I
was a Story Editor on MASH and was invited to speak to a sitcom writing
class at UCLA along with my friend Larry, who at the time was a Story
Editor on RHODA. We talked about how to break into the business – the
importance of writing great spec scripts. Do’s and don’ts. We stressed the need for hard work, really studying the shows, setting high standards for yourself. That was the path to a script assignment for one of our shows.
A friend of mine was in the class and overheard the following:
Two coeds talking. Near the end of our discussion one turned to the other.
COED #1: So what do you think, Ken or Larry?
COED #2 (after some consideration): I’ll fuck Larry. I’d rather get a RHODA.
Postscript: Neither of us got lucky that night. And she never got a RHODA. But it was nice to know the students really were taking our career advice seriously.
Absolutely the truest Hollywood story. Wish I could tell you about a Noxema casting I was on...
ReplyDeleteMaybe a sandwich board with those thoughts would have been more successful. I thought the casting couch was only for actors/actresses. Famous anecdote on how Marilyn Monroe, early in her career, was passed around like breath mints by Columbia executives for noontime trysts. Of course Harry Cohn, the studio chief, was the No. 1 predator of starlets on the lot.
ReplyDeleteThat is priceless! I wonder what happened to those two coeds. Maybe they ended up writing for Small Wonder or Out of this World.
ReplyDeleteThere's actually a film coming up called The Rewrite starring the odious Hugh Grant - which is why I won't be seeing it - and the trailer shows him as a screenwriter who agrees to teach a writing class and goes through the applications and only accepts hot female students into his class so he can hit on them. A great concept for a comedy, but with the thoroughly unlikeable Grant in the lead, it's already dead in the water.
If the odious Hugh Grant can get Elizabeth Hurley, sign me up for some of that stink.
ReplyDeleteguess she told you.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry Ken, they were waiting for you to be the Dodger post game host....
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't had phone sex with Carlton the Doorman, you haven't lived.
ReplyDeleteI miss the '70's......
ReplyDeleteYou should have given those young ladies some herbal medication, to help them relax.
ReplyDelete