Post 226

I haven't blogged since December 5th!! And I see I have some new followers. Wow. Welcome.
Last year, I was working this blog thing based on an idea that a "career coach" had given me so the title was, A Clear Channel. My intention was to blog every single day for a year then see what happens. I can definitely say, I Can See Clearly Now, although it is primarily due to the vicissitudes of life. It had nothing to do with the fact I was telling all my business on the internet. Even though I've dropped the ball, I'm on a mission and I must complete my 365 entries or.....?.....I don't know, I just gotta finish. It's called compulsion. So the new title is now just Post _ _ _ until I get up to 365. I better get busy. I know I flipped the script on you dear reader. It become more difficult to blog when I stopped doing it like a journal entry but I had to tone it down a bit. There are some people out there that don't need to know what I'm doing on the daily. Just call it my spiritual awakening. So I'm back and will continue this blog for another 4 & 1/2 months until I reach Post 365. Then I'll let you know what's next. Probably dress it up will bells and whistles, pictures and video to enhance my stories.
Today I was inspired to blog after watching TV One's unsung. It's a music biography series that sheds light on artists who are (or were) extremely talented and influential yet forgotten somehow. Like Teena Marie. I sat watching the show and was reminded that I had the opportunity to be in her presence twice. She came to see Colored Girls when I did the show in Hollywood around 1988. She brought her daughter with her and made it point to come backstage and introduce herself to each and every one of us. She was so nice.
Then, a little over a year ago, one of my Bill Duke Bootcamp classmates had a party at his home in Hancock Park and surprised us with a set by Teena Marie. What a treat. She looked different, but still had those chops! I'm sure he must be devastated by her passing, it seemed like they were really good friends.
So as I continue to create my own biography (that would be called an auto-biography), I will also continue to study the bios of those that have paved the way for other artists and have left a legacy for us to inherit.
By the way, that career coach didn't last two months.

A Clear Channel - Day 225

I have always admired the career of Cicely Tyson. I had the opportunity to meet her on one of my stand-in jobs. I watched her rehearse and when she was finished, I decided to introduce myself in the hopes of getting some words of wisdom from this legendary artist. I walked up to her, "Ms. Tyson?". She turned toward me very attentively and I continued, "I'm nobody important but I just wanted to say....." She instantly cut me off, "Baby, never ever say you're nobody. You ARE somebody important and don't you ever forget it." I tried to laugh it off and continue, "Oh I know but..." She turned her head and went on about her business. She was through with me. Words of wisdom is what I wanted and words of wisdom is what I got even though it wasn't in the way I had imagined. And I WILL never forget it. Lesson? Words have power, you are what you speak, Be A Star Where You Are.

A Clear Channel - Day 224

One of my favorite movies of all time is Slingblade. The first time I saw it at screening, I was blown away by the story and particularly the brilliant work of the then unknown Billy Bob Thornton. To this day, I can watch that film over and over again and have become quite a BBT fan. Love him in Bad Santa!!
One day, not too long ago I was hanging out at Barnes and Noble at The Grove and some guy bumped into me. I turned around ready to give attitude and found myself nose to nose with Billy Bob himself. All of a sudden I was the one who said excuse me and he replied with a twinkle in his eye and the sexiest smile on his face, "I'm sorry darlin'".
That guy in Slingblade is creepy but the real Billy Bob Thornton is fine!!! He can bump into me any time.

A Clear Channel - Day 223

Someone once said everyone has a six degrees of Kevin Bacon story so here's mine: I worked on The Closer with his wife Kyra Sedgwick and their daughter shopped for the clothes I wore on the show. She has great taste and did an excellent job.
That's it. Short and sweet. The end.

