May 13th and say it every day until the 22nd.
If you say this prayer, I hope your requests are granted, if it is God's will.
Increasingly through the years, I have more friends and family who have left New York and live
in other parts of the country, not only away from the city but from the climate as well.
And some of them really miss it (you know who you are), so I went out on December 16th and took some typical
Christmas in New York photos.
Everyone knows that there's nothing like Christmas in New York, so I hope you enjoy these shots, especially
those of you who know what it's like firsthand and miss seeing it in person.
(Christmas in a warm climate, walking around
with shorts on? Fuggedaboudit!!)
I would appreciate it if you would let me know how you like it, whether you've either seen it
in person or just in
the media.
Thanks!
Click here to see the photos.
On November 8, 2005 I went into Prospect Park
here in Brooklyn because the leaves were turning
beautiful colors, and I wanted to photograph them before it got too cold and they were all gone.
Prospect Park is a very important place, for those of you who either aren't
from Brooklyn or came to live here and don't
know too much about it.
Considered the greatest of the urban parks designed by Olmsted
and Vaux (they also designed Central Park, the first
landscaped public park in the United States), the 526 acre Prospect Park was started in 1866, seven years after
Central Park
was first opened.
Now that I gave you a little information about this beautiful and very historic park
(for instance, George Washington fought the
Battle of Long Island against the British there;
and yes, technically, Brooklyn
is on
the southwestern tip of Long Island), I'll show you the photos
that I took that day.
To see them, click here
So I said a novena to St. Rita of Cascia and she answered my prayers. In return, I promised to spread her devotion and the news of her help to me.
To read a biography of St. Rita, click here
To me, St. Rita is like the female version of St. Jude, because they also call her the "saint of the impossible". There are many amazing miracles attributed to her. Plus, St. Rita's body has never decomposed either, and she's been dead for 549 years!
And if you want to say the novena to her, you're in luck, because her feast day is May 22nd. So you would start the novena on May 13th and say it every day until the 22nd.
If you say this prayer, I hope your requests are granted, if it is God's will.
Increasingly through the years, I have more friends and family who have left New York and live
in other parts of the country, not only away from the city but from the climate as well.
And some of them really miss it (you know who you are), so I went out on December 16th and took some typical
Christmas in New York photos.
Everyone knows that there's nothing like Christmas in New York, so I hope you enjoy these shots, especially
those of you who know what it's like firsthand and miss seeing it in person.
(Christmas in a warm climate, walking around
with shorts on? Fuggedaboudit!!)
I would appreciate it if you would let me know how you like it, whether you've either seen it
in person or just in
the media.
Thanks!
Click here to see the photos.
On November 8, 2005 I went into Prospect Park
here in Brooklyn because the leaves were turning
beautiful colors, and I wanted to photograph them before it got too cold and they were all gone.
Prospect Park is a very important place, for those of you who either aren't
from Brooklyn or came to live here and don't
know too much about it.
Considered the greatest of the urban parks designed by Olmsted
and Vaux (they also designed Central Park, the first
landscaped public park in the United States), the 526 acre Prospect Park was started in 1866, seven years after
Central Park
was first opened.
Now that I gave you a little information about this beautiful and very historic park
(for instance, George Washington fought the
Battle of Long Island against the British there;
and yes, technically, Brooklyn
is on
the southwestern tip of Long Island), I'll show you the photos
that I took that day.
To see them, click here
Click here to see the photos.
Prospect Park is a very important place, for those of you who either aren't from Brooklyn or came to live here and don't know too much about it.
Considered the greatest of the urban parks designed by Olmsted and Vaux (they also designed Central Park, the first landscaped public park in the United States), the 526 acre Prospect Park was started in 1866, seven years after Central Park was first opened.
Now that I gave you a little information about this beautiful and very historic park (for instance, George Washington fought the Battle of Long Island against the British there; and yes, technically, Brooklyn is on the southwestern tip of Long Island), I'll show you the photos that I took that day.
Fantastic Development!
For the first time, you'll be able to see outtakes, deleted scenes, bloopers and alternate takes
from Rock & Roll
Frankenstein right here on this site!
Each scene has a little blurb to the side explaining what the clip is about, which you can read before clicking on
the photo to view it.
I guess it would help if you'd actually seen the movie already, but I think you would be able to enjoy it even if
you hadn't (then you can get it on Netflix
and you would understand what the clips are about).
I know I usually ask people for comments on various things that I put up on my site, but this time I would REALLY
extra
appreciate any feedback you might have about these clips, which you can leave on my Guestbook
Thanks in advance!
Disclaimer:
Caution - I must warn you that some clips feature strong language (a few curse words), and if you are a youngster and shouldn't
be hearing those things, then I would advise you not to view them (I don't want to get in trouble with your parents!).
That being said, adults can now proceed
to view the clips by clicking here
to view the clips by clicking here
Enjoy!
I want to tell you about my friend &
fellow thespian Kristal Hart.
I first worked with her over 11 years ago (on an
episode of Law & Order), and on other various projects through the years. Early last Spring we worked on a new
Lindsay Lohan movie called Just My Luck.
Anyway, I wanted to inform you that she hosts a half hour interview / entertainment news program called the
Kristal Hart Show which highlights
celebrities and high profile personalities from movies, television, the world of sports, music and
the political arena.
The series takes an intimate look at their world through in-depth feature stories.
The show is broadcast throughout New York's Boroughs, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio and Los Angeles.
For more info, e-mail Kristal by clicking here
To see her site, click here or on the show's highlighted
title a few lines up.
To view Kristal's photo, click here
To see her acting resume, click here
Did you ever wonder how I would look with shorter hair? Well, wonder no more!
I worked on a Steven Spielberg film called Munich
on Sunday, September 25, 2005. It's about the tragedy at
the 1972 Olympics and focuses on a Mossad agent who's tracking down the terrorists.
Anyway, I was a driver in the film. They gave me a vintage Buick Le Sabre
to drive (circa 1970), and they put a
short wig on me because they thought my hair was too "distracting".
To see a couple of photos of me
in that short wig, click here
Earlier on this site, you might have seen the entry for last September of 2004, when Carol and I
went to
Spain & Portugal for our 10th wedding anniversary.
This year for our 11th, we didn't go to Europe,
but we went to the other place we love to go -
Montauk!
Again, we stayed at the Montauk Manor, which is the only place we'll stay in when we go out there. We used to go to
other places, but it's been about 10 years straight that we've only been staying there.
It was a little hot for this time of year, but we still had a great time.
We also went to the Montauket for dinner and we always stay to watch the sunset there, as lots of local people do.
They say that they have the best place in which to watch it set.
I would have to agree!
So I put together a few photos, and you can see
them (including the sunset ones) by clicking here
And I hope you like them!
This past September 11th was the fourth anniversary of the horrible tragedy that hit New York
in 2001 (which I covered earlier in these Current Events pages).
To commemorate the event, the city put on those blue memorial lights that shoot straight up into the sky,
for one night only.
It's been a while since they've done it, and I didn't want to wait another year for them to (possibly) do it again,
so we went downtown
to the Brooklyn Promenade to take some photos of those lights.
We could actually see the lights from our block at home, but we wanted to take pictures of it coming from its source.
Needless to say, I wasn't the only one there doing that.
And someone even made up a shrine with flowers, candles, and even an interesting note.
To see these things,
please click here
One of the many great things about being from Brooklyn is that I can very easily go to
Yankee Stadium to see the Bronx Bombers. In fact, I've been doing it since I was a kid.
We last went to a game on August 11, 2005 (of course I took my camera).
It was a great game, and I'm happy to report that we won!
I realize that some Yankee fans might not live close enough that they can just go to the Stadium whenever they want
to see a game (I know a few), so these pictures will really come in handy for those individuals.
To see the photos I took, click here
On August 6, 2005 we went to Emmons Avenue to shoot some photography, and while we were there, we
also went to the best seafood restaurant:
Randazzo's Clam Bar -- The Pride of Sheepshead Bay.
In fact, we make it a point to always go there to eat when we're in the neighborhood, like when we go clothes shopping
at Loehmann's
right across the street. It's like a ritual with us.
I suppose lots of other native Brooklynites do the same thing, because we see them whenever we go!
And owner Paul Randazzo is always there talking to the customers, making sure
that everything's alright and that everyone is enjoying themselves.
To see some photos from Randazzo's, click here
I hope you enjoy the photos, and that you have a chance to visit them sometime when you're in
the neighborhood.
I'll include the contact information for Randazzo's on the above link.
On July 30, 2005 we went upstate to Clarksville
to visit our dear friends Joanne & Russell
(and no, I already checked; there isn't any last train going there).
What a beautiful part of New York State -- It's amazing.
While we were there, they took us to Lake George.
We'd never been there before, and it was incredible.
And the most amazing part of the trip was seeing hummingbirds in their back yard!
I'd never seen a real live hummingbird before, so I had my camera working overtime to get some nice shots and even
a video clip. I'm sure you want to get to it, so here are:
Photos of Lake George here
Hummingbird photos and video here
I hope you like what you see.
As always, please feel free to comment.
You know I love that!
Thanks!
We spent our 4th of JULY
Holiday at Breezy Point
this year with family and friends.
Actually, we were there on the 3rd of July; we planned to have a quiet 4th at home.
Anyway, a good time was had by all, and there were fireworks later on at night by the bay.
There was tons of food, music, dancing and lots of laughs at Roy & Doreen's house.
To see a clip of the fireworks, click here
So we sat there in the car, listening to the radio and watching some more fireworks, this time from the road instead
of on the roof like the first time above.
See if you can hear what song is playing on the radio
as you hear this short clip; it's very appropriate!
Click here to see it
And to see some nice photos, click here
I hope you enjoyed seeing and hearing everything.
Thanks for taking the time!
On June 30, 2005 I worked on a film called
Lucky Number Slevin which stars Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Lucy Liu and Bruce Willis, among others.
I actually heard that it was filming months ago in Canada, but I wasn't sure that it would film here in New York,
so I was surprised when I was called to work on it. I thought it was done.
Anyway, I was part of a Hasidic "mob" that was
fighting a black gang, as they explained it to us.
We Hasids were standing at an intersection in Manhattan, on the four corners, with big guns under our coats,
looking at the rooftops for snipers.
The strange thing was, they didn't lock down the set like they usually do (to keep real pedestrians out of
the scene), so people kept passing by us as we were doing our thing.
I had to alternately hide and then flash my weapon as I scanned the rooftops.
So people passing by saw the big automatic weapon peeking out of my coat, and one or more of them called the cops, and in a matter of
minutes, three cop cars pulled up behind me.
So I started walking towards the police car to explain the situation, and the officer yells out
"Stay right
where you are! Don't move any closer!!"
Holy Crap! I could have been shot!
Thank God we had a real cop on the set, and he went out to the car and explained that we were only
making a movie!
I had a great time also because I was working with my good friend, fellow actor Alan (Now THAT'S a ponytail!) Gary on the set.
You can also see Alan in the new movie War of The Worlds starring recently wacky Tom Cruise.
I haven't seen it yet, but I'll do that soon.
Anyway, we had a fantastic time, and there's a
photo that will be coming up soon for you to see.
Stay tuned!
I worked on Law & Order: Criminal Intent
again on June 1, 2005.
The different thing about this time is that the set was so close to where I live! In my whole acting career,
that's never happened to me before.
But it sure was great!
In this episode, I played Vic Dunne
-- a patient at a methadone clinic, which they set up at nearby Caledonia Hospital here in Brooklyn.
The episode starred which starred Annabella Sciorra & Chris Noth.
You might remember that I worked with Annabella before on the WABC-TV show Wonderland,
where I played the homeless character; click here to see a photo from it.
In this new show, they call names of patients to come up and get their methadone. The pharmacist calls out
"Vic Dunne"
-- then you see me come up, sign a ledger book, take my methadone (in reality, it was orange
gatorade!), I give my goodbyes and walk away.
It was short, but sweet!
Also, if you want to see a sample of
the script from that day, click here
I hope you see it!
If you do, let me know what you think.
Thanks!
On May 7, 2005, our good friends Tom & Sherry Nelson came to visit us while they
were here in New York
(they live in Alaska).
So we did typical New York things, like we took them to
DiFara's Pizzeria here in Brooklyn, the
BEST pizza in the city.
Then we went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
I also took some nice photos while we were there.
To see the shots, click here
Hope you like them!
Our neighbor Putnam Smith has been appearing as Billy Gashade in the Metropolitan Playhouse production of E. B. Ginty's Missouri Legend for the last five weeks, and we went to see him perform on April 1, 2005.
It was a great show, very well acted with a lot of good, old-time foot stompin' music.
Putnam is also an accomplished musician,
and he even played on his grandfather's banjo!
To see some shots & a video clip
or two from the show, click here
On Monday, March 22, 2005 I had the great privilege of getting together with a dear childhood friend of mine, Helen Simonetti. We grew up together in in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
I knew it had been a long time since I'd seen her, but according to Helen's memory, we haven't seen each other since the great NYC Blackout of 1977!
In any case, it's been way too long, so you can imagine how happy I was to see her again!
We took two photos together, one with flash,
and one without flash — see them both here
I worked on the movie version of the Broadway show Rent on March 17, 2005.
We were there for a long time, and I got to meet people like director Chris Columbus, lead actor Adam Pascal, plus celebrities who passed by, like Stevie Van Zandt. Even Radioman came by and got on the set.
I also ran into some actors who I've worked with before (Hey Rory!) and met some great new ones. (Hello Noah!)
I brought my camera, and of course
I took some shots that night.
Let's get to it then — click here
I hope you enjoy it.
By the way, you'll notice that
I'm now clean-shaven again!
On March 7, 2005, I worked on a new pilot for NBC TV called New York 70
From what I was told on the set, it's based on the famous French Connection story; in fact, one of the creators is Sonny Grosso (nicknamed Cloudy), who was one of the original New York City cops on that case (his character was played by Roy Scheider in the movie).
His real-life partner in the Narcotics Bureau at the time was Eddie Egan (nicknamed Popeye), who's character was played by Gene Hackman.
