Jerry Lacy [Interview]

I don’t really see it as a separate type of work. The genre may be different, but my approach to the role is the same: make it as true and real as possible. Sometimes the character is faced with situations that don’t apply to our normal existence so I have to create a reaction, and that will depend on the character of the character. But that is true of any role, each individual will react to the same stimulus differently, according to their personality. But a floating giant hand will scare anybody!

At the time, I had no idea. But, in retrospect, it is clear that our audience was very young, and in my own experience I know how I revere to this day the entertainment that made an impression on me in my youth. So it should not be a surprise that those young people would hold dear the memory of the show and enjoy revisiting it even after all these years. Also, it was certainly unique as far as daytime TV was concerned, and a brilliant idea for Dan Curtis. As an actor, it was rather hard work, a lot to memorize and difficult blocking to learn in a very short time, but exhilarating. And the fans to this day are providing us with kudos for our work, and making us proud we were a part of it all.

It was my hope, when I started rehearsal for the play, that I could preserve for the audience, the warmth and integrity that Bogart brought to his work. I also wanted to be able to deliver the comedy aspect that Woody Allen wove into the play. The play ran on Broadway for over a year, and then, a year later the movie went into production, with most of us playing our respective parts. It was a wonderful experience, and I enjoyed every bit of it.

I think that the technological advances are, for the most part, a good thing. A story may be better told with the use of technology. The only exception to this might be the use of digitally creating performers. That has the dubious quality of transferring the art from the actor to the digitizer, both of which are valid, but…is it ethical?

The opportunities created are only to the good. Many actors, writers, technicians of all walks, are enabled by the ability to create and be seen, where previously it was very difficult to get your work in front of the public. The more the merrier.

Probably the fact that I was able to persevere and managed to maintain a career for so many years, while so many of the people I entered the business alongside were forced to find other means of employment and dropped out.

Good parts for actors my age are few and far between, but I am still on the lookout should one appear. Meanwhile I will keep busy with whatever comes my way, no matter how unimportant the part may be in the scenario. The point is that I am still doing what I love and I might just pop up anywhere on the small screen or even the Internet for a few more years.

Well, that’s easy. I just spent the afternoon at the zoo with my wife Julia’s three young nephews and I was smiling the entire time.