Biography
When I was very small I loved movies.
With my crayons I would draw a series
of pictures which told a story – usually
bad guys getting caught by the Lone
Ranger and Tonto or some other heroic
types -- then scotch tape them together
and pull them through slits on either
side of a cardboard box which had
the end cut out in the shape of a
movie screen. I guess I was always
headed for the world of film and video.
Before I knew how to write I was telling
poems and stories to my mom who I’m
sure hoped great things for me and
would dutifully write them down.
A four-year-old’s poem:
Pussy, pussy willow, why do you
cry?
If you don’t I will let you hear the pretty breezes passing
by.
It didn’t scan but, hey, what
did I know. As I got older my meter
improved.
At the age of fourteen, I was turned
down for a date. Her excuse -- "I’m
going to try out for a play." Not
to be deterred, that night I went
down to the theater and offered my
services. She never showed up, but
I got a job doing props. In the next
play they gave me a part and I became
totally hooked. For three years I
spent all my free time doing Little
Theater. I adored acting. I got good
reviews and loved going to parties
with the local theater crowd.
UCLA accepted me as a freshman in
the theater department and I flourished.
Sort of. I got lots of rolls, won
my share of awards, and got pictured
in Parade Magazine’s "Name
the Star of Tomorrow" contest.
But self confidence was never a strong
suit, so one day after a very talky
improvisation when my acting teacher
suggested I try my hand at playwriting,
I took the bait and soon was cranking
out one-acts like cupcakes. Since
my writing seemed to be appreciated,
acting took a back seat, and four
playwriting awards later it was off
to the Big Apple with my sweetheart
to seek our fortunes.
Lots of goofing off, a little work,
and a play called The Watch Pit (which
premiered at the Brooklyn Academy
of Music to favorable reviews in the
NY Times and other periodicals) was
followed by hard times, lapsed options,
and a (possibly flawed) decision to
stop writing plays and concentrate
on film where the big money was.
A number of speculative screenplays,
and a handful of commissions, led
to a contract to write a 90 minute
TV drama. It was a good script. Unfortunately,
the producers suddenly changed direction
and decided to go with known talent.
My slot was usurped first by Ingmar
Bergman, then Dalton Trumbo, then
Tennessee Williams… then they
canned the series. By now I was a
member of the New Dramatists, the
Writers Guild of America, and the
Societe' Des Auteurs Compositeurs
Dramatique. A diminishing taste for
carpentry, which was how I supported
myself in between writing jobs, led
me into advertising.
Ad copy was fun and the white collar
was a pleasant change. Soon I was
copy chief in a small agency. We did
well, and when clients needs called
for commercials and sales meetings
we elected to produce them in-house,
and the job fell to me. Eventually,
a separate company was formed called
Brainstorm Productions, and when its
needs became too demanding I bought
out my partner, separated from the
agency, and set out on my own.
After a stint doing commercials
Brainstorm became established as producers
of up-scale film and video for the
nation’s Fortune 500 companies.
Eighty national and international
awards for writing and directing later
it was time to say goodbye to business
and get back to the fun stuff.
After years directing film and video
my love of visual imagery has blossomed
into a powerful interest in the art
of photography. "Shadows
and Reflections", the latest
series in this ongoing romance with
the still camera, explores both the
world of reflection, with particular
emphasis on reflections in water,
and the elusive and very temporary
world of shadows, which change dramatically
as the sun making its rounds passes
through branches, grass, curtains
and other modifiers. When a breeze
wrinkles water based reflections fascinating
images emerge, transforming into flowing
abstractions of shape and color or
quasi-impressionist paintings in which
brush strokes can be clearly seen.
So, welcome to my website.
Enjoy the pictures and
the writing.
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