Once Upon a Time In. . . L.A, Hollywood and Other Stories

By Denny Dormody

Denny's Call Sheets: Seabiscuit. The Grifters. Entourage. Indiana Jones: Crystal Skull. Hail Caesar. Atlas Shrugged. Simone. War of the Worlds. Bosch. Mad Men. Grey's Anatomy. 24. Vice. A Bride's Revenge. Aftermath. Gaslit and many more.

Actors, Writers. Directors. As Mank might write and as Bette might say: "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumopy, fun read." You coudln't buy this education.

Until now. . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665549974

Denny Dormody

Comedy writer Denny Dormody, an active member of the Screen Actors Guild, has been on more movie sets thatn you've had hot lunches. He's spoken with the Best of the Best. Al Pacino. David Fincher. George Clooney. Clint Eastwood. Kevin Costner. Conrad Hall. Lawrence Felinghetti. Jeff Corey. Paul McCartney. Lew Wasserman. Sylvester Stallone. Gregory Peck. Kirk Douglas and many more. "I needed a Starbucl's Latte. I needed a lot of Headshots. I needed an office on a backlot. I needed a part in a Rom-Com. What I had was: Uber Credit, an audition and a smile. I put my game face and went out of the room. . . "

Book preview

Once UPON a TIME

in. . . L.A, Hollywood

and Other Stories

Denny Dormody

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AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2022 Denny Dormody. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 02/17/2022

ISBN: 978-1-6655-4996-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-4997-4 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

One Rainy Night…

A Thousand Miles...

I Need to See an I.D.

Eagle Rock Caper...

Little Jason...

To Hell and Back...

He Had Me at Cherish...

Call Your Mom...

A Buddy Calls...

Cool Hand Paul...

The Fog of Love...

Snow Business...

Walking Out of The Fog...

Ships Passing...

A Hug is Still a Hug...

And All That Jazz...

Waltzing Matilda...

Fahrenheit 405...

Beyond Benjamin Button...

I Don’t Paint Houses...

Stand By Your Man...

Old Town Pasadena...

Brace Yourself...

Forget it Jake, It’s Chinatown!

Yesterday...

Acknowledgements

Faith is the substance of things hoped for,

the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

The heart is wiser than the intellect.

Josiah Gilbert Holland

What do you call an actor without a girlfriend?

Homeless.

What’s the difference between a DP and God?

There is no difference.

DP: Director of Photography in the movies

Angels in America

Angels tell you to keep on trying. Keep punching.

Keep at it. Don’t give up.

Angels loan you a few bucks till payday. Angels loan you an umbrella and when the rain turns into a Monsoon, they don’t demand the umbrella back. They patiently wait. Angels keep you going.

Angels, to all of you, thank you.

This book is

dedicated to my greatest inspirations:

Michael, Lauren, Henry and David in San Jose, CA

and our daughter Aunt Diane in Heaven.

To be nobody but yourself, in a digital world,

which is doing its best, night and day

to make you into everybody else;

means to fight the hardest battle

that any human can fight;

and never stop fighting.

(Paraphrasing E.E. Cummings.)

Hey Jude, thanks for the song.

Well, I hope you come and see me

streaming in the movies...

Then I’ll know that

you will plainly see

The biggest fool that’s

ever hit the big time

And all I gotta do is

act naturally...

(An affectionate parody and paraphrasing

Of Johnny Russell & Voni Morrison’s awesome

song Act Naturally.)

Want to be a player in ‘The New’ Digital Hollywood?

Read on.

All of what follows is true.

Hi Guys: So awesome to have you on board for what I affectionately call Book 5. Thanks for being here.

I’m still a kid from Ohio that loves the movies and I’ve had many adventures and misadventures in the screen trade. I have faith that the best is yet to come. I’ve been truly blessed.

Blessed with talking with Jack Lemmon while working in Beverly Hills, shaking hands with Gregory Peck at a media breakfast, on location with Kirk Douglas asking me if I had seen the new restored Spartacus while filming Tales of The Crypt and chatting on-set and on-location with fellow Ohio actors George Clooney and Martin Sheen.

As a writer, you sit in a threadbare little apartment. In the shadows of the Hollywood Sign. Small. Cramped. Funky.

You’re two-finger pecking out your thoughts, hopes, and dreams on a worn-out keyboard that’s seen better days.

Your place is just big enough to swing a cat. (A figure of speech only) LOL. Your rent is almost paid.

Suddenly, a glowing book review comes in from an online reader in the U.K. OMGosh. Someone gets it. On the other side of the world. What a blessing.

If one person gets it; then maybe ten people will get it. Then maybe someday, ten thousand will get it. Here’s hoping.

Like in those Film Noir black and white 50’s TV detective shows, in my funeral stories, the names and maybe an actual location or two has been changed to protect the innocent. The innocent being The Departed of Southern California.

I’ve also included some war stories. Hope they aren’t too intense.

Thanks for being on board and downloading/buying/reading my latest book.

As screenwriter Mank might write and as Bette Davis might say Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night and (I hope), a fun read and ride...

One Rainy Night…

The night I was robbed I was driving a taxi here in L.A. It was a desperate time. Not the best of times. It was the worst of times. I needed the money.

Eons ago. No