Not everyone is superficial and fake in Los Angeles. In the 90s I moved to LA to become an actor. For anyone not familiar with the Industry, you are nothing until you are able to further someones career or line their pockets with money. No one will talk to you; let alone help you. I had no idea what steps to take or which direction to go in. All I knew is I was in Los Angeles. My roommate at the time, Tom McSweeney, was a Casting Associate and suggested I drop by the casting office and hang out. Thats when I met Cathy Henderson. Cathy Henderson was Toms mentor and partner and very respected within the TV/Film community. She discovered Michelle Pheiffer and several name actors. She and Tom Mcsweeney discovered Rene Zelweigger. They also cast an unknown actor from Boston named Ben Affleck for his only TV show Against the Grain. She had the ability to see untapped potential. Cathy and Tom immediately put me to work answering phones, making coffee, copying scripts, sending faxes, etc. I worked 50+ hours a week and didnt get paid a cent -- just being able to be around the office was pay enough for me. They were casting three movies when I started helping around the office. All three were set to wrap casting around the same time. Two were independent flicks and the third was a Universal Studios movie: Hexed. Unbeknownst to me, Cathy went to Tom and told him to ask me what movie I wanted to be in. I could pick any of the three. WHAT?!!! Of course I picked the studio flick Hexed! Cathy went to bat for me. She convinced Marc S Fischer, Bernie Brillstein and Alan Spencer to cast an unknown asian actor. Look them up and you will know who I am talking about. A week later I was flown to Texas to shoot for 2 weeks. Here I was, a skinny Asian kid from San Diego with no resume, no SAG union card and this amazing lady offers me a role. She didnt have to - I never asked for a role. She did it because she wanted to help me. Me. A nobody. I couldnt further her career or make her more money. Nonetheless, she wanted to help. That how Cathy Henderson was - generous and kind. Cathy, thank you for everything. You shattered LA stereotypes. You gave me my first break but more importantly, you were a friend when I had none. I will miss you, Lady. God bless you and enjoy your new life in Heaven. You earned it...
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 06:08:02 +0000
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