A Clear Channel - Day 222

Sunday I visited the UP Church in Inglewood, CA where Della Reese is the pastor. I had been wanting to go there for a long time and since I am currently without a church home, I feel a bit of a void in that area of my life. I prefer to have a spiritual institution to give my tithes to. Not to mention that the service there starts at 1PM. Now that's my kind of church!
As I sat in the congregation, I was reminded of the time when I was a professional game show contestant. I worked for various production companies trying out developer's ideas in "run-throughs" all over town. Sometimes we would even get to the pilot stage where you could really make a little money. One show I worked on was based on the premise of trying to identify the true relationships of the guests. A celebrity guest had one person on either side of them. One person was who they said they were and the other was an imposter. Della Reese had recently married Franklin Lett. Asking us a series of questions, the contestants were supposed to figure out which was true, was I her daughter or was Franklin Lett her husband? One of the questions asked of Mr. Lett was, "Where did you take your wife on your honeymoon?" He had to think about it for a minute which led the contestants to believe that I was actually Della's daughter. Later we found out that Franklin had to take that long pause because they travel so much he couldn't remember which trip was the honeymoon. Niiiice. Anyway, I asked Mr. Lett in church on Sunday if he remembered that and he said no, so even though I plan to visit the UP church again I don't think I will bother to tell Rev. Della that I was (only for a brief moment) known as, Carlease Reese.

A Clear Channel - Day 221

Back in the day, I was a traffic co-ordinator at J. Walter Thompson Advertising. I was in my early 20's and loved all the perks that came along with the long hours and hard work. Two hour lunches,limo rides, parties, Christmas bonuses, amazing gifts from vendors and the occasional glimpse of a celebrity. One day I was getting into the elevator at 420 Lexington Avenue with my friend Ellen Bonta and we were being silly as usual. When the doors opened there stood Ossie Davis. Filling up the whole elevator. I stopped dead in my tracks, "Ossie Davis." He looked down at me and said in the deepest voice with crisp articulation, "Is it permitted to speak in the elevator?" Ding. The elevators doors opened and Ellen & I ran out giggling like little school girls. That must have made quite an impression on Mr. Davis. Or maybe he was used to it.

A Clear Channel - Day 220

During the rehearsal period of the one of The Academy Award shows I worked on, I was roaming around as usual checking out the surroundings. One of my favorites places to hang out is the green room. It's always so nicely decorated, has the best food and all the stars come through there at one time or another. So there I am strolling through the backstage area on my way to the green room and I see this tall Black man walking toward me. Nobody else was around. As we get closer to one another I see that it's Sidney Poiter. Now I'm not usually star-struck but I think at that moment I gasped internally and held my breath. While still walking toward him, I started to veer away from him on a diagonal. He started to diagonally walk directly towards me. I thought, "What is he doing?" Now, I'm almost up against the wall and he stops right in front of me, extends his hand and says, "Hi, I'm Sidney." I looked up at him, opened my mouth and all that air I was holding in came bursting out. "Hiiiiiiiiiiiii" was all I could say. And that was my Sidney Poiter moment.

A Clear Channel - Day 219

Before I was a stand-in on award shows, I was a talent escort. Once. A talent escort is a volunteer position and duties include being assigned to an artist and making sure he, she or they are in the right place at the right time. You greet them when they arrive at the venue, give them their credentials and take them on a walk through to show them their dressing rooms, where their assigned seat is in the audience, the backstage area, press room etc. Basically you're a baby sitter. At The Soul Train Awards in the late '90's, once the show got started talent, escorts and all sorts of people were scrambling all over the place to make the magic happen. At one point Quincy Jones had won a award, went up on stage to accept it and was supposed to immediately go to the press room for photos and interviews. Someone noticed he didn't have his escort with him and he was briskly walking in the wrong direction. I was told to grab him and lead him the right way, so I briskly hurried after him. "Mr. Jones, Mr. Jones, I have to take to to press." He stopped, turned around and said (nicely), "Can I pee pee first?" I looked up and we were right in front of the mens room at The Shrine Auditorium. So there I stood waiting for Quincy Jones to pee pee. When he came out of the restroom, I didn't have the nerve to ask him if he had washed his hands, but I did check his fly.

