This was a pilot for a television show. Tinsley Bumble was a spoiled rich kid whose doting daddy was locked up in a Club Fed style prison, and I got to play one of the prisoners. The scene was shot up near Harlem, in a park on a day that was overcast and drizzled a bit. I spent the day in prison garb, playing golf and hanging out with a little girl who played my daughter during a Visitor’s Day scene at the prison. Another non-Union gig that didn’t pay much, but at least one of my fellow actors gave me a ride back to the Port Authority Terminal, so at least I saved some money that way.
I have to mention the costume I had on, which was a one-piece orange jumpsuit, complete with matching shoes and slip on sneakers. It fit perfectly. This is important because I had just gone through a heckuva time with Gail regarding a jumpsuit that wouldn’t fit and had to be extensively modified. When I found out that she liked to build costumes, I asked her if she would build me something for Halloween. What, she asked. An Elvis jumpsuit, says I. You get me the pattern, she says, and I’ll make it for you. I went to www.simplicity.com and got the biggest version of the pattern that they made. What I didn’t know at the time is that Gail HATES to make jumpsuits, so she wasn’t really into doing this. She just made it to the specs of the pattern, never bothering to measure me at all. Well, it turns out that I’m a good 2 ½” longer than the pattern. Had she not put in extensions where the belt area would be, it would have seriously hampered my ability to procreate. I wore the suit I think about a half a dozen times, and it now resides in a garment bag in the back of my closet.
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