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ROWELL GORMON

V O I C E O V E R S

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Everyone Should Have an “Uncle Willie” (part two)

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One of the biggest reasons I hit it off so well in the studio with producers and directors is my Imagination.  I’ve even had writers create something with one of my voice characters in mind.  I sometimes wonder why that sense of imagination isn’t commonplace.  And then I wonder where kids get their imaginations now…if they have any.

My parents fostered mine and gave it plenty of room to grow.  But it was my mom’s younger brother (he let us call him “Willie” instead of Bill) who gave it a sharper focus, and made it the launchpad into a career, even before he knew he was doing it for me.

Treasures From an Accidental Time Capsule

It was there in a stack of battered comic books left behind in grandma’s house, including the original Captain Marvel.  It was there in the old 78rpm records of Spike Jones & His City Slickers he must’ve listened to as well.

Mom and dad would take the family to the drive-in movies once in awhile, but I think Willie was the only one brave enough to take me to a Kiddie Matinee at the local theatre.  We were probably the only ones there who actually came to see the picture (“The Lone Ranger“), and I can still remember my usually cheerful uncle’s sour reaction as we went home: “That’s the LAST time I go to an indoor movie!”

Can’t Find One?  Can’t Afford One?  Make One!

Aside from the boost into Radio and Production, Willie (and Joyce) always seemed to be able to create something fun out of practically nothing.  This was no more evident than in their annual Halloween decorations.  Inspired by our mutual fascination with the Disney parks and audio animatronics, he’d rig up simple effects like a piece of fishing line running from a hidden motor to the base of a rocking chair, or use an old 4-track tape cartridge to feature my thunderstorm sound effects loop, with inaudible pulses on an alternate track to make a light fixture flash just before the sound of the thunder.  He rigged up a dummy in a “coffin” to rise up on cue (thanks to an old motor and armature from a washing machine), and had Joyce out front scouting the neighborhood kids as they came up. She’d quietly feed him their names so that the dummy could greet them by name, his spooky voice coming from an old speaker in the thing’s chest, while Willie and his microphone hid just out of sight.

In our worlds, cardboard and string, magic markers and paint, masking tape and makeshift electronics were literally the “stuff that dreams were made of”.

The Family That PLAYS Together…

And the creativity didn’t end with Willie and Joyce.  Their kids shared with me as well.  Debbie and her little brother Richie let me use their voices as little kids in an ill-fated six part audio series I did on Old Time Radio called “The Radio Museum“.  Both Deb and Richie have families of their own now.

Of course, I didn’t get to visit much after I moved to North Carolina, but that never affected the “fan club” treatment I got from Willie and Joyce (my brother Lee and I almost ran their names together when we talked about them, as if they were one person).  They’d sit and listen to tapes of my best radio commercials, or watch my clips from local tv, even when the immediate family had lost interest.

I’m so grateful Willie was still around when I landed those movie gigs with Jim Henson’s Muppets as a literal “hired hand”.  I think he and Joyce were even more proud of me than my parents or my wife…at least they showed it more openly.

 

Final Act

I’m pretty sure Willie knew how much I appreciated everything he did for me and my eventual career in radio, tv, film, and voiceovers.  But he also gave me one last thing…my hatred of cigarettes.  See, Willie was a Marlboro Man, and I can’t ever remember him without a cigarette in his hand unless he was playing guitar or handling a soldering gun.  Those things put him in the ground, many years ago – way too early.  And I was too far away and too broke to make it back for his funeral.

Joyce has continued their legacy of love, laughs and imagination with her own offspring, their kids, and is the youngest grandmother (or is that great-grandmother) I know.

Fortunately, Willie left me with a lot of his creative spirit to remember him by, plus his ability to make something cool out of practically nothing.  It never occurred to me until later in life that not everyone is as lucky as I was.  Really…if you didn’t get an “Uncle Willie” in your family…you wuz robbed!

