Interview with Firefly veteran Danny Nero part 5
More with the incomparable Danny Nero. Here, in addition to everything else, he talks about working on a horror movie great.
D: What other shows have you worked on?
Danny: What other shows have I worked on? Did I mention I started back in 1981?
Actually my first time in front of the cameras would be back in 1958 when I was one of several children working on the Christmas episode of “The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show”. It was a popular variety show that aired weekly on NBC and my mom was part of his backup singer/dancer group called “The Top 20”. I have a shot from that if you want it but I’ll have to dig for it.
D: Please. That would be great.
Danny: Anyway I am on the floor of a living room set as mom and the other 19 adults sing some Xmas songs with good old Ernie Ford and the special guests Jon Provost and Lassie. I was 6 and don’t really remember much about that performance but watching the DVD made from a kinescope, you’d swear we kids were there at gun point! That was back in the days of live TV so we did a show for the East Coast and then another for the West. Mom had a nice 5 year run on that show.
Years later she joined the Screen Extras Guild and did very well as a “Dress Extra” for over 30 years. She’s probably best known for her small part in the original “Poseidon Adventure”.
So back in early ’73 she gets a 3 day call on a film at MGM that would also need dozens of non-union extras so she suggested me. It was “Soylent Green” and we worked in scenes in a NYC cathedral where we were camped out on the floor. It was actually Winter when this was shot but they sprayed all of us with glycerin to make us look sweaty. Chuck Connors was playing a hired killer and I remember him stepping on my hand in one shot. They had to cut when he apologized to me.
Watching the film later made me grateful that I wasn’t involved in the exterior riot scenes where people got scooped up. That could not have been a good time!
So in 1981 I was working for a Multi-Media company in Hollywood and some extra work on the side. My first SEG job was on “Mommie Dearest” and then “Poltergeist” a week or so later. I eventually had my own LAPD uniform and also worked as a college student, reporter, lawyer, doctor etc. Back then it was a relatively small group of a few hundred people that worked on shows like “The Love Boat”, “Dallas”, “Taxi”, “St. Elsewhere”, and “Hill St. Blues” to name a few.
From ’90-’94 I was a Casting Director at Central Casting. It was a nice group to work with but I found I am just not cut out for a desk job! I handled a 
bunch of different shows but the most challenging was “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. Lots of very specific background types needed there along with coordinating the various regulars according to uniform color, gender, race, etc. that made it pretty labor intensive. A very nice production company though and they always included me on their crew gift list. (Next Generation image courtesy of the Star Trek t shirt category)
One of the last pilots I worked on at Central was “E.R.” and months later when it was picked up and ready to go into production, they requested me to work it. When they found out I was gone from Central but now working as a stand-in, they still wanted me! I worked the first week of the first episode standing in for Noah Wylie. Who knows how long I might have stayed there if they hadn’t required that all of the stand-in’s also work in picture. I have no problem doing that once in awhile but for virtually every scene? You are doing 2 jobs and getting paid for 1 along with having to be on your feet all day and scrambling to use the toilet or get some coffee. Plus a show that relied heavily on the steadicam, it would be tough to watch your actor to see if there were any changes and be making crosses down another corridor. Again it was a nice bunch but I had to say goodbye and move on. No regrets!
I did several multi-camera shows that filmed with a live audience and that was a lot of work but I enjoyed it. A few more features and Movies of the Week and then “Brimstone” and you know the rest.
I also worked Background on a fair amount of commercials back in the 80’s and that was almost always good easy money. A Bud Light spot that started out as just background as a bartender got me up-graded to “Principal” with residuals that meant thousands of dollars when everyone was out of work because of a strike back in ’88. Very good timing there!
Nerd Dating: to see a movie or not Pt 2
Sorry I didn’t get this done sooner, but was at the Sacramento Sci Fi Horror Convention with a booth selling t-shirts. The show was a lot of fun, and the highlight for me was meeting and getting this picture with the gorgeous Jewel Staite from Firefly and Stargate Atlantis. Talk about beauty and the beast (of course, if any of you call Jewel a beast I will kill you).
