ARLI$$ 1996-2002 The art of the sports Super Agent

I did 5 Seasons of ARLISS the HBO show where Robert Wuhl, 56 or so episodes and I enjoyed every one of them. We were all sad to see this one go…good cast, story, and most of all crew! Rarely have I worked on something where we all felt so much a part of the process, and that what we did made difference in the finished product. Arliss was a comedy that grew and developed on the spot, if anyone had an good idea or line, BAMM! it was in the show!

Took a lot of pictures on Arliss so the are two full pages covering all the seasons I was there.

Three Amigos! I like working with good people and having fun, with Greg Guellow and Ted Lewis how can you help but have fun and get a good job done! This was taken up in Bronson Canyon in the Hollywood Hills.

Me, my crew, and our mascot “Binky” or were we her pets? Standing left to right, Rusty, Davis, Robert Nelson, Greg Guellow, Ted Lewis, Paul ?, Me, John Farmer, “Binky in the center and ? below.

 

Love to do Mounts and own a very nice set of mounts. Mounts are always challenging and different from car to car. So many variables have to be taken into account.

In the doorway are Myself and Tim Marks (Producer / Director) during the great Pop Corn scene. This is certainly one of those moments where “Tim” utters the classic line… “We cant be waiting 5 minutes every 5 minutes!” We loved Tim, a very fair and knowledgeable man who had a heart of gold once you got past the “Bark” Apparently all of us are trying to strike the same pose?

This episode had James Coburn as a guest star, playing a retired ball player, James Coburn is one of my all time favorite actors who appeared in one of my favorite WWII movies, Sam Peckinpah  “Cross of Iron” is a war movie set on the Eastern Front in World War II. It is told from a German point of view. The action takes place in the Taman Peninsula in the Caucasus in 1943. The Germans are in the midst of their retreat from Stalingrad. The film was Sam Peckinpah’s last great feature and his only war movie. He supposedly was heavily drinking during the shoot. The movie is based on the novel The Willing Flesh by Willi Heinrich. The movie follows the book fairly closely. The movie was filmed on location in Yugoslavia with the cooperation of the Yugoslavian army. Because the production ran out of money, the ending had to be improvised. The release met with mixed reviews and it did not do well at the box office. It’s reputation has been rising over the years, however. Can you tell I like the movie? Well over the course of the shoot I talked quite a bit with James about the movie and he kindly signed all the movie memorabilia I have from the film, lobby cards, box office poster, and even a GI Joe type doll made in the likeness of his character in the film he didn’t even know had been produced! I brought in so much stuff he finally asked if I had a concession for the stuff on ebay!

James Coburn and I on the ARLISS set. There are a lot of pictures from this episode later on in the archives…
Timmy Phelps (Gaffer) and my BB at the time Greg Guellow watching the craft service guy put out the afternoon snacks.

Motley Crew of set Dressers and one camera operator badly framed in lower left! On the far right is my favorite Set Dresser “JERRRRRRYYYY!!!! Where are they now!

Our loader and Binky, Greg checks the mount.

My Dolly grip for several seasons John Harmon and Rob Ruiz sit under a “Lenny” arm crane.

This was the infamous Bass fishing episode on Arliss. It was a very tough day for the grips as it fell to us to do all the boat wrangling and rigging. The wind was coming up at this point and later got to foot tall white caps! This was all done at the lower lagoon at Castaic lake. Teddy holds a 4 by 4 and John Harmon extreme left in blue. I think there are still some sand bags down on the bottom…..

As a Key you have to wear a lot of hats, when they needed the “butcher paper” removed from the Green Screen I suggested using this.

Robert Wrul, Gina DeGirolamo (A cam Op) and 1st AC?

Linda Rockstah (1st AD) but Directing an episode here and Steve Confer (DP) check the shot.

The Bass fishing episode on “ARLISS” was one of my favorites! lots of fun and challenging Grip work. Plus the show followed “Benny Hills” maxim, comedy works better with lots of pretty girls! Pat our boom man is keeping a stiff pole out on the right!

Jose and Barry Clint work the shiny boards for me on “Arliss”. There awful happy doing this cause their target is the “behind” of the lady in the boat above! We had to take them and the equipment across lake “Sherwood” and land them in position.

John Harmon (Dolly Grip) and I (Key grip) find a bargain at a Van Nuys car Wash! This was the day of the infamous car wash scene that almost resulted in Ted Lewis getting killed by an out of control car wash brush!

John Farmer with his back to camera runs a “Techno” for a roof scene out in Calabasas

We spend a lot of hours and years with fellow technicians on the set, more time than we spend with our real families, they become truly a 2nd “family” and these two guys John Lubin and Greg Guellow have since retired and I miss them terribly. They don’t make them like this anymore. John took me on my first “location” and was just a great grip.

Another one of the bright spots on any set Dolly grip John Harmon has a shot between shots!

Rob Ruiz goes a few rounds with a “Techno” crane.

A man I miss more than I have words for DP Steve Confer, If I had to go to war I want Steve in my Foxhole! 

Interesting picture of Ted Lewis and a huge sign that the carpenters left on location with a note….”please mount on roof” as usual it falls to the grips to do their job! The sign was 12’x15′ and made of plywood and 2x4s, hundreds of pounds! Well not the way we might do it nowdays…but back then I got the lighting condor and hauled it up there, nearly killed Ted!

Arliss never got boring, always something different going on. One day I got a summons to meet with Producer Tim Marks, UPM Dan Kaplow, and the Set Designer down in the mill…well it sounded like big trouble to me, “what now?” Well I expected trouble but when I got there they started telling me about a special effects / stunt they wanted to do where “Kirby” one of our main actors is sitting in the stands at a football game and when Joe Peshi hits a button Kirby falls through the floor into a vat of water like a baseball dunk at a carnival….”great sounds funny to me! but I need to get back to the set” Tim looks at me and says “Wait, we want your ideas on designing this” Now the head set designer is standing there with the Construction coordinator and I gently say “Tim these are the people that do that, I’m a grip” “Yes Bill, but you know how to rig things and not hurt actors, they are a bit afraid” so long story short I ask for 24 hours to come up with a rig and price….Mike James and I built it over the weekend, it was picked up on Monday, skinned by the carpenters, and on the set a East LA College working as you see it on Tuesday!

They basic mechanism I worked out. I can tell you that I was thinking I might have bit off more than I could chew right up to the point below were I stat there and Mike pulled the Handel. PERFECT!

 

That weekend it was around 100 degrees and I had my kids along with all the neighbors lined up for “dunking!” This is my son Paul at about 4.

 

My Daughter Kendall took more convincing, she is now 20 ans works occasionally as a Production Assistant on Commercials.

 

Kendalls dad was the “dad” of the block that weekend!

 

 

 

The set was “Blue Screened” into a shot of an actual NFL game so it appeared that they were there. Ahh… Hollywood magic. If I remember I was the guy in the back pulling the handle on cue. Don’t tell the effects guys! 

 

John Lubin holds a “BeadBoard” bounce light while the rest of us work the Lenny crane mini arm on the ATB base.

 

Mike James right, Steve Gausche on the “Hot Seat” and the typical “extra guy” I dont remember…

Greg Guellow runs the arm.

 

Dave Baker Prop Master in blue jacket, Tim Marks Producer / Director at monitor. Dan Kaplow seated to his right.