–over and out–

 

Everybody Should Have an “Uncle Willie” (part one)

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The Man of Multiple Names Could Hear My Multiple Voices

To his wife Joyce, his co-workers and other friends he was “Bill”.  His mom, my grandma,  always referred to him as William Thomas (I always wondered who that “William Thomas” guy she kept talking about was).  But to me and my younger brother Lee (pictured above), he was Willie.  Not even “Uncle” Willie…just Willie.  It was what my mom and his other siblings called him, and he graciously allowed us to keep using that name for the rest of his life.  Willie was probably the person most responsible for developing my creative talents and imagination.

Don’t get me wrong.  Mom always read stories to me (shifting her voice with the characters), and she and Dad always made sure I had imaginative toys, books, records, crayons & paper,  and  (of course) plenty of cardboard boxes.  Dad had plans to go into drafting (before the government beat him to it and drafted him for a little assignment in 1940s Germany), so my drawing and cartooning abilities doubtless came from him.  Mom and Joyce both made puppets for me over the years and if they ever thought I was weird for doing the voices of my stuffed toys as I played, they never let on.  But it was Willie who actively joined in the play, and invited me to join in his own, right thru adulthood.

The Electric and the Eclectic  

It was Willie who fostered my interest in things electronic.  He built me a crystal radio set and showed me how to string antennae wire all over grandma’s spare room and listen to voices and music over the headphones.  It was Willie who put me on the air for the very first time…even if it was just a quick “hello” over his custom-built ham radio set-up.

It was Willie who took me over to visit his friend Don Scales, who built hi-fi systems and had this funny contraption called a tape recorder.  He let us kids not only record our voices, but play around with tape echo effects.  And some years later it was Willie, through his connection with Don (also chief engineer at the home town radio station), who got me my first part time job as a radio announcer/dj  while I was still in high school.  It’s no false modesty when I say it was Willie’s doing  and not my own talents — I still have the original audition reel and it’s cringeworthy!

When I got a tape recorder of my own and started messing around with character voices and the sound effects I could pull off my cartoon kiddie records, Willie not only encouraged me, he wrote some silly “radio serial” scripts about the guys he worked with in the radio/tv repair shop at Sears – “The Adventures of Picture Tube Charlie”, and did some of the voices alongside mine.  I’m told the gang at work kept bugging him for new “episodes”.

Expanding the Circuit

While I never learned any electrical engineering, Willie did provide for the advancement of my on air style, creating a makeshift “portable consolette” for me out of old record players, a recycled cart machine, basic microphone and a small mixing board which he built himself.  I even used it at a few of my high school dances…the only time you’d find an un-datable square like me at such an event.

Willie , who worked as a TV Repair man at Sears, salvaged an old b&w tv from the shop and got it working so I could have it in my basement lair at home (another blog for another time).  That was the one I remember watching the first moon landing on.  During college, he repaired another set for my first apartment, and it was the first color tv in our immediate family.  Willie and Joyce had a big RCA color console at their house, of course, with sound that could be rigged through his custom stereo.  As kids, we were thrilled when a Saturday family gathering or a rare overnight stay gave us a treasured glimpse into this magical new world of color.  Promos for the upcoming week’s “Batman” almost gave me a sensory overload!  On more than a few Sunday nights, mom and dad grudgingly let our visit go into overtime so we could watch Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color before heading  home.

Still later, during the Betamax years, Willie could always be counted upon to faithfully watch the tapes  I’d bring home of a tv commercial or promo I’d directed or appeared in, or the few clips I was able to snag when my puppet characters and I appeared on the local kiddie show, “Time for Uncle Paul” (again…another blog for another time).

Even when the rest of the family wasn’t really that interested, Willie (and Joyce) served as my enthusiastic and encouraging audience.  And Joyce actually contributed one of the makeshift puppets I used on the show, Malcom, who was built from a teddy bear body and a ‘cookie monster’ style head that could “eat” cookies through a slot in the back of his mouth.  On the show, though, he quickly developed into a sweet, slow-witted soul not unlike Edgar Bergen‘s bumpkin, “Mortimer Snerd“.  The puppets couldn’t actually do much, physically.  But they really came alive as characters.

