SHARING THE STAGE WITH SAMMY DAVIS JR.

Well, at least a few frames on an episode of NBC’s “Hunter.”

At the National Association of Television Programing Executives conference in 1988, I came up with the idea of awarding one lucky television executive a walk-on role in NBC’s successful television drama, “Hunter,” starring Fred Dryer (See more about that in last week’s column FRED DRYER: TELEVISION’S “HUNTER,” VANNA WHITE, AND ME).

TeleVentures, the partnership of TriStar Pictures and Stephen J. Cannell Productions, was distributing the show, and I oversaw the marketing during its run in U.S. syndication.

Television executives from across the country came to our exhibit booth, meeting Fred Dreyer and enjoying our blackjack table, where participants put their winnings of “Hunter Bucks” into a barrel, from which we chose a winner.

The winner was Jack Moffitt, the General Manager of television station KTVD in Denver, Colorado. We flew Jack to Los Angeles, where we met one afternoon over a year later for him to enjoy his 15 minutes of fame. Those 15 minutes couldn’t exactly be termed “fame,” nor could they be called “15 minutes,” as you’ll see. As Jack’s escort, I was along for all of it.

From my Journal, March 28, 1989:

After an hour’s worth of obligatory phone calls in the office after lunch, it was on to something a little bit different…an afternoon on the “Hunter” set during a location shoot in Beverly Hills.

The occasion was the awarding of a prize given at the 1988 NATPE Conference…a bit part (walk-on) during a “Hunter” scene. Jack Moffitt, the GM at KTVD in Denver, a recent sign-on, was the winner, and I stayed with him as we watched four hours of filming leading up to the big party scene. Fred Dryer was directing, one of the actors cast this week was Sammy Davis Jr., and I was amazed at how quickly everything moves. Frequently one take was all they shot and “boom,” on to the next shot. However, they supposedly had 13 pages of script to complete, and cancelled our scene (yes, our scene…I was asked to be in it too!), postponing it until tomorrow. A great disappointment, but I’ve been at enough shoots to know that anything scheduled for late afternoon will be lucky to be shot before midnight. Apparently in Bel-Air and Beverly Hills, location filming must end by 10pm.

A bit frustrating, but that’s just part of the business. Fortunately, our chance for stardom, fame and fortune did arrive the next day (okay, you know I’m kidding, right?).

March 29, 1989:

Because yesterday’s “Hunter” shoot never happened due to time constraints, I had to spend this unscheduled day on the “Hunter” set with TeleVentures’ contest winner Jack Moffitt, who finally got his walk-on in a boxing locker room scene. As they were setting up, Fred Dryer, who was also directing this episode, called me over.

“Doug, come on over and hop into this scene!” Fred said. I thought I’d missed my chance last night, but here it was again today.

So I got my own mug in the picture, but in all honesty I’d rather have spent the day in the office. For all the sitting around (we were supposed to be done by noon but had to leave at 3:45 because Jack had to catch a plane), it was a rather boring day. Shooting went slower today because Fred took a great number of cover shots and close-ups --- we will be missing from a few shots in the final scene because we did leave early. Quite possibly we’ll end up on the cutting room floor entirely!

The best part of the day, though, was connecting with the iconic Sammy Davis Jr., who was gracious and in great spirits as he spoke to us. Among the rules for “extras” are that you don’t mix with the principal actors between scenes, but I was willing to bend that rule given our status…after all Stephen J. Cannell does cut my paycheck and I’m the one responsible for promoting the show!

My moment with Jack Moffitt and Sammy Davis Jr. (above)

We were in that locker room scene when Sammy entered. Playing a journalist, I got to adlib a few lines, none of which will likely be heard, but after we were done and I drove Jack to LAX for his flight home to Denver, we laughed about the whole two-day experience that shouldn’t have taken even two hours. That’s Hollywood!

Looking back at my career, having had the chance to meet, converse and work with a number of Hollywood luminaries, Sammy Davis Jr. ranks as one of the biggest. Sadly, he would pass away from throat cancer only one year later at the age of 64. The Rat Pack member who was arguably the most talented all-around performer in Hollywood was gone much too early.

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