Thornton Melon. The Rodney Dangerfield character from the movie "Back to School," the 1986 comedy where Melon decides to go back to school to help his son Jason find his way.
It was filmed in Madison, Wisconsin on the UW Madison campus. I was a freshman. They announced open auditions for extras and since I was an aspiring actor at the time, I figured "Why not?"
The line outside Headliners was blocks long with hundreds of students looking to get a big break. They let 5-7 of us in at a time. As the hours dragged on, the random thoughts of what might be kept creeping in. We were not told what roles the extras would play, but that didn't matter. It was our big shot.
I entered with 5 others and walked on stage almost like a police lineup as none of us knew what to expect. The lights were bright and after a few minutes of just standing there, a silhouette of a person yelled out..."Numbers 2, 3, and 5, thank you for your time, we won't be needing you." I was number 1.
After all of that, that was that. And, scene...
Turns out the extra roles they were looking for were "drunken frat guys." I guess it was somewhat complimentary to hear I didn't look the part.
But, what if that was one of those key turning points in life? We never know when a left turn or a right makes all the difference in life's road. Was it fate? Is our path pre-ordained or is life a multiple-choice exam where we have several distinct branches depending on our decisions, choices, or cards that are dealt?
We will never know because of course, it's a hypothetical question. Still, that being the case, one does wonder.
I guess I will never know if the Triple Lindy was really it for me...
...even with the additional springboard.
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