A Clear Channel - Day 218

Lately I have been enjoying the work of Diane Ladd. I've been studying her range throughout about 3 decades. A homework assignment I had was to watch Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, but I found Diane Ladd's work more interesting. Then I watched her in Rambling Rose....Loved it!! Her daughter, Laura Dern was in both of those films....really nice work in Rambling Rose from the both of them. I can't help but wonder what it's like to come from an acting family and actually get to work together. Now I'm watching a Stephen King series called Kingdom Hospital which I don't remember on TV but all 15 episodes can be rented through Netflix. Here is Ms. Ladd's work about 30 years after Alice.... She is a psychic in this show and still just as charming and solid as ever. This is also my favorite genre being a Stephen King fan and all....the series is dark and humorous all at the same time. For me, the lesson here is sustainability. Even though we are not in the limelight all the time, we are always working. You never know when we will resurface, but the point is to stay in the game. When you're good, there's a place in this business at every age.
I've got about 4 more episodes to watch til the end of the series and then I'll probably go looking for more lessons from my Big Sis Diane Ladd.

A Clear Channel - Day 217

Well Tyler Perry finally has my attention. I've been aware of his movies (even seen a few of them), his plays (never wanted to see one of them) and his TV shows. Tonight I saw For Colored Girls based on Ntozake Shange's work, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf. I saw that piece on Broadway back in the '70's and performed in 2 productions here in Los Angeles in the '80's. What Tyler Perry has done with this work is nothing short of brilliant, masterful, magic. I love the way he took it apart and put it back together seamlessly. Even though the actresses in the film still represented one particular color, no one had one whole monologue exactly the way Ntozake wrote it and that worked for me. Director Charlie Hall did something like that in the version I did at West Coast Ensemble. He passed away from AIDS in 1995 while I was riding my bicycle 573 miles in the CA AIDS Ride. I bring this up because Mr. Perry incorporated story lines to connect the pieces that included brothers on the down-low, HIV, abortion, domestic violence, rape and murder. Not very pretty subjects but extremely relevent topics.
The relationships between the women were so clear and the performances were breath-taking to say the least. It made my heart sing to watch Tessa Thompson (Nyla/lady in purple) in this film. I was the Nurse to her Juliet at Theatre @ Boston Court when she was fresh out of high school. I knew then that she was destined for great things in this business. She is one of the sweetest people I know, extremely talented and so grounded for someone her age. It showed as she put on her big girl pants and held her own with this A list cast of Blacktresses. It literally brought tears to my eyes, not just because of her work, but I am so happy for her.
I also thought it was very clever to give some of the poetry to the men and even knowing the poems as well as I do, the placement of them were not predictable.
So Mr. Perry, I would never beg you for a role in one of your projects, but I certainly won't turn it down if you'd ask me. It will be interesting to see where your career goes from here.

A Clear Channel - Day 214

Two words. Russell Simmons. We grew up in the same neighborhood (Hollis, Queens), went to the same college and rode the same train to CCNY up in Harlem. It was on one of those old rickety E trains that I remember sitting with him and my friend Carmen and he said something I will never forget as long as I live.
Russell has risen above his seemingly dismal circumstances to become one of the richest men in show business. He parties with the rich and famous in the Hamptons, always has a beautiful woman on his arm and gives money away to help others. Yet he still wears a baseball cap. If you saw him in the street and didn't know who he was, you probably wouldn't even look twice.
We hung out big time in Finley Hall on the campus of CCNY, basically just partying. He's always been a nice guy. I've only seen him a couple of times out here on the west coast and never mentioned his comment to me. But I can't let it go. I need to have a meeting with him.
This is what he said to me on that rickety E train back in the day: "Stick with me Carlease, I'll make you a star." Carmen and I looked at each other and chuckled. Damn. What did I learn from that? Words are powerful. So are intentions and when a person believes in themselves they can make anything happen. Russell knew what he wanted and was not afraid to go after his dreams. He fearlessly connected with the people he wanted to emulate and learned from them. And they helped make him a star. He now helps people all over the world with his philanthropy which is one of the things I admire about him the most. That is definitely a goal of mine as well. But first, I need someone to get me Russell Simmons on the line so that I can find out if the statue of limitations is still open on that comment he made to me on that old rickety E train back in the day.

A Clear Channel - Day 213

Let me introduce you to another actress friend of mine. Do you remember the TV show ROC with Charles Dutton? His wife was played by the fabulous Ella Joyce. I know Ella from New York and when we met, she had an entirely different name. No, you won't get it out of me, I've been sworn to secrecy. Ella Joyce is one fierce sista. There were about four of us NY actresses that all came out to LA around the same time and ironically got married around that same time also. Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Ella and me. Phyllis, Vanessa and I all worked on a play called STRIVER'S ROW at the New Heritage Theater in Harlem. It was there that I saw Ella Joyce in another play and enjoyed her work immensely. We became friends and almost did a play together at Black Spectrum in Queens but I didn't accept the role because I was moving out to L.A. Ella moved out a little bit later but she had lived here before. Out of the four of us, Ella and Vanessa are still married, Phyllis is with husband #2 and I'm working on husband #2.
Ella's husband, the talented and handsome Dan Martin, directed the 20 minute version of my solo show, FIFTY! It Doesn't Look This Good On Everybody. We've all remained friends over the years. They are always on my guest list for parties and shows and have been extremely supportive.
As an actress, Ella is a joy to watch. Her work is impeccable. Every single detail is well thought out, she doesn't miss a thing. She has written a solo show about Rosa Parks called A ROSE AMONG THORNS and it is brilliant. She has created a piece she can perform for the rest of her life. She's always popping up on my TV screen.
The lesson I have learned from her is tenacity, being in this business for the long haul. Always creating and knowing your worth as an artist. She is a strong and powerful sista. Definitely a force to be reckoned with on stage and off!!

A Clear Channel - Day 212

You know you have made it in Hollywood when people stop you on the street because they recognize your work. This is happening to me more and more lately. So much so, I had to do a bit about it in my comedy act. I talk about the person who came up to me and said, "I know you, you're an actress. I just saw your commercial. Aren't you the Pine Sol Lady?" When the audience stops laughing, I say, "That's right baby. It's the Power of Pine Sol." More laughter. What most people don't know is, the Pine Sol Lady (Diane Amos) is a very good friend of mine. We met at the Phoenix airport about 10 years ago when we were both scheduled to work as comics at a resort in Sonora Bay, Mexico. We hung out together for that whole week and have been buddies ever since. She actually lives in San Francisco, but comes to Los Angeles frequently to do Pine Sol spots and other work. Every time she's in town I feel like I'm on vacation. We do all my favorite things: hang out at hotels, eat, shop, laugh and play cards. She likes this card game called Slick which nobody else I know plays and I've been trying to beat her at it for years now. We always get together with her other girlfriends and we just have the best time. Diane is one of the most grounded and for real sistas I know. With all of her celebrity status she is never phony or pretentious. When we're together we talk about real life stuff: our families, some politics, current events or whatever is going on in the moment. We hardly ever talk about the business, toot our own horns and we definitely don't name drop or gossip. It's so refreshing to have a friend like that in this industry. I always know where I stand with her. This sista does not play.
What I learn from Diane is that you can make it in this industry and live a centered life. She is very sure about who she is: a wife, a mother, an actress, a good friend and so much more.
I am grateful to be a part of her sisterhood. Now that's the Power of Pine Sol baby.

