First off, any projects you’re working on now?
I finished work on a new series for Netflix last Christmas with Leanne Morgan. That will be coming out soon – it’s a half-hour comedy. I have three-to-four projects on the next frontier. One is a very successful series in Spain I’m trying to bring to the states, via Fox.
With all of the new platforms for content, has that made things easier?
You gotta start them to get them on. I like the developing side of things. I’ve been fortunate since the early 90s to be able to take shows from an initial idea on air a bunch of times. The newer platforms have diminished and diluted the more traditional ways. But frankly, since Covid and the two strikes, less is being done now.
You were a serious theater actor – what inspired you to act and what did your family think?
The easiest way to characterize it is – I started acting in high school and I loved it. I went to college at a liberal arts school and was a theater major. I realized that I wanted to do more than just play around with it and went to the NYU School of the Arts.
I was still in college – that was my come to Jesus moment with my parents. They were supportive after that but told me I was on my own. And rightfully so. I worked as a bartender and did commercials and was soon able to support myself.
In ’75 I left NYU and two years later got the Animal House role.
Would you consider Animal House your big break?
Yes. You don’t show up in a movie like that without it jumping you up a couple of rungs on the ladder. But I’ll tell you, when I got it it was just another audition – one of many. They called me back Thursday, then Friday, and told me they’d let me know in two weeks. Two weeks later my agent called and told me I got the part.
Did you have any sense of how big it could get?
As exciting as it may sound now knowing how successful it became, at the time no one knew what kind of success it could have. The script was a riot though – like all of them, you need execution. They did a great job casting and directing it, and edited it wonderfully. Even the score was wonderful.
Any irony/thoughts on a comedy being the big breakthrough start after being a serious theater actor?
That’s a good question. One interesting thing about the film – Bruce McGill, Peter Riegert, Kevin Bacon, me – we were all New York theater actors. John Belushi was a New York Improv comedian. John Landis intentionally cast the movie with as many theater actors as he could. That was his approach. We could have been doing a play – we all approached it very seriously. That’s part of what made it all work. We were all very committed to our roles.
John Belushi told us he was very intimidated by all of the theater actors. We told him we were all intimidated by his comedic genius! And the icing on the cake was having someone like Tim Matheson in the cast – the movie was nothing without him.
Why did you move on to directing?
It goes back to your earlier question on the effect of Animal House on my career. I did New York theater and commercials starting out. Then I did the movie. I was just 26 at the time. That brought me to L.A. in ’78 where I did the Animal House series and did 13 episodes of that.
I went back to New York after a few more series – I had more theater in my bones. I did a couple of Broadway shows then.
In ’75 I thought maybe someday I’d be on Broadway and do a show and be in some commercials. 10 years later, I’ve been on Broadway and did a huge, successful movie, had pilots that went to series – and had kids. I looked in the mirror then and felt like I lapped my own field of ambitions. I did all I wanted to do – I needed a new challenge. The challenge was right in front of me. I became more interested in the conversations that were happening behind the camera instead of in front of it.
How did you get started?
I directed a play in L.A. that got good reviews and it was bought and turned into a movie on ABC. Since the bulk of my acting was in half-hour comedies, that was a logical place to worm my way in. I called a lot of the directors I worked with and asked if I could sit in the bleachers and watch them work. Many said “Sure.” Then I got one episode here, one there to direct. I did a few episodes of a series and was told that if any of those series got picked up or went into a second season they wanted me to direct it. But none got picked up at first.
I just kept scratching and clawing – the transition to five-to-six years until I was directing pilots that were finally getting picked up.
The next level then was to work in the rooms that decided what affected me as a director. That’s when I went into producing.
Were/are there actors you really enjoyed working the most?
John Ritter – I had the pleasure of doing the Eight Simple Reasons show with him for ABC up until the day he passed away. He was the loveliest, funniest and kindest person to work with. And so collaborative. It was a real thrill getting to work with him.
The same thing with Allison Janney and the rest of the Mom cast. They are so skilled and wonderful and funny. It was a real treat to work with them – they were all amazing women to work with.
And I had wonderful times on Two and a Half Men as well. Jon Cryer, Ashton Kutcher and Charlie Sheen were all terrific to work with – Charlie had that rough patch, we all know, but he was wonderful to work with.
How important is it to have acted to be a good director?
it certainly helped me. There was credibility in having done their job as an actor. It gave me perspective as well. I would tell them that I’ve done this job – I have no desire to live vicariously through them. My goal was just to facilitate their process.
How has Pittsburgh influenced your approach as an actor/director?
In the most general sense, Pittsburgh instilled in me respect and appreciation for working. When I think of Pittsburgh I think of people working – blue or white collar jobs. I grew up in Squirrel Hill – my dad managed office buildings downtown. Every day he’d put on his suit and drive downtown. On Saturdays we’d go to Ritter’s Diner then go to his offices. He’d let me work the elevator – it was one of those older hand elevators.
I gained so much respect for people – how they approached the work they did. It was that kind of city. You see it in the sports teams and the kind of people throughout the Golden Triangle.
Speaking of Sports – any good sports memories/experiences you can share from your time in Pittsburgh?
Currently, it’s a testing period for all three teams. The football team needs a quarterback, the baseball team – well, if the owner is committed to winning he’s not doing it right, and the hockey team is out of the playoffs.
The Penguins owner Tom Werner and I know one another – in fact we’re developing shows together. I’m confident they have a plan!
I used to ride my bike to Forbes Field. My father was there when Mazeroski hit that home run. We could hear the roar from our house at the top of Negley Hill!
Also, back in those days a bunch of actors had a softball team called the Hollywood All Stars. I played on that with guys like Michael Keaton and Mark Harmon. The organizers would have us go to cities and play games at major league parks. We’d often play against NFL teams right before a baseball game. I got to play against the Steelers twice at Three Rivers. Being in the Pirates locker room and changing next to guys like Bill Madlock and John Candelaria was really neat.
One year after a game Michael Keaton had us all go out to a bar near where he grew up – near the airport – called Butya’s Tavern. By the end of the night we ended up behind the bar serving drinks to the crowd!
Is there a Pittsburgh acting community of sorts where you all talk about sports and the city?
There’s no clubhouse. But Jimmy and Dennis Miller, Michael Keaton, Steve Byrne – I did his show as well…. there’s a lot of Pittsburgh actors and we all give each other a bit of a wink when we see each other. We all know we’re from the same city and are proud of it. Billy Gardell and I are also great friends – in fact we tried to get a reality series done in Braddock!
What were the best and toughest moments over your career? Ones that stand out most?
Losing John Ritter – professionally and personally that was difficult. That was tough. On the other side, working on Mom with such a wonderful cast of women and writers. Being able to talk about the subject of addiction and making it funny was a great thrill. The stories went into great depth and were serious, but we were still able to be funny. That was a great experience.
And every minute of Two and a Half Men was a thrill. Some say it wasn’t quite as funny with Ashton Kutcher, but Ashton stepped in when he was needed. God bless him – he got everyone four more years of work.
The biggest thrill may have been the first time I got a show on air. I had two books by Dave Barry – I showed them to Jonathan Axelrod who was my producing partner at the time. We walked into CBS and got a pilot made and shot 98 episodes of Dave’s World. That was a real thrill that first time out of the box.