TV Commercial Production Tall Tale
- Posted on 22nd November 2016
- in celebrity books, celebrity stories online, celebrity story, Entertainment, entertainment books, Film Production, film production book, TV Commercial Production
- by Ben
In my
TV commercial production
book, Circumstances Beyond My Control, tall tales abound. In this excerpt is literally the tallest of them all.
“The last memorable TV commercial production I ADed was in 1996. It was also the last Anacin spot ever made. Directed by Jerry Cotts, the cast was led by Red Auerbach, one of the greatest coaches ever in any sport, and comprised a baker’s dozen of retired NBA stars: the Bills, Russell and Walton, the Bobs, Cousy and Pettit, Rick Barry, Elgin Baylor, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, John Havlicek, Dr. J, George Mikan, Oscar Robertson, and Jerry West.
“Does the title Land of the Giants ring a bell? That should have been the title of this commercial. Meeting these men I felt like a dwarf. Joe Babas, our key grip, was over six feet tall and he looked small amid this assemblage. And unruly? Imagine twelve junior high boys all weighing two-hundred fifty pounds and in excess of six foot ten who hadn’t seen each other in a long time and you get about half the idea of how tough it was to keep this group focused. I asked Coach Auerbach if they were this much trouble when they were playing and, grinning, he said, ‘Worse.’ With one exception – who I won’t name – they were all friendly, unassuming and very nice guys. We had been told before the shoot not to approach or speak to one of them unless necessary for reasons of the job and always to address him as Mr. Russell. (Whoops.)
“When we wrapped camera and the guys were leaving Red shook my hand and said, ‘Good job, Coach.’ Wow, Red Auerbach called me Coach. I’ll treasure that memory forever.”
Many more tall tales (and shorter ones) will be found when you click here and get my TV commercial production book, Circumstances Beyond My Control.
Tags: Bill Russell, Bill Walton, Bob Cousy, Bob Pettit, Dr. J, Elgin Baylor, George Mikan, Jerry West, John Havlicek, Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson, Rick Barry, Wilt Chamberlain
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