But Willie’s influence, and Joyce’s, didn’t stop at local radio and local tv.  It’s literally gone around the world thanks to all those years of creative nurturing.  More on that in the next post.

— over and out —

Back on the Farm Team

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If there is a downside to doing the voice for an animation project, it’s the seemingly interminable interval before you can actually see the final result. But more often than not…it’s worth the wait.
That’s been the experience with these terrific and funny TV spots for Taco John’s, created by Lawrence and Schiller (used by permission).
I’m the old coot who runs the farm where these very special flavors of chicken are raised (note the horns on the Buffalo Wings bird). This is the spot that ran during football playoffs…and it has one of my favorite lines ever.

— over and out —

New Dog…Old Trick

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Animating a moving mouth over live-action animal footage is nothing new. There was a popular series of theatrical shorts in the 30s based on the concept. It’s still fun, though!
My thanks to Rod and Nancy Rich at MonkeyBravo for thinking of me when it came time to record the voices (and for including my friend Wendy Zier as the other pooch).
After the “dog-eat-dog” drama of recent weeks, I thought it might be good to lighten the mood!

— over and out —

Famous…for What?

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Sometimes I enjoy and admire Ricky Gervais.  Sometmes I wonder how he got into the room…and how soon he’ll find the way back out.

But what he wrote in the Huffington Post has put him back on the “plus” column for me just now.  It’s about the weird modern goal of being “Famous”.  …nothing else…just “Famous”, not famous for anything, except being “Famous”.  That’s the subject of his next video series.  I may actually have to watch this one, having been left un-involved by The Office and having only seen snippets of Extras (the Doctor Who parody was priceless, though).

His best quote from the whole article, for me, is this:

“Born clever? So what? What are you going to do with it? Your best, I hope, and no less.”

Here’s the link to the full piece.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ricky-gervais/on-fame_b_1253273.html

It’s worth your time…even if you can’t stand Ricky Gervais.

— over and out —

Bossing People Around (In The Nicest Possible Way)

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I’ve done it before, but never to this extent, or in this particular way.

‘Ready for your close-up?  I’m Mr. DeMille.  (If you’re too young to get the reference, watch “Sunset Boulevard”)

RG (in blue shirt) directs Paul Garrett. It’s ironic that at one point I was directing Paul to use his hands less. Look whose hands are blurred in this shot!!!

This weekend I worked with a group of very talented actors on the first in a series of web-training videos for Firehorse Films…as a Director!

Today’s lesson:  expanding your income by being able to offer new services to established clients!

Mind you, the mastermind behind the whole project was Firehorse’s Jean-Paul Dame (pronounced dam-MAY…I don’t know how to use the accent key).  But Jean-Paul and I have worked on various audio and video projects over the years.  Sometimes I’ve been his on-camera talent.  Sometimes he’s recorded me or another VO talent at my studio.

During one session a few years ago, JP was trying to get a particular read from one of my talented VO friends.  After several takes failed to bring the desired result, I suggested something-or-other to help the talent get the idea of what he was being asked to convey.  Next take:  nailed it.  From that time on, JP declared I had a new talent:  I speak Jean-Paul-ese!

It’s come in handy several times since, with him specifically bringing recording work to me so he can fall back on my ability to know what he wants, and “translate” it into something the actor can then use.  May sound strange, but it works.

When this current video project came along, naturally I auditioned.  But the age, gender, and ethnicity requirements of the final script meant I was just not right for any of the parts.  Jean-Paul brought me in to direct the actors, freeing him up to concentrate on technical issues, and keeping performances consistent for smoother editing later (saving him and his client time and money in both instances).  Even I was a little skeptical I was bringing much value to the project.  JP is no slouch director himself.  But not only did he declare my input of value, the sentiment was echoed by his clients more than a few times.  Bottom line:  they got what they wanted on-camera…faster and more efficiently…through my “adapted” talent behind the camera.