A Clear Channel - Day 211

There is one person I know who probably doesn't have the same Whoopi Goldberg stories that I have and that person is my dear friend Sherri Shepherd. She and Whoopi work together on The View. I met Sherri in a stand-up comedy class when she was still working in a law firm a loooooong time ago. I cannot tell you how proud and happy I am for all of her accomplishments. I remember when she didn't know stage left from stage right and now, after many series regular roles, and hours of stand up comedy here she is co-hosting The View. Most actresses would love to have that opportunity and would be very satisfied, but Sherri has more energy than anyone I know. She can simultaneously work on The View, do a play a night or host a Game Show or even tape her own sitcom and hold it down as a mother as well. She is amazing and I admire that fearless quality about her. I was so blessed to get a role in the pilot episode of the Sherri show. It was a very special surreal type moment for both of us especially since the show was about her life. We were not acting in our scene...it was the real deal.
Sherri is very unique and deserves all of her success. She has a way of making everyone feel special. She's tough & fearless yet soft & sexy all at the same time. And funny! It seems like nothing ever gets her down. And I know she loves the Lord. When we met, she was a Jehovah's Witness and I think she had her first Thanksgiving dinner with me and some friends.
She has come a long way and I know there's more to come.
SHERRI SHEPHERD, I Love You Girl!

A Clear Channel - Day 210

There were less than a handful of celebrities that I thought I would love to meet. I've never really been star struck, but there is one star I always wanted to have 10 minutes of quality time with. She is smart, funny, famous and rich. I would simply ask her how she got started and if she had any words of wisdom for an up and coming actress like myself. This person was Whoopi Goldberg. I got way more than 10 minutes of her time when I stood in for her on a season of Hollywood Squares and on at least 2 Academy Award shows. I worked with her for so many days I've lost count and yet I've never had a meaningful conversation with her. She barely acknowledged my presence except for a few rude remarks for no apparent reason.
Here are my highlights of working with Ms. Goldberg:
~ One day while sitting in her center square during rehearsal (which was my job) the host asked me to do my best Whoopi Goldberg impersonation. I just laughed it off. He said, come on...why not? I then heard a voice come from the darkness say, "She's scared." Sh*t. That was Whoopi's voice. No Whoopi, I thought, I'm an actress not an impressionist.
~ At an Academy Award rehearsal during the time she was dating Frank Langella, I had to step off the stage so that Whoopi could rehearse her opening monologue. I was sitting in the front row and Frank was sitting next to me. He was so friendly. We were chatting...about Whoppi mostly and he made me laugh out loud. Whoopi glanced down at us. Sh*t again. That's all I needed...to get my butt beat by Whoopi Goldberg thinking I was trying to steal her man.
~ The one and only time Whoopi warmly acknowledged me was at her book signing at Book Soup. (I have the picture and the book to prove it). The next time I saw her at work she was talking to a friend of mine so I approached her to say thank you and she turned to me and said in a very nasty tone, "Can I help you with something?"
You know what Whoopi, maybe you're right. People who are not nice do scare me because I don't trust them.

A Clear Channel - Day 208

I heard Dave Ramsey say on his radio program recently, that if you really admire a particular celebrity, you probably shouldn't meet them because you will most likely be disappointed. Enter Luther Vandross. I was working as a stand-in on the Soul Train Awards and Patti LaBelle, Luther Vandross and Gladys Knight were the hosts. I was standing in for Patti, so at one point all four of us were backstage in a little tiny curtained off area about the size of a small closet. Gladys and I chatted about how the old school artists where nicer than young newbies on the music scene and I enjoyed the banter between the three of them. Sharing stories, laughing, having a good time. Wow. At one point, Gladys was out on the stage rehearsing and Patti got called to hair and make-up so it was just me and Luther sitting there. With the ladies absent, it got quiet suddenly. But not for long. Anyone that knows me knows that I cannot be in the presence of another human being and not at least attempt to have a conversation with them. I was not in the presence of just any human being, this was Luther Vandross I was sharing an armrest with! So I politely turned to him and said, "You must be lonely now that Patti left." He then turned to me and said in a very condescending manner, "Are you talking to me or are you asking me a question?" all the while staring at me with his lips pursed as if waiting for an answer. I just stood up and walked away. Of course that bothered me for the rest of the day. After all, I had every one of his albums since Never Too Much on vinyl and CD. His newest one was about to drop soon so when I saw him later, I mustered up a smile and told him I was anxiously awaiting the release. He then said, "Good. I can order that new carpet now." Nice try Luther but I can't get that first comment out of my mind. I pictured a very different scenario for our first meeting.
I did buy that next CD but haven't been as much of a fan as I once was. Luther was an amazing talent with a one of a kind voice. I've heard he can be difficult to work with and I've seen him go off on a stage manager a couple of times so I sincerely hope he is resting in peace. He's left quite a legacy. As my tribute to him, I sing a little bit of Dance With My Father in my solo show.

