Act One? check. The back forty and part of the front lawn mowed? Check. And now on to Act Two.
By the way, I need to get my eyes examined. I think I’ve reached the stage where readers no longer do it. Between computer screens and reading and the prep work for the play, my eyes are having a bit of trouble making the necessary adjustments. I took a break in the middle of the Hamlet work yesterday just to rest my eyes. That break morphed into mowing the lawn.
It’s time for Interesting and/or Well-Known Actors/ Directors Don has Worked With. We sat down with a pad of paper and did our best to remember everybody. But of course, I’m sure we’ve forgotten some people. This list is in no particular order. I’ve added a little information here and there.
Harvey Korman – Harvey ‘discovered’ Don and became a big fan. He signed Don to be a part of the cast of his new variety series, The Harvey Korman Show (after the Carol Burnett show). He had a part written especially for Don. The show was eventually cancelled. Christine Lahti was also part of that cast. Korman was very important to Don and his career.
Jackie Mason – Don did a week on The Jackie Mason Show. Jackie loved to say, “Don Sparks, the most famous actor you’ve never heard of.”
Hans Conried – Right after Don’s first Equity show at the Old Globe, he was in a play called Norman, is that You? with the legendary Hans Conried.
Ray Walston – Broadway actor, star of My Favorite Martian – Don worked with him in a play in St. Louis.
Jesse White – in the original Broadway cast of Harvey (also the movie) and the famous Maytag repairman in commercials for years. Jesse was a funny, fast-talking comedian and Don really liked working with him. They did a play together.
Ralph Bellamy – in a week-long shoot for an episode of L.A. Law. Don loved working with him.
Robert Reed – Of The Brady Bunch fame. Don did a play with him. He was an extraordinarily nice man.
Josh Logan – Legendary director of South Pacific, Annie Get Your Gun, Mister Roberts, Picnic and Bus Stop, among other landmark stage productions and movies. He directed Don in at least two plays. Don got to travel with him and soak up all his wisdom and stories about the theater.
Jerry Van Dyke, Craig T. Nelson and Shelley Fabares – in an episode of Coach.
Andy Griffith – on an episode of Matlock. Don was thrilled to work with him. At the end of shooting, Don went up to Mr. Griffith and said, “It was a pleasure working with you, sir.” And Griffith responded in his wonderful drawl, “Well, it was pleasure working with you.”
Don Knotts – On Three’s Company. Loved working with him.
John Ritter – Don did two episodes of Three’s Company with him, playing two completely different characters. John Ritter was a kind, generous, and wildly funny actor. So generous, in fact, that he spent time making sure that Don got good camera coverage and close-ups. That’s how generous he was.
Jimmy Smits, Susan Dey, John Spencer and Harry Hamlin – during nine episodes of L.A. Law, where Don played District Attorney Russell Spitzer.
Renee Zellweger – in My Own Love Song, a movie where Don played a homeless man and sang a Bob Dylan song. Zellweger and Don talked a lot about guitars and music. She was very nice.
Timothy Hutton – in the movie, Kinsey.
Mary Tyler Moore, George Segal and Tea Leoni – in an episode of The Naked Truth. Mary Tyler Moore was really a lot of fun to work with.
John Goodman – in Henry IV at the Old Globe. (I worked on that production, as well.)
Ed O’Neill, Katey Sagal – in an episode of Married With Children
Kelsey Grammer – in a play in Los Angeles, another play at The Old Globe and on Frasier. Great guy.
David Hyde Pierce and Shelley Long – on Frasier.
Brad Pitt – he was very young and just starting out – he and Don did an episode of Freddy’s Nightmares together. I’ve seen it and it’s very funny.
Will Smith – on an episode of Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Scott Bakula – on an episode of Quantum Leap.
Ted Danson – on Cheers and on a film – great guy.
John Ratzenberger, Frances Sternhagen – on Cheers.
Dennis Franz – on Hill Street Blues. Another lovely man.
Blake Edwards – legendary director of The Pink Panther, Victor, Victoria, etc. On two films.