As far as this TV show is concerned, I heard that that Donnie Wahlberg is one of the stars of this version.
I played a hippie in the pilot (no big surprise, huh?)
We shot it on West 137th Street up in Harlem. The whole block had only old 1970's cars parked on it — It was as if we went back in time, like a good old 70's flashback!
Anyway, I took a couple of shots,
which you can see by clicking here
Hope you enjoy them!
By now you've probably heard about "The Gates" in Central Park, the project by artist Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude. Over a million people came into the city just to see it, and I'm talking lots of tourists, not just native New Yorkers like me.
Well, since this is our hometown, we figured that we would go up and see what all the fuss was about. By the way, they went up February 12th and are coming down on the 28th.
Luckily, our friend Annie lives right across the street from Central Park and said that we could go up on her roof to get a good view, so we went up there on Sunday, February 20, 2004 (and of course I took my camera).
We were 15 stories up and there really was a great view.
So click here and look at some photos already!
Of course I would appreciate some feedback,
if you have a chance.
Thanks!
Some Gate Facts:
Number of Gates - 7,500
Height of Gates - 16 feet tall
Width of Gates - From 5 feet 6 inches to 18 feet (depending on width of walkway)
Spacing of Gates - 12 foot intervals
Total Area - 23 miles of Central Park
And, amazingly (according to the NY Daily News), they had
the idea for this exhibition since 1979,
but didn't get permission
until Mayor Bloomberg took office!
For more information, go to the official website here
Good News!
If you remember, when the Hebrew Hammer film was released, I was pretty depressed because they cut out my scene at the Golden Menorah (in reality, the Cotton Club in Harlem).
However, I just bought the DVD, and I'm happy to announce that I am in the "Deleted Scenes" section (hey, at least they put it somewhere!)
You'll see me in scene # 6 of the deleted scene catagory.
The scene starts out with a street shot of the Golden Menorah and you see two hasidic Jews walking in the street towards the door (I'm the one on the right, the Jew with the longer coat and the big payess bouncing around).
It's hard to recognize me because we were pretty far away, but I did that scene with my friend Josh, the Jew on the left.
The camera then cuts to Adam Goldberg (the Hebrew Hammer) coming inside the Golden Menorah with "Esther" (actress Judy Greer), and you'll see a Hasid announce "Zaydes and Gentlemen, the Hebrew Hammer!"
Right away, you'll see all the Hasids on the dance floor cheering — I'm the Jew that's dead center of the screen who raises his fist up in the air.
Then you'll see me various times throughout that scene. For instance, when a gay hasid asks the Hebrew Hammer if he wants to dance, Adam asks how does he know him, and the hasid replies "we have mutual friends", the camera cuts to the circle of Jews dancing the hora, I'm the one at the bottom center of your screen (you see my big, black hat), and then you see me turn to the right as the circle is moving, gradually seeing my face.
Finally, as Adam Goldberg is explaining that he can't because he has a bris to go to, watch for the hasid who's sitting behind him on the left at the table. It's me again.
Through the magic of editing, you see me dancing and then you see me sitting at the table in the same scene, a few seconds later!
Anyway, it's been a long wait, but I'm glad that it's finally out so that you can see it.
If you do buy it, rent it either by video store or order it on Netflix and you see me, please drop me a line in my Guestbook and let me know what you thought of it. It's a hilarious movie!
P.S. -- To see a photo of me with Adam Goldberg, click here
Beginning January 2005, the Rock & Roll Frankenstein DVD is now available on Netflix for all of you who subscribe to that service.
Director Brian O'Hara tells me that there is also a reviews page where you can write your own review of the movie after seeing it. I believe there are two up there for you to read now.
I can't see it because I'm not a subscriber (yet), but if any of you are and happen to go up there and see one (or write a review of your own), I'd like to know about it.
Remember that if you go looking for it there,
write it Rock & Roll instead of Rock 'n' Roll.
Thanks!
On January 9, 2005 we got together with our dear friend Joanie and her niece Celeste for brunch in Park Slope.
Our schedules were so hectic over the holidays, plus we were unable to get together with Joanie for Carol's birthday last month (look 2 entries below this story to see how we celebrated it), so we took care of both at the same time.
To see photos and a short video clip from this day, click here
Sad news:
On Tuesday night, December 28, 2004, my pal Jerry Orbach from Law & Order passed away.
Jerry died from prostate cancer.
I knew for a little while that he had it, but I also heard the prognosis that he was expected to recover. Jerry had been getting treatments at Sloane-Kettering in Manhattan. The news came as a shock to everyone.
Jerry was the nicest guy you would ever want to meet, and he always had a kind word and a smile. He also never neglected his fans. He would stop whatever he was doing to say hello, shake hands and take photos. And very sincerely, never nasty.
Olev HaSholem, Jerry.
We loved you & we're going to miss you.
To see photos of Jerry and I on the set, click here
Friday, December 17, 2004 was an important day for us because, not only was it my wife Carol's birthday, but our dear friend Kerry came up from Florida just for the occasion!
We met another very close friend there also, Annie (who you might have heard of from my site; I took her daughter Reade to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a month and a half ago; see separate story three entries below this one).
We went to the world-famous Rainbow Room
to celebrate — Fancy Schmancy!
I figured that I would treat all of the girls, since Annie's birthday was also coming up the following week, and Kerry's a little more than a week after that. We had the best time!
Knowing me, of course I had my camera; I took shots of Manhattan from 65 floors up, and we also walked right down the block to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
To see these photos, click here
On December 6, 2004, I registered with NY Casting Network, which has just opened here in the city recently. It is New York's version of the system that has been in use in Los Angeles for the last couple of years.
They say it's the number one online submission website used out in L.A., and that it's accessed every day by all the big casting directors & agents on the West Coast to post jobs and to search for talent. I'm hoping that it has the same effect here in NY.
I also have the capability to submit myself for current projects and send my photos & resume to anyone anywhere.
I would like for you to please test out
this link and see how it works for you.
Click on the link to see my page, right here
Thanks for checking it out!
If there are any problems, please let me know.
There are some changes I wanted to inform you of.
You might remember reading about Writer/Journalist/Broadcaster Michael J. Simpson from England, who attended the Fangoria Convention here in New York City a few years ago when I was one of the guest celebrities at the show — you can look at the list here
Mike is currently working on an authorized biography of Elsa Lanchester – The Bride of Frankenstein herself!
Well, he has a terrific review of Rock 'n' Roll Frankenstein up on his site, and he was also nice enough to request an interview with me, which I gladly did, of course.
Mike recently redesigned his site, so the old links I had to those pages don't exist any more.
Here are the new links:
To read his great review of the movie, click here
To read the interview with me, click here
I hope you read those new pages.
Let me know if you like it.
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!
To view Kristal's photo, click here
To see her acting resume, click here
I worked on a Steven Spielberg film called Munich on Sunday, September 25, 2005. It's about the tragedy at the 1972 Olympics and focuses on a Mossad agent who's tracking down the terrorists.
Anyway, I was a driver in the film. They gave me a vintage Buick Le Sabre to drive (circa 1970), and they put a short wig on me because they thought my hair was too "distracting".
in that short wig, click here
Earlier on this site, you might have seen the entry for last September of 2004, when Carol and I
went to
Spain & Portugal for our 10th wedding anniversary.
This year for our 11th, we didn't go to Europe,
but we went to the other place we love to go -
but we went to the other place we love to go -
Montauk!
Again, we stayed at the Montauk Manor, which is the only place we'll stay in when we go out there. We used to go to
other places, but it's been about 10 years straight that we've only been staying there.
It was a little hot for this time of year, but we still had a great time.
We also went to the Montauket for dinner and we always stay to watch the sunset there, as lots of local people do.
They say that they have the best place in which to watch it set.
I would have to agree!
So I put together a few photos, and you can see
them (including the sunset ones) by clicking here
And I hope you like them!
This past September 11th was the fourth anniversary of the horrible tragedy that hit New York
in 2001 (which I covered earlier in these Current Events pages).
To commemorate the event, the city put on those blue memorial lights that shoot straight up into the sky,
for one night only.
It's been a while since they've done it, and I didn't want to wait another year for them to (possibly) do it again,
so we went downtown
to the Brooklyn Promenade to take some photos of those lights.
We could actually see the lights from our block at home, but we wanted to take pictures of it coming from its source.
Needless to say, I wasn't the only one there doing that.
And someone even made up a shrine with flowers, candles, and even an interesting note.
To see these things,
please click here
One of the many great things about being from Brooklyn is that I can very easily go to
Yankee Stadium to see the Bronx Bombers. In fact, I've been doing it since I was a kid.
We last went to a game on August 11, 2005 (of course I took my camera).
It was a great game, and I'm happy to report that we won!
I realize that some Yankee fans might not live close enough that they can just go to the Stadium whenever they want
to see a game (I know a few), so these pictures will really come in handy for those individuals.
To see the photos I took, click here
On August 6, 2005 we went to Emmons Avenue to shoot some photography, and while we were there, we
also went to the best seafood restaurant:
Randazzo's Clam Bar -- The Pride of Sheepshead Bay.
In fact, we make it a point to always go there to eat when we're in the neighborhood, like when we go clothes shopping
at Loehmann's
right across the street. It's like a ritual with us.
I suppose lots of other native Brooklynites do the same thing, because we see them whenever we go!
And owner Paul Randazzo is always there talking to the customers, making sure
that everything's alright and that everyone is enjoying themselves.
To see some photos from Randazzo's, click here
I hope you enjoy the photos, and that you have a chance to visit them sometime when you're in
the neighborhood.
I'll include the contact information for Randazzo's on the above link.
On July 30, 2005 we went upstate to Clarksville
to visit our dear friends Joanne & Russell
(and no, I already checked; there isn't any last train going there).
What a beautiful part of New York State -- It's amazing.
While we were there, they took us to Lake George.
We'd never been there before, and it was incredible.
And the most amazing part of the trip was seeing hummingbirds in their back yard!
I'd never seen a real live hummingbird before, so I had my camera working overtime to get some nice shots and even
a video clip. I'm sure you want to get to it, so here are:
Photos of Lake George here
Hummingbird photos and video here
I hope you like what you see.
As always, please feel free to comment.
You know I love that!
Thanks!
We spent our 4th of JULY
Holiday at Breezy Point
this year with family and friends.
Actually, we were there on the 3rd of July; we planned to have a quiet 4th at home.
Anyway, a good time was had by all, and there were fireworks later on at night by the bay.
There was tons of food, music, dancing and lots of laughs at Roy & Doreen's house.
To see a clip of the fireworks, click here
So we sat there in the car, listening to the radio and watching some more fireworks, this time from the road instead
of on the roof like the first time above.
See if you can hear what song is playing on the radio
as you hear this short clip; it's very appropriate!
Click here to see it
And to see some nice photos, click here
I hope you enjoyed seeing and hearing everything.
Thanks for taking the time!
On June 30, 2005 I worked on a film called
Lucky Number Slevin which stars Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Lucy Liu and Bruce Willis, among others.
I actually heard that it was filming months ago in Canada, but I wasn't sure that it would film here in New York,
so I was surprised when I was called to work on it. I thought it was done.
Anyway, I was part of a Hasidic "mob" that was
fighting a black gang, as they explained it to us.
We Hasids were standing at an intersection in Manhattan, on the four corners, with big guns under our coats,
looking at the rooftops for snipers.
The strange thing was, they didn't lock down the set like they usually do (to keep real pedestrians out of
the scene), so people kept passing by us as we were doing our thing.
I had to alternately hide and then flash my weapon as I scanned the rooftops.
So people passing by saw the big automatic weapon peeking out of my coat, and one or more of them called the cops, and in a matter of
minutes, three cop cars pulled up behind me.
So I started walking towards the police car to explain the situation, and the officer yells out
"Stay right
where you are! Don't move any closer!!"
Holy Crap! I could have been shot!
Thank God we had a real cop on the set, and he went out to the car and explained that we were only
making a movie!
I had a great time also because I was working with my good friend, fellow actor Alan (Now THAT'S a ponytail!) Gary on the set.
You can also see Alan in the new movie War of The Worlds starring recently wacky Tom Cruise.
I haven't seen it yet, but I'll do that soon.
Anyway, we had a fantastic time, and there's a
photo that will be coming up soon for you to see.
Stay tuned!
I worked on Law & Order: Criminal Intent
again on June 1, 2005.
The different thing about this time is that the set was so close to where I live! In my whole acting career,
that's never happened to me before.
But it sure was great!
In this episode, I played Vic Dunne
-- a patient at a methadone clinic, which they set up at nearby Caledonia Hospital here in Brooklyn.
The episode starred which starred Annabella Sciorra & Chris Noth.
You might remember that I worked with Annabella before on the WABC-TV show Wonderland,
where I played the homeless character; click here to see a photo from it.
In this new show, they call names of patients to come up and get their methadone. The pharmacist calls out
"Vic Dunne"
-- then you see me come up, sign a ledger book, take my methadone (in reality, it was orange
gatorade!), I give my goodbyes and walk away.
It was short, but sweet!
Also, if you want to see a sample of
the script from that day, click here
I hope you see it!
If you do, let me know what you think.
Thanks!
On May 7, 2005, our good friends Tom & Sherry Nelson came to visit us while they
were here in New York
(they live in Alaska).
So we did typical New York things, like we took them to
DiFara's Pizzeria here in Brooklyn, the
BEST pizza in the city.
Then we went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
I also took some nice photos while we were there.
To see the shots, click here
Hope you like them!
Our neighbor Putnam Smith has been appearing as Billy Gashade in the Metropolitan Playhouse production of E. B. Ginty's Missouri Legend for the last five weeks, and we went to see him perform on April 1, 2005.
It was a great show, very well acted with a lot of good, old-time foot stompin' music.
Putnam is also an accomplished musician,
and he even played on his grandfather's banjo!
To see some shots & a video clip
or two from the show, click here
On Monday, March 22, 2005 I had the great privilege of getting together with a dear childhood friend of mine, Helen Simonetti. We grew up together in in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
I knew it had been a long time since I'd seen her, but according to Helen's memory, we haven't seen each other since the great NYC Blackout of 1977!
