Keep your Pappy happy

A few photos taken prior to the Pappy Wilson Harvest Frolic at The Historic Artcraft Theatre in beautiful downtown Franklin, Indiana, on Nov. 8. I was fortunate enough to play the part of Artcraft projectionist Homer Portnoy in all three Pappy Wilson radio-style plays this year. In this production, set in the late-1940s, I conjured up my rural, somewhat Southern, but not too Southern accent (think more Goober Pyle than Gomer Pyle, I suppose) to review Alfred Hitchcock’s 1948 thriller, “Rope.” As has been the case with the previous two Pappy appearances, I ad libbed a bit, went off script some (OK, a lot), tried to add as much humor as I could think of, and added a few visual effects (the spastic hula dance was the worst). See what you missed?!?!?!

Above you see me with my wife, Kimberly S. Hoffman, who played Eugenia Debs, vampy Hollywood reporter. You also see me with a cardboard cutout of Ryan Gosling. He did not say “Hey, girl” to me. But if he had, I’d have run, run so far away.

The plays were written and produced by Bill Dever and The New Mercury Theatre of Indiana.

Next up in the acting part of my life is a role, or roles, in “It’s a Wonderful Life” radio-style play Dec. 13-14 at the Edinburgh Pixy Theatre, in beautiful downtown Edinburgh, Indiana.