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BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Jack "Bojay" Stauffer
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Winter 2000
I know. I’m guilty! It’s been several months since I corresponded with you, and I do apologize. Since we last spoke, I have made a significant change in my life.
After spending thirty-three years pursuing my professional acting career on both coasts, I have left my home in Los Angeles and have moved to the Monterey Peninsula of California. This was a very difficult decision for me, because it means, for all practical purposes, I will no longer be active professionally in the television industry. Of course if Clint Eastwood drops in for coffee and wants me for his new feature, I might help him out.
Many of you will ask why I have done this now, especially since for the last two years I have traveled with Richard and been such a part of the BSG revival effort? I will try to explain.
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First, I wouldn’t change anything I have done or tried to do since I started pounding the pavement back in 1968. All right, maybe I wouldn’t have sneered at a couple of scripts that I laughed at along the way – especially that awful one about motorcycle cops in LA. I have spoken to so many of you at conventions about pursuing your passion and not settling for something less, and I can honestly say that for over thirty years I have relentlessly followed my dream. And I was successful a great deal of the time. I was never a big star, but I did have my time in the spotlight, and I was able to make a living doing the one thing that I was totally passionate about. You really have no idea how unusual that is. Over 95% of the actors in the Screen Actors Guild make less than $7,500 a year. How lucky I was.
The television industry has changed drastically. When I broke in, the major studios, Universal, Paramount, Columbia, Warner, Quinn Martin, etc. produced the shows. Most shows were star driven, and the story lines changed every week. This meant there was a lot of guest work available each week, as the lead characters had new adventures, were threatened by an assortment of villains, met different people, etc. The production companies all had casting departments. You got to know the various casting directors, and when parts came along, you auditioned. There was just a lot more work available for more actors. Also, the lead characters in these shows tended to be older. Stars were in there forties, not their teens.
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Today, most shows are independently produced. The studios merely rent space. There is no Universal or Columbia television casting any more. Therefore, you have to know the individual producer in order to be considered for a role. Most shows also have large ensemble casts with a continuing plot line that often runs the entire season. With so many stars to contend with, at one time or another half of the regular cast is usually complaining that they are not getting enough screen time. Consequently, there are very few guest parts, and when they do come up, they are minor. The days of having two or three guest stars and several co-stars every week are long gone. Finally, it seems that the entire industry is being run by and for children. So many shows are teen oriented. Lawyers are twenty eight, doctors look like they just got out of high school, and they are playing the parents of teens in their thirties.
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There is very little work available for actors over fifty. This youth movement is a major concern throughout the industry. Many prominent writers and directors over fifty can no longer get a job. Want to see some outright hostility? Spend an hour in a room with a group of over fifty writer, directors, producers, and actors.
What work does exist is quickly snapped up by former big names who previously would never consider anything other than a major guest star role. Actors who were major series stars in the seventies are now doing three line parts just to make enough money to qualify for their medical insurance. If these performers are willing do bit parts, they certainly aren’t getting down the list to me. Additionally, Oscar winning actors who once only did features are regularly appearing on TV shows. Again, if they can get a former “movie star” to do three days on ER or Allie McBeal, they ain’t bringing me in.
I think the final straw was at an audition for a one-day part when an assistant to the assistant something-or-other – somebody’s niece or nephew who had just graduated from UCLA film school – asked me what I had done. Oh I made nice and smiled and stuff. Later, in the parking lot, I was chatting with another actor who also had been summoned to audition for this tiny role, and he remarked that I had blood in the corner of my mouth. I had literally chewed a hole in my cheek trying not to tell this 23yr. old assistant casting director that I had been doing this ten years before he was born and instead of asking me what I had done maybe he would like to compare resumes. See what I mean by hostility? It was time to leave. So I did.
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The Monterey Peninsula, home of Pebble Beach, is a gorgeous place to live. I am a resident tennis pro at the John Gardiner Tennis Ranch. I don’t know how many of you know about my tennis background, but I have taught tennis for twenty-five years and even have a US Open junior champion to my credit. Gardiner’s is a very famous resort located in the Carmel Valley and their clientele is tres chic. I have been known to play with the likes of Maggie Eastwood, Ruppert Murdoch, Alan Greenspan, and General Alexander Haig. By no means have I given up acting either. I am becoming involved with the local theatre community and currently getting ready to open in a play called “Sylvia”. I have also been asked to do “Annie Get Your Gun” this summer. So, I am not retired, just playing in a much smaller pond.
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What about the revival? I can hardly believe that it’s been two years since we made the trailer. The fact that Universal refused to consider this project is a puzzlement to me. With so many “Brady” comebacks and anniversary movies of “The Dukes of Hazard” and “Chips” plus impending revivals of the Bionic series, why completely ignore one of the greatest sci-fi shows aver made. Even with the massive fan support there was no interest. And, I do not think Glen Larson’s project and the legal controversy around that had anything to do with it. Nothing came of that development despite what was boasted in the trade papers and on media web sites.
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No, I think there were greater forces at work within MCA Universal that were opposed to any sort of a Battlestar Galactica project. I don’t know what or who might have been responsible for this. I remember the original controversy and lawsuits back in 1978, but I would honestly hope those players would have moved on. Maybe we should get Oliver Stone to look into it. BUT – as they said in “Galaxy Quest” – NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER GIVE IN. Keep pestering the SOB’s. You never know, and I can catch a plane out of Monterey airport in record time.
What Richard accomplished with the help of so many friends and fans was truly remarkable. Those of you who have seen the trailer know what an achievement it was considering the whole thing was put together for a miniscule amount of money. Just a lot of time and hard work. I have seen feature trailers in theatres that didn’t look as good as BSG: The 2nd. Coming. I was proud to have been included. I have also thoroughly enjoyed traveling with Richard around the country to the many cons and meeting so many of you. I hope to keep appearing at the conventions but I am not as connected as I was. If you would like to have me attend a con in your area, please contact the promoters and ask them to invite me. I still talk to Richard frequently, but I haven’t seen him since we were in NY together last fall. I miss his smiling face, and I miss our cavorting together.
Finally, remember that you the fans are the most important part of our industry. Without you there would be no celebrities. The next time some TV personality is snooty to you, remind him or her of that fact. As always, you can reach me at BSGBojay@aol.com. Be well and may the Lords of Kobol watch over you.
Jack
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