In any case, it's been way too long, so you can imagine how happy I was to see her again!
We took two photos together, one with flash,
and one without flash — see them both here
I worked on the movie version of the Broadway show Rent on March 17, 2005.
We were there for a long time, and I got to meet people like director Chris Columbus, lead actor Adam Pascal, plus celebrities who passed by, like Stevie Van Zandt. Even Radioman came by and got on the set.
I also ran into some actors who I've worked with before (Hey Rory!) and met some great new ones. (Hello Noah!)
I brought my camera, and of course
I took some shots that night.
Let's get to it then — click here
I hope you enjoy it.
By the way, you'll notice that
I'm now clean-shaven again!
On March 7, 2005, I worked on a new pilot for NBC TV called New York 70
From what I was told on the set, it's based on the famous French Connection story; in fact, one of the creators is Sonny Grosso (nicknamed Cloudy), who was one of the original New York City cops on that case (his character was played by Roy Scheider in the movie).
His real-life partner in the Narcotics Bureau at the time was Eddie Egan (nicknamed Popeye), who's character was played by Gene Hackman.
As far as this TV show is concerned, I heard that that Donnie Wahlberg is one of the stars of this version.
I played a hippie in the pilot (no big surprise, huh?)
We shot it on West 137th Street up in Harlem. The whole block had only old 1970's cars parked on it — It was as if we went back in time, like a good old 70's flashback!
Anyway, I took a couple of shots,
which you can see by clicking here
Hope you enjoy them!
By now you've probably heard about "The Gates" in Central Park, the project by artist Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude. Over a million people came into the city just to see it, and I'm talking lots of tourists, not just native New Yorkers like me.
Well, since this is our hometown, we figured that we would go up and see what all the fuss was about. By the way, they went up February 12th and are coming down on the 28th.
Luckily, our friend Annie lives right across the street from Central Park and said that we could go up on her roof to get a good view, so we went up there on Sunday, February 20, 2004 (and of course I took my camera).
We were 15 stories up and there really was a great view.
So click here and look at some photos already!
Of course I would appreciate some feedback,
if you have a chance.
Thanks!
Some Gate Facts:
Number of Gates - 7,500
Height of Gates - 16 feet tall
Width of Gates - From 5 feet 6 inches to 18 feet (depending on width of walkway)
Spacing of Gates - 12 foot intervals
Total Area - 23 miles of Central Park
And, amazingly (according to the NY Daily News), they had
the idea for this exhibition since 1979,
but didn't get permission
until Mayor Bloomberg took office!
For more information, go to the official website here
Good News!
If you remember, when the Hebrew Hammer film was released, I was pretty depressed because they cut out my scene at the Golden Menorah (in reality, the Cotton Club in Harlem).
However, I just bought the DVD, and I'm happy to announce that I am in the "Deleted Scenes" section (hey, at least they put it somewhere!)
You'll see me in scene # 6 of the deleted scene catagory.
The scene starts out with a street shot of the Golden Menorah and you see two hasidic Jews walking in the street towards the door (I'm the one on the right, the Jew with the longer coat and the big payess bouncing around).
It's hard to recognize me because we were pretty far away, but I did that scene with my friend Josh, the Jew on the left.
The camera then cuts to Adam Goldberg (the Hebrew Hammer) coming inside the Golden Menorah with "Esther" (actress Judy Greer), and you'll see a Hasid announce "Zaydes and Gentlemen, the Hebrew Hammer!"
Right away, you'll see all the Hasids on the dance floor cheering — I'm the Jew that's dead center of the screen who raises his fist up in the air.
Then you'll see me various times throughout that scene. For instance, when a gay hasid asks the Hebrew Hammer if he wants to dance, Adam asks how does he know him, and the hasid replies "we have mutual friends", the camera cuts to the circle of Jews dancing the hora, I'm the one at the bottom center of your screen (you see my big, black hat), and then you see me turn to the right as the circle is moving, gradually seeing my face.
Finally, as Adam Goldberg is explaining that he can't because he has a bris to go to, watch for the hasid who's sitting behind him on the left at the table. It's me again.
Through the magic of editing, you see me dancing and then you see me sitting at the table in the same scene, a few seconds later!
Anyway, it's been a long wait, but I'm glad that it's finally out so that you can see it.
If you do buy it, rent it either by video store or order it on Netflix and you see me, please drop me a line in my Guestbook and let me know what you thought of it. It's a hilarious movie!
P.S. -- To see a photo of me with Adam Goldberg, click here
Beginning January 2005, the Rock & Roll Frankenstein DVD is now available on Netflix for all of you who subscribe to that service.
Director Brian O'Hara tells me that there is also a reviews page where you can write your own review of the movie after seeing it. I believe there are two up there for you to read now.
I can't see it because I'm not a subscriber (yet), but if any of you are and happen to go up there and see one (or write a review of your own), I'd like to know about it.
Remember that if you go looking for it there,
write it Rock & Roll instead of Rock 'n' Roll.
Thanks!
On January 9, 2005 we got together with our dear friend Joanie and her niece Celeste for brunch in Park Slope.
Our schedules were so hectic over the holidays, plus we were unable to get together with Joanie for Carol's birthday last month (look 2 entries below this story to see how we celebrated it), so we took care of both at the same time.
To see photos and a short video clip from this day, click here
Sad news:
On Tuesday night, December 28, 2004, my pal Jerry Orbach from Law & Order passed away.
Jerry died from prostate cancer.
I knew for a little while that he had it, but I also heard the prognosis that he was expected to recover. Jerry had been getting treatments at Sloane-Kettering in Manhattan. The news came as a shock to everyone.
Jerry was the nicest guy you would ever want to meet, and he always had a kind word and a smile. He also never neglected his fans. He would stop whatever he was doing to say hello, shake hands and take photos. And very sincerely, never nasty.
Olev HaSholem, Jerry.
We loved you & we're going to miss you.
To see photos of Jerry and I on the set, click here
Friday, December 17, 2004 was an important day for us because, not only was it my wife Carol's birthday, but our dear friend Kerry came up from Florida just for the occasion!
We met another very close friend there also, Annie (who you might have heard of from my site; I took her daughter Reade to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a month and a half ago; see separate story three entries below this one).
We went to the world-famous Rainbow Room
to celebrate — Fancy Schmancy!
I figured that I would treat all of the girls, since Annie's birthday was also coming up the following week, and Kerry's a little more than a week after that. We had the best time!
Knowing me, of course I had my camera; I took shots of Manhattan from 65 floors up, and we also walked right down the block to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
To see these photos, click here
On December 6, 2004, I registered with NY Casting Network, which has just opened here in the city recently. It is New York's version of the system that has been in use in Los Angeles for the last couple of years.
They say it's the number one online submission website used out in L.A., and that it's accessed every day by all the big casting directors & agents on the West Coast to post jobs and to search for talent. I'm hoping that it has the same effect here in NY.
I also have the capability to submit myself for current projects and send my photos & resume to anyone anywhere.
I would like for you to please test out
this link and see how it works for you.
Click on the link to see my page, right here
Thanks for checking it out!
If there are any problems, please let me know.
There are some changes I wanted to inform you of.
You might remember reading about Writer/Journalist/Broadcaster Michael J. Simpson from England, who attended the Fangoria Convention here in New York City a few years ago when I was one of the guest celebrities at the show — you can look at the list here
Mike is currently working on an authorized biography of Elsa Lanchester – The Bride of Frankenstein herself!
Well, he has a terrific review of Rock 'n' Roll Frankenstein up on his site, and he was also nice enough to request an interview with me, which I gladly did, of course.
Mike recently redesigned his site, so the old links I had to those pages don't exist any more.
Here are the new links:
To read his great review of the movie, click here
To read the interview with me, click here
I hope you read those new pages.
Let me know if you like it.
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!
So I put together a few photos, and you can see
them (including the sunset ones) by clicking here
And I hope you like them!
To commemorate the event, the city put on those blue memorial lights that shoot straight up into the sky, for one night only.
It's been a while since they've done it, and I didn't want to wait another year for them to (possibly) do it again, so we went downtown to the Brooklyn Promenade to take some photos of those lights.
We could actually see the lights from our block at home, but we wanted to take pictures of it coming from its source. Needless to say, I wasn't the only one there doing that.
And someone even made up a shrine with flowers, candles, and even an interesting note.
please click here
One of the many great things about being from Brooklyn is that I can very easily go to
Yankee Stadium to see the Bronx Bombers. In fact, I've been doing it since I was a kid.
We last went to a game on August 11, 2005 (of course I took my camera).
It was a great game, and I'm happy to report that we won!
I realize that some Yankee fans might not live close enough that they can just go to the Stadium whenever they want
to see a game (I know a few), so these pictures will really come in handy for those individuals.
To see the photos I took, click here
On August 6, 2005 we went to Emmons Avenue to shoot some photography, and while we were there, we
also went to the best seafood restaurant:
Randazzo's Clam Bar -- The Pride of Sheepshead Bay.
In fact, we make it a point to always go there to eat when we're in the neighborhood, like when we go clothes shopping
at Loehmann's
right across the street. It's like a ritual with us.
I suppose lots of other native Brooklynites do the same thing, because we see them whenever we go!
And owner Paul Randazzo is always there talking to the customers, making sure
that everything's alright and that everyone is enjoying themselves.
To see some photos from Randazzo's, click here
I hope you enjoy the photos, and that you have a chance to visit them sometime when you're in
the neighborhood.
I'll include the contact information for Randazzo's on the above link.
On July 30, 2005 we went upstate to Clarksville
to visit our dear friends Joanne & Russell
(and no, I already checked; there isn't any last train going there).
What a beautiful part of New York State -- It's amazing.
While we were there, they took us to Lake George.
We'd never been there before, and it was incredible.
And the most amazing part of the trip was seeing hummingbirds in their back yard!
I'd never seen a real live hummingbird before, so I had my camera working overtime to get some nice shots and even
a video clip. I'm sure you want to get to it, so here are:
Photos of Lake George here
Hummingbird photos and video here
I hope you like what you see.
As always, please feel free to comment.
You know I love that!
Thanks!
We spent our 4th of JULY
Holiday at Breezy Point
this year with family and friends.
Actually, we were there on the 3rd of July; we planned to have a quiet 4th at home.
Anyway, a good time was had by all, and there were fireworks later on at night by the bay.
There was tons of food, music, dancing and lots of laughs at Roy & Doreen's house.
To see a clip of the fireworks, click here
So we sat there in the car, listening to the radio and watching some more fireworks, this time from the road instead
of on the roof like the first time above.
See if you can hear what song is playing on the radio
as you hear this short clip; it's very appropriate!
Click here to see it
And to see some nice photos, click here
I hope you enjoyed seeing and hearing everything.
Thanks for taking the time!
On June 30, 2005 I worked on a film called
Lucky Number Slevin which stars Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Lucy Liu and Bruce Willis, among others.
I actually heard that it was filming months ago in Canada, but I wasn't sure that it would film here in New York,
so I was surprised when I was called to work on it. I thought it was done.
Anyway, I was part of a Hasidic "mob" that was
fighting a black gang, as they explained it to us.
We Hasids were standing at an intersection in Manhattan, on the four corners, with big guns under our coats,
looking at the rooftops for snipers.
The strange thing was, they didn't lock down the set like they usually do (to keep real pedestrians out of
the scene), so people kept passing by us as we were doing our thing.
I had to alternately hide and then flash my weapon as I scanned the rooftops.
So people passing by saw the big automatic weapon peeking out of my coat, and one or more of them called the cops, and in a matter of
minutes, three cop cars pulled up behind me.
So I started walking towards the police car to explain the situation, and the officer yells out
"Stay right
where you are! Don't move any closer!!"
Holy Crap! I could have been shot!
Thank God we had a real cop on the set, and he went out to the car and explained that we were only
making a movie!
I had a great time also because I was working with my good friend, fellow actor Alan (Now THAT'S a ponytail!) Gary on the set.
You can also see Alan in the new movie War of The Worlds starring recently wacky Tom Cruise.
I haven't seen it yet, but I'll do that soon.
Anyway, we had a fantastic time, and there's a
photo that will be coming up soon for you to see.
Stay tuned!
I worked on Law & Order: Criminal Intent
again on June 1, 2005.
The different thing about this time is that the set was so close to where I live! In my whole acting career,
that's never happened to me before.
But it sure was great!
In this episode, I played Vic Dunne
-- a patient at a methadone clinic, which they set up at nearby Caledonia Hospital here in Brooklyn.
The episode starred which starred Annabella Sciorra & Chris Noth.
You might remember that I worked with Annabella before on the WABC-TV show Wonderland,
where I played the homeless character; click here to see a photo from it.
In this new show, they call names of patients to come up and get their methadone. The pharmacist calls out
"Vic Dunne"
-- then you see me come up, sign a ledger book, take my methadone (in reality, it was orange
gatorade!), I give my goodbyes and walk away.
It was short, but sweet!
Also, if you want to see a sample of
the script from that day, click here
I hope you see it!
If you do, let me know what you think.
Thanks!
On May 7, 2005, our good friends Tom & Sherry Nelson came to visit us while they
were here in New York
(they live in Alaska).
So we did typical New York things, like we took them to
DiFara's Pizzeria here in Brooklyn, the
BEST pizza in the city.
Then we went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
I also took some nice photos while we were there.
To see the shots, click here
Hope you like them!
Our neighbor Putnam Smith has been appearing as Billy Gashade in the Metropolitan Playhouse production of E. B. Ginty's Missouri Legend for the last five weeks, and we went to see him perform on April 1, 2005.
It was a great show, very well acted with a lot of good, old-time foot stompin' music.
Putnam is also an accomplished musician,
and he even played on his grandfather's banjo!
To see some shots & a video clip
or two from the show, click here
On Monday, March 22, 2005 I had the great privilege of getting together with a dear childhood friend of mine, Helen Simonetti. We grew up together in in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
I knew it had been a long time since I'd seen her, but according to Helen's memory, we haven't seen each other since the great NYC Blackout of 1977!
