On a Wednesday morning, I got up early to do a local show on ABC. It was hosted by Regis Philbin. This would be the first time I met Regis…but certainly not the last. His co-host was Cindy Garvey who was married to the baseball player Steve Garvey.
After the show was over, Regis got a call from his wife Joy who said.….”This guy is really going to make it.” I did get to meet Joy later in my career. What a lovely lady.
Two days later, I got a call from an executive at ABC. They wanted to have a meeting with me. “Would you like to be on a soap opera?” I thought to myself, “I have never seen one.”
Once I was flipping through the channels and I started watching a Mexican soap opera. The women had a lot of make up on. And the men were intense. I wonder what kind of a character I would play….I am not an actor although I have acted up quite a few times.
No …..the executive said. You are going to play yourself. So I said yes. A few days later, I met with the most powerful woman in daytime television. Gloria Monte. I also met with the head writer Pat Falken Smith.
These ladies were very smart. They told me their idea. I would teach exercise classes in a disco for all the ladies on the show. I thought to myself, “This will be a breeze.”
My storyline was to help Beverly lose weight. The actress playing Beverly was Louise Hoven. She did have a little weight to lose and my job was to help her. A week before taping the show the studio asked me if I could drive over and do some promotional photos.
In my car I brought with me six jogging suits. My make up…some towels and five pound weights. I still could not believe I was going to be on a soap. lol.
Driving to the studio, a police car with sirens pulled me to the side. “Get out of your car, and put your hands behind your back.” I was handcuffed and put in the back of the police car. I was driven to the sheriff’s department in West Hollywood.
I went into the station and I was told to take everything that I had and to place it on the table. My mouth was very dry and I was nervous. I brought in the jogging suits and two bags. I had to take everything out of the bags. My make up, my wallet, and all the change that had gathered in the bottom. They counted all the change.
They told me to get up, and marched me into the cell. I just sat there….wondering. Thirty minutes later the policeman unlocked the lock on the cell door and asked me to come out. He said, “We made a mistake. You were driving a car that looked like a car that robbed a seven eleven. You may go.”
I thought, “That’s it? No “I am sorry?” I told him I had to go and do a photo shoot because I was going to be on a show called General Hospital. I got a police escort to the studio so I could be there on time.
The make up artist said, “Richard you are sweating. What happened? I told her the whole story. She broke out in laughter. I did not see the humor.
The first person that I met was Genie Francis. Her father was Ivor Francis an actor who had been on Broadway and many tv shows. Genie was so young and innocent looking. I clicked immediately with her.
When I got my first paycheck I went to Tiffany’s and bought her a pair of earrings. When I gave her the blue box….the famous blue box…she opened up a second blue box then gazed at the earrings. “For me?” she said. She later told me she gave the earrings to her daughter. To be continued …
