It was 23 years ago today...
I arrived in Los Angeles on this day in 1999. It was a very long drive from Fort Lauderdale. Florida didn't want to let me go. A massive thunderstorm forced me off the road on the first day. New Orleans was a nice stopover. Mississippi smelled awful. Texas felt like it was interminable. It took forever to get through. New Mexico and Arizona made me thirsty.
The first night in L.A. was a blur. I crashed exhausted at a friend's home. Then a blur of hotels, the first of which was dark and foul. I abandoned it after a few minutes. I have no idea which one it was because I didn't know my way around. By the time I could lie in a bed, I only knew I was somewhere near LAX. I spent other nights in the homes of friends in the hills. I squatted for a few days in a friend of a friend's apartment while they were away. That was my exposure to Bel Aire.
The money was all gone—a mountain of bills piled up behind me. I smelled like desperation. I had no job lined up. All I had to go on was, "I don't know if I have anything for you, but call me when you hit town." A casual promise from an old program director friend of mine. Why sure, I had upended my life on a flimsy gambit, but that was plenty of hope!
Right about then was when I finally understood that the little friend who'd been in my head all along had a name. Anxiety Disorder. Hi, nice to meet you. Guess what catastrophe is coming for you next!
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And there were catastrophes ahead. A double-fisted one almost killed me, but I got through. Once, a tuxedo cat and a small Maltese kept me from killing myself. That one is a long story.
There have been dark, dark times. And there have been glorious times. Twenty-three years here and on the bend. I found someone who loves me for inexplicable reasons, has seen me naked, and still hasn't left. Figure that one out. I have a great job doing what I love. I've worked with the best and the brightest in broadcasting. I've had the pleasure of sitting behind a microphone and being heard worldwide. I've punched a clock at some of the country's best radio stations. I've met some of my heroes.
I think this means I can put my desperate, dumb drive to the City of Angels and Potholes in the win column. Hooray for Hollywood!
All views & opinions expressed are my own, and do not represent any person or entity with whom I may be associated.
2 年That intro sounds eerily similar to this one - different # of years, but you get the idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv08vnIlnIw
Screenwriter, Producer
2 年I remember your bleary eyed, blurry face when you arrived! We'd only been here a couple years ourselves and the blur was not quite gone from our own eyeballs. What a town. What a great big risk to take, Rob. I'm so glad you took it, shook off the cobwebs and found yourself and your love. ??
President at Nuleaf Marketing Solutions
2 年Remember a fun Archer moment: shift change at KBIG, some anxiety disorder and a clerk at a mini mart…made for great off mic talk!
Murrow Award-winning TV Journalist | PTSD & Trauma-informed Psychotherapist
2 年I laughed to myself at the beginning of your wonderful article about how much our parents don't realize how similar our lives are going to be to actors sometimes. If we told them we were going to try to be an "actor," they'd flip-out. But we say, "Mom, I'm going to be a journalist." And she says, "Oh, my boy is so intelligent. He's going to be a journalist." We add the moving to a market with no job part to be in broadcasting later. ;-) And I'm so grateful that you shared the emotional struggles of being in broadcasting. It's a tough road, no pun intended. We all need to share that more so we don't feel so "weak," or "not normal." I really enjoyed this article!
Founder of Boxes of Hope
2 年I loved working with you Archer. You were always a positive, inspired guy. Congrats my friend.