In any case, it's been way too long, so you can imagine how happy I was to see her again!
We took two photos together, one with flash,
and one without flash — see them both here
I worked on the movie version of the Broadway show Rent on March 17, 2005.
We were there for a long time, and I got to meet people like director Chris Columbus, lead actor Adam Pascal, plus celebrities who passed by, like Stevie Van Zandt. Even Radioman came by and got on the set.
I also ran into some actors who I've worked with before (Hey Rory!) and met some great new ones. (Hello Noah!)
I brought my camera, and of course
I took some shots that night.
Let's get to it then — click here
I hope you enjoy it.
By the way, you'll notice that
I'm now clean-shaven again!
On March 7, 2005, I worked on a new pilot for NBC TV called New York 70
From what I was told on the set, it's based on the famous French Connection story; in fact, one of the creators is Sonny Grosso (nicknamed Cloudy), who was one of the original New York City cops on that case (his character was played by Roy Scheider in the movie).
His real-life partner in the Narcotics Bureau at the time was Eddie Egan (nicknamed Popeye), who's character was played by Gene Hackman.
As far as this TV show is concerned, I heard that that Donnie Wahlberg is one of the stars of this version.
I played a hippie in the pilot (no big surprise, huh?)
We shot it on West 137th Street up in Harlem. The whole block had only old 1970's cars parked on it — It was as if we went back in time, like a good old 70's flashback!
Anyway, I took a couple of shots,
which you can see by clicking here
Hope you enjoy them!
By now you've probably heard about "The Gates" in Central Park, the project by artist Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude. Over a million people came into the city just to see it, and I'm talking lots of tourists, not just native New Yorkers like me.
Well, since this is our hometown, we figured that we would go up and see what all the fuss was about. By the way, they went up February 12th and are coming down on the 28th.
Luckily, our friend Annie lives right across the street from Central Park and said that we could go up on her roof to get a good view, so we went up there on Sunday, February 20, 2004 (and of course I took my camera).
We were 15 stories up and there really was a great view.
So click here and look at some photos already!
Of course I would appreciate some feedback,
if you have a chance.
Thanks!
Some Gate Facts:
Number of Gates - 7,500
Height of Gates - 16 feet tall
Width of Gates - From 5 feet 6 inches to 18 feet (depending on width of walkway)
Spacing of Gates - 12 foot intervals
Total Area - 23 miles of Central Park
And, amazingly (according to the NY Daily News), they had
the idea for this exhibition since 1979,
but didn't get permission
until Mayor Bloomberg took office!
For more information, go to the official website here
Good News!
If you remember, when the Hebrew Hammer film was released, I was pretty depressed because they cut out my scene at the Golden Menorah (in reality, the Cotton Club in Harlem).
However, I just bought the DVD, and I'm happy to announce that I am in the "Deleted Scenes" section (hey, at least they put it somewhere!)
You'll see me in scene # 6 of the deleted scene catagory.
The scene starts out with a street shot of the Golden Menorah and you see two hasidic Jews walking in the street towards the door (I'm the one on the right, the Jew with the longer coat and the big payess bouncing around).
It's hard to recognize me because we were pretty far away, but I did that scene with my friend Josh, the Jew on the left.
The camera then cuts to Adam Goldberg (the Hebrew Hammer) coming inside the Golden Menorah with "Esther" (actress Judy Greer), and you'll see a Hasid announce "Zaydes and Gentlemen, the Hebrew Hammer!"
Right away, you'll see all the Hasids on the dance floor cheering — I'm the Jew that's dead center of the screen who raises his fist up in the air.
Then you'll see me various times throughout that scene. For instance, when a gay hasid asks the Hebrew Hammer if he wants to dance, Adam asks how does he know him, and the hasid replies "we have mutual friends", the camera cuts to the circle of Jews dancing the hora, I'm the one at the bottom center of your screen (you see my big, black hat), and then you see me turn to the right as the circle is moving, gradually seeing my face.
Finally, as Adam Goldberg is explaining that he can't because he has a bris to go to, watch for the hasid who's sitting behind him on the left at the table. It's me again.
Through the magic of editing, you see me dancing and then you see me sitting at the table in the same scene, a few seconds later!
Anyway, it's been a long wait, but I'm glad that it's finally out so that you can see it.
If you do buy it, rent it either by video store or order it on Netflix and you see me, please drop me a line in my Guestbook and let me know what you thought of it. It's a hilarious movie!
P.S. -- To see a photo of me with Adam Goldberg, click here
Beginning January 2005, the Rock & Roll Frankenstein DVD is now available on Netflix for all of you who subscribe to that service.
Director Brian O'Hara tells me that there is also a reviews page where you can write your own review of the movie after seeing it. I believe there are two up there for you to read now.
I can't see it because I'm not a subscriber (yet), but if any of you are and happen to go up there and see one (or write a review of your own), I'd like to know about it.
Remember that if you go looking for it there,
write it Rock & Roll instead of Rock 'n' Roll.
Thanks!
On January 9, 2005 we got together with our dear friend Joanie and her niece Celeste for brunch in Park Slope.
Our schedules were so hectic over the holidays, plus we were unable to get together with Joanie for Carol's birthday last month (look 2 entries below this story to see how we celebrated it), so we took care of both at the same time.
To see photos and a short video clip from this day, click here
Sad news:
On Tuesday night, December 28, 2004, my pal Jerry Orbach from Law & Order passed away.
Jerry died from prostate cancer.
I knew for a little while that he had it, but I also heard the prognosis that he was expected to recover. Jerry had been getting treatments at Sloane-Kettering in Manhattan. The news came as a shock to everyone.
Jerry was the nicest guy you would ever want to meet, and he always had a kind word and a smile. He also never neglected his fans. He would stop whatever he was doing to say hello, shake hands and take photos. And very sincerely, never nasty.
Olev HaSholem, Jerry.
We loved you & we're going to miss you.
To see photos of Jerry and I on the set, click here
Friday, December 17, 2004 was an important day for us because, not only was it my wife Carol's birthday, but our dear friend Kerry came up from Florida just for the occasion!
We met another very close friend there also, Annie (who you might have heard of from my site; I took her daughter Reade to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a month and a half ago; see separate story three entries below this one).
We went to the world-famous Rainbow Room
to celebrate — Fancy Schmancy!
I figured that I would treat all of the girls, since Annie's birthday was also coming up the following week, and Kerry's a little more than a week after that. We had the best time!
Knowing me, of course I had my camera; I took shots of Manhattan from 65 floors up, and we also walked right down the block to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
To see these photos, click here
On December 6, 2004, I registered with NY Casting Network, which has just opened here in the city recently. It is New York's version of the system that has been in use in Los Angeles for the last couple of years.
They say it's the number one online submission website used out in L.A., and that it's accessed every day by all the big casting directors & agents on the West Coast to post jobs and to search for talent. I'm hoping that it has the same effect here in NY.
I also have the capability to submit myself for current projects and send my photos & resume to anyone anywhere.
I would like for you to please test out
this link and see how it works for you.
Click on the link to see my page, right here
Thanks for checking it out!
If there are any problems, please let me know.
There are some changes I wanted to inform you of.
You might remember reading about Writer/Journalist/Broadcaster Michael J. Simpson from England, who attended the Fangoria Convention here in New York City a few years ago when I was one of the guest celebrities at the show — you can look at the list here
Mike is currently working on an authorized biography of Elsa Lanchester – The Bride of Frankenstein herself!
Well, he has a terrific review of Rock 'n' Roll Frankenstein up on his site, and he was also nice enough to request an interview with me, which I gladly did, of course.
Mike recently redesigned his site, so the old links I had to those pages don't exist any more.
Here are the new links:
To read his great review of the movie, click here
To read the interview with me, click here
I hope you read those new pages.
Let me know if you like it.
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!
In fact, we make it a point to always go there to eat when we're in the neighborhood, like when we go clothes shopping at Loehmann's right across the street. It's like a ritual with us.
I suppose lots of other native Brooklynites do the same thing, because we see them whenever we go! And owner Paul Randazzo is always there talking to the customers, making sure that everything's alright and that everyone is enjoying themselves.
I hope you enjoy the photos, and that you have a chance to visit them sometime when you're in the neighborhood. I'll include the contact information for Randazzo's on the above link.
On July 30, 2005 we went upstate to Clarksville
to visit our dear friends Joanne & Russell
(and no, I already checked; there isn't any last train going there).
What a beautiful part of New York State -- It's amazing.
While we were there, they took us to Lake George.
We'd never been there before, and it was incredible.
And the most amazing part of the trip was seeing hummingbirds in their back yard!
I'd never seen a real live hummingbird before, so I had my camera working overtime to get some nice shots and even
a video clip. I'm sure you want to get to it, so here are:
Photos of Lake George here
Hummingbird photos and video here
I hope you like what you see.
As always, please feel free to comment.
You know I love that!
Thanks!
We spent our 4th of JULY
Holiday at Breezy Point
this year with family and friends.
Actually, we were there on the 3rd of July; we planned to have a quiet 4th at home.
Anyway, a good time was had by all, and there were fireworks later on at night by the bay.
There was tons of food, music, dancing and lots of laughs at Roy & Doreen's house.
To see a clip of the fireworks, click here
So we sat there in the car, listening to the radio and watching some more fireworks, this time from the road instead
of on the roof like the first time above.
See if you can hear what song is playing on the radio
as you hear this short clip; it's very appropriate!
Click here to see it
And to see some nice photos, click here
I hope you enjoyed seeing and hearing everything.
Thanks for taking the time!
On June 30, 2005 I worked on a film called
Lucky Number Slevin which stars Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Lucy Liu and Bruce Willis, among others.
I actually heard that it was filming months ago in Canada, but I wasn't sure that it would film here in New York,
so I was surprised when I was called to work on it. I thought it was done.
Anyway, I was part of a Hasidic "mob" that was
fighting a black gang, as they explained it to us.
We Hasids were standing at an intersection in Manhattan, on the four corners, with big guns under our coats,
looking at the rooftops for snipers.
The strange thing was, they didn't lock down the set like they usually do (to keep real pedestrians out of
the scene), so people kept passing by us as we were doing our thing.
I had to alternately hide and then flash my weapon as I scanned the rooftops.
So people passing by saw the big automatic weapon peeking out of my coat, and one or more of them called the cops, and in a matter of
minutes, three cop cars pulled up behind me.
So I started walking towards the police car to explain the situation, and the officer yells out
"Stay right
where you are! Don't move any closer!!"
Holy Crap! I could have been shot!
Thank God we had a real cop on the set, and he went out to the car and explained that we were only
making a movie!
I had a great time also because I was working with my good friend, fellow actor Alan (Now THAT'S a ponytail!) Gary on the set.
You can also see Alan in the new movie War of The Worlds starring recently wacky Tom Cruise.
I haven't seen it yet, but I'll do that soon.
Anyway, we had a fantastic time, and there's a
photo that will be coming up soon for you to see.
Stay tuned!
I worked on Law & Order: Criminal Intent
again on June 1, 2005.
The different thing about this time is that the set was so close to where I live! In my whole acting career,
that's never happened to me before.
But it sure was great!
In this episode, I played Vic Dunne
-- a patient at a methadone clinic, which they set up at nearby Caledonia Hospital here in Brooklyn.
The episode starred which starred Annabella Sciorra & Chris Noth.
You might remember that I worked with Annabella before on the WABC-TV show Wonderland,
where I played the homeless character; click here to see a photo from it.
In this new show, they call names of patients to come up and get their methadone. The pharmacist calls out
"Vic Dunne"
-- then you see me come up, sign a ledger book, take my methadone (in reality, it was orange
gatorade!), I give my goodbyes and walk away.
It was short, but sweet!
Also, if you want to see a sample of
the script from that day, click here
I hope you see it!
If you do, let me know what you think.
Thanks!
On May 7, 2005, our good friends Tom & Sherry Nelson came to visit us while they
were here in New York
(they live in Alaska).
So we did typical New York things, like we took them to
DiFara's Pizzeria here in Brooklyn, the
BEST pizza in the city.
Then we went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
I also took some nice photos while we were there.
To see the shots, click here
Hope you like them!
Our neighbor Putnam Smith has been appearing as Billy Gashade in the Metropolitan Playhouse production of E. B. Ginty's Missouri Legend for the last five weeks, and we went to see him perform on April 1, 2005.
It was a great show, very well acted with a lot of good, old-time foot stompin' music.
Putnam is also an accomplished musician,
and he even played on his grandfather's banjo!
To see some shots & a video clip
or two from the show, click here
On Monday, March 22, 2005 I had the great privilege of getting together with a dear childhood friend of mine, Helen Simonetti. We grew up together in in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
I knew it had been a long time since I'd seen her, but according to Helen's memory, we haven't seen each other since the great NYC Blackout of 1977!
In any case, it's been way too long, so you can imagine how happy I was to see her again!
We took two photos together, one with flash,
and one without flash — see them both here
I worked on the movie version of the Broadway show Rent on March 17, 2005.
We were there for a long time, and I got to meet people like director Chris Columbus, lead actor Adam Pascal, plus celebrities who passed by, like Stevie Van Zandt. Even Radioman came by and got on the set.
I also ran into some actors who I've worked with before (Hey Rory!) and met some great new ones. (Hello Noah!)
I brought my camera, and of course
I took some shots that night.
Let's get to it then — click here
I hope you enjoy it.
By the way, you'll notice that
I'm now clean-shaven again!
On March 7, 2005, I worked on a new pilot for NBC TV called New York 70
From what I was told on the set, it's based on the famous French Connection story; in fact, one of the creators is Sonny Grosso (nicknamed Cloudy), who was one of the original New York City cops on that case (his character was played by Roy Scheider in the movie).
His real-life partner in the Narcotics Bureau at the time was Eddie Egan (nicknamed Popeye), who's character was played by Gene Hackman.
As far as this TV show is concerned, I heard that that Donnie Wahlberg is one of the stars of this version.
I played a hippie in the pilot (no big surprise, huh?)
We shot it on West 137th Street up in Harlem. The whole block had only old 1970's cars parked on it — It was as if we went back in time, like a good old 70's flashback!
