Back Stage, November 24, 1995

"It's Important to Be Seen"

(Regarding his primary agent throughout his career) "It's kind of funny. I've been with Jeff Hunter for close to 30 years. I went with him when he was on his own. I was a member of The Theatre Company of Boston. We brought a play into New York in the late '60s. Jeff was the agent of two actresses in the Company. He came to see them and as a result he saw me and called me in. He seemed very knowledgeable about the business. He had a lot of good clients. I liked the way he talked. I liked his views. He was a good business type, very practical. And there was no history of anyone having problems with him. He's taught me to look at things from a business standpoint. There were a couple of plays where he said, 'You really don't want to do this.' I was asked to take over a big role in a show that had been running a while. He said, 'The reviews are already in. Nobody's going to know it's you'.

"I run into a lot of young actors on the soap [As the World Turns]. They don't care about theater. They all want to make records or do nighttime TV or films. I tell them, you should do a showcase because the agents do go to see these shows. When you're in a showcase, you're seen."