(the shirt I am wearing, by the way, is available in the Star Trek t shirts category).
Anyway, Jewel is married (damn the luck!) but meeting her has inspired me to forge ahead in my quest to meet the perfect women and keep helping the rest of you also meet someone. Last post we talked about movies as a date. Assuming you have determined correctly that a movie would be appropriate (and are not just falling back on it due to your flailing conversation) the question arises “What movie to watch?”
First of all, strike anything cool you want to see off that list. Any sci fi, horror, or action flick will fail miserably. Even if she sounds cool with it, in her head she is either going to think you are incredibly selfish or an incredible geek (probably both).
Second of all, do not see a chick flick. Odds are she will suggest one, but if you agree (or worse, suggest one) have fun being “man-friend” for the rest of you life. You just turned into a hairy girl in her head. Also, your time is worth more than that. A couple years ago I went on a date and somehow ended up seeing Nights in Rodanthe, a Richard Gere movie. It wasn’t so much lame as it was like swimming in a pool of rusty razor blades and afterwords eating a huge bowl of excrement. The mistake I made was not being familiar with the current movies and assuming it was some kind of vampire flick. Do your research. Any movie that involves coming to terms with stuff will make you want to claw your eyes out and use them as ear plugs.
A good compromise will basically leave both parties vaguely dissatisfied, so plan on that. The best option for you will be a good comedy, but make sure it involves women in some kind of role. The Hangover was hilarious but was definitely a guy movie. A good romantic comedy is a compromise in her favor (again, do your research. Love Stinks is technically a romantic comedy, but will turn her off not only you but possibly men in general). Try to have a couple ones to suggest. Having your iPhone set to Fandango before you even pick her up is a plus in your favor.
Next post, movie etiquette.
Viva Las Vegas
Just about packed up for the Star Trek Convention. I spend a lot of time in Vegas for assorted work things but I can honestly say this is the most excited I have been to travel out here in my life. This is going to be so cool IMO.
I don’t have a lot of time, as the Enterprise guy just called to tell me he is coming to pick me up. Sufficed to say I will be in Star Trek heaven, and selling great t-shirts like this Vulcan Nerve Pinch one from the Star Trek t shirt category. Wish me luck. I’ll try to post from the show if I get a chance (go go superphone!)
Getting ready for the big Star Trek Convention
Yes one day more until Viva Las Vegas and what should prove to be the experience of a lifetime. In spite of being a hard core Star Trek TOS fan since age five, I have never been to a true Star Trek Convention. In true Dave form, I am getting my feet wet by diving into the worlds largest Star Trek Con. Never let it be said I do things halfway.
I will not be able to do any dating posts while I am out there, but I fully intend to post about all the cool stuff I see out there. I don’t like to consider myself a fan boy, but if the opportunity presents itself for me to get any autographs from any of the TOS crew, I will take it.
I just considered my life and I think I have to admit I am indeed a fan boy. I took a quick look at my DvD collections and remembered that I have a copy of Mind Meld signed by both Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner. If you know anything about those guys you know how rare it is for both of them to be in the same place. Let’s just say I stood more than a couple hours in the bitter cold to get that.
I also have a book signed by the great George Takei. I met him at a book signing about 10 years ago. I’d love to say I bought a copy of his book and had him sign it, but at the time I didn’t have a lot of money (how much my life has change. Oh, wait, it hasn’t) and really couldn’t afford it. Instead I grabbed a $1 book out of the junk bin and he was kind enough to sign it anyway. The book was “I’m your Daughter not your Lover” and apparently is a book about incest. Weird. I will say that George was about the nicest guy I have ever met and I am very glad to see his career resurgence, due in part to the Howard Stern Show, which I also listen to.
Jeez, I was going to do a quick post, and it is dragging on. I just got done recieving my new Star Trek shirts and I have a ton of very cool ones. Unfortunately there is no way I will get any of them photographed and posted on the site before I have to leave. If you want to see them you will have to come to the show, which is something I recommend anyway. My vendor messed up a little and I didn’t get my Space Seed shirts (featuring an image of another great, Ricardo Montalbán) and got a couple random shirts I didn’t order. It will be interesting to see what sells better, my personal buying style or the random dealings of a chaotic fate. Check out the shirts I currently have up in the Star Trek t shirt category, and check again in about three weeks to see the new ones.