Anyway, I took a couple of shots,
which you can see by clicking here
Hope you enjoy them!
By now you've probably heard about "The Gates" in Central Park, the project by artist Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude. Over a million people came into the city just to see it, and I'm talking lots of tourists, not just native New Yorkers like me.
Well, since this is our hometown, we figured that we would go up and see what all the fuss was about. By the way, they went up February 12th and are coming down on the 28th.
Luckily, our friend Annie lives right across the street from Central Park and said that we could go up on her roof to get a good view, so we went up there on Sunday, February 20, 2004 (and of course I took my camera).
We were 15 stories up and there really was a great view.
So click here and look at some photos already!
Of course I would appreciate some feedback,
if you have a chance.
Thanks!
Some Gate Facts:
Number of Gates - 7,500
Height of Gates - 16 feet tall
Width of Gates - From 5 feet 6 inches to 18 feet (depending on width of walkway)
Spacing of Gates - 12 foot intervals
Total Area - 23 miles of Central Park
And, amazingly (according to the NY Daily News), they had
the idea for this exhibition since 1979,
but didn't get permission
until Mayor Bloomberg took office!
For more information, go to the official website here
Good News!
If you remember, when the Hebrew Hammer film was released, I was pretty depressed because they cut out my scene at the Golden Menorah (in reality, the Cotton Club in Harlem).
However, I just bought the DVD, and I'm happy to announce that I am in the "Deleted Scenes" section (hey, at least they put it somewhere!)
You'll see me in scene # 6 of the deleted scene catagory.
The scene starts out with a street shot of the Golden Menorah and you see two hasidic Jews walking in the street towards the door (I'm the one on the right, the Jew with the longer coat and the big payess bouncing around).
It's hard to recognize me because we were pretty far away, but I did that scene with my friend Josh, the Jew on the left.
The camera then cuts to Adam Goldberg (the Hebrew Hammer) coming inside the Golden Menorah with "Esther" (actress Judy Greer), and you'll see a Hasid announce "Zaydes and Gentlemen, the Hebrew Hammer!"
Right away, you'll see all the Hasids on the dance floor cheering — I'm the Jew that's dead center of the screen who raises his fist up in the air.
Then you'll see me various times throughout that scene. For instance, when a gay hasid asks the Hebrew Hammer if he wants to dance, Adam asks how does he know him, and the hasid replies "we have mutual friends", the camera cuts to the circle of Jews dancing the hora, I'm the one at the bottom center of your screen (you see my big, black hat), and then you see me turn to the right as the circle is moving, gradually seeing my face.
Finally, as Adam Goldberg is explaining that he can't because he has a bris to go to, watch for the hasid who's sitting behind him on the left at the table. It's me again.
Through the magic of editing, you see me dancing and then you see me sitting at the table in the same scene, a few seconds later!
Anyway, it's been a long wait, but I'm glad that it's finally out so that you can see it.
If you do buy it, rent it either by video store or order it on Netflix and you see me, please drop me a line in my Guestbook and let me know what you thought of it. It's a hilarious movie!
P.S. -- To see a photo of me with Adam Goldberg, click here
Beginning January 2005, the Rock & Roll Frankenstein DVD is now available on Netflix for all of you who subscribe to that service.
Director Brian O'Hara tells me that there is also a reviews page where you can write your own review of the movie after seeing it. I believe there are two up there for you to read now.
I can't see it because I'm not a subscriber (yet), but if any of you are and happen to go up there and see one (or write a review of your own), I'd like to know about it.
Remember that if you go looking for it there,
write it Rock & Roll instead of Rock 'n' Roll.
Thanks!
On January 9, 2005 we got together with our dear friend Joanie and her niece Celeste for brunch in Park Slope.
Our schedules were so hectic over the holidays, plus we were unable to get together with Joanie for Carol's birthday last month (look 2 entries below this story to see how we celebrated it), so we took care of both at the same time.
To see photos and a short video clip from this day, click here
Sad news:
On Tuesday night, December 28, 2004, my pal Jerry Orbach from Law & Order passed away.
Jerry died from prostate cancer.
I knew for a little while that he had it, but I also heard the prognosis that he was expected to recover. Jerry had been getting treatments at Sloane-Kettering in Manhattan. The news came as a shock to everyone.
Jerry was the nicest guy you would ever want to meet, and he always had a kind word and a smile. He also never neglected his fans. He would stop whatever he was doing to say hello, shake hands and take photos. And very sincerely, never nasty.
Olev HaSholem, Jerry.
We loved you & we're going to miss you.
To see photos of Jerry and I on the set, click here
Friday, December 17, 2004 was an important day for us because, not only was it my wife Carol's birthday, but our dear friend Kerry came up from Florida just for the occasion!
We met another very close friend there also, Annie (who you might have heard of from my site; I took her daughter Reade to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a month and a half ago; see separate story three entries below this one).
We went to the world-famous Rainbow Room
to celebrate — Fancy Schmancy!
I figured that I would treat all of the girls, since Annie's birthday was also coming up the following week, and Kerry's a little more than a week after that. We had the best time!
Knowing me, of course I had my camera; I took shots of Manhattan from 65 floors up, and we also walked right down the block to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
To see these photos, click here
On December 6, 2004, I registered with NY Casting Network, which has just opened here in the city recently. It is New York's version of the system that has been in use in Los Angeles for the last couple of years.
They say it's the number one online submission website used out in L.A., and that it's accessed every day by all the big casting directors & agents on the West Coast to post jobs and to search for talent. I'm hoping that it has the same effect here in NY.
I also have the capability to submit myself for current projects and send my photos & resume to anyone anywhere.
I would like for you to please test out
this link and see how it works for you.
Click on the link to see my page, right here
Thanks for checking it out!
If there are any problems, please let me know.
There are some changes I wanted to inform you of.
You might remember reading about Writer/Journalist/Broadcaster Michael J. Simpson from England, who attended the Fangoria Convention here in New York City a few years ago when I was one of the guest celebrities at the show — you can look at the list here
Mike is currently working on an authorized biography of Elsa Lanchester – The Bride of Frankenstein herself!
Well, he has a terrific review of Rock 'n' Roll Frankenstein up on his site, and he was also nice enough to request an interview with me, which I gladly did, of course.
Mike recently redesigned his site, so the old links I had to those pages don't exist any more.
Here are the new links:
To read his great review of the movie, click here
To read the interview with me, click here
I hope you read those new pages.
Let me know if you like it.
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!
While we were there, they took us to Lake George.
We'd never been there before, and it was incredible.
As always, please feel free to comment.
You know I love that!
Thanks!
We spent our 4th of JULY
Holiday at Breezy Point
this year with family and friends.
Actually, we were there on the 3rd of July; we planned to have a quiet 4th at home.
Anyway, a good time was had by all, and there were fireworks later on at night by the bay.
There was tons of food, music, dancing and lots of laughs at Roy & Doreen's house.
To see a clip of the fireworks, click here
So we sat there in the car, listening to the radio and watching some more fireworks, this time from the road instead
of on the roof like the first time above.
See if you can hear what song is playing on the radio
as you hear this short clip; it's very appropriate!
Click here to see it
To see a clip of the fireworks, click here
as you hear this short clip; it's very appropriate!
Click here to see it
And to see some nice photos, click here
I hope you enjoyed seeing and hearing everything.
Thanks for taking the time!
On June 30, 2005 I worked on a film called
Lucky Number Slevin which stars Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Lucy Liu and Bruce Willis, among others.
I actually heard that it was filming months ago in Canada, but I wasn't sure that it would film here in New York,
so I was surprised when I was called to work on it. I thought it was done.
Anyway, I was part of a Hasidic "mob" that was
fighting a black gang, as they explained it to us.
We Hasids were standing at an intersection in Manhattan, on the four corners, with big guns under our coats,
looking at the rooftops for snipers.
The strange thing was, they didn't lock down the set like they usually do (to keep real pedestrians out of
the scene), so people kept passing by us as we were doing our thing.
I had to alternately hide and then flash my weapon as I scanned the rooftops.
So people passing by saw the big automatic weapon peeking out of my coat, and one or more of them called the cops, and in a matter of
minutes, three cop cars pulled up behind me.
So I started walking towards the police car to explain the situation, and the officer yells out
"Stay right
where you are! Don't move any closer!!"
Holy Crap! I could have been shot!
Thank God we had a real cop on the set, and he went out to the car and explained that we were only
making a movie!
I had a great time also because I was working with my good friend, fellow actor Alan (Now THAT'S a ponytail!) Gary on the set.
You can also see Alan in the new movie War of The Worlds starring recently wacky Tom Cruise.
I haven't seen it yet, but I'll do that soon.
Anyway, we had a fantastic time, and there's a
photo that will be coming up soon for you to see.
Stay tuned!
I worked on Law & Order: Criminal Intent
again on June 1, 2005.
The different thing about this time is that the set was so close to where I live! In my whole acting career,
that's never happened to me before.
But it sure was great!
In this episode, I played Vic Dunne
-- a patient at a methadone clinic, which they set up at nearby Caledonia Hospital here in Brooklyn.
The episode starred which starred Annabella Sciorra & Chris Noth.
You might remember that I worked with Annabella before on the WABC-TV show Wonderland,
where I played the homeless character; click here to see a photo from it.
In this new show, they call names of patients to come up and get their methadone. The pharmacist calls out
"Vic Dunne"
-- then you see me come up, sign a ledger book, take my methadone (in reality, it was orange
gatorade!), I give my goodbyes and walk away.
It was short, but sweet!
Also, if you want to see a sample of
the script from that day, click here
I hope you see it!
If you do, let me know what you think.
Thanks!
On May 7, 2005, our good friends Tom & Sherry Nelson came to visit us while they
were here in New York
(they live in Alaska).
So we did typical New York things, like we took them to
DiFara's Pizzeria here in Brooklyn, the
BEST pizza in the city.
Then we went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
I also took some nice photos while we were there.
To see the shots, click here
Hope you like them!
Our neighbor Putnam Smith has been appearing as Billy Gashade in the Metropolitan Playhouse production of E. B. Ginty's Missouri Legend for the last five weeks, and we went to see him perform on April 1, 2005.
It was a great show, very well acted with a lot of good, old-time foot stompin' music.
Putnam is also an accomplished musician,
and he even played on his grandfather's banjo!
To see some shots & a video clip
or two from the show, click here
On Monday, March 22, 2005 I had the great privilege of getting together with a dear childhood friend of mine, Helen Simonetti. We grew up together in in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
I knew it had been a long time since I'd seen her, but according to Helen's memory, we haven't seen each other since the great NYC Blackout of 1977!
In any case, it's been way too long, so you can imagine how happy I was to see her again!
We took two photos together, one with flash,
and one without flash — see them both here
I worked on the movie version of the Broadway show Rent on March 17, 2005.
We were there for a long time, and I got to meet people like director Chris Columbus, lead actor Adam Pascal, plus celebrities who passed by, like Stevie Van Zandt. Even Radioman came by and got on the set.
I also ran into some actors who I've worked with before (Hey Rory!) and met some great new ones. (Hello Noah!)
I brought my camera, and of course
I took some shots that night.
Let's get to it then — click here
I hope you enjoy it.
By the way, you'll notice that
I'm now clean-shaven again!
On March 7, 2005, I worked on a new pilot for NBC TV called New York 70
From what I was told on the set, it's based on the famous French Connection story; in fact, one of the creators is Sonny Grosso (nicknamed Cloudy), who was one of the original New York City cops on that case (his character was played by Roy Scheider in the movie).
His real-life partner in the Narcotics Bureau at the time was Eddie Egan (nicknamed Popeye), who's character was played by Gene Hackman.
As far as this TV show is concerned, I heard that that Donnie Wahlberg is one of the stars of this version.
I played a hippie in the pilot (no big surprise, huh?)
We shot it on West 137th Street up in Harlem. The whole block had only old 1970's cars parked on it — It was as if we went back in time, like a good old 70's flashback!
Anyway, I took a couple of shots,
which you can see by clicking here
Hope you enjoy them!
By now you've probably heard about "The Gates" in Central Park, the project by artist Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude. Over a million people came into the city just to see it, and I'm talking lots of tourists, not just native New Yorkers like me.
Well, since this is our hometown, we figured that we would go up and see what all the fuss was about. By the way, they went up February 12th and are coming down on the 28th.
Luckily, our friend Annie lives right across the street from Central Park and said that we could go up on her roof to get a good view, so we went up there on Sunday, February 20, 2004 (and of course I took my camera).
We were 15 stories up and there really was a great view.
So click here and look at some photos already!
Of course I would appreciate some feedback,
if you have a chance.
Thanks!
Some Gate Facts:
Number of Gates - 7,500
Height of Gates - 16 feet tall
Width of Gates - From 5 feet 6 inches to 18 feet (depending on width of walkway)
Spacing of Gates - 12 foot intervals
Total Area - 23 miles of Central Park
And, amazingly (according to the NY Daily News), they had
the idea for this exhibition since 1979,
but didn't get permission
until Mayor Bloomberg took office!
For more information, go to the official website here
Good News!
If you remember, when the Hebrew Hammer film was released, I was pretty depressed because they cut out my scene at the Golden Menorah (in reality, the Cotton Club in Harlem).
However, I just bought the DVD, and I'm happy to announce that I am in the "Deleted Scenes" section (hey, at least they put it somewhere!)
You'll see me in scene # 6 of the deleted scene catagory.
The scene starts out with a street shot of the Golden Menorah and you see two hasidic Jews walking in the street towards the door (I'm the one on the right, the Jew with the longer coat and the big payess bouncing around).
It's hard to recognize me because we were pretty far away, but I did that scene with my friend Josh, the Jew on the left.
The camera then cuts to Adam Goldberg (the Hebrew Hammer) coming inside the Golden Menorah with "Esther" (actress Judy Greer), and you'll see a Hasid announce "Zaydes and Gentlemen, the Hebrew Hammer!"
Right away, you'll see all the Hasids on the dance floor cheering — I'm the Jew that's dead center of the screen who raises his fist up in the air.
