Celebrity Story: David Carradine

Here’s a

celebrity story

excerpt from Chapter 11 of my entertainment book Three Stages about my relationship with David Carradine.
“… I auditioned for a new show, The Ballad of Johnny Pot, which was to star David Carradine and Betty Buckley. Produced by Gretchen Wyler directed by Josh Shelley and choreographed by Jay Norman, it had book and lyrics by Carolyn Richter and music by Clint Ballard. “Johnny Pot”, David, was a modern incarnation of Johnny Appleseed and was planting hemp instead of apples. I liked the premise. I was up for the heavy, “Garwood Heever”, the Sheriff (in black) who was chasing Johnny. When I was offered the role I was conflicted. Should I leave a job in a hit to go into an unknown new show which may not have a run? But it was a major role, third billing after Dave and Betty so I gave notice at [Jacques] Brel [is Alive and Well and Living in Paris] and accepted the offer.

“… I was still very much involved with Group One and in frequent contact with Bob Collins. So I knew that BC had been talking to David about shooting a low budget movie with him that coming summer. On the first day of rehearsal, after the introductions, we sat around a table and did a read through. This was S. O. P. for a new show and I always found it exciting and enjoyable; the first time these words had been spoken by actors. I loved it!

“After the read we took a break and David was being “cool” if not exactly unapproachable. He was sitting alone on the floor smoking a cigarette. Without saying a word I strolled over to him and handed him my Group One “East Coast Vice-President” business card. He looked at it then at me and grinned. The beginning of a strange but interesting friendship.

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“The show was a lot of fun. Josh Shelley was a hoot. The rest of the cast was just fine and compatible. Betty was excellent and David was unbelievably inconsistent. He drove us all crazy. One day he’d be absolutely brilliant and the next the lights were on but nobody was home.

“His performance or lack thereof aside, he and I, launched by the BC/Group One connection, became pretty tight. He was staying at the Chelsea Hotel, two blocks from our apartment and almost every night he was there. [David was often accompanied by his then main squeeze, Barbara Hershey.] Betsy would feed us, we’d smoke some dope and David would tell stories. He was the only guy I ever met who could outtalk me when we were both stoned. One night he performed the entire Peter Sellers movie, The Bobo, and it was hilarious. Later when I saw the movie I called him in Hollywood and told him that his rendition was better than the movie itself. And it was.

“His hound, Buffalo, was with him every night. “Bo” was fond of cheese and when he snatched half a gouda off the coffee table David whacked his snout and the well salivaed cheese fell on the raya rug. David picked up the cheese and the attached remnants of the rug and popped the whole thing into his mouth. Betsy was appalled. But that was David Carradine. BC called him a mad man and he wasn’t far off.

“By the time we had the show ready for a run-through we were all pretty excited about it. Seemed like a damn good show – when David was “on”, that is.

“We were now a couple of weeks from the first preview and DC’s inconsistency was beginning to worry Josh and Gretchen. The rest of us weren’t too concerned because we figured that once we were in front of an audience his professionalism would kick in and he’d be fine. So we soldiered on polishing our performances and hoping for the best.

“… A week before the first preview the show was “locked” (no more changes) and with the exception of David’s consistent inconsistency it was going well. Then we had our first audience, comprised of friends and families, for the final dress rehearsal. The old saying in theatre that a bad dress means a good opening (and vice-versa) held true. David was “on” for that night, gave a full-out performance and the (very friendly) audience was enthusiastic.

Betty, David, me

Betty                                                David                                    Me

“The next night we had our first paid audience and, even though in the strictest sense it was not the opening, in a real sense it was and David was a disaster. Since he was the centerpiece of the show, we were a disaster.

“I believe that we did two weeks of previews and it was up and down with David and on Saturday, April 24th, two days before we opened, John Bennett Perry (Matthew’s dad) replaced David Carradine.

“While it’s not unheard of to replace a star, it’s very unusual to do so two days before an opening. As I recall, the cast was assembled, sans DC, after the Friday night preview and given the news. We were shocked but, strangely, not completely surprised. Betty Buckley was a wreck. She had a bit of a “show crush” on David and this news was devastating to her. I remember sitting with her head on my shoulder as she cried for (what seemed like) an hour. In spite of his lack of discipline most of us liked David and were sad to see him go but we did realize that firing him was what the producers had to do.”

*******

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 The following fall at Group One’s offices in Hollywood

“One afternoon a shaven-headed David Carradine dropped in. He was up for a Eurasian character, the lead in a new series, and he felt (correctly) that the shaved head made him look more right for the part. We had a good time shooting the shit and, except for telling Jack how we knew each other, Johnny Pot was not discussed. David came by again the next day to announce that he had gotten the role and the series was called Kung Fu.”

Except for that phone conversation about The Bobo, it was the last time I ever talked with David. We did play answering machine tag a couple of times but never connected again. He remains one of my favorite weirdo friends.

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