A Clear Channel - Day 207

Went to see FELA on Broadway with Patti LaBelle last night. As I watched her in her scene stealing performance, I was reminded of the other time I saw her on Broadway in YOUR ARM'S TOO SHORT TO BOX WITH GOD with Al Green. It was so funny when Al's mic went out and Patti, being the giving performer that she is, grabbed his head and pulled it toward her chest so he could be heard through her mic. What a sight to see Al Green singing the title song into Patti LaBelle's right boob. A bouncing right boob at that since Patti was expressively jumping up and down in the spirit.
Many years later when I was working as a stand-in on awards shows, I had several opportunities to meet and work with her in rehearsals. One of the things that most impressed me is that on the morning before hosting a major award show she would throw down in the kitchen. Patti could cook anywhere. She didn't need to be in her own kitchen. She would cook in the morning and then bring it to the Shrine auditorium and invite us to her dressing room for a taste. Long before she wrote her cookbooks, we would ask her to teach us how to make that famous potato salad. I'm sure one of my friends has the original napkin we wrote the recipe on. I used to ask her how she could cook like that in the morning, rehearse in the afternoon and host the show that night. She told me she just loves to cook and was so proud to say that she gave Luther Vandross his first set of pots. I also asked her how she looked so fabulous all the time. Patti LaBelle is always camera ready. She admitted she loves to dress. She said if I ever saw her in a jogging suit I would know she had snapped.
The last time I worked with her was at Long Beach Pride. She did a Friday night solo concert and I was the emcee. We all know Patti loves to kick off her shoes, so when I went on after her to close the show, there was one of her shoes just laying there in the middle of the stage. I tried to steal it but she busted me so I had to give it back.
Patti LaBelle is an amazing talent, a true DIVA and a really nice lady.

A Clear Channel - Day 206

On Saturday night, I went to Black Spectrum to see Melba Moore in concert. It was a very significant evening for me since Black Spectrum Theatre is where I began my acting career. That's right. Right here in St. Albans, Queens on Linden Blvd. I originally went there to take an acting class but immediately started to get cast in productions. One of these shows became a big hit and ran Off Broadway for about nine months. The play was called Deadwood Dick, Legend of the West. It was a delightful musical about actual Black cowboys. Now, about 32 years later, I was so grateful to be able to give something back. Carl Clay, artistic director and founder of the theatre has written a book about its history and I got my autographed copy on Saturday. A little birdie told me that he said some really nice things about me in it.
Melba Moore put on quite a show the other night. It was more than a concert, it was a one woman show with story, music, characters and more. It was so nice to finally get a chance to tell her she is one of the reasons I became a professional actress. After my parents took me to see Purlie on Broadway back in the day, I came home, bought the album and learned every song verbatim so that I could sing along at the top of my lungs over and over and over again. I was Lutiebelle Etta Mae Jenkins until my parents (and the neighbors) just couldn't take it anymore. I later did a scene from Purlie in the only college acting class I ever took and I sang I Got Love in a Valentine's Day cabaret this year. I've been doing that song for auditions for years now. Melba Moore is an amazing talent. It was an honor to see her up close and personal in my theatrical home.