Then you'll see me various times throughout that scene. For instance, when a gay hasid asks the Hebrew Hammer if he wants to dance, Adam asks how does he know him, and the hasid replies "we have mutual friends", the camera cuts to the circle of Jews dancing the hora, I'm the one at the bottom center of your screen (you see my big, black hat), and then you see me turn to the right as the circle is moving, gradually seeing my face.
Finally, as Adam Goldberg is explaining that he can't because he has a bris to go to, watch for the hasid who's sitting behind him on the left at the table. It's me again.
Through the magic of editing, you see me dancing and then you see me sitting at the table in the same scene, a few seconds later!
Anyway, it's been a long wait, but I'm glad that it's finally out so that you can see it.
If you do buy it, rent it either by video store or order it on Netflix and you see me, please drop me a line in my Guestbook and let me know what you thought of it. It's a hilarious movie!
P.S. -- To see a photo of me with Adam Goldberg, click here
Beginning January 2005, the Rock & Roll Frankenstein DVD is now available on Netflix for all of you who subscribe to that service.
Director Brian O'Hara tells me that there is also a reviews page where you can write your own review of the movie after seeing it. I believe there are two up there for you to read now.
I can't see it because I'm not a subscriber (yet), but if any of you are and happen to go up there and see one (or write a review of your own), I'd like to know about it.
Remember that if you go looking for it there,
write it Rock & Roll instead of Rock 'n' Roll.
Thanks!
On January 9, 2005 we got together with our dear friend Joanie and her niece Celeste for brunch in Park Slope.
Our schedules were so hectic over the holidays, plus we were unable to get together with Joanie for Carol's birthday last month (look 2 entries below this story to see how we celebrated it), so we took care of both at the same time.
To see photos and a short video clip from this day, click here
Sad news:
On Tuesday night, December 28, 2004, my pal Jerry Orbach from Law & Order passed away.
Jerry died from prostate cancer.
I knew for a little while that he had it, but I also heard the prognosis that he was expected to recover. Jerry had been getting treatments at Sloane-Kettering in Manhattan. The news came as a shock to everyone.
Jerry was the nicest guy you would ever want to meet, and he always had a kind word and a smile. He also never neglected his fans. He would stop whatever he was doing to say hello, shake hands and take photos. And very sincerely, never nasty.
Olev HaSholem, Jerry.
We loved you & we're going to miss you.
To see photos of Jerry and I on the set, click here
Friday, December 17, 2004 was an important day for us because, not only was it my wife Carol's birthday, but our dear friend Kerry came up from Florida just for the occasion!
We met another very close friend there also, Annie (who you might have heard of from my site; I took her daughter Reade to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a month and a half ago; see separate story three entries below this one).
We went to the world-famous Rainbow Room
to celebrate — Fancy Schmancy!
I figured that I would treat all of the girls, since Annie's birthday was also coming up the following week, and Kerry's a little more than a week after that. We had the best time!
Knowing me, of course I had my camera; I took shots of Manhattan from 65 floors up, and we also walked right down the block to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
To see these photos, click here
On December 6, 2004, I registered with NY Casting Network, which has just opened here in the city recently. It is New York's version of the system that has been in use in Los Angeles for the last couple of years.
They say it's the number one online submission website used out in L.A., and that it's accessed every day by all the big casting directors & agents on the West Coast to post jobs and to search for talent. I'm hoping that it has the same effect here in NY.
I also have the capability to submit myself for current projects and send my photos & resume to anyone anywhere.
I would like for you to please test out
this link and see how it works for you.
Click on the link to see my page, right here
Thanks for checking it out!
If there are any problems, please let me know.
There are some changes I wanted to inform you of.
You might remember reading about Writer/Journalist/Broadcaster Michael J. Simpson from England, who attended the Fangoria Convention here in New York City a few years ago when I was one of the guest celebrities at the show — you can look at the list here
Mike is currently working on an authorized biography of Elsa Lanchester – The Bride of Frankenstein herself!
Well, he has a terrific review of Rock 'n' Roll Frankenstein up on his site, and he was also nice enough to request an interview with me, which I gladly did, of course.
Mike recently redesigned his site, so the old links I had to those pages don't exist any more.
Here are the new links:
To read his great review of the movie, click here
To read the interview with me, click here
I hope you read those new pages.
Let me know if you like it.
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!
I actually heard that it was filming months ago in Canada, but I wasn't sure that it would film here in New York, so I was surprised when I was called to work on it. I thought it was done.
fighting a black gang, as they explained it to us.
The strange thing was, they didn't lock down the set like they usually do (to keep real pedestrians out of the scene), so people kept passing by us as we were doing our thing.
I had to alternately hide and then flash my weapon as I scanned the rooftops.
So people passing by saw the big automatic weapon peeking out of my coat, and one or more of them called the cops, and in a matter of minutes, three cop cars pulled up behind me.
So I started walking towards the police car to explain the situation, and the officer yells out "Stay right where you are! Don't move any closer!!"
I had a great time also because I was working with my good friend, fellow actor Alan (Now THAT'S a ponytail!) Gary on the set.
You can also see Alan in the new movie War of The Worlds starring recently wacky Tom Cruise. I haven't seen it yet, but I'll do that soon.
photo that will be coming up soon for you to see.
Stay tuned!
I worked on Law & Order: Criminal Intent
again on June 1, 2005.
The different thing about this time is that the set was so close to where I live! In my whole acting career,
that's never happened to me before.
But it sure was great!
In this episode, I played Vic Dunne
-- a patient at a methadone clinic, which they set up at nearby Caledonia Hospital here in Brooklyn.
The episode starred which starred Annabella Sciorra & Chris Noth.
You might remember that I worked with Annabella before on the WABC-TV show Wonderland,
where I played the homeless character; click here to see a photo from it.
In this new show, they call names of patients to come up and get their methadone. The pharmacist calls out
"Vic Dunne"
-- then you see me come up, sign a ledger book, take my methadone (in reality, it was orange
gatorade!), I give my goodbyes and walk away.
It was short, but sweet!
Also, if you want to see a sample of
the script from that day, click here
I hope you see it!
If you do, let me know what you think.
Thanks!
On May 7, 2005, our good friends Tom & Sherry Nelson came to visit us while they
were here in New York
(they live in Alaska).
So we did typical New York things, like we took them to
DiFara's Pizzeria here in Brooklyn, the
BEST pizza in the city.
Then we went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
I also took some nice photos while we were there.
To see the shots, click here
Hope you like them!
Our neighbor Putnam Smith has been appearing as Billy Gashade in the Metropolitan Playhouse production of E. B. Ginty's Missouri Legend for the last five weeks, and we went to see him perform on April 1, 2005.
It was a great show, very well acted with a lot of good, old-time foot stompin' music.
Putnam is also an accomplished musician,
and he even played on his grandfather's banjo!
To see some shots & a video clip
or two from the show, click here
On Monday, March 22, 2005 I had the great privilege of getting together with a dear childhood friend of mine, Helen Simonetti. We grew up together in in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
I knew it had been a long time since I'd seen her, but according to Helen's memory, we haven't seen each other since the great NYC Blackout of 1977!
In any case, it's been way too long, so you can imagine how happy I was to see her again!
We took two photos together, one with flash,
and one without flash — see them both here
I worked on the movie version of the Broadway show Rent on March 17, 2005.
We were there for a long time, and I got to meet people like director Chris Columbus, lead actor Adam Pascal, plus celebrities who passed by, like Stevie Van Zandt. Even Radioman came by and got on the set.
I also ran into some actors who I've worked with before (Hey Rory!) and met some great new ones. (Hello Noah!)
I brought my camera, and of course
I took some shots that night.
Let's get to it then — click here
I hope you enjoy it.
By the way, you'll notice that
I'm now clean-shaven again!
On March 7, 2005, I worked on a new pilot for NBC TV called New York 70
From what I was told on the set, it's based on the famous French Connection story; in fact, one of the creators is Sonny Grosso (nicknamed Cloudy), who was one of the original New York City cops on that case (his character was played by Roy Scheider in the movie).
His real-life partner in the Narcotics Bureau at the time was Eddie Egan (nicknamed Popeye), who's character was played by Gene Hackman.
As far as this TV show is concerned, I heard that that Donnie Wahlberg is one of the stars of this version.
I played a hippie in the pilot (no big surprise, huh?)
We shot it on West 137th Street up in Harlem. The whole block had only old 1970's cars parked on it — It was as if we went back in time, like a good old 70's flashback!
Anyway, I took a couple of shots,
which you can see by clicking here
Hope you enjoy them!
By now you've probably heard about "The Gates" in Central Park, the project by artist Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude. Over a million people came into the city just to see it, and I'm talking lots of tourists, not just native New Yorkers like me.
Well, since this is our hometown, we figured that we would go up and see what all the fuss was about. By the way, they went up February 12th and are coming down on the 28th.
Luckily, our friend Annie lives right across the street from Central Park and said that we could go up on her roof to get a good view, so we went up there on Sunday, February 20, 2004 (and of course I took my camera).
We were 15 stories up and there really was a great view.
So click here and look at some photos already!
Of course I would appreciate some feedback,
if you have a chance.
Thanks!
Some Gate Facts:
Number of Gates - 7,500
Height of Gates - 16 feet tall
Width of Gates - From 5 feet 6 inches to 18 feet (depending on width of walkway)
Spacing of Gates - 12 foot intervals
Total Area - 23 miles of Central Park
And, amazingly (according to the NY Daily News), they had
the idea for this exhibition since 1979,
but didn't get permission
until Mayor Bloomberg took office!
For more information, go to the official website here
Good News!
If you remember, when the Hebrew Hammer film was released, I was pretty depressed because they cut out my scene at the Golden Menorah (in reality, the Cotton Club in Harlem).
However, I just bought the DVD, and I'm happy to announce that I am in the "Deleted Scenes" section (hey, at least they put it somewhere!)
You'll see me in scene # 6 of the deleted scene catagory.
The scene starts out with a street shot of the Golden Menorah and you see two hasidic Jews walking in the street towards the door (I'm the one on the right, the Jew with the longer coat and the big payess bouncing around).
It's hard to recognize me because we were pretty far away, but I did that scene with my friend Josh, the Jew on the left.
The camera then cuts to Adam Goldberg (the Hebrew Hammer) coming inside the Golden Menorah with "Esther" (actress Judy Greer), and you'll see a Hasid announce "Zaydes and Gentlemen, the Hebrew Hammer!"
Right away, you'll see all the Hasids on the dance floor cheering — I'm the Jew that's dead center of the screen who raises his fist up in the air.
Then you'll see me various times throughout that scene. For instance, when a gay hasid asks the Hebrew Hammer if he wants to dance, Adam asks how does he know him, and the hasid replies "we have mutual friends", the camera cuts to the circle of Jews dancing the hora, I'm the one at the bottom center of your screen (you see my big, black hat), and then you see me turn to the right as the circle is moving, gradually seeing my face.
Finally, as Adam Goldberg is explaining that he can't because he has a bris to go to, watch for the hasid who's sitting behind him on the left at the table. It's me again.
Through the magic of editing, you see me dancing and then you see me sitting at the table in the same scene, a few seconds later!
Anyway, it's been a long wait, but I'm glad that it's finally out so that you can see it.
If you do buy it, rent it either by video store or order it on Netflix and you see me, please drop me a line in my Guestbook and let me know what you thought of it. It's a hilarious movie!
P.S. -- To see a photo of me with Adam Goldberg, click here
Beginning January 2005, the Rock & Roll Frankenstein DVD is now available on Netflix for all of you who subscribe to that service.
Director Brian O'Hara tells me that there is also a reviews page where you can write your own review of the movie after seeing it. I believe there are two up there for you to read now.
I can't see it because I'm not a subscriber (yet), but if any of you are and happen to go up there and see one (or write a review of your own), I'd like to know about it.
Remember that if you go looking for it there,
write it Rock & Roll instead of Rock 'n' Roll.
Thanks!
On January 9, 2005 we got together with our dear friend Joanie and her niece Celeste for brunch in Park Slope.
Our schedules were so hectic over the holidays, plus we were unable to get together with Joanie for Carol's birthday last month (look 2 entries below this story to see how we celebrated it), so we took care of both at the same time.
To see photos and a short video clip from this day, click here
Sad news:
On Tuesday night, December 28, 2004, my pal Jerry Orbach from Law & Order passed away.
Jerry died from prostate cancer.
I knew for a little while that he had it, but I also heard the prognosis that he was expected to recover. Jerry had been getting treatments at Sloane-Kettering in Manhattan. The news came as a shock to everyone.
Jerry was the nicest guy you would ever want to meet, and he always had a kind word and a smile. He also never neglected his fans. He would stop whatever he was doing to say hello, shake hands and take photos. And very sincerely, never nasty.
Olev HaSholem, Jerry.
We loved you & we're going to miss you.
To see photos of Jerry and I on the set, click here
Friday, December 17, 2004 was an important day for us because, not only was it my wife Carol's birthday, but our dear friend Kerry came up from Florida just for the occasion!
We met another very close friend there also, Annie (who you might have heard of from my site; I took her daughter Reade to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a month and a half ago; see separate story three entries below this one).
We went to the world-famous Rainbow Room
to celebrate — Fancy Schmancy!
I figured that I would treat all of the girls, since Annie's birthday was also coming up the following week, and Kerry's a little more than a week after that. We had the best time!
Knowing me, of course I had my camera; I took shots of Manhattan from 65 floors up, and we also walked right down the block to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
To see these photos, click here
On December 6, 2004, I registered with NY Casting Network, which has just opened here in the city recently. It is New York's version of the system that has been in use in Los Angeles for the last couple of years.
They say it's the number one online submission website used out in L.A., and that it's accessed every day by all the big casting directors & agents on the West Coast to post jobs and to search for talent. I'm hoping that it has the same effect here in NY.
I also have the capability to submit myself for current projects and send my photos & resume to anyone anywhere.
I would like for you to please test out
this link and see how it works for you.
Click on the link to see my page, right here
Thanks for checking it out!
If there are any problems, please let me know.
There are some changes I wanted to inform you of.
