Don't Quit Your Day Job

An Actor's Life

Biography & Memoir, Entertainment & Performing Arts
Cover of the book Don't Quit Your Day Job by Marcy O'Rourke, BookBaby
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Marcy O'Rourke ISBN: 9781483534862
Publisher: BookBaby Publication: August 25, 2014
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Marcy O'Rourke
ISBN: 9781483534862
Publisher: BookBaby
Publication: August 25, 2014
Imprint:
Language: English
What is it that makes people want to be actors? Tom O'Rourke's irreverent, no holds barred, absolutely true memoir of his epic struggles on the road to becoming a working actor will leave you scratching your head wondering how anyone could be so headstrong? Passionate? Tenacious? Resourceful? But if you've ever seen Tom on LAW AND ORDER, or THE GUIDING LIGHT soap opera, or enjoyed the comedic sparing of Sandra Bullock, as Tom did when they co-starred on the TV series WORKING GIRL, you will be grateful there are such lunatics to amuse us. It's a movement class at Goodman Theater School, then part of Chicago University. A tall, muscular, GI bill student and ex paratrooper has already caused an embarrassing scene by wearing his dance belt wrongly outside of his first pair of tights instead of underneath. Now he is manfully executing a leg stretch at the dance bar when, in his firm grip, the whole bar pops out of the wall, stopping the class. "Get out! Get out now!!" The teacher shouts in outrage. "And don't come back!" How about a New York City summertime opening night in an historical costume drama with all the top critics in the audience and the steam heat comes on causing an elderly actor to pass out into the orchestra seats. Or the revamped postal jeep radiator that sprang a leak on Fourth of July night on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu resulting in a very long ride home under the stars through expensive and fragrant real estate that became an unforgettable, mystical romantic journey. Earthquakes, notice the plural, the Whittier and the Northridge, to shake things up a bit. Would you want to star in FROST ON THE PARSNIP? I thought not, neither did Tom. Or PORNO STARS AT HOME, at least he got to keep his clothes on. The modeling shoot with the German model who spoke little English picking his nose during his close up, "I haf an animal in my nose." referring to a pesky gnat. Yes, it was a wild and wonderful life, crazy ups and downs, Guest Star then back to taxi driver, the constant terror of trying to get the next job, living not only paycheck to paycheck, but audition to audition. Always in Survival Mode. Stressful, yes, exciting always, the phone rings you got it or you're fired. Laughter and tears, lots of both. DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB has all the behind the scenes stories of Tom's years on national tour with a Broadway musical, backstage in the New York theater, the big break on the daytime soap THE GUIDING LIGHT creating the role of Justin Marler, the long rocky road to Hollywood, finally costarring in the nighttime TV series WORKING GIRL with Sandra Bullock, then on to his extensive work on LAW AND ORDER, and LAW AND ORDER, SVU, MAID IN MANHATTAN, AMERICAN GANGSTER, and UNITED 93. And the movie he wrote, DESERT HEAT, starring Jean Claude Van Damme. The book has lots of photos because pictures, moving and still, were how we made our living and are very much a part of our story. For excerpts go to thomasorourkeactor.blogspot.com
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
What is it that makes people want to be actors? Tom O'Rourke's irreverent, no holds barred, absolutely true memoir of his epic struggles on the road to becoming a working actor will leave you scratching your head wondering how anyone could be so headstrong? Passionate? Tenacious? Resourceful? But if you've ever seen Tom on LAW AND ORDER, or THE GUIDING LIGHT soap opera, or enjoyed the comedic sparing of Sandra Bullock, as Tom did when they co-starred on the TV series WORKING GIRL, you will be grateful there are such lunatics to amuse us. It's a movement class at Goodman Theater School, then part of Chicago University. A tall, muscular, GI bill student and ex paratrooper has already caused an embarrassing scene by wearing his dance belt wrongly outside of his first pair of tights instead of underneath. Now he is manfully executing a leg stretch at the dance bar when, in his firm grip, the whole bar pops out of the wall, stopping the class. "Get out! Get out now!!" The teacher shouts in outrage. "And don't come back!" How about a New York City summertime opening night in an historical costume drama with all the top critics in the audience and the steam heat comes on causing an elderly actor to pass out into the orchestra seats. Or the revamped postal jeep radiator that sprang a leak on Fourth of July night on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu resulting in a very long ride home under the stars through expensive and fragrant real estate that became an unforgettable, mystical romantic journey. Earthquakes, notice the plural, the Whittier and the Northridge, to shake things up a bit. Would you want to star in FROST ON THE PARSNIP? I thought not, neither did Tom. Or PORNO STARS AT HOME, at least he got to keep his clothes on. The modeling shoot with the German model who spoke little English picking his nose during his close up, "I haf an animal in my nose." referring to a pesky gnat. Yes, it was a wild and wonderful life, crazy ups and downs, Guest Star then back to taxi driver, the constant terror of trying to get the next job, living not only paycheck to paycheck, but audition to audition. Always in Survival Mode. Stressful, yes, exciting always, the phone rings you got it or you're fired. Laughter and tears, lots of both. DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB has all the behind the scenes stories of Tom's years on national tour with a Broadway musical, backstage in the New York theater, the big break on the daytime soap THE GUIDING LIGHT creating the role of Justin Marler, the long rocky road to Hollywood, finally costarring in the nighttime TV series WORKING GIRL with Sandra Bullock, then on to his extensive work on LAW AND ORDER, and LAW AND ORDER, SVU, MAID IN MANHATTAN, AMERICAN GANGSTER, and UNITED 93. And the movie he wrote, DESERT HEAT, starring Jean Claude Van Damme. The book has lots of photos because pictures, moving and still, were how we made our living and are very much a part of our story. For excerpts go to thomasorourkeactor.blogspot.com

More books from BookBaby

Cover of the book Work for 4 Years Get Paid for 40 by Marcy O'Rourke
Cover of the book Ugly Thorns on Beautiful Flowers by Marcy O'Rourke
Cover of the book Peckerheads by Marcy O'Rourke
Cover of the book The Magic in You by Marcy O'Rourke
Cover of the book Newlywed Financial Bliss E-Book by Marcy O'Rourke
Cover of the book Secret Teachings of the Tarot by Marcy O'Rourke
Cover of the book Moonlight: Music On a Mountain by Marcy O'Rourke
Cover of the book The State of My State by Marcy O'Rourke
Cover of the book KNIGHT OF SEDUCTION by Marcy O'Rourke
Cover of the book Theme Your College Application by Marcy O'Rourke
Cover of the book Canaries in Guerrero by Marcy O'Rourke
Cover of the book Read the Rueckert by Marcy O'Rourke
Cover of the book Rise of the Hearts by Marcy O'Rourke
Cover of the book Poems Found in a Little Box in the Attic by Marcy O'Rourke
Cover of the book The Crackerjack Gang by Marcy O'Rourke
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy