From Movie Extra to Female Lead: My Meteoric Rise to Stardom

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Just a week or two after I moved to Portland in 1986, I happened to hear about a casting call for extras to appear in an HBO movie being filmed here. I went to the audition, and was soon called to spend a day on the set.

I participated in two scenes shot in the courthouse lobby. My first appearance, as someone waiting for an elevator, either ended up on the cutting room floor or else I did a fine job of acting like someone who was hiding behind a pillar while waiting for an elevator. In the second, I was "a member of the defense team" and walked into the courthouse behind the stars of the film, Ed Harris and Roxanne Hart, who were joined by David Suchet upon entering the building.

And now, after only... gosh, it seems like only 21 years!... the famous and prolific producer/director Janice Brown of Cow Hampshire awarded me the female lead in the remake of that great old holiday classic, It's A Wonderful Life. My costars are David Lambert of NEHGS and the David Lambert Blog, Blaine Bettinger of The Genetic Genealogist, Thomas MacEntee of Destination: Austin Family, and Christina G. of Shaking the Family Tree, and a surprise guest (who plays the chauffeur). Now showing at a blog post near you! Very, very near!

Don't miss Janice's holiday movie marathon starring other famous or infamous genea-bloggers!