You might remember reading about Writer/Journalist/Broadcaster Michael J. Simpson from England, who attended the Fangoria Convention here in New York City a few years ago when I was one of the guest celebrities at the show — you can look at the list here
Mike is currently working on an authorized biography of Elsa Lanchester – The Bride of Frankenstein herself!
Well, he has a terrific review of Rock 'n' Roll Frankenstein up on his site, and he was also nice enough to request an interview with me, which I gladly did, of course.
Mike recently redesigned his site, so the old links I had to those pages don't exist any more.
Here are the new links:
To read his great review of the movie, click here
To read the interview with me, click here
I hope you read those new pages.
Let me know if you like it.
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!
Also, if you want to see a sample of
the script from that day, click here
I hope you see it!
If you do, let me know what you think.
Thanks!
So we did typical New York things, like we took them to DiFara's Pizzeria here in Brooklyn, the BEST pizza in the city.
I also took some nice photos while we were there.
Our neighbor Putnam Smith has been appearing as Billy Gashade in the Metropolitan Playhouse production of E. B. Ginty's Missouri Legend for the last five weeks, and we went to see him perform on April 1, 2005.
It was a great show, very well acted with a lot of good, old-time foot stompin' music.
Putnam is also an accomplished musician,
and he even played on his grandfather's banjo!
To see some shots & a video clip
or two from the show, click here
On Monday, March 22, 2005 I had the great privilege of getting together with a dear childhood friend of mine, Helen Simonetti. We grew up together in in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
I knew it had been a long time since I'd seen her, but according to Helen's memory, we haven't seen each other since the great NYC Blackout of 1977!
In any case, it's been way too long, so you can imagine how happy I was to see her again!
We took two photos together, one with flash,
and one without flash — see them both here
I worked on the movie version of the Broadway show Rent on March 17, 2005.
We were there for a long time, and I got to meet people like director Chris Columbus, lead actor Adam Pascal, plus celebrities who passed by, like Stevie Van Zandt. Even Radioman came by and got on the set.
I also ran into some actors who I've worked with before (Hey Rory!) and met some great new ones. (Hello Noah!)
I brought my camera, and of course
I took some shots that night.
Let's get to it then — click here
I hope you enjoy it.
By the way, you'll notice that
I'm now clean-shaven again!
On March 7, 2005, I worked on a new pilot for NBC TV called New York 70
From what I was told on the set, it's based on the famous French Connection story; in fact, one of the creators is Sonny Grosso (nicknamed Cloudy), who was one of the original New York City cops on that case (his character was played by Roy Scheider in the movie).
His real-life partner in the Narcotics Bureau at the time was Eddie Egan (nicknamed Popeye), who's character was played by Gene Hackman.
As far as this TV show is concerned, I heard that that Donnie Wahlberg is one of the stars of this version.
I played a hippie in the pilot (no big surprise, huh?)
We shot it on West 137th Street up in Harlem. The whole block had only old 1970's cars parked on it — It was as if we went back in time, like a good old 70's flashback!
Anyway, I took a couple of shots,
which you can see by clicking here
Hope you enjoy them!
By now you've probably heard about "The Gates" in Central Park, the project by artist Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude. Over a million people came into the city just to see it, and I'm talking lots of tourists, not just native New Yorkers like me.
Well, since this is our hometown, we figured that we would go up and see what all the fuss was about. By the way, they went up February 12th and are coming down on the 28th.
Luckily, our friend Annie lives right across the street from Central Park and said that we could go up on her roof to get a good view, so we went up there on Sunday, February 20, 2004 (and of course I took my camera).
We were 15 stories up and there really was a great view.
So click here and look at some photos already!
Of course I would appreciate some feedback,
if you have a chance.
Thanks!
Some Gate Facts:
Number of Gates - 7,500
Height of Gates - 16 feet tall
Width of Gates - From 5 feet 6 inches to 18 feet (depending on width of walkway)
Spacing of Gates - 12 foot intervals
Total Area - 23 miles of Central Park
And, amazingly (according to the NY Daily News), they had
the idea for this exhibition since 1979,
but didn't get permission
until Mayor Bloomberg took office!
For more information, go to the official website here
Good News!
If you remember, when the Hebrew Hammer film was released, I was pretty depressed because they cut out my scene at the Golden Menorah (in reality, the Cotton Club in Harlem).
However, I just bought the DVD, and I'm happy to announce that I am in the "Deleted Scenes" section (hey, at least they put it somewhere!)
You'll see me in scene # 6 of the deleted scene catagory.
The scene starts out with a street shot of the Golden Menorah and you see two hasidic Jews walking in the street towards the door (I'm the one on the right, the Jew with the longer coat and the big payess bouncing around).
It's hard to recognize me because we were pretty far away, but I did that scene with my friend Josh, the Jew on the left.
The camera then cuts to Adam Goldberg (the Hebrew Hammer) coming inside the Golden Menorah with "Esther" (actress Judy Greer), and you'll see a Hasid announce "Zaydes and Gentlemen, the Hebrew Hammer!"
Right away, you'll see all the Hasids on the dance floor cheering — I'm the Jew that's dead center of the screen who raises his fist up in the air.
Then you'll see me various times throughout that scene. For instance, when a gay hasid asks the Hebrew Hammer if he wants to dance, Adam asks how does he know him, and the hasid replies "we have mutual friends", the camera cuts to the circle of Jews dancing the hora, I'm the one at the bottom center of your screen (you see my big, black hat), and then you see me turn to the right as the circle is moving, gradually seeing my face.
Finally, as Adam Goldberg is explaining that he can't because he has a bris to go to, watch for the hasid who's sitting behind him on the left at the table. It's me again.
Through the magic of editing, you see me dancing and then you see me sitting at the table in the same scene, a few seconds later!
Anyway, it's been a long wait, but I'm glad that it's finally out so that you can see it.
If you do buy it, rent it either by video store or order it on Netflix and you see me, please drop me a line in my Guestbook and let me know what you thought of it. It's a hilarious movie!
P.S. -- To see a photo of me with Adam Goldberg, click here
Beginning January 2005, the Rock & Roll Frankenstein DVD is now available on Netflix for all of you who subscribe to that service.
Director Brian O'Hara tells me that there is also a reviews page where you can write your own review of the movie after seeing it. I believe there are two up there for you to read now.
I can't see it because I'm not a subscriber (yet), but if any of you are and happen to go up there and see one (or write a review of your own), I'd like to know about it.
Remember that if you go looking for it there,
write it Rock & Roll instead of Rock 'n' Roll.
Thanks!
On January 9, 2005 we got together with our dear friend Joanie and her niece Celeste for brunch in Park Slope.
Our schedules were so hectic over the holidays, plus we were unable to get together with Joanie for Carol's birthday last month (look 2 entries below this story to see how we celebrated it), so we took care of both at the same time.
To see photos and a short video clip from this day, click here
Sad news:
On Tuesday night, December 28, 2004, my pal Jerry Orbach from Law & Order passed away.
Jerry died from prostate cancer.
I knew for a little while that he had it, but I also heard the prognosis that he was expected to recover. Jerry had been getting treatments at Sloane-Kettering in Manhattan. The news came as a shock to everyone.
Jerry was the nicest guy you would ever want to meet, and he always had a kind word and a smile. He also never neglected his fans. He would stop whatever he was doing to say hello, shake hands and take photos. And very sincerely, never nasty.
Olev HaSholem, Jerry.
We loved you & we're going to miss you.
To see photos of Jerry and I on the set, click here
Friday, December 17, 2004 was an important day for us because, not only was it my wife Carol's birthday, but our dear friend Kerry came up from Florida just for the occasion!
We met another very close friend there also, Annie (who you might have heard of from my site; I took her daughter Reade to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a month and a half ago; see separate story three entries below this one).
We went to the world-famous Rainbow Room
to celebrate — Fancy Schmancy!
I figured that I would treat all of the girls, since Annie's birthday was also coming up the following week, and Kerry's a little more than a week after that. We had the best time!
Knowing me, of course I had my camera; I took shots of Manhattan from 65 floors up, and we also walked right down the block to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
To see these photos, click here
On December 6, 2004, I registered with NY Casting Network, which has just opened here in the city recently. It is New York's version of the system that has been in use in Los Angeles for the last couple of years.
They say it's the number one online submission website used out in L.A., and that it's accessed every day by all the big casting directors & agents on the West Coast to post jobs and to search for talent. I'm hoping that it has the same effect here in NY.
I also have the capability to submit myself for current projects and send my photos & resume to anyone anywhere.
I would like for you to please test out
this link and see how it works for you.
Click on the link to see my page, right here
Thanks for checking it out!
If there are any problems, please let me know.
There are some changes I wanted to inform you of.
You might remember reading about Writer/Journalist/Broadcaster Michael J. Simpson from England, who attended the Fangoria Convention here in New York City a few years ago when I was one of the guest celebrities at the show — you can look at the list here
Mike is currently working on an authorized biography of Elsa Lanchester – The Bride of Frankenstein herself!
Well, he has a terrific review of Rock 'n' Roll Frankenstein up on his site, and he was also nice enough to request an interview with me, which I gladly did, of course.
Mike recently redesigned his site, so the old links I had to those pages don't exist any more.
Here are the new links:
To read his great review of the movie, click here
To read the interview with me, click here
I hope you read those new pages.
Let me know if you like it.
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!
and he even played on his grandfather's banjo!
To see some shots & a video clip
or two from the show, click here
I knew it had been a long time since I'd seen her, but according to Helen's memory, we haven't seen each other since the great NYC Blackout of 1977!
We took two photos together, one with flash,
and one without flash — see them both here
I worked on the movie version of the Broadway show Rent on March 17, 2005.
We were there for a long time, and I got to meet people like director Chris Columbus, lead actor Adam Pascal, plus celebrities who passed by, like Stevie Van Zandt. Even Radioman came by and got on the set.
I also ran into some actors who I've worked with before (Hey Rory!) and met some great new ones. (Hello Noah!)
I brought my camera, and of course
I took some shots that night.
Let's get to it then — click here
I hope you enjoy it.
By the way, you'll notice that
I'm now clean-shaven again!
On March 7, 2005, I worked on a new pilot for NBC TV called New York 70
From what I was told on the set, it's based on the famous French Connection story; in fact, one of the creators is Sonny Grosso (nicknamed Cloudy), who was one of the original New York City cops on that case (his character was played by Roy Scheider in the movie).
His real-life partner in the Narcotics Bureau at the time was Eddie Egan (nicknamed Popeye), who's character was played by Gene Hackman.
As far as this TV show is concerned, I heard that that Donnie Wahlberg is one of the stars of this version.
I played a hippie in the pilot (no big surprise, huh?)
We shot it on West 137th Street up in Harlem. The whole block had only old 1970's cars parked on it — It was as if we went back in time, like a good old 70's flashback!
Anyway, I took a couple of shots,
which you can see by clicking here
Hope you enjoy them!
By now you've probably heard about "The Gates" in Central Park, the project by artist Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude. Over a million people came into the city just to see it, and I'm talking lots of tourists, not just native New Yorkers like me.
Well, since this is our hometown, we figured that we would go up and see what all the fuss was about. By the way, they went up February 12th and are coming down on the 28th.
Luckily, our friend Annie lives right across the street from Central Park and said that we could go up on her roof to get a good view, so we went up there on Sunday, February 20, 2004 (and of course I took my camera).
We were 15 stories up and there really was a great view.
So click here and look at some photos already!
Of course I would appreciate some feedback,
if you have a chance.
Thanks!
Some Gate Facts:
Number of Gates - 7,500
Height of Gates - 16 feet tall
Width of Gates - From 5 feet 6 inches to 18 feet (depending on width of walkway)
Spacing of Gates - 12 foot intervals
Total Area - 23 miles of Central Park
And, amazingly (according to the NY Daily News), they had
the idea for this exhibition since 1979,
but didn't get permission
until Mayor Bloomberg took office!
For more information, go to the official website here
Good News!
If you remember, when the Hebrew Hammer film was released, I was pretty depressed because they cut out my scene at the Golden Menorah (in reality, the Cotton Club in Harlem).
However, I just bought the DVD, and I'm happy to announce that I am in the "Deleted Scenes" section (hey, at least they put it somewhere!)
You'll see me in scene # 6 of the deleted scene catagory.
The scene starts out with a street shot of the Golden Menorah and you see two hasidic Jews walking in the street towards the door (I'm the one on the right, the Jew with the longer coat and the big payess bouncing around).
It's hard to recognize me because we were pretty far away, but I did that scene with my friend Josh, the Jew on the left.
The camera then cuts to Adam Goldberg (the Hebrew Hammer) coming inside the Golden Menorah with "Esther" (actress Judy Greer), and you'll see a Hasid announce "Zaydes and Gentlemen, the Hebrew Hammer!"
Right away, you'll see all the Hasids on the dance floor cheering — I'm the Jew that's dead center of the screen who raises his fist up in the air.
Then you'll see me various times throughout that scene. For instance, when a gay hasid asks the Hebrew Hammer if he wants to dance, Adam asks how does he know him, and the hasid replies "we have mutual friends", the camera cuts to the circle of Jews dancing the hora, I'm the one at the bottom center of your screen (you see my big, black hat), and then you see me turn to the right as the circle is moving, gradually seeing my face.
Finally, as Adam Goldberg is explaining that he can't because he has a bris to go to, watch for the hasid who's sitting behind him on the left at the table. It's me again.
Through the magic of editing, you see me dancing and then you see me sitting at the table in the same scene, a few seconds later!
Anyway, it's been a long wait, but I'm glad that it's finally out so that you can see it.
If you do buy it, rent it either by video store or order it on Netflix and you see me, please drop me a line in my Guestbook and let me know what you thought of it. It's a hilarious movie!
P.S. -- To see a photo of me with Adam Goldberg, click here
Beginning January 2005, the Rock & Roll Frankenstein DVD is now available on Netflix for all of you who subscribe to that service.
Director Brian O'Hara tells me that there is also a reviews page where you can write your own review of the movie after seeing it. I believe there are two up there for you to read now.