I am also bringing some very cool uniform costumes, toy Phaser Mk 2 (the colors seem off, but I spent most of my childhood watching TOS on black and white, so what do I know), coffee mugs, lunch boxes, business card holders, and some extremely cool hip flasks. When I get back I will be posting those up on the site as well. I think they rule.
Anyway, if I get a chance I will post tomorrow but if not next post will be from fabulous Las Vegas.
A Guide to Nerd Guys Meeting and Dating Women: What to do Part 4
Of course, after she shoots down your incredibly clever and fun ideas, odds are you will end up simply planning dinner and/or a movie. This is an old standby and generally works well, especially if you have a hard time maintaining a long conversation without falling back to long diatribes about Geordie from Star Trek TNG was 1/2 of the character Spock, the other half being Data.
This, by the way, is a conversation quagmire I have fallen into myself (shirt image courtesy of the Star Trek t shirt category)
If, by any chance, you actually can maintain a decent conversation for more than an hour or so feel free to forgo the movie and simply suggest dinner and coffee rather than a movie. However, the movie can prove a bonding experience and will give you something to talk about. Also, you had better be sure about being able to maintain that conversation.
Never, ever agree to just see a movie. This is something not even friends do.
That’s pretty much it on what to plan. Next post I will start talking about going on that actual date.
A Guide to Nerd Guys Meeting and Dating Women: Grooming Part 6 Odds and Ends
When I say odds and ends, I literally mean odds and ends. Let me give you an example.
I have a very good friend who is smart, attractive, funny, fit, and in all ways a great catch for a girl, except for the fact that he had some kind of bizarre growth on his face just to the left of his nose. To this day I don’t know what it was. It wasn’t a mole, wart or anything else, but the one thing it was for sure was a magnet for your eyes. I don’t think I have ever been happier for a friend than the day I saw him and he had had it surgically removed.
That is what I mean about odds and ends. If you have some kind of weird, oddball growth, rash, or other cosmetic disfigurement you must do whatever you can to minimize it’s impact on your appearance. Don’t tell yourself that no one notices just because no one mentions it to you. Trust me. Everyone notices. The issue is no one is cruel (or honest) enough to say something about it but it is rare that you find a girl who is kind (or desperate) enough to see past it.
I worked in sales for years and the rule there was if it was not directly helping your sales get rid of it. You are trying to sell yourself to women (this is true on more levels than you currently realize, I bet), so anything that does not directly enhance your ability to impress her needs to be eliminated.
If you have any kind of growth anywhere on your body, be it a mole, wart, or random yecch, see a dermatologist and get rid of it. Bad acne? Try every cream or treatment on the planet. Thick, Coke-bottle glasses? Contact lenses. Cross eyed? Learn to wear sunglasses indoors.
Ever see Geordi without his glasses (this image from the Star Trek t shirt section)? Kind of disturbing looking.
By the way, if you have a uni-brow seriously look into laser hair removal. I was subject to this curse and zapped it right the hell off my face. Also, learn to trim your eyebrows if they tend to extend any length past your face, and learn to tweeze any excess hair extending from nostrils or ears. It might be painful, but on the whole I feel it tends to be more painful to look at when you add up everyone who sees your face’s pain on a given day.
Scars can actually be kind of cool, but the good looking scars are generally a single line that doesn’t change the shape of you face (by crossing over your lips, for example). A good scar should look like you got cut in a knife fight, not like you went face first through a plate glass window. If you have scars on your face that can be described in terms of square inches, see a plastic surgeon.
If you have some kind of item that cannot be eliminated by every possible means you have looked into, that is not the end of the world. You can work around it. But seriously look into whatever you can to get rid of it.
