A few months ago something happened that shook my world, as I'm sure it did for many others too. Comedic Actor Robin Williams committed suicide. When it happened, I was shocked and sad and baffled as to why he would take his own life.
Then my thoughts went back to the previous year when I had the incredibly special opportunity to meet him briefly when I worked on his T.V. show, The Crazy Ones. I had called Central Casting's hotline the previous day and was surprised when they accepted me to work as one of the advertising staffers on the two day call. I was so excited in fact, that I barely slept a wink that night.
Living north of Los Angeles has its advantages but one of the major disadvantages is the need to travel over the Sepulveda pass on the 405 to get to West L.A. But, unfortunately, this is where the sound stage was: Fox Studios on Pico Blvd. To be safe, I allowed 2 hours and 15 minutes to get there, thinking that would give me plenty of time. But, oh... was I wrong. I was 20 minutes late to set and realized that it was possible I might be sent home. (Being late is simply not tolerated on film productions - even being ten minutes late is enough to be fired and sent home without pay.) When I arrived to the stage I was a nervous wreck, blood pressure through the roof and nearly in tears. Thankfully, after apologizing profusely, the Production Assistant handed me my voucher and told me to head to the wardrobe trailer which was outside and in the alley. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief and thanked him again for cutting me a break.
I collected the wardrobe I brought with me and opened the door to the small hallway off the stage. This area is used as a buffer so that when filming begins a red light flashes and anyone coming in from outside knows not to open the inside door. As I walked into that small space the outside door opened at the exact same time and in walked Robin Williams. The two of us nearly collided! So I blurted out, "Well, good morning." And Robin shyly responded back, "Good morning." It was just a moment in time. But I walked outside of stage 14 (the same stage that Marilyn Monroe was fired from for being late one too many times) with a smile on my face, suddenly feeling energized and really happy. That's what Robin Williams gave me. His energy was like a spell that came over you when you came in contact with him. I've heard others say the same about him.
But, my story doesn't end there. The day went very well and I was in several scenes (see photo below). Robin was funny on the set as I knew he would be, improvising and going into other voices. My favorite was his Native American wise elder impression. I tried not to stare at him. Honest I did! But I couldn't keep me eyes off of him.
Since it was a two day call I made it a point to leave extra early the following day. I arrived on time with a small gift for Robin in my purse. Keep in mind that the only thing worse than being late to a film set is approaching the leading actors and trying to speak with them. If they speak with you first that's different, but it's just not something that you do. And, I can understand this protocol because sometimes there are hundreds of background actors on set and it would be crazy if each one tried to speak to these V.I.P.s who are trying hard to focus on their lines and stay in character.
So I decided that if the moment presented itself I would give my gift directly to him. And if not, I would give it to his assistant to pass on if they chose to do so.
As the day went on, we were all needed on set most of the time, but later in the day many of us were in a holding area on stage. It was at that time that Robin Williams stopped to speak with a background actor near me. Inside of my bag was the small gift and it seemed to call out to me, "NOW'S THE TIME! NOW'S THE TIME!" I realized at that scary moment that I could again be sent home, but I took that chance and called out, "Robin, I brought a small gift for you!"
As he approached me I pulled out a tiny orange pumpkin squash from my bag and placed it in the palm of my hand as an offering to him. His face lit up immediately. As he took it out of my hand you could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he was thinking of what he could say about that little pumpkin. He asked me, "Is this from your garden?"
I smiled and said, "No. I bought it at Trader Joe's for 99 cents."
And for some reason this made him laugh, along with several other background actors who had by that time gathered around. My head was suddenly spinning. Wait a minute, I remember thinking.... Did I just make Robin Williams laugh?! Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? And then he went into a short schpeel about the tiny little pumpkin and I really do wish I could remember the details but looking back it was a bit of a blur because, quite honestly it was all very surreal.
Robin turned to his assistant and asked her to take the little pumpkin to his trailer. He thanked me for it and then headed for the set, leaving me and those around me feeling like V.I.P.s too. So often background actors are treated like human props. Rarely are we even asked for our names. Usually, it's: "YOU, go over there and walk down the hall", or "YOU, go sit on that couch and pretend to be on the phone." Or "YOU, go stand in the corner with... YOU and YOU...." as the 2nd A.D. points to wide eyed extras in the vicinity. But really, can you blame them? Are they supposed to remember all of our names, especially when we are only there for a day or so? None-the-less, being a background actor is humbling, and yes, humiliating at times.
But Robin made us feel as though we were part of the cast. He took the time to interact with us and he was as kind and genuine and funny as you might imagine he would be.
I'm almost done telling my My Robin Williams story, but there's one more quick chapter to it:
After Robin died I contemplated whether or not to write about giving him the little pumpkin and decided not to. But then about a week later, I received a clear message from the Universe when I was driving up the canyon to my home one early evening. There on the side of the secluded mountain road and far away from any structures was a small pumpkin all by itself sitting on a rock! It was about twice the size of the one I gave to Robin. Still small, but large enough to spot and it was perfectly healthy and orange (see the photo of me at the top of the page with it in my hands). I passed it by in disbelief then made a U-turn a half mile up the road and came back for it. I believe in signs and metaphors so when I picked up that pumpkin and put it on my passenger seat I smiled and thought to myself, okay, maybe I'm supposed to share my story. And that reminds me - THANKS for taking the time to drop by and read it!
More about Janine Cooper Ayres:
www.j9art.com