I can't see it because I'm not a subscriber (yet), but if any of you are and happen to go up there and see one (or write a review of your own), I'd like to know about it.
Remember that if you go looking for it there,
write it Rock & Roll instead of Rock 'n' Roll.
Thanks!
On January 9, 2005 we got together with our dear friend Joanie and her niece Celeste for brunch in Park Slope.
Our schedules were so hectic over the holidays, plus we were unable to get together with Joanie for Carol's birthday last month (look 2 entries below this story to see how we celebrated it), so we took care of both at the same time.
To see photos and a short video clip from this day, click here
Sad news:
On Tuesday night, December 28, 2004, my pal Jerry Orbach from Law & Order passed away.
Jerry died from prostate cancer.
I knew for a little while that he had it, but I also heard the prognosis that he was expected to recover. Jerry had been getting treatments at Sloane-Kettering in Manhattan. The news came as a shock to everyone.
Jerry was the nicest guy you would ever want to meet, and he always had a kind word and a smile. He also never neglected his fans. He would stop whatever he was doing to say hello, shake hands and take photos. And very sincerely, never nasty.
Olev HaSholem, Jerry.
We loved you & we're going to miss you.
To see photos of Jerry and I on the set, click here
Friday, December 17, 2004 was an important day for us because, not only was it my wife Carol's birthday, but our dear friend Kerry came up from Florida just for the occasion!
We met another very close friend there also, Annie (who you might have heard of from my site; I took her daughter Reade to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a month and a half ago; see separate story three entries below this one).
We went to the world-famous Rainbow Room
to celebrate — Fancy Schmancy!
I figured that I would treat all of the girls, since Annie's birthday was also coming up the following week, and Kerry's a little more than a week after that. We had the best time!
Knowing me, of course I had my camera; I took shots of Manhattan from 65 floors up, and we also walked right down the block to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
To see these photos, click here
On December 6, 2004, I registered with NY Casting Network, which has just opened here in the city recently. It is New York's version of the system that has been in use in Los Angeles for the last couple of years.
They say it's the number one online submission website used out in L.A., and that it's accessed every day by all the big casting directors & agents on the West Coast to post jobs and to search for talent. I'm hoping that it has the same effect here in NY.
I also have the capability to submit myself for current projects and send my photos & resume to anyone anywhere.
I would like for you to please test out
this link and see how it works for you.
Click on the link to see my page, right here
Thanks for checking it out!
If there are any problems, please let me know.
There are some changes I wanted to inform you of.
You might remember reading about Writer/Journalist/Broadcaster Michael J. Simpson from England, who attended the Fangoria Convention here in New York City a few years ago when I was one of the guest celebrities at the show — you can look at the list here
Mike is currently working on an authorized biography of Elsa Lanchester – The Bride of Frankenstein herself!
Well, he has a terrific review of Rock 'n' Roll Frankenstein up on his site, and he was also nice enough to request an interview with me, which I gladly did, of course.
Mike recently redesigned his site, so the old links I had to those pages don't exist any more.
Here are the new links:
To read his great review of the movie, click here
To read the interview with me, click here
I hope you read those new pages.
Let me know if you like it.
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!
I brought my camera, and of course
I took some shots that night.
Let's get to it then — click here
I hope you enjoy it.
By the way, you'll notice that
I'm now clean-shaven again!
From what I was told on the set, it's based on the famous French Connection story; in fact, one of the creators is Sonny Grosso (nicknamed Cloudy), who was one of the original New York City cops on that case (his character was played by Roy Scheider in the movie).
His real-life partner in the Narcotics Bureau at the time was Eddie Egan (nicknamed Popeye), who's character was played by Gene Hackman.
As far as this TV show is concerned, I heard that that Donnie Wahlberg is one of the stars of this version.
We shot it on West 137th Street up in Harlem. The whole block had only old 1970's cars parked on it — It was as if we went back in time, like a good old 70's flashback!
which you can see by clicking here
By now you've probably heard about "The Gates" in Central Park, the project by artist Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude. Over a million people came into the city just to see it, and I'm talking lots of tourists, not just native New Yorkers like me.
Well, since this is our hometown, we figured that we would go up and see what all the fuss was about. By the way, they went up February 12th and are coming down on the 28th.
Luckily, our friend Annie lives right across the street from Central Park and said that we could go up on her roof to get a good view, so we went up there on Sunday, February 20, 2004 (and of course I took my camera).
We were 15 stories up and there really was a great view.
So click here and look at some photos already!
Of course I would appreciate some feedback,
if you have a chance.
So click here and look at some photos already!
Of course I would appreciate some feedback,
if you have a chance.
Thanks!
Some Gate Facts:
Number of Gates - 7,500
Height of Gates - 16 feet tall
Width of Gates - From 5 feet 6 inches to 18 feet (depending on width of walkway)
Spacing of Gates - 12 foot intervals
Total Area - 23 miles of Central Park
And, amazingly (according to the NY Daily News), they had
the idea for this exhibition since 1979,
but didn't get permission
until Mayor Bloomberg took office!
For more information, go to the official website here
the idea for this exhibition since 1979, but didn't get permission
until Mayor Bloomberg took office!
For more information, go to the official website here
Good News!
If you remember, when the Hebrew Hammer film was released, I was pretty depressed because they cut out my scene at the Golden Menorah (in reality, the Cotton Club in Harlem).
However, I just bought the DVD, and I'm happy to announce that I am in the "Deleted Scenes" section (hey, at least they put it somewhere!)
You'll see me in scene # 6 of the deleted scene catagory.
The scene starts out with a street shot of the Golden Menorah and you see two hasidic Jews walking in the street towards the door (I'm the one on the right, the Jew with the longer coat and the big payess bouncing around).
It's hard to recognize me because we were pretty far away, but I did that scene with my friend Josh, the Jew on the left.
The camera then cuts to Adam Goldberg (the Hebrew Hammer) coming inside the Golden Menorah with "Esther" (actress Judy Greer), and you'll see a Hasid announce "Zaydes and Gentlemen, the Hebrew Hammer!"
Right away, you'll see all the Hasids on the dance floor cheering — I'm the Jew that's dead center of the screen who raises his fist up in the air.
Then you'll see me various times throughout that scene. For instance, when a gay hasid asks the Hebrew Hammer if he wants to dance, Adam asks how does he know him, and the hasid replies "we have mutual friends", the camera cuts to the circle of Jews dancing the hora, I'm the one at the bottom center of your screen (you see my big, black hat), and then you see me turn to the right as the circle is moving, gradually seeing my face.
Finally, as Adam Goldberg is explaining that he can't because he has a bris to go to, watch for the hasid who's sitting behind him on the left at the table. It's me again.
Through the magic of editing, you see me dancing and then you see me sitting at the table in the same scene, a few seconds later!
Anyway, it's been a long wait, but I'm glad that it's finally out so that you can see it.
If you do buy it, rent it either by video store or order it on Netflix and you see me, please drop me a line in my Guestbook and let me know what you thought of it. It's a hilarious movie!
P.S. -- To see a photo of me with Adam Goldberg, click here
Beginning January 2005, the Rock & Roll Frankenstein DVD is now available on Netflix for all of you who subscribe to that service.
Director Brian O'Hara tells me that there is also a reviews page where you can write your own review of the movie after seeing it. I believe there are two up there for you to read now.
I can't see it because I'm not a subscriber (yet), but if any of you are and happen to go up there and see one (or write a review of your own), I'd like to know about it.
Remember that if you go looking for it there,
write it Rock & Roll instead of Rock 'n' Roll.
Thanks!
On January 9, 2005 we got together with our dear friend Joanie and her niece Celeste for brunch in Park Slope.
Our schedules were so hectic over the holidays, plus we were unable to get together with Joanie for Carol's birthday last month (look 2 entries below this story to see how we celebrated it), so we took care of both at the same time.
To see photos and a short video clip from this day, click here
Sad news:
On Tuesday night, December 28, 2004, my pal Jerry Orbach from Law & Order passed away.
Jerry died from prostate cancer.
I knew for a little while that he had it, but I also heard the prognosis that he was expected to recover. Jerry had been getting treatments at Sloane-Kettering in Manhattan. The news came as a shock to everyone.
Jerry was the nicest guy you would ever want to meet, and he always had a kind word and a smile. He also never neglected his fans. He would stop whatever he was doing to say hello, shake hands and take photos. And very sincerely, never nasty.
Olev HaSholem, Jerry.
We loved you & we're going to miss you.
To see photos of Jerry and I on the set, click here
Friday, December 17, 2004 was an important day for us because, not only was it my wife Carol's birthday, but our dear friend Kerry came up from Florida just for the occasion!
We met another very close friend there also, Annie (who you might have heard of from my site; I took her daughter Reade to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a month and a half ago; see separate story three entries below this one).
We went to the world-famous Rainbow Room
to celebrate — Fancy Schmancy!
I figured that I would treat all of the girls, since Annie's birthday was also coming up the following week, and Kerry's a little more than a week after that. We had the best time!
Knowing me, of course I had my camera; I took shots of Manhattan from 65 floors up, and we also walked right down the block to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
To see these photos, click here
On December 6, 2004, I registered with NY Casting Network, which has just opened here in the city recently. It is New York's version of the system that has been in use in Los Angeles for the last couple of years.
They say it's the number one online submission website used out in L.A., and that it's accessed every day by all the big casting directors & agents on the West Coast to post jobs and to search for talent. I'm hoping that it has the same effect here in NY.
I also have the capability to submit myself for current projects and send my photos & resume to anyone anywhere.
I would like for you to please test out
this link and see how it works for you.
Click on the link to see my page, right here
Thanks for checking it out!
If there are any problems, please let me know.
There are some changes I wanted to inform you of.
You might remember reading about Writer/Journalist/Broadcaster Michael J. Simpson from England, who attended the Fangoria Convention here in New York City a few years ago when I was one of the guest celebrities at the show — you can look at the list here
Mike is currently working on an authorized biography of Elsa Lanchester – The Bride of Frankenstein herself!
Well, he has a terrific review of Rock 'n' Roll Frankenstein up on his site, and he was also nice enough to request an interview with me, which I gladly did, of course.
Mike recently redesigned his site, so the old links I had to those pages don't exist any more.
Here are the new links:
To read his great review of the movie, click here
To read the interview with me, click here
I hope you read those new pages.
Let me know if you like it.
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!
Remember that if you go looking for it there,
write it Rock & Roll instead of Rock 'n' Roll.
Thanks!
Our schedules were so hectic over the holidays, plus we were unable to get together with Joanie for Carol's birthday last month (look 2 entries below this story to see how we celebrated it), so we took care of both at the same time.
Sad news:
On Tuesday night, December 28, 2004, my pal Jerry Orbach from Law & Order passed away.
Jerry died from prostate cancer.
I knew for a little while that he had it, but I also heard the prognosis that he was expected to recover. Jerry had been getting treatments at Sloane-Kettering in Manhattan. The news came as a shock to everyone.
Jerry was the nicest guy you would ever want to meet, and he always had a kind word and a smile. He also never neglected his fans. He would stop whatever he was doing to say hello, shake hands and take photos. And very sincerely, never nasty.
Olev HaSholem, Jerry.
We loved you & we're going to miss you.
We loved you & we're going to miss you.
To see photos of Jerry and I on the set, click here
Friday, December 17, 2004 was an important day for us because, not only was it my wife Carol's birthday, but our dear friend Kerry came up from Florida just for the occasion!
We met another very close friend there also, Annie (who you might have heard of from my site; I took her daughter Reade to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a month and a half ago; see separate story three entries below this one).
We went to the world-famous Rainbow Room
to celebrate — Fancy Schmancy!
I figured that I would treat all of the girls, since Annie's birthday was also coming up the following week, and Kerry's a little more than a week after that. We had the best time!
Knowing me, of course I had my camera; I took shots of Manhattan from 65 floors up, and we also walked right down the block to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
To see these photos, click here
On December 6, 2004, I registered with NY Casting Network, which has just opened here in the city recently. It is New York's version of the system that has been in use in Los Angeles for the last couple of years.
They say it's the number one online submission website used out in L.A., and that it's accessed every day by all the big casting directors & agents on the West Coast to post jobs and to search for talent. I'm hoping that it has the same effect here in NY.
I also have the capability to submit myself for current projects and send my photos & resume to anyone anywhere.
I would like for you to please test out
this link and see how it works for you.
Click on the link to see my page, right here
Thanks for checking it out!
If there are any problems, please let me know.
There are some changes I wanted to inform you of.
You might remember reading about Writer/Journalist/Broadcaster Michael J. Simpson from England, who attended the Fangoria Convention here in New York City a few years ago when I was one of the guest celebrities at the show — you can look at the list here
Mike is currently working on an authorized biography of Elsa Lanchester – The Bride of Frankenstein herself!
Well, he has a terrific review of Rock 'n' Roll Frankenstein up on his site, and he was also nice enough to request an interview with me, which I gladly did, of course.
Mike recently redesigned his site, so the old links I had to those pages don't exist any more.
Here are the new links:
To read his great review of the movie, click here
To read the interview with me, click here
I hope you read those new pages.
Let me know if you like it.
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!
to celebrate — Fancy Schmancy!
They say it's the number one online submission website used out in L.A., and that it's accessed every day by all the big casting directors & agents on the West Coast to post jobs and to search for talent. I'm hoping that it has the same effect here in NY.
I also have the capability to submit myself for current projects and send my photos & resume to anyone anywhere.
this link and see how it works for you.
If there are any problems, please let me know.
You might remember reading about Writer/Journalist/Broadcaster Michael J. Simpson from England, who attended the Fangoria Convention here in New York City a few years ago when I was one of the guest celebrities at the show — you can look at the list here
Mike is currently working on an authorized biography of Elsa Lanchester – The Bride of Frankenstein herself!
Well, he has a terrific review of Rock 'n' Roll Frankenstein up on his site, and he was also nice enough to request an interview with me, which I gladly did, of course.
Mike recently redesigned his site, so the old links I had to those pages don't exist any more.
Here are the new links:
To read his great review of the movie, click here
To read the interview with me, click here
I hope you read those new pages.
Let me know if you like it.
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!