Next post: Part 2 Clothing
Changing a couple personal policies
So when I started the site I said I wasn’t going to upload any shirts without doing complete descriptions. However, that is starting to mean that shirts are piling up and can’t be viewed by the fans, like this comic athletic shirt from the X-Men t-shirts section, and can go a couple weeks before I get to it. So from now on I will put them up as soon as I can and put the word “pending” on the description. That will allow me to spend the time I think they deserve and get the quality of descriptions I have now come to expect from myself. I pr0mise to get them done as quickly as possible.
The other thing I am doing is breaking away from t shirts. I recently ordered some amazing Star Trek, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman coffee mugs, lunchboxes, and assorted knick knacks. Once I figure out the shipping I will have them up soon.
Busy day of running around with not a lot to show for it. I can’t seem to find those stupid wire cube devices. I found some online but the shipping is crippling. I’ll keep looking I guess. I need to get some before our next event, which is looking like KublaCon, the biggest gaming event in Northern California May 28th-31st. That gives me about five weeks to square it away. I think it’ll be good.
Reasons why TOS is better than Next Gen
I just got a shipment that included a couple of Star Trek Next Generation t shirts and I am feeling a little guilty. I know there are Next Gen fans and I am risking alienating those fans, but I have to admit I am a hard core TOS fan.
Whenever someone starts telling me how much better Next Gen is over TOS it always seems to boil down to better special effects. No kidding. You think a sci fi show produced 25 years later might have better effects? That’s like saying the Buck Rogers from the 80’s is better than the one from the 20’s due to the special effects. Thanks, Capt. Obvious.
I have enjoyed episodes of Next Gen, but the fact is the stories are far more bland and politically correct than TOS. The Original Series did some stories that were totally risque and could have gotten them into real trouble. For example, did you know the very first televised interracial kiss was on an episode of TOS? There were stories about racism, nuclear war, age relations, mind expansion, and any number of other troublesome subjects. On of my favorite scenes of all time has to be when the two aliens who were black on one side and white on the other (Episode 70: Let That Be Your Last Battlefield). The great line from Commissioner Bele was “I am black on the right side. Lokai is white on the right side. All his people are white on the right side.” This was his people’s reason for the race war the were in. Next Gen, on the other hand, had stories that more or less were tame “Save the environment” themes and the like.
Also, there is not a single character on TOS I don’t like. They are like the friends I always wanted to have as a kid (my imaginary friends image comes from the funny t shirt category). Next Gen has a few engaging characters but many that bug me. I like Data, Warf, Geordie, and to an extent Picard, but fat bearded cool guy Riker, too-good-for-a-uniform Counselor Troy (I don’t care if she’s Gene Roddenberry niece or whatever), and hired-for-lame-youth-appeal Westley Crusher should have all been sucked out of an airlock episode 1. Also, while I like Capt. Picard, it’s now 400 years into the future. Whatever happened to the Hair Club for Men? He could not only be president and member, but secretary, treasurer, master at arms, and sweep up after the meetings. Finally, that blond security officer who died and came back also bugged the hell out of me to the point that I refuse to look up her name.
The only cool thing Next Gen did in it’s entire run was introduce the Borg. However, the Borg were much more interesting in Voyager, in my opinion.
Happy Birthday, Leonard Nimoy
Yes, Mr. Spock is 79 years old today. I wish him well. Mr. Spock was a big influence on my life as a kid. I kept wishing I were a Vulcan, where being logical and scientific was a sexy thing rather than just nerdy. I have this shirt here from my funny t shirt collection.
I am a little burned out on working today. Somehow I spent all day on three shirts. Not sure where the day went. I do know I now have a lifetime supply of Scotch tape (Office Depot had a buy-two-get-one-free deal on four packs of tape, so somehow I left with 12 rolls of Scotch tape. Sometimes I am a sucker).
Tomorrow is terrain day. That is, my gaming club gets together at someones house and builds terrain for our big Warhammer tournament later this summer. Normally we get 8-10 guys, but a lot of the regulars guys are at Adepticon in Chicago so this time it falls upon those of us without the time, inclination, or money to fly out there.
