Q and A with David H. Lewis, on Keep That Day Job!

Q and A with David H. Lewis, on Keep That Day Job!

1 WHERE DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR THIS BOOK?

When I added up all the jobs I have worked, I was fairly amazed by the total number: 50. It felt like a good hook and book title, but it was only the beginning.

2. IS THIS A HOW-TO BOOK?

No, not per se. It’s more a memoir of how I chased my own dreams while holding down day jobs. In pursuing the arts, you’ll need to face reality, you’ll need to deal with rejection, over and over again. Some people become so hell bent on making it big, that they can end up rejected out, frustrated and bitter –- or worse. My late friend and collaborator, Michael Kohl, whom you’ll read about, gradually faded out through a very slow suicide of neglect.

3. MOST SATISFYING JOB YOU EVER HAD?

Working as records manager for the Los Angeles law firm of Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman and Dicker. My coworkers made the difference. Several of them would become lifelong friends — and this in a town the world loves to hate for being shallow and heartless.

4. THE HIGH POINTS OF WORKING IN HOLLYWOOD?

The Equity Waiver theater scene, as it was then known, allowed Equity actors to appear non gratis in small 99 seats theater productions. And so, you would sometimes see both aspiring young actors and older established names, or their kin, sharing the same stage. In my musical, Those Ringlings, the role of Al Ringling was played by Jeffrey Rockwell, son of Robert, who held the role of Mr. Boynton on the TV version of Our Miss Brooks. August Ringling, father of the brothers, was played by Hal London, Sr., father in real life of Hal London, Jr. In my Welcome to Welfare show, Hal Shafer, who played our blustery office manager, had been Billy McGinnis in a 1950 TV hit, The Real McCoys

5. MOST UNUSUAL JOB?

I might say that of being an artistic roller-skating instructor to a smitten woman around my age, in the free-spirit category, it was obvious she was working overtime trying to snare me. She was so endearing, that I was able to tolerate her subtle and not-so subtle body signals and the hand written messages she sent to me.

6. MOST TRYING MOMENTS ON THE JOB?

Nasty bosses and co-workers, and you are bound to come across them if you work a variety of jobs. In the extreme, they can make your work days an ordeal. As the country grows ever more “diverse,” with freedom freaks demanding equal respect, the prospects for workplace conflict and violence are likely to grow worse.

7. IS THAT YOU ON THE COVER?

Yes, and totally unexpected. When I sent photos for possible use on the cover to its designer, Brian Pearce, none were of myself. Brian wanted spot-on relevance, and so he suggested we use the one of me in clown face. I could immediately see how perfectly it suited the subtitle. And I love the image of the empty coffee cup at the end of the ball and chain!

8 WHY DO YOU SEEM TO CALL YOURSELF AN “ACCIDENTAL LIBRARIAN?”

I had never had any interest in being an attorney or paralegal, or even law librarian. When I was interviewed for a job at Larson & Burnham, Karen Wiborn, the administrator, asked me if I would be interested in learning to be a librarian on the job. Fourteen years later, retirement time came, and how glad was I that I had answered yes to Karen’s fateful question.

9 LOOKING BACK, WHAT STANDS OUT AS THE MOST MEANINGFUL THING ABOUT THE WORKPLACE?

The people you work with. Going to work can feel like being part of a stage production, wherein cast and crew become a kind of family, and then, when the show’s over, go their separate ways. Likewise, on a day job, you might say that everyone has a part to play, each day a new performance. Whenever former Holiday on Ice star Sandy Wirwill, by now a law firm receptionist, came into the lunchroom and I happened to be there, I would say, “Intermission?”

10. ADVICE TO ASPIRING ARTISTS?

Keep aspiring! – if you enjoy it First of all, keep in mind that almost nobody will make it big —either cracking the boards of Broadway or landing roles in TV or the movies. So, enjoy the breaks you do get, and don’t lose your mind. Many actors find a rewarding life in regional and local theater companies. One of the great pleasures for me is discovering in these venues talent that I can see making it on Broadway in the same parts. We are lucky to have so many stage charmers in our own backyard. But then again, they are lucky to have us!