I received a call from one of my theatrical agents to go to a casting director’s office and try out for a Medicare commercial. I tried out for the part of a beleaguered husband who had picked the wrong Medicare plan. Sound familiar? I guess I was able to get the point across because they cast me in the spot.
They say that an actor, after many lessons from professionals, reaches deep inside, and touches those inner-feelings most connected to their role. Not being a real actor, I simply thought about my health care plan. Wow! I didn’t need the proven, long time Stanislavsky method of acting, it was ‘real life’ and my feelings came through effortlessly!
My TV wife and I were joined by a ball and chain which I think represented that wrong plan. At least my lines in the commercial weren’t those of a slick spokesperson who was playing a doctor on TV who promises everything and delivers nothing. (been there, done that!) In the spot, as I bemoaned the fact that I had screwed up, Barbara Eden appears. Oh, did I mention the fact that the commercial included Barbara Eden from the classic TV show “I Dream of Jeanie” as the celebrity spokesperson.
OMG!! I’m in a commercial with the first naval to be seen on television! Actually, NBC censors didn’t allow Jeannie’s naval to be seen and it wasn’t until the movie version 15 years later that social mores had loosened enough so that America could see that someone else had one. We young men had to visualize what it looked like. Was it an innie, an outie, or some combination? The times were a lot more innocent.
Barbara was certainly a step up from Annette Funicello, who, in her time, paraded around in those beach blanket movies in a two-piece bathing suit which spawned the daydreams of a generation of pubescent teens. Today, amount of fabric in her two-piece would cover a sofa!But the possibility of a naval on TV was big. Oh please, let that harem outfit slip just a little when she shook her head and blinked.
At that time, in sitcoms, a husband and wife couldn’t sleep in the same bed and even over dressed for bed. It was to be a Screen Actors Guild commercial. Totally professional. Generally, when you shoot a nonunion commercial, they ask you to bring your own clothes, but a SAG spot was a cut above. They had a full rack of clothing for me in addition to the clothes I brought for the fitting session. The wardrobe person went through the different combinations of shirts and pants and picked out the pants that I brought. She said, “try these on”. Well, I knew they would fit because they were mine! Bottom line, with union rules being what they are, they paid me to try on my own pants and when they saw the color and fit, rented my pants for the day of the commercial shoot. What a country! Not only did I get paid, but they paid my pants!
I never got to meet Barbara Eden, because the commercial was shot in two places, Miami and Los Angeles. She was in L. A. We had to pretend she was there with us. If life imitated art all she had to do was fold her arms, blink, and the Medicare plan would provide full coverage with a doctor of your choice in a top hospital. Instead, you start blinking like crazy when you get the bill.
