I was filming a mindless Miller Beer spot in Louisana. All Miller wanted were scenes of interesting people (no women) having a beer at sunset. This spot was about a few guys on airboats. We were shooting on a bayou near Lake Charles in mangroves. The strange thing was that the tide shifted rapidly in the relatively shallow swamp and was affected by boats in the gulf many miles away. We were filming boat to boat and Tommy had tied the picture boat for stability, but the changing tides were contrary to his fix so he jumped in to stabilize the boat. Tommy’s nickname was ANIMAL. His forearms were as big as my thighs and he held the boat while I got the shot.
We only filmed late afternoons to catch the ‘Millertime light,’ so we were having an early lunch in a small cafe in town, alligator tail (it tastes like chicken). I looked at the large plate glass front window of the diner and a bunch of teenage girls were pressed against the glass staring at the handsome actors that we had brought in from New York. I teased one of the actors (be careful and don’t get in trouble down here) and he said they weren’t there for him and his good-looking buddy, but for the character type actor that was the third part of the troika.
I asked him and he smiled shyly and said that he was a regular in a hit soap opera and that’s why the girls were waiting outside to get his autograph.
Go figure.