So…looks like I’ll be directing talent in a lot more of these.  And it will actually be much more lucrative for me, since it would be unrealistic to expect I’d show up as a character in project after project.  But, as it appears now, my behind-the-scenes work will allow me to be a part of the rest of the series!   …keeping fingers crossed on that.

Meanwhile, as you can see from the photo, I’ll be “acting” vicariously through the professionals who are in front of the camera.

…and it still feels good, knowing I’m filling a creative need with some part of my imagination!

What other part of your own creativity might you be using to the benefit of your current clients…and yourself?

— over and out —

There And Back Again

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…or maybe I should entitle this one:  Returning to the Scene of the Crime.

Our local MCA-i chapter met at WRAL-TV recently to learn how the forward-thinking station has developed its website presence over the years, and what it’s doing to anticipate the internet’s impact on local television.

We were hosted in Studio A, which has seen uncounted telethons, record-hop and gospel shows, political discussions, quiz programs, the early days of Rick Flair and Andre the Giant…and the tv debut of a cocky young would-be puppeteer.

It was kind of eerie, seeing the corner of the studio where I spent so many mornings chatting with long-time kiddie show fixture (and a great jazz man…plus one of the best friends I ever had in my life), “Uncle” Paul Montgomery.   Only later did I realize the place I chose to sit for the presentation by our generous TV5 hosts…was the very spot where Paul had me tape our very first “bit”.  It was in a free-standing puppet box used for their then-regular character, Crawford the Lion.  I showed up with about the only puppet I owned:  a little skunk named Stripes, who had a head cold and couldn’t smell anything.  We did a five minute ad-lib segment (something no modern audience would tolerate, I realize, but hey – this was over 40 years ago!), and everything just clicked.  Years later, that little effort would evolve into my entry-level ticket to working as a “hired hand” for Jim Henson’s Muppets in two motion pictures which used the Wilmington, NC studios in the late 90s.

Fascinating as it was to see what’s been done to the station in the years since I was there (the news department was just phasing out 16mm film when I came in), I felt a little something extra while sitting in the audience.  After all, none of the speakers had been in this market when the likes of Zoot, Stripes, Malcomb, Woody, Blorg, and J. Bennington Bunny were regular fixtures with Uncle Paul in Studio A.  Come to think of it…none of our gracious hosts had even been born!

…made me feel both ancient and forever young at the same time.

— over and out —

Sometimes It DOES Help To Look Back…

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I get lots of advice from voiceover friends.  Most of it is helpful, and all of it is meant in the finest spirit of encouragement.  When that encouragement is most desperately needed, many a friend will advise you not to spend time “looking back”…but to look ahead.

Call this the exception that proves the rule (and I wish I could remember and credit the person I first heard this from).  During an unwelcome “lull” in the career, usually an invitation to depressing thoughts, I recalled being told during the dry spells I should intentionally look back.  Right.  Look back and count all the great clients who’ve had me work with them over the years.  I decided to replace the plain text on my website’s Clients Page with a montage of company logos.  Here’s what I came up with:

Hmmm.  Maybe I’m not such a hopeless case after all.  These are just the nationally-recognized things I could think of.  And I had to leave some of them out at that.

Granted, this covers many years’ experience.  And granted, if you’re just starting out you may not have as many neat logos to look for as I did.  Or you might have more.  But should you ever find yourself in my familiar territory (“…oh man, I’m done, I’ll never work again…” etc), give this a try.

It really does keep the spirits lifted, even when there’s no wind beneath your wings.

— over and out —

Movable Wisdom

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A lot of times, the stuff people forward to you in an email is hardly worth the time it takes to delete.  But once in awhile a gem comes along that you’d never seen before.  I got one of those today from friend and fellow voice actor, Tom Jones.  You may already know it, but it was brand new to me:

     “Be Yourself.  Everyone Else Is Already Taken.”

     Man,  my teacher Nancy Wolfson would love it.

— over and out —