Bruce Willis and Kim Basinger – in Blind Date, a movie directed by Blake Edwards.
Richard Mulligan – on an episode of Empty Nest.
Tuesday Weld and Joan Hackett – in Reflections of Murder, the first movie Don was cast in.
Sam Waterston, Dianne Wiest – on Law and Order.
Jerry Orbach, Angie Harmon, Richard Belzer, Ice-T – on various Law and Orders.
Denis Leary – on three episodes of Rescue Me.
Peter Scolari and Betsy Palmer – in a production of The Foreigner.
Deborah Raffin – She and Don worked together in a play in Canada. Don said that she was a wonderful person. She died too young.
Robert Hays – Don and Bob have known each other since Don was 18. They roomed together while working at The Old Globe and are still close friends. Don also did an episode of Bob’s series, Starman. Forgot to mention that I worked with Bob at the Old Globe in a production of Mister Roberts. Wonderful guy.
Beah Richards – the legendary actress who played Sidney Poitier’s mother in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner did an episode of The Practice with Don. She won an Emmy for that episode.
Jay North – the original Dennis the Menace – Don did a play with him.
Tab Hunter – Don did a play with him.
Elinor Donahue – of Father Knows Best and Andy Griffith fame – Don did an episode of Get A Life with her, along with Chris Elliott and Bob Elliott (half of the comedy team, Bob and Ray.) Lovely woman.
Okay. That’s all for now. If we think of any more names, and we will, I’ll let you know!
There is a book review up on Just Let Me Finish This Page. A wonderful read by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Stop by.
Happy Wednesday.
Wow! Don has had an impressive career!
It’s been going on since he was eighteen, Carolyn Marie!
I am officially blown away! Of course I realized that both of you would know a fare share of actors, but my stars! How very lucky you both are. I think my favourite one to meet would have been Andy Griffith. He was a charming man.
Take it easy on your eyes. Maybe it’s just eye strain for all the reading.
Have a wonderful day :)
Deb
You too, Deb!
What a fun list Claudia, Don has worked with so many wonderful people! (BTW, what role does Don have in Our Town?)
Deborah Raffin was a year ahead of me at my junior high school. She was friends with a few of my older friends at the time but I never talked with her. I remember her being thin and willowy, always with an easy smile on her face and being in drama class. I was so sad to hear she had passed away. And a silly kind of Blake Edwards side note – well, this is always so embarrassing to me but my mom was Mrs BE’s (the one and only Mary and Maria) official fan mail secretary for about 25 years (until my mom passed away).
Much good luck with all your reading prep.
Happy humperoonie day!
How cool, Sally! That shouldn’t be at all embarrassing – it’s wonderful!
Forgot to add that Don plays Dr. Gibbs.
How fun! Thanks so much for letting me know what character Don will be.
Haha, I’d better clarify – I didn’t mean my mom working for JA was embarrassing for me – I meant my mom was embarrassing for me. My mom was so star struck and so into it and I was a teenager and a flower child = not the least interested in famous people. So sad wisdom comes late, to me at any rate – it brought my mom lots of joy and that’s everything.
I understand.
Oh wow! What a list! My jaw kept dropping…who knew? That’s quite a career Don has had so far. I would love for Don to share some stories sometime. Like to read your list too! ;)
Thanks, Donnamae!
So many talented people your Don has had the fortune of working with – wow. Enjoyed learning a little more about your husband Claudia.
I’m glad you did, Janie!
What a list! It makes me want to go and find episodes to watch! Don has had a great career and it’s not over yet, that’s for sure! I had to get prescription glasses because my eyes couldn’t adjust between the distances as fast and it gave me eye strain. Now that I’m many years older I can’t read without them at all! Back to work!
hugs,
Linda
I fear the days of readers are almost over!
No, no–don’t say that! I’m older than you (and everybody else), and I still use them! Do have a couple of prescription pairs, too.
Don’s credits are impressive! And he SINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jane-in-tx
Yes, he does sing!
Wow, what a tremendous list. How much fun has Don had? Although I’m sure he feels very lucky to have worked with all those wonderful people, but I imagine his own skills had more than a little something to do with it as well. The only name I didn’t recognize immediately was Beah Richards but then I thought, isn’t that the lady who played Sidney Poitier’s mom in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” She WAS a lovely actress, and that’s my middle sister’s all-time favorite movie [she can lip-synch it]. If you’ve been able to get around using only readers up to now, you’re doing very well, Claudia. I first “needed help” in my mid-40s [10 years ago] and have had 2 prescriptions in that time. PS – if you end up needing glasses, think about getting deep red frames. You’d look terrific in a color!
I used to have to wear them for distance, but then my eyes corrected themselves. Then I had a prescription for reading, but somehow along the way I tried readers. Now it’s back to a prescription, I think.
Wow, what an amazing list! Harvey Korman was one of my all time favorites – good to know he was a genuinely nice man. My “brush with fame” is that my physician is the brother of Tom Wopat, who played Luke Duke in the old Duke’s of Hazard series. I know he does (has done) a lot of theatre work and have often wondered if either you or Don have ever worked with him. I hope your own list is coming soon! :)
No, neither of us has ever worked with him. He has a beautiful singing voice!
What great memories Don must have of all of these talented people..Plus he is quite the talented actor himself..from what I have seen and read online..Thank you for sharing this!
You are most welcome.
I imagine all the ‘nice kudos’ and ‘great to work with’ comments about each of the names on the list would be what they would have to say about ‘Don’, too. What an interesting and varied group of people to have had the opportunity to meet and work with. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of it all is both yours and Don’s appreciation, respect and humility in knowing these well known men and women. Kudos to you both.
It was hard to give up the readers, but so much better with glasses made especially for the computer/reading. Something about eyes transitioning from paper to pixels. I keep mine right beside my PC.
I read your blog everyday, and am enjoying your book blog, too. Thanks for the time you take to make them both a ‘Daily Read’ and ‘Photo Viewing’ must.
Sue at CollectInTexas Gal
You are very welcome Sue. It’s my pleasure.
Claudia, What a great list of actors Don has worked with. He must have some great stories to tell! Doris
He does!
Timothy Hutton…oh, wow. Whatever happened to him – do you or Don know?
He has a television series called Leverage. It airs on one of the cable channels, can’t remember which one.
Claudia, I recognized Don from several of the shows that you mentioned. I just didn’t know his name at the time. Tell him I am a fan! I also like his singing/songwriting. What a talent!
Now let’s see your list! I’ll bet it’s just as good.
Wow what a list. What a wonderful expetience he has had. Now, show us your list.
I just got new glasses. I could get by for distance but not for close up. The graduated lenses are great for me. Readers aren’t good for computers. I was going to go cheap but decided my eyes were important. I choose cheaper frames tjough. Funny, the ones i choose wete the first ones i tried on. I liked them better than the expensive ones.
For some reason, for about 4 days, I am no longer receiving the daily posting from your blog. I checked my spam folder but haven’t changed anything on my end. Is anyone else having this problem? I miss seeing it but go looking everyday by googling. Do you have any suggestions?
I have had the problem for a couple of weeks, now. Every few days I don’t get your post, but the rest of the week they show up. I subscribe via email…….
What a list, Claudia! We watch Frasier reruns all of the time, so I will have to watch for those episodes. I know them, just can’t picture what characters he played.
And, as someone else mentioned, we would love to see your list, also!!
Safe travels today. (I am reading this a day later as it was a post I didn’t get.) :-(
As long as your distance vision is OK, readers will still work..You just may need stronger ones..Then you’ll lose your midrange..Your problem is that as we get older our eyes don’t accommodate as quickly as they did (focus)…If you get stronger readers or bottoms it wipes out your midrange..THEN IT’S TRIFOCALS!! Ain’t it fun?? If the only problem you have is “close